Beaches Overview

There are a few beaches on the Island of New Providence. Most of the beaches consist of the typical powdery white sand that the Bahamas is famous for.

The sea in the Bahamas is almost pool clear and the ocean temperatures vary from 73 – 85 degrees f.

Cabbage Beach

Located on Paradise Island. Cabbage Beach is about a mile and a half long. For most of the year it is calm and great for swimming. At the centre of the beach the water gets deep rather quickly so for young children or people not to comfortable swimming it is best to avoid the middle part of the beach and swim on either end.

More on Cabbage Beach.

Junkanoo Beach

Junkanoo Beach is sheltered inside the harbour entrance so it is almost always calm. Junkanoo Beach is also an easy walk from the cruise ship terminal on Bay Street. There are vendors of food and drink in Tiki Hut type places on the high side of the beach. There is also a volleyball net.

Saunders Beach

Saunders Beach is a favourite among bahamians. It is easy to get to and sheltered for easy swimming. Across the street are a few fast food restaurants, and a gas station that sells refreshments. There is a small park located at the western end of the beach and seating along the roadway.

Goodman’s Bay

Another bahamian favourite! There is a park between the road and the beach that attracts runners and others looking for a quiet place to workout. There is good parking at the eastern end of the beach.

Cable Beach

Cable Beach is a nice stretch of beach occupied by a few hotels. It is a few miles of powdery white sand, and almost always calm for swimming due to the barrier reef that runs along it’s length. There are generally water sports operators there for Para Sailing and other fun water activities.

Caves Beach

This is a beautiful small cove just off the side of the road. Bring your snorkelling gear. There are small coral reefs just off the beach. Usually calm and good for swimming. There is a lunch and open air bar across the street so it would be easy to make a day of it.

Orange Hill

White sand beach just over the dune from the main road. Parking is a bit dicy but the beach is good for swimming and possibly snorkelling.

Cabbage Beach

beach framed cedarCabbage Beach

The beach that runs along the Northern coast of Paradise Island. As you can see in the photo at the left Cabbage Beach is a beautiful white sand beach. The sand is very loose and so almost impossible to drive any kind of vehicle on.

Seeing this view always manages to take my breath away, it never gets old. As you can see the beach is not over crowded. The first time I saw a beach with people strewn on every square inch I almost could not believe my eyes. We do not have overcrowded beaches in the Bahamas!

Beach Details

As noted already the sand is very loose. It doesn’t do well for sand castle building. The extreme ends of the beach are very good for young children. The ends of the beach are shallow for a good ways out. The middle part of the beach can be a bit unnerving for young children as the water gains dept very quickly.

There are a few cabana type structures in front of the Atlantis resort, but for the most part there is not much protection from the sun. Plan for this. We locals tend to swim on this beach early morning or evening time. The midday sun is brutal on Cabbage Beach.

The sun on any beach in the Bahamas can be unforgiving due to the reflective properties of both the water and sand. Be sure to use sun block and drink lots of water.

Mos of the year the water is calm and clear. There are a few times of year when it can get a bit rough. the end of the summer tends to bring in large swells that can make swimming here very difficult if not impossible. About the same period there can be sea thimbles as well. These are small jelly fish that sting. At times late spring can be a bit choppy too. There may be pretty high winds that stir up the sea.

Happy Swimming!

Life’s a Beach

In the Bahamas it can be said that life is a “beach.” Some of my favourite memories growing up were in the summer vacation. We would all meet at a friends house pretty early in the morning in anticipation of what we may do for the day.

There were always those in the group who slept late, or got going really slow, so we’d busy ourselves what ever came to hand. Life was good!

Most of the time we’d end up finally making our collective minds up to go to PI (Paradise Island). P I beach was easy to get to and not too far from where we were gathered. Quickly we’d eat a sandwich or scarf down whatever else was available, jump on our bikes, and take off like wild things.

We had many adventures on the bridge, most of which my mom cringes at when she hears the stories. At that time there was one bridge on and off PI. We’d go directly to a dirt road that led to Cabbage Beach. I can still see the magnificent blue water in my mind’s eye as we approached the dune. It still leaves me in awe to see this gorgeous beach, the stark white sand and cool blue inviting waters are forever etched in my mind.

There are many great things about beaching at Cabbage Beach. One that I really like is the depth of the water. A few steps into the sea, and you’re at neck depth. Perfect for cooling down. The water of the Bahamas is at just about the perfect temperature for relaxing. In the winter it can get as cool as 73 degrees, much too cool for us bahamians, but in the summer it can go into the mid 80s, perfect! One can stay in the water the whole day if desired. The hands and feet get a bit wrinkly but that’s okay.

There are a few hotels built on Cabbage Beach. The Rio, Atlantis to name two.

Take a visit to Cabbage Beach. I’m sure your mind and body will thank you for it. That is living!