Facts on Bahamas

The Bahamas may be best known for some of its major islands, like Grand Bahama, Eleuthera and New Providence, but the Atlantic Ocean nation is actually home to 700 islands and 2,400 tiny cays. The closest of the Family Islands (the populated islands other than New Providence and Grand Bahama) to the United States is Bimini, which is about 50 miles from South Florida. The islands extend southeast from there for about 750 miles to where they end about 50 miles from Cuba and Haiti.

The Bahamas' name comes from Spanish explorers who referred to the islands as "Baja Mar" or "Shallow Sea." The water around the Bahamas isn't especially shallow, though the islands--composed mainly of coral--are very flat. The first British colony was established on Eleuthera in the mid-1600s, but what followed were decades of piracy marked by legendary figures such as Blackbeard and Anne Bonney (yes, the original Pirates of the Caribbean). As an English colony, The Bahamas grew stronger and eventually the pirates were forced out. The Bahamas later helped the Confederacy during the Civil War, running cotton to English mills and helping to sneak equipment onto the mainland. A hundred years later, particularly with the closure of Cuba to American tourists, The Bahamas emerged as a popular tourist destination and the islands remain so to this day.

While most tourists come to The Bahamas for the white sandy beaches, there's also golf, back-to-nature adventures, biking, tennis, music and history to enjoy. If you can drag yourself from the beach, the Pirates of Nassau is a cool interactive history museum worth exploring. Likewise, calypso shows, like the famous one at the Blue Marlin's restaurant in Nassau, are also fun whether it's your first time in The Bahamas or you're a frequent visitor.

Year-round golf is but one of many selling points to tourists who are looking for more than fun in or around the water of The Bahamas. With daytime temperatures seldom dipping below 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter, you can expect ideal conditions most any time of year. Most of the larger islands have golf courses available to the public, though some of the nicer courses are part of resorts. If your stay brings you to Grand Bahama Island, you can find a Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed course (The Reef) and a Dick Wilson-designed course (The Lucayan), both with plenty of water and plenty of foliage, just as you would expect on a tropical island. When booking a visit, ask the hotel you're considering about nearby golf opportunities and see if the concierge can set you up with a nice tee time that will get you off the course and back to the beach for sunset.

You will need a passport to travel to the Bahamas from another country. The currency is based on the Bahamaian dollar, which is usually worth about what a U.S. dollar is worth at any given time. Much of The Bahamas is devoted to agriculture, tourist resorts and other business, with Freeport and Nassau representing the most active urban areas in the country.

The Bahamas seem lie in the path of at least a couple of tropical storms or hurricanes every year, so think about that if you plan to travel there. Hurricane season officially runs from June through November, but the worst months typically are August and September.
There is poverty in the Bahamas and some of poorer areas brush right up against the luxury resorts, so be aware as you travel to your destination.

The James Bond films "Thunderball," "License to Kill," and "Casino Royale" all included scenes filmed in The Bahamas.
The Commonwealth of The Bahamas became an independent nationstate (breaking free of British control) in 1973.
The Bahamas is home to about 300,000 people.