Grand Bahama

Grand Bahama Island, the fourth largest of The Islands of The Bahamas, gets its name from the Spanish "gran bajamar" - meaning "great shallows" - for its many flats and shoals in the waters off the island.

The island lies just 55 miles off the coast of Florida and rambles on for 96 miles, filled with cities, villages, and cays that offer lasting evidence of the many different people and cultures that have called Grand Bahama Island home.

Early in its history, Grand Bahama Island was virtually uninhabited for almost 300 years. However, with the development of Freeport/Lucaya in the 1950s, and because of the island's location just 55 miles from the east coast of Florida, it is now one of the most visited of all the Bahamian islands.

Grand Bahama Island is a world within its own right. It allows visitors to combine a cosmopolitan vacation at a world-class resort yet still enjoy the charm of historical fishing villages and undiscovered ecological treasures. It has one of the world's largest underwater cave systems, three national parks, endless beaches, emerald green water and enchanting marine life.

Places to visit:

Fragrance of the Bahamas

The Perfume Facory)

In a replica of an 18th-century Bahamian mansion, you can create, bottle and name your own fragrance. You can also take a tour with the Perfume Factory's host who will be dressed in old-time English attire, and will take you through all the steps--from choosing the scent to naming it!

Camp Lucaya

Camp Lucaya offers a variety of activities designed to entertain, teach, and challenge, which include arts and crafts.

Viva Wyndham's Kid's Club

Viva Wyndham's Kid's Club has a supervised program where children ages 4 - 12 participate in age-specific activities.

Water World Enterprises Ltd.

Amenities include Miniature Golf, a full-service 34,000 square-foot Bowling Alley with 24 lanes.

Day Time Fun and Night Life:

You can generally find two kinds of beaches on this particular island, the "activity beach" and the "secluded beach." You can fall in love with both for its different reasons.

At the activity beaches, you'll find a multitude of fun and games, including, but not limited to, jet skiing, snorkeling, and windsurfing.

Half the fun of secluded beaches is discovering them. The best hunting grounds are on the southwest and southeast sides of the island. Following the main highway either west or east, you'll come across miles of empty sand soon enough.

Grand Bahama is known for providing fun in the sun. And the fun you have during the day can be carried out throughout the night. There is an array of nightclubs where you can get a taste of the local sounds, several discos where you can dance until dawn, a casino with nonstop action, and the square at Port Lucaya Marketplace-which usually has some special activity the whole family can enjoy. Plus, there is always the option of finding a small bar by the beach, where you can toss back Bahama Mamas, eat conch fritters, and watch the moonlight dance on the ocean.