Landscape: The most populated and most visited in all of the Bahamas is New Providence. It is one of the smallest islands in the Bahamas. This vacation playground is not a place to get away from it all as it has it all. It is the metropolis of the Bahamas with major brand hotels, houses, and shopping facilities on every corner. The beaches are beautiful but mainly in front of the hotels so they are hard to get to. New Providence is not the place for a warm cozy get away. If you like crowds and plenty of things to do, and not much scenery except hotels and cement, this is the place to go.

Crime: Most Crime in the Bahamas takes place in New Providence. This probably has to do with the fact that most Bahamians live in New Providence and therefore more people means more crime.

Population: 210,832 (census 2000)

Capital: Nassau

Language: English

Geography: Found 185 miles east of Miami is Nassau, New Providence. 21 miles long by 7 miles wide and 58 miles square.

Time Zone: Eastern Standard Time

Currency: The legal tender is the Bahamian dollar (B$1), which is equivalent in value to the US dollar. Both US and Bahamian dollars are accepted interchangeably throughout the islands. Travelers Checks and Credit Cards (credit cards not accepted at gas stations) are also accepted.

Economy: Tourism is the hub of Nassau and Paradise Island.

Nationality: Bahamian

Medical: There are hospitals in Nassau.

Entry Requirements: Passports required.

Driving: Bahamian's drive on the left side of the road (remember: right is left). There is one main road that runs all the way around the island.

Electricity: 120/240 volts, suitable for all US appliances.

Medical: There is a medical clinic on the island and helicopter ambulance services. No tropical diseases exist on the island. There is a little poison oak on the Bahamian islands but most hotels have done away with this tree in their facilities

Getting to Nassau...
Airports: Nassau Airport
Most major airlines fly direct from the UK or cities in the US.
A smaller airport is Chauk's Airport on Paradise Island flights arrive daily from Ft. Lauderdale.

Marinas:
Bayshore Marina 192 slips
Brown's Boat Basin 70 slips
Harbour Central Marina 32 slips
Lyford Cay Club (private) 74 slips
Nassau Harbour Club 66 slips
Nassau Yacht Haven 150 slips
Hurricane Hole Marina on Paradise Island 67 slips
Marina At Atlantis 63 slips

Where to stay: There are many name brand hotels. The most famous is on Paradise Island a mega-resort called Atlantis. Here lies a casino, amusement park, golf course and any other amenity you can find. This is not a place to get away from it all as it has it all including some of the best restaurants and art work in the world. Many people have stayed many times at the Atlantis without ever seeing it's beautiful beach. On the way to the beach you find yourself wanted to do other activities such as sliding on an inner tube down a pyramid into a hole surrounded by sharks. Don't worry, it's all safe. After a trip to Atlantis, you probably will want to get away for some peach and quiet - hence a needed trip to Long Island for some R&R.

Paradise Island is probably the priciest piece of real estate in the Bahamas. Hotel rooms at the Atlantis range from $300 and up. However, you will get your moneys worth (or loose a lot of money) when you stay there. The Atlantis has a large marine habitat, casino, marina, golf course, many brand name restaurants, and hotel accommodations, time shares, condo, etc. New developments include: 1000 rooms including a 600 room all suite hotel, a 495 room condo -hotel and three luxury Ocean Club Villa are the next phase in developing the Atlantis. 65,000 square fee of restaurant and retail facilitates adjacent to the Atlantis Marina are planned. Over $1,075,000,000 is the planned investment of Atlantis.

View from room at Paradise Island

Nassau: The main city hub in the Bahamas. Cruise ships line the port in Nassau letting tourists explore the shopping of Louis Vitton and Ralph Lauren stores.

New Providence Beaches:
Cable Beach 4 miles long with many shops casinos and restaurants.
Cabbage Beach on Paradise Island: Think of Las Vegas on a beach.

Weather in New Providence: Click here for weather in the Bahamas

Highest Point New Providence:123 feet

Area (Sq. Miles) of New Providence: 80 sq. miles

Sites to see/Things to do:

• Whylly Plantation (in the west in Clifton).
• Statue of Woodes Rogers in downtown bay street area. Rogers ousted Blackbeard and other pirates and privateers either by running them off or by killing them.
• Queen's Staircase - 65 steps carved out of solid limestone by slaves and laborers in the late 18th century. It stands 102 feet high and was named in honor of Queen Victoria's 65 year reign in Great Britain.
• Forts Charlotte - built by Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, and named in honor of the wife of King George III of Britain, this fort was never in battle.
• National festival Junkanoo (June)
• Bahamas Art Festival (October)
• Fish Frys (in Arawak Cay)
• Bahamas International Film Festival
• Nassau Botanical Garden - 18 acre botanical garden with more than 600 species of flowering trees and shrubs.
• St. Matthew's Church - between Church Street and Lover's Lane. Built in the 1800 it is the oldest church building still standing in the Bahamas.
• Potters Cay - a Bahamian Marketplace below the bridge on the way to Paradise Island.
• The Cloisters - a popular site for weddings, this is the remains of a 14th century French Monastery which was imported stone by stone to the USA by William Randolph Hearst in the 1920's. It was then purchased 40 years later by Huntington Hartford and installed at the top of a hill on Paradise Island.
• Versailles Garden
• Fort Montagu - is the oldest of the forts located on New Providence Island and the only one remaining that was actually in battle. It was built in 1742 by military engineer, Peter Henry Bruce.
• St. Augustine's Monastery - the home of missionary Benedictine monks of St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota who founded St Augustines College in 1945.
• The Water Tower - Built around 1928 on Bennet's Hill near Fort Fincastle, this concrete edifice once maintained the water pressure throughout the city of Nassau. It is 126 Ft high and 216 feet above sea level. It is still a lighthouse and once served as a signal station.
• Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation - This building was once a Slave Marketplace where Enslaved Africans were auctioned and other commodities sold during the 18th and 19th century. It is located on Bay Street.
• Christ Church cathedral - Erected in 1837 on the site of what once was the first church in the Bahamas (1670).
• Straw Market - on Bay Street.
• Government House - located on the corner of Blue Hill Road and Duke Street. It is the official residence of the Governor since 1801. A statue of Christopher Columbus built in 1830 stands in front of the building.
• Balcony House Museum - a restored colonial-style 18th century wooden home.
• Rawson Square and Parliment Square - located in the heart of downtown on Bay Street, this was the traditional centre of the Bahamian Government. A statue of Queen Victoria is in front of the building.
• Garden of Remembrance - in Parliament Square just south of Rawson Square you will find this monument commemorating the Bahamians who died in the First and Second World Wars.
• Fort Fincastle - built in 1793 in the shape of a pinwheel steamer on Bennet's Hill by Governor John Murray.
• Nassau Public Library museum - This octagonal building was formerly the jail (Nassau Gaol). Built in 1797.
• The Bahamas Historical Society Museum
• Prince George Wharf - is the largest ship port in the Caribbean.
• National Art Gallery
• West End - is the oldest city on Grand Bahamas Island with it's authentic fishing village. It was known for its history as a liquor smuggling town during Prohibition.
• Deadman's Reef

Lakes:

1. Lake Cunningham (nouth of Prospect Ridge)
2. Lake Killarney (west of Nassau)