With Paradise Island's mega-resorts and the cruise ship hubs of Freeport and Nassau, you may be inclined to think that the Bahamas is merely a glitzy mix of casinos, floor shows, and duty-free shops. But there's another side of the Bahamas, not well known, where you can relax in quiet settings imbued with an unvanquished simplicity that is, nowadays, something of a miracle. They are called the Out Islands. It takes far more effort than a chartered flight to reach these remote outposts, but you'll earn your reward once you arrive.

Consider the journey to the Bahamian retreat called Harbour Island. To get there, you have to change planes in Nassau, Miami, or Fort Lauderdale, then fly to the North Eleuthera airport. Here, you take a cab to a dock where a water taxi awaits to motor you across the mile-wide channel. By the time you arrive, you probably won't care about the 200-year-old Victorian homes painted kelly green, shocking pink, or rich mustard. Nor will you be very social with the locals who congregate under a large fig tree at the dock. Not to worry. Within moments, you'll be whisked away by golf cart to the family-favorite Coral Sands Hotel, where a pina colada will be planted in your hand, the perfect remedy for any travel-weary body. If that doesn't do the trick, a few minutes later your clan will be strolling on Harbour Island's best-loved feature, a nearly deserted three-mile beach, that on closer inspection, really is flecked with pink-colored grains of sand. Aaaah, welcome to paradise.

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