Bahamas itineraries: 1 week, 2 weeks and 3 weeks

The Bahamas is an archipelago, not a single destination, so the itinerary question is really a transport question. Every island pair means a flight or ferry, and each hop costs you most of a day once you count the transfer to the airstrip and the check-in. The parent country plan is the one that works: Nassau first, then one Out Island, and only add a second island if you have ten days or more.

Use the table below as the skeleton, then read the detailed notes further down. Nights are counted, not days, so a 7-day trip is 6 nights on the ground plus a travel day.

Days 1–3 in Nassau. Land, settle, and use the first afternoon for downtown: the Queen's Staircase and Fort Fincastle, the Straw Market on Bay Street, and the Pompey Museum if you want the history before the beaches. Walk downtown early or on a non-cruise day, because Bay Street fills when ships are in. Day 2 is a beach day — Cabbage Beach on Paradise Island is the easy one, reached by bridge or taxi. Day 3 evening, eat at Arawak Cay Fish Fry on West Bay Street.

Day 4, fly to George Town, Exuma. Morning flights are better; an afternoon flight eats the day. Days 4–7 are the boat days: a cays and sandbar trip from George Town, Stocking Island and the swimming pigs if you want them, and one full rest day. Book the boat day from Exuma, not Nassau — operators out of Nassau sell the same cays at a worse price and a longer ride.

Day 7, fly back to Nassau for the international flight. If your home flight leaves in the morning, sleep in Nassau the night before rather than risking a same-day connection.

The 14-day version keeps Nassau short and gives the Out Islands the time they need. Nassau 3 nights, Exuma 5, Abaco 5, then one buffer night in Nassau before flying home. Exuma gives you the cays; Abaco gives you sailing between the cays out of Marsh Harbour, and March to June is the usual window for it. If you would rather not fly twice, swap Abaco for Eleuthera and Harbour Island — the parent plan's 10-day route stretched to two weeks.

The extra days should go into fewer places, not more. Five nights on an Out Island is roughly the point where you stop being a visitor with a checklist and start having a routine: a morning swim, a boat day, an afternoon with nothing booked.

At three weeks you can add a third stop without turning the trip into an airport tour. A workable shape: Nassau 3 nights, Exuma 5, Eleuthera and Harbour Island 5, Abaco 5, plus a buffer night in Nassau and two spare nights for weather delays — 21 nights, or 22 days door to door. Andros is the alternative third stop if you want blue holes and bonefishing rather than beaches, and Grand Bahama is the closest island to Florida if you are coming from the US and want a short first leg.

Three weeks is also the length where a sailing charter starts to make sense on Abaco, sleeping aboard instead of paying for a room each night. That is a different trip, not a longer version of the same one.

Many routes connect via Nassau, and direct small-plane hops between Out Islands are also possible on some pairs. Small planes serve Nassau to George Town, Marsh Harbour, Eleuthera and the other Out Island airstrips; fast ferries cover some routes, including Nassau to Harbour Island, and are weather-dependent. Schedules shift by season and by operator, so confirm times when you book rather than planning around a timetable you read months earlier.

Two rules save trips. First, fly in the morning when you can — afternoon inter-island flights are the ones that slip. Second, never book an inter-island leg on the same day as an international departure. The buffer night in Nassau is not padding; it is the difference between a missed flight and a boring evening.

With 4 or 5 days, staying on New Providence — Nassau and Paradise Island, with a day trip rather than an island hop — is the shape that fits the time (check). With 3 days, Nassau alone is the realistic option (check). Trying to see three islands in a week spends the week in airports and airstrip taxis, which is the single most common mistake on a first trip.

If you are coming for a specific thing — bonefishing, diving, sailing — cut Nassau to one night and put the whole trip on the island that has it. The hub is a gateway, not the destination.

Book inter-island flights and Out Island rooms early for December to May, when both fill and prices peak (check). Hurricane season runs roughly June to November (check); that is also when you find the best room rates and the most schedule risk, so keep the buffer night and consider travel insurance that covers weather delays.

Money: the Bahamian dollar is pegged to the US dollar, and US cash is widely accepted, but Out Island ATMs are few and can be empty (check). Carry cash for taxis, small restaurants and boat tips. Tipping runs 15–20% at restaurants and a few dollars for boat crews and housekeeping (check).

Packing is simple: reef-safe sunscreen, cash, a light rain layer, and a printed or offline copy of your flight and ferry confirmations, because Out Island signal is not always reliable (check).