The Bahamas archipelago includes more than 700 islands and cays, the majority of them uninhabited, and miles of beaches that regularly feature in “Best of …” lists for the Caribbean and beyond. An additional facet is the scattering of pink sand beaches, which not only add a romantic flourish to the vacation experience for many visitors, but also draw beachgoers to some of the more secluded islands of the Bahamas. Chances are these beaches already are familiar to the seasoned traveler. The eponymous Pink Sands Beach on Harbour Island is, according to MSN Travel, one of the most photographed beaches in the world.
Origins
- When coral, shells and calcium carbonate from marine crustaceans break down into their finest particles, and the mixture includes the microscopic single-cell Foraminifera, the result is a pink sand beach. “Foram” lives underneath coral, and of the 4,000 or so species, a handful carry a bright-red shell that adds a rosy hue to the bone-white talcum found throughout the Bahamas. Common around reefs throughout the Bahamas Out Islands, Foram only turns a beach pink when sufficient numbers are directed by the right currents to a final resting place of powdery sand.
Pink Sands Beach
- Possibly the best-known salmon-tinted beach in the world, Pink Sands Beach on the east coast of Harbour Island has 3 miles of blushing, fine, powdery sand. This stunning stretch of shoreline, as wide as 100 feet in places, made "The Telegraph’s" top 10 beaches in the Caribbean list, and has garnered praise from numerous other sources. Harbour island is reached by ferry from the northern coast of Eleuthera island, which has direct air links to Florida and Nassau. There are only a few resorts on the island, but exclusive boltholes such as the 20-acre Pink Sands Resort provide the chance to enjoy the beach from dawn to sundown.
Eleuthera
- The mother island of Eleuthera has its own pink sand beaches, which decorate the long strips of coastline on both the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea sides. Wave-riding haven Surfer Beach on the northern tip of the island, 2 miles from Gregory Town, and Lighthouse Beach, named after the striking lighthouse that stands on a limestone outcrop overlooking the waves, on the southern tip both carry a rosy hue. Alternatively, French Leave Beach is on the fringes of Governor’s Harbour, near the airport, and is home to the new French Leave Resort on this otherwise deserted strip.
Cat Island
- East of Nassau, Cat Island measures only 48 miles in length, but claims the highest point in the Bahamas at just 206 feet. At Port Howe on the island’s southeast tip, the Greenwood Beach Resort gives its name to an 8-mile stretch of pink sand ideal for sunbathing and snorkeling during the day, and is the scene for crab hunting after dark. Elsewhere, the island is renowned for its ivory-white powdery beaches, bonefish flats, and shallow yachting anchorages.
