Bahamas Family Vacations

So you've whittled your vacation choice down to the Bahamas, and now you have to decide between the country's 20 inhabited islands. That's not an easy choice. Every one of these islands is unique. In the duty-free hubs of Freeport and Nassau, as well as neighboring Paradise Island, the beach life includes the high life -- giant casinos, glitzy restaurants, floor shows and international duty-free shops. Another side of the Bahamas includes the Out Islands, where you can relax in quiet settings, unscathed by the hand of modernity. The one commonality that binds all of these diverse islands together is the surrounding ocean. Azure waters, whose temperatures range from 75 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit, are fringed by pearly white or pink beaches. Pick an island, any island, and you can't help but find an excellent beach and warm waters.

The Out Islands (sometimes called the Family Islands) are simply all the other islands outside of the Big Three. These sleepy destinations are the places to head if you want only a hammock, a book, turquoise waters, miles of sugary sand and utmost privacy. Take, for example, Harbour Island -- a three-mile-long, half-mile-wide speck off the coast of North Eleuthera. At first glance, Harbour Island looks like it's straight out of a time warp, with 18th-century clapboard houses that are edged with picket fences. Cars are all but forbidden (replaced by golf carts), and anywhere you want to go is only a short stroll from the beach.

Then there are the Exumas, even less developed than Harbour Island. With crystal-clear water, uninhabited islands to picnic and soft, rolling hills, this is the place to venture to if you want to say goodbye to the rest of the world. The Tropic of Cancer runs directly through George Town, the capital and principal settlement of the Exumas.

Whether it's the action on Grand Bahama, New Providence and Paradise Islands or the quiet solitude of the Out Islands, if your idea of a vacation includes somnolent breezes, crystalline waters and soft sands, any Bahamian island will do.