| With 20 major islands to choose from, deciding | | | | Bimini |
| where to buy real estate in the Bahamas can be | | | | Hemingway made his "island in the stream" famous as |
| overwhelming. This quick primer will make it easy to | | | | a center of deep-sea fishing, and it remains so today. |
| find the island that best fits your tastes and budget. | | | | Bimini is also just 50 miles from the east coast of |
| Nassau and Freeport | | | | Florida, which ensures a good yachting crowd. Bimini |
| The cities of Nassau on New Providence Island and | | | | has one major resort development, Bimini Bay Resort |
| Freeport on Grand Bahama are the only choices for | | | | and Casino. Bimini Bay has no casino, but it does offer |
| buyers who want urban or suburban surroundings and | | | | condos with boat slips in the $600,000 range. The |
| the amenities that come with it--extensive shopping, | | | | only beachfront lot listed on Bimini, for comparison |
| a wide array of cultural opportunities, hospitals, | | | | purposes, is a 2.7 acre parcel for $1.7 million. |
| multiple golf courses, and direct flights to many major | | | | Eleuthera |
| airports. | | | | With sixty miles of beaches and only a few dozen |
| New Providence, a small island dominated by Nassau | | | | hotel rooms, Eleuthera is a paradise for beach lovers |
| and its suburbs, is home to 215,000 people-fully | | | | who enjoy privacy and unspoiled natural beauty. |
| three-fourths of the Bahamas' population. Nassau has | | | | Eleuthera has four major resorts planned or |
| a busy downtown with both modern and historic | | | | underway, but none is near completion yet, and |
| architecture, and on the outskirts, a strip of high-rise | | | | overall, the island is still rustic and relatively unknown. |
| hotels and casinos along Cable Beach. Paradise Island, | | | | Eleuthera is therefore less expensive than Abaco and |
| connected to New Providence by a bridge, is home | | | | Exuma--one-acre beachfront lots sell in the $500,000 |
| to the gargantuan Atlantis and other resorts. New | | | | range. With a population of 8000 and close proximity |
| Providence and Paradise Island have many gated | | | | to resort-rich Harbour Island, Eleuthera has good |
| subdivisions and townhouse developments, as well as | | | | infrastructure, stores, and services. If and when |
| high-rise condominiums. On average, real estate prices | | | | Eleuthera's nascent resorts succeed, prices may |
| here are much more expensive than elsewhere in the | | | | catch up to Exuma and Abaco. |
| Bahamas. Expect to spend $1.5 million for a typical | | | | Andros, Cat Island, Long Island |
| canal-front house in one of the popular gated | | | | These three islands are the next step up in |
| communities. A one-acre beachfront lot (the yardstick | | | | remoteness and the next step down in name |
| we will use throughout this article) would cost at | | | | recognition, infrastructure, services, and prices. |
| least $3 million. | | | | Andros is said to be the largest unexplored landmass |
| Grand Bahama, the northernmost of the major | | | | in the hemisphere. The island's interior is home to the |
| Bahamian islands, has a population of 50,000, the | | | | six-foot iguanas, the rare Bahamian boa constrictor, |
| greatest part in and around Freeport. Grand Bahama | | | | and who knows what else. The east coast of the |
| is almost 100 miles long, however, and unlike New | | | | island, the only populated area, has scattered villages |
| Providence, has less populated regions with deserted | | | | and miles of deserted beaches. For those not afraid |
| beaches and tropical pine forests. Lucaya, the | | | | of who-knows-what-else, beachfront lots on Andros |
| residential area of Freeport, has a vast network of | | | | are selling in the $200,000 to $250,000 range. |
| interconnected canals lined with thousands of home | | | | Fifty miles long and with a population of only 1600, |
| lots. Canal-front lots are reasonably priced--in the | | | | Cat Island is one place where you'll never have to |
| $125,000 to $250,000 range. One-acre beachfront | | | | wait in line. Cat has many miles of spectacular |
| lots in Lucaya sell for $1.5 million and up. | | | | pink-sand beaches and several delightful boutique |
| The Out Islands | | | | resorts. A one-acre beachfront lot will set you back |
| After Freeport, the largest "city" in the Bahamas is | | | | $350,000-400,000. |
| Marsh Harbour, with a population of only 5000. The | | | | The aptly named Long Island is 96 miles long and only |
| majority of settlements in the Bahamas are even | | | | seven miles wide at its widest point. Long Island has |
| smaller, with just a few hundred souls. This is the | | | | a varied topography ranging from hills and cliffs in the |
| world of the Out Islands-large areas of untouched | | | | north, to flatlands in the south. Deadman's Cay, the |
| land with the occasional house or small village. | | | | commercial center, is fairly well equipped, with a |
| Abaco and Exuma | | | | medical clinic, banks, and well-stocked food stores. |
| The Abacos and Exumas are not adjacent physically, | | | | Prime beachfront lots on the island sell for $375,000, |
| but they have much in common. They are the most | | | | and lots on a narrower beach are currently selling for |
| popular yachting destinations in the Bahamas, and | | | | as little as $185,000. |
| their islands and cays provide beautiful cruising | | | | San Salvador, Acklins, Crooked Island, Mayaguana, |
| grounds. Abaco and Exuma are better known than | | | | Inagua |
| the other Out Islands, and they each have several | | | | For the true pioneers among you, these islands are |
| major resort developments. Prices are therefore | | | | farther south, more remote, and less populated. But |
| higher. One-acre beachfront lots on Great Exuma are | | | | the prices are tempting. A four-acre beachfront lot |
| selling in the $1-2 million range. Abaco has prices in this | | | | on Crooked Island is selling for $525,000-95% less |
| range as well, but also less expensive beachfront in | | | | than you would pay in Nassau. |
| some locations. | | | | |