The Bahamas are known for their beautiful blue waters and warm, welcoming people. In the late 1600’s /early 1700’s during the Golden Age of Piracy these were pirate waters. English pirates and privateers used the shallow seas as a safe haven for raiding Spanish ships, so there’s a familiar feel to the culture. English is the national language in the Bahamas, they accept US Dollars, and the flights are short and easy. If only they didn’t drive on the wrong side of the road, lol.
It’s no surprise that the Bahamas are known as America’s tropical playground. While the crystal-clear, aqua-blue waters steal the spotlight, Nassau beaches offer equally stunning beauty—if you know where to find them.
Cabbage Beach is consistently the top-rated beach in Nassau. Technically, it’s on paradise Island but, which is connected by a toll bridge but that’s close enough. It’s two miles of soft sand that runs between Atlantis and The Ocean Club.
There are some public access points marked along Casino Drive, but most likely you’ll get access from a Paradise Island beach hotel. Two hacks to note, Comfort Suites offers Atlantis day passes with a qualifying stay which is a HUGE savings. In addition, word on the street is that access to the aquariums is free in the evenings.
These two beaches are just to the west of the inlet to the Atlantis Lagoon. The are, for all intents and purposes, private beaches for Atlantis guests. If you’re a guest, you can also access a series of beaches along the lagoon itself.
These are all beautiful beaches with manicured sand and plenty of seats. The catch is you’re either a hotel guest or paying for an expensive day pass. On the bright side, the day pass gives you access to the massive aquariums and epic waterpark.
Barefoot Cay, aka Sandals Private Island, might be the best beach on Nassau you’ve never heard about. Technically, it’s a five minute ride offshore from Cable Beach, but Sandals runs a ferry from the resort hourly so it qualifies as a Nassau beach in our book.
It has beautiful sand and a large protected swimming area that’s rarely busy. If you’re here, you’re a Sandals guest, which gives you access to the pool, hot tub, restaurant, and two bars on the island. You can also pick up snorkel gear at the snorkel hut.
Sandals owns the entire eastern tip of the island, so there’s beaches on the north and south shore, but we like the north beach better because it’s very private and secluded.
There was a time many moons ago when you could walk miles down Cable Beach. Today, private residences with sea walls separate the Sandals side of Cable Beach from Baha Mar, Goodman’s Bay Park, and the Goodwynn side. Each part of Cable Beach is distinctly different, so we’ll address them separately.
Sandals Royal Bahamian has the smallest section of beach which is also separated from the others. It’s beautiful with lots of shade, chairs, and cabanas and two swimming areas on either side of the pier. The Sandals infrastructure backs up to the beach, so you don’t have to walk far to take advantage of your all inclusive food and drinks or enter the pool and hot tub zone.
Baha Mar is a massive resort with an equally massive beach front. Rows and rows of beach chairs and cabanas await guests along about ½ mile of beach along with floating platforms in the water.
A 500’ long break wall creates a sheltered cove just east of the pier with some of the best snorkeling around. Along the back beach walkway, you’ll find a few small food trucks, the hotel pools, and the iconic flamingo habitat.
Goodman’s Bay Park is a large public park with ample parking and easy beach access. There are plenty of rentals available from jet skis to banana boats and light food and drinks from beach vendors. These rentals aren’t associated with any resorts, so you might get more competitive prices if you walk down to Goodman’s Bay Park from either the Baha Mar complex or Goldwynn.
If you have a car, but no beach access, Goodman’s is an excellent choice for a beach day. It’s a fine stretch of sand in the back of a large and beautiful bay.
The Goldwynn is a chic and elegant property with an equally impressive and artistic beachfront. The sand is well manicured but it’s the infinity pool that really sets the stage. There’s also an upscale restaurant just a few steps off the sand. Goldwynn is at the far east end of Cable Beach, which adds to its allure of exclusivity.
Saunders Beach is halfway between Cable Beach and downtown Nassau right at the mouth of Arawak Cay. It has a small parking area and some facilities, but its most notable feature is a series of anti-erosion break walls along the beach that form small sheltered pools. The pools are a natural boundary between boats and swimmers and a decent habit for juvenile reef fish.
Saunders is close enough to walk to from downtown if you’re looking for something different from Junkanoo Beach. It also has a decent parking area if you have a car.
Junkanoo, or Long Wharf Beach is the downtown beach. The west end is a public beach that adjoins Margaritaville. This beach is OK, but the water quality is affected by Paradise Island inhibiting water flow and boat traffic through the harbor.
If it wasn’t the closest beach to the cruise pier and downtown, it wouldn’t receive as much attention as it does. At least for the beach aspects, however because of its proximity, there is a thriving beach commerce. Most notably is the Fish Fry at the far west end with many vendors selling well priced authentic Bahamian food.
The east end of Junkanoo Beach is the hotel beach for British Colonial. It is a small beach with sea breaks on both sides that form a small bay. The structure makes it great for swimming, with little current and Paradise Island ½ mile offshore blocking all the waves from the open ocean.
You access the beach through the hotel by passing through the hotel pools, then rows of beach chairs before reaching the beach and swimming area. It’s compact, efficient, and private, but far from secluded.
These beaches are about three miles to the west of Cable Beach. They run for a mile alongside Bay Boulevard. The beach quality is only OK (very rocky) and the proximity to the road is a detractor, but the water is so beautiful.
You’ll find some parking and snacks on either end of the beach. There’s also parking across the road at The Caves. This cave is a small limestone cavern with a healthy bat population. The cave is small enough that you will not need a flashlight to explore it but the views out to the water makes it worthwhile to pop in and look out.
Jaw’s Beach got its name from the shark movie that was filmed here. It’s the closest thing you’ll get to a natural beach experience in Nassau because it’s a 30 minute drive from downtown. You will find easy parking and a wide sand beach with little infrastructure.
There is no beachside development here because it’s within Clifton National Heritage Park. Trails wind through the Park taking you through preserved ecosystems to even more secluded beaches. The main entrance to the park is a couple of minutes drive down the road.
Clifton National Heritage Park is a 206 acres park on the far west side of Nassau. It’s far removed from the hustle and bustle of downtown, but offers affordable tours including transportation that include lunch. The beach tour gives you access to private beaches within the park. The beaches closest to the park entrance are notoriously rocky, but get progressively nicer as you progress around the point towards Jaw’s Beach.
The park offers amenities such as changing rooms, rest rooms, lounge chairs, picnic tables, and even a tiki bar. Other activities including snorkeling and cultural tours are available for a separate fee. The snorkeling tours, either guided or unguided, are particularly nice because you swim by the world’s largest underwater sculpture, Ocean Atlas, which is part of a living art gallery.
Montagu Beach is on the far east side of the island. It’s named for the circa 1741 Fort Montagu that guarded the eastern entrance to Nassau Harbor.
Most people come here to tour the fort or shop at the Nassau Fish Market. Both have large but bustling parking areas, but there’s a nice ¼ beach that connects to two as well. There aren’t a lot of amenities along the beach, which some will say adds to the ambiance.
As you can see, the best beaches in Nassau are associated with the island’s luxury resorts. There are some public beaches you can reach from downtown, especially if you have a car or are willing to take the bus or a taxi. Otherwise, you’re visiting Junkanoo Beach or taking a longish walk to Saunders or Cabbage Beach. In that case, a winning strategy might be to spend the day at Cabbage Beach and the evening at Atlantis. No matter what choice you decide to make, you are sure to find the beach of your dreams in Nassau.
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