7 Best Sights in Andros, Bimini, and the Berry Islands, Bahamas

South of Nicholls Town's eastern shore, Conch Sound is a wide bay with strands of white sand and tranquil waters where you can also find Conch Sound Ocean Hole, a sea-filled blue hole where you can snorkel around and see the rich marine life. The flats are a convenient wading spot for bonefishers, who can wade for hours. Commercial fishermen bring their catches to a little beach park nearby. You can buy fresh catch and dine at a couple of shacks. Amenities: only at nearby restaurants. Best for: solitude; fishing; snorkeling.

Three miles north of Nicholls Town is a crescent beach, a headland known as Morgan's Bluff, and a set of caves named after the 17th-century pirate Captain Henry Morgan, who allegedly dropped off some of his stolen loot in the area. The beach and park serve as the site for Regatta Village, a colorful collection of stands and stalls that set up in July when the big event, the All Andros & Berry Islands Regatta, takes place. Adjacent is the Government Dock and a safe harbor, with a small, popular island bar and restaurant.

This one-third-mile-long crescent beach is a place to relax when touring North Andros. You might see a few locals enjoying it and the adjacent park with its colorful stalls that only come alive in June when the All Andros & Berry Islands Regatta is held. Nearby is the government dock, a public marina, and a bar and restaurant popular with the locals and boat captains. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude, swimming, walking.

Nicholls Town, on Andros's northeastern corner, is a spread-out settlement with its eastern shore lying on a beautiful beach and its northern shore on Morgan's Bluff beach. It's the island's largest settlement, with a population of about 600. This friendly community, with its agriculture- and fishing-based economy, has grocery and supplies stores, a few motels, a public medical clinic, government offices, and more. Adorable cottages, a throwback from the town's big resort era of the 1960s, house the island's wintering population from the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Two-and-a-half miles east of Nicholls Town's commercial center, the settlement reaches the east-facing coast along beautiful and long Nicholls Town Beach, which catches the easterly breezes and is by far the preferred beach in this area. It adjoins Conch Sound to the south. You might be on your own except for guests at the renovated Andros Island Beach Resort, with its tiki bar and restaurant, where you can rent kayaks or snorkeling gear. Amenities: resort nearby. Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.

Fourteen miles west of Nicholls Town, Red Bays is the sole west-coast settlement in all of Andros. The town was settled by Seminoles and runaway enslaved Africans escaping Florida pre–Civil War and was cut off from the rest of Andros until a highway connected it to Nicholls Town in the 1980s. Residents are known for their craftsmanship, particularly straw basketry and wood carving. Tightly plaited baskets, some woven with scraps of colorful Androsia batik, have become a signature craft of Andros. Artisans have their wares on display in front of their homes (with fixed prices). Despite opening their homes to buyers, Red Bays locals don't seem very used to visitors. Expect a lot of curious stares and occasional smiles.

Mystical and mesmerizing, blue holes pock Andros's marine landscape in greater concentration than anywhere else on Earth—an estimated 160-plus—and provide entry into the islands' network of coral-rock caves. Offshore, some holes drop off to 200 feet or more. Inland blue holes reach depths of 120 feet, layered with fresh, brackish, and salt water. Uncle Charlie's Blue Hole, with a 40-feet diameter, is one of Andros’s most popular and is lined with picnic benches and a ladder.