01
Pink Sands Beach
Harbour Island
AtlanticIconicSwimming
Three-plus miles of blush-pink sand, 50–100 ft wide, with an offshore reef that keeps the water calm, shallow and clear. The pink comes from crushed red foraminifera shells mixed into coral sand — strongest at the waterline and in early-morning light.
02
Lighthouse Beach
South Eleuthera · Bannerman Town
Atlantic + Caribbean pointWild beautyLong walks
Long regarded as Eleuthera's most spectacular beach — roughly 3 miles of soft sand, dunes, pink-streaked cliffs and the old skeleton lighthouse on the point. Still breathtaking, but access changed when Disney's Lookout Cay cruise stop opened in June 2024.
03
French Leave Beach
Governor's Harbour
Atlantic (reef-tempered)Pink sandSwimming
The mainland's signature pink-sand beach on Banks Road — soft sand, palms, and water that stays fairly calm for an Atlantic beach. Ranked the #1 Eleuthera beach on Tripadvisor, and Tippy's beach bar sits on the same stretch.
04
Ten Bay Beach
Palmetto Point / Savannah Sound
Caribbean (Bight)FamiliesCalm water
The classic postcard bight beach: wide white sand and warm knee-deep water that runs hundreds of feet out at low tide. Shaded in the morning, sunny in the afternoon — the island's best easy family swim.
05
Gaulding Cay Beach
North Eleuthera · Gregory Town
Caribbean (Bight)SnorkelingCalm water
Powder-soft sand and shallow, calm water with a small cay you can walk to at low tide — the easiest great snorkel on the island (sea stars, reef fish around the rocks). Casuarina shade gives it a private-beach feel.
06
Twin Coves Beach
North of Governor's Harbour
AtlanticPhotogenicSnorkeling
Two crescent beaches split by a narrow palm-topped spit meeting at a point — one of the most photogenic spots on the island, usually near-empty, with clear water for swimming and snorkeling.
07
Tay Bay Beach
North Eleuthera · Preacher's Cave
Atlantic (north shore)HistorySeclusion
Long, powdery sand steps from Preacher's Cave, where the shipwrecked Eleutheran Adventurers sheltered in 1648 — a beach day and the island's founding story in one stop. The ship-killing Devil's Backbone reef lies offshore.
08
Ben Bay Beach
North Eleuthera
Atlantic (sheltered cove)Hidden gemCalm water
A tiny horseshoe cove whose narrow mouth keeps it clear and calm even when the Atlantic is rough. Even sandy bottom, snorkeling along the rocky arms — a true hidden gem, if you can find it.
09
Surfer's Beach
Gregory Town
AtlanticSurfingScenery
The Bahamas' most famous surf break — about 2 miles of sugary sand where Atlantic swells wrap in, with a surf scene running since the 1960s. Best waves roughly October–April. A surf beach, not a swimming beach.
10
Rainbow Bay Beach
Rainbow Bay
Caribbean (Bight)Easy accessFamilies
A sheltered cove with a clean sandy bottom and calm, warm shallows — the reliable plan B when the Atlantic side is rough, with good rock snorkeling on its left side.
11
Alabaster Bay (Receiver's Beach)
Governor's Harbour / James Cistern
Caribbean (Bight)FamiliesCalm water
A powdery white-sand bay with warm, very shallow water far out — top-tier family swimming with shade trees, and a favorite for paddleboarding.
12
Airport Beach (Navy Beach)
James Cistern / GHB airport
AtlanticLong walksSolitude
About 3 miles of fine, firm pink-tinged sand below the ruins of the old U.S. Navy base — usually deserted, and one of the island's best long-walk beaches. Swim with care: the north end has drop-offs and undertow.
13
Current Beach & sandbars
The Current
Caribbean (Bight)SandbarsDrift snorkel
Soft sand and famous low-tide sandbars at the edge of Current settlement. Next door, Current Cut is one of the Bahamas' best-known drift-snorkel channels when the tide runs.
14
Twin Sisters Beach
Just south of Glass Window Bridge
Caribbean (Bight)SnorkelingPhoto stop
Named for the twin boulders standing in clear turquoise shallows, with casuarina shade and snorkeling around the rocks — the natural pairing with a Glass Window Bridge stop 0.4 miles north.
15
Lover's Beach
North of Gregory Town
AtlanticRomanceScenery
Soft golden sand backed by grassy dunes with big Atlantic surf rolling in — better for walking and watching than swimming.
16
Poponi Beach
North Palmetto Point
AtlanticPink sandQuiet
Soft pink sand with reef-protected swimming and palm shade — the quieter continuation of the French Leave / Banks Road coastline.
17
Double Bay Beach
East of Governor's Harbour
AtlanticSolitudeLong walks
Roughly 5 miles of powdery pink-tinged sand, firm underfoot, with rolling surf and near-total solitude — bring water and you'll likely have it to yourself.
18
Winding Bay Beach
Near Rock Sound
Atlantic (protected bay)SwimmingKayaking
A 1.6-mile crescent whose deep curve keeps the water calm despite facing the ocean. A man-made channel at the north end connects to Half Sound for a lazy kayak drift.
19
Whiteland Beach
South of Rock Sound
AtlanticSnorkelingLocals' favorite
Reef-protected, sandy-bottom swimming beneath low cliffs with palms and dramatic rock formations — a consistent insiders' favorite in the south.
20
Half Sound & The Point
Tarpum Bay / Winding Bay
Atlantic (lagoon + ocean)AdventureReef
A lake-like tidal lagoon opening to the ocean, mangrove snorkeling at its south end, and off “The Point” one of the healthiest close-to-shore reefs on the island.
21
Spanish Wells Beach
Spanish Wells (St. George's Cay)
North shore, reef-shelteredSwimmingLocal vibe
A half-mile of soft white sand with smooth dunes, clear turquoise water and gentle waves — the quiet, working-island alternative to Harbour Island, minutes away by ferry.
22
Girls Bank & the Lone Tree
Harbour Island (bay side)
Caribbean (harbour side)Photo iconLow tide
Shallow low-tide flats on the harbour side, home to the Lone Tree — a hurricane-delivered driftwood trunk that became one of the Bahamas' most photographed landmarks. Wading, not swimming.
23
Cotton Bay Beach
South Eleuthera
AtlanticSolitudeHistory
Miles of pink-and-white crescent fronting the legendary former Cotton Bay Club, Pan Am founder Juan Trippe's retreat. Beautiful and usually empty — for now.
24
Jack's Bay Beach
South Eleuthera
AtlanticPink sandTurtles
A long, wild pink-sand shore with reef fish for snorkeling and seasonal turtle nesting — now fronted by the Jack's Bay Club development (Tiger Woods short course; a Nicklaus course opening 2026).
25
Windermere Island Beach
Off Savannah Sound
AtlanticRoyal historyPrivate
Five miles of pink sand on the slender private island where Prince Charles and Princess Diana famously holidayed. Serene and undeveloped — and effectively off-limits unless you're staying there.
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