Exploring The Bahamas: Hidden Gems of Andros, Berry, and Bimini Islands

Given how big The Bahamas are I’ve been breaking it up into various groups over the last year or two and this month I’d like to talk about the island groups of Andros, Berry, and Bimini. Each of these are fairly remote and seldom visited but they each have their own unique charm. Andros Island is by far the largest island in the Bahamas and at the same time the least visited. The Berry Islands are like a little Exumas with some great little islands that you can have to yourself. Bimini Islands are visited more than the other two, but usually it’s for big game fishing. 

10. Chub Cay, Berry

At the southern end of the Berry Islands is a nice resort community that was in bankruptcy when I visited. It had a nice marina that you could stay at and even if you anchored out, like I did, you were invited to enjoy the pool and the bar. Nearby is Mamma Rhoda Reef, which is fantastic for snorkeling. On the east side of the island is Whale Cay, which offers good protection, a lighthouse, and a nice little beach.

9. Morgan’s Bluff, Andros

Situated at the north end of Andros Island, this natural bay has long been rumored to have been a favored haunt of Captain Morgan. The anchorage itself is nice unless a northerner is coming through and the few shipwrecks along the wharf are interesting to explore above and below the water. Nearby is Morgan’s Cave where he and his crew supposedly hung out and hid their treasure.

8. South Bimini

Not nearly as populated as the north island of Bimini, the South Island is starting to gain housing developments. Even with that there is an amazing nature trail that you can walk along and I loved walking through the little forest. In the interior of the island, you will find the fabled Fountain of Youth. I found this very interesting given how non-commercialized it is compared to the one in St Augustine, Florida.

7. Fresh Creek, Andros

Roughly halfway up the east coast of Andros Island you will find a settlement on both banks of Fresh Creek. You can only take a sailboat a little way up the creek due to a bridge, but it does provide good protection. Nearby you will find the Batik Factory where they make a very unique Bahamian fabric by using wax and dyes. The lighthouse at the mouth of the creek is interesting with two cannons on the little battery in front of it and taking the dinghy up the creek to see some of the mangrove islands and the shipwreck is entertainment.

6. Alice Town, Bimini

On the north island of Bimini there is a little town where I spent three or four days during a northerner. What I loved most about this town is from its past. Ernest Hemingway hung out here for several years staying at the Compleat Angler Hotel, which unfortunately burned down along with a museum dedicated to him. While on the island he wrote To Have and To Have Not and later based the novel, Islands in The Stream on this area. Besides this, today you can check out a couple other museums, twice as many bars as restaurants, a shipwreck right on the shore, and the fabled underwater Bimini Road.

5. Cruise ship islands, Berry

At the north end of the Berry Islands you will find a couple small cays that are used by cruise ships. The west one is called Coco Cay, and is used by Royal Caribbean, and the east one is Great Stirrup Cay used by Norwegian. When the ships are in you can sneak ashore and hang out with the passengers and once they left we played on the inflatable obstacle course they had in the water. Royal Caribbean also brought over a plane wreck and placed it in about 15 feet of water for people to snorkel.

4. The bights, Andros

The south end of Andros Island is broken up by waterways that go all the way across the island. There are three of them and unimaginatively named North Bight, Middle Bight, and South Bight. They’re deep enough to bring sailboats into where you will find a shallow sandy bottom. There are lots of little islands with small beaches on them and the barrier reef is part of the third largest in the world. To me the best part about the bights is the lack of visitors and the fact that you will have them pretty much to yourself.

3. Middle cays, Berry

Once you leave either Chub Cay or the cruise ship cays, at the south or north ends of the Berry Islands, you have to go offshore a bit before you can come back inside to visit the middle of the chain. Here you will find some great little islands to explore including Hoffman’s Cay which has a big blue hole, Devil’s Cay which has a nice beach, Little Harbor where you will find the famous Flo’s Conch Bar, and Big Gaulding Cay where you will find a small cave. It is definitely worth spending several days anchored here and exploring these islands that you’ll have to yourself.

2. Blue Holes National Park, Andros

The northern end of Andros Island is riddled with blue holes which are part of a tunnel network that was dug by water during the last ice age. Since the sea levels rose the cave system flooded and sometimes the ceiling of the cave collapsed forming a blue hole. On Andros Island there are so many the government established Blue Holes National Park. Two of my favorite blue holes are Captain Bill’s blue hole, which has a platform you can jump 15 to 20 ft into the water and Uncle’s Charlie’s blue hole, which has a rope swing, a small cave, and what appears to be stalactites in the water from when the water level used to be a lot lower. All of the blue holes are a blast to play and swim in. Nearby you also find a Mennonite farming community which I found interesting to visit.

1. SS Sapona, Bimini

This concrete ship was built at the end of World War I and ran aground in 1926 during a hurricane. In 1945 Flight 19 disappeared while doing a practice bombing run on this particular ship adding to the Bermuda Triangle’s myth. Nowadays this shipwreck is fantastic to visit and snorkel around. There are spots that are about 20 ft deep and it’s even possible to jump off the top of the ship. If you’re coming from the Miami area into The Bahamas this might be one the first areas you visit and this shipwreck, with its history, is a great beginning to your cruise through The Bahamas.

Shane McClellan has written for ALL AT SEA since 2016.