The Bahamas – The Caribbean

“If you’ve put the Bahamas on your fashion faux-pas list, think again. This galaxy of Caribbean islands is well and truly back in vogue...”

As a pirate hideaway and stop-off for Prohibition-era rum runners, the Bahamas have certainly had an eventful past. The archipelago’s heyday ran right from the roaring twenties, past Edward Windsor and Wallis Simpson’s reign as governor and wife, right through to the pleasure-seeking sixties. But not since the days when Sean Connery brought Bond to these shores in Thunderball, have these coral islands enjoyed such a revival. By the 1990s, it was definitely not better in the Bahamas – the resort hotels were looking tired and the jet-set had moved on to St-Barts. But today, the Bahamas have definitely got their groove back. They’re back on the celebrity hit-list and today the Bahamian fishermen share their islands with the likes of Elle Macpherson and Mick Jagger. And it’s not surprising really - it’s paradise on earth. Made up of more than 700 islands, 2,000 quays and a smattering of rocky outcrops that cover an area twice the size of Spain, it’s your original Caribbean Eden. It’s short on people and big on beaches, but if you’re imagining something along the lines of the Maldives, stop. For a start, the sand here is a candy-floss pink. And while the Maldivian islands look like identikit versions of each other, the Bahamas are more of a mixed bag. Each one has its own personality. You’ve got Great Inagua with its huge flamingo colony. The bougainvillea-draped clapboard houses of Abacos, where golf buggies are the only form of transport. And the celebrity-endorsed luxury of Grand Bahama Island – John Travolta’s invested in the Old Bahama Bay development here. Not to mention the Vegas-like showmanship of Atlantis on Paradise Island. But it’s New Providence Island that gives the truest taste of the Bahamas. It’s like they’ve taken the best bit of each and pressed it into a New Providence-shaped mould. It’s modern yet traditional. Buzzy but easy-going. And luxurious without being flashy. There’s no doubt about it, the Bahamas are back in fashion. In fact, they’re this season’s must-have.