The Best of the Berry Islands. Miles of secluded swim-ashore beaches, invigorating dive sites, and championship sport fishing are just a few of the highlights that make The Berry Islands a desired destination. Composed of a cluster of 30 cays, a majority of these islands are uninhabited. It’s not uncommon to stumble across a footprint-free beach or private cove. You could spend an entire day without seeing a single soul. The Berry Islands are also home to a number of cavern, reef, wall and wreck dive sites, as well as a 600-foot-wide blue hole, wonderful bill fishing, and ancient churches.
The Berry Islands Bahamas are just north of Nassau, making them a common stop for cruises from Florida to the Bahamas. Of all the islands and cays to visit in the Berry Islands Bahamas, Great Harbour Cay is the largest, and is home to the main settlement known as Bullocks Harbour. The Berry Islands will introduce you to some exciting wildlife, fascinating geological formations and an endless stream of outstanding sights. Visit The Best Beaches in the Bahamas Guide for information on all of the Grand Bahama beaches, or visit us on Pinterest.
Berry Islands Weather – When to Visit
The Berry Islands have a slightly different high season than most of the other Bahamas islands. Because of their close proximity to Florida, boaters make the crossing in droves from spring break through summer, especially to Bimini. Waters tend to be calmest during these months. All the islands and their resorts peak on the various U.S. holidays: Thanksgiving, mid-December through January 5, Easter, and Labor Day. Generally, February to June are busiest months, and rates are higher at these times and during the Christmas season. Fishing and diving are good throughout the year, although cold fronts in winter can cause rough seas. Temperatures usually remain steady enough to enjoy the beaches year-round, but occasionally drop into the 60s. From November to April the cool, breezy, and drier months mean flying insects are minimal. Hurricane season technically runs from June through November; August and September (the most likely months for hurricanes) can be hot and steamy, and many resorts and restaurants are closed.
Best Beaches on the Berry Islands
Shark Creek (Shell Beach)
Shark Creek (Shell Beach)Shark Creek, located at the southernmost point of the island, is a mangrove creek that separates Great Harbour Cay from Haines Cay. Locals also refer to it as “Shell Beach,” because it has crystal clear water, with beautiful sand and lots of seashells.
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Chub Cay Beach
Chub Cay BeachAs well as the 400-yard beach right at the marina, Chub Cay has a splendid 1¼-mile strand with great swimming and nearby snorkeling. The Club House with its pool is a mere 400 yards away for refreshments. This beach is best for swimming and snorkeling.
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Sugar Beach
Sugar BeachSugar Beach is a distinguishable relaxation spot because it’s one of the best spots for escaping the typical tourist haunts. Other nearby beaches you’ll come across in the Bahamas may be just as beautiful, but tend to be more crowded since they’re near some of the most popular hotels. With nothing on the beach save the occasional villa, Sugar Beach is the perfect place for anyone looking for a quiet, tropical beach to relax at. Of course, the beautiful clear water is ready for anyone who is looking for a dip.
Sand Dollar Cay
Sand Dollar CaySand Dollar Cay is a fabulous 24-acre private island situated in the beautiful and almost undiscovered Berry Island chain of the Bahamas. There are four superb white sand beaches. The surrounding sea dazzles with different shades of turquoise and blue hues. The rising and falling tides continuously expose new sandbars.
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Great Harbour Cay Beach
Great Harbour Cay BeachGreat Harbour Beach has The Beach Club, a popular daytime bar and grill with a cute arts, crafts, and gift shop. Here, the residents schedule beach volleyball, activities, and games, as well as yoga and exercise classes—and everyone’s welcome. This beach is best for the sunset, swimming, and walking.
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Best Berry Islands Restaurants
CarriEarl – $31 – 60
The Restaurant serves Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and is open to non guests. Serving a fine selection of International Cuisine and Chef Marty always has a culinary surprise up his sleeve. Their Restaurant offers the finest food with dishes from all over the World – the perfect venue for Weddings, Birthdays, or that special Celebration. Telephone: 242 451 8785 Web: Carriearl.
Bimini Twist & Island Sushi $11 – 30
Bimini Twist at the South Bimini Beach Club has an exceptional sushi bar and an elegant dining room. Time your dinner for the dipping sunset show. If you’d rather not do sushi, start with conch, shrimp, lobster, or tomato ceviche. The chef is at the top of his game, and will prepare special requests with panache. Entrées provide good variety from pasta pomodoro and conch linguine to chicken sautéed with mushroom and onions, and sirloin steak. Telephone: 242-347-4500 Web: Bimini Twist
Coolie May’s Sunset Restaurant $11 – 30
Her bright sign makes the casual 60-seat restaurant, on Bullock’s Harbour’s central seafront, easy to find. A couple of outside tables give heightened views of a sleepy anchorage, the ocean, and gorgeous sunsets. Midday, try the conch salad, pan-fried grouper, or a tasty burger. Broiled lobster, steaks, pork chops, and fried conch along with peas ‘n’ rice and macaroni and cheese are dinner specialties. The menu changes daily, but the world-famous guava duff is always available for dessert. Telephone: 242-367-8730 Web: Coolie May’s Sunset Restaurant
The Beach Club $11 – 30
This is the island’s cool locale for breakfast and lunch, across the road from the airport, overlooking the beach and turquoise water. At breakfast, go for the eggs and ham with home grits. At lunch, have a grilled cheeseburger or whatever fresh fish is on the menu for the day. Takeout is available, including fishing lunches. Dinner is available on request, but if you eat at the open-air tables, be sure to have insect repellent, especially if the wind is down or at sunset. Telephone: 242-367–82108 Web: The Beach Club
Rocky Hill Pool Bar & Restaurant $11 – 30
This quaint open air restaurant and bar offers Bahamian and International dishes for lunch and dinner, along with a pool. They cater to visiting yachtsmen, who enjoy sharing their escapades over a refreshing tropical drink. Telephone: 242-367-8051 Web: Rocky Hill Pool Bar & Restaurant.
Best Berry Island Bars
Bimini Big Johns
This waterside sports bar and restaurant, patronized by the younger set, is one of the most popular places on-island to party, dance, and grab a cold beer, burger, or native snack. It’s open from 11:30 am ’til late. It now sports a snazzy humidor with (apparently) authentic Cuban cigars. Come nightfall Thursday to Saturday, a fabulous local Bimini band plays live music combining pop, Bahamian hits, reggae, and soca. At midnight, a local DJ takes over and spins until 3 am. Telephone: 242-347-3117 Web: Bimini Big Johns
End of the World Saloon (The Sand Bar)
The back door of the small, noisy End of the World Saloon, better known by locals as “Sand Bar,” is always open to the harbor. This place—with a sandy floor and visitors’ graffiti, business cards, and other surprises on every surface—is a good spot to meet local folks over a beer and a lobster-and-conch pizza, while playing a game of ring toss. The bar is near the heart of Alice Town, 100 yards from the Compleat Angler ruins, just steps away from Big John’s. Web: End of the World Saloon
OneTwoThreeFloor Sports Bar & Night Club
Midway on North Bimini, west of the big park in Bailey Town, is the islands’ latest addition to the bar-and-nightclub scene. You’ll notice a big black wall on King’s Highway painted with the club’s funny name. Open from noon to 2 am daily, drinks are affordable especially during the Happy Hour, all day until 8 pm. OneTwoThreeFloor serves bar food such as buffalo wings, burgers, and cracked conch snacks, which you can enjoy in cool air-conditioning while watching sports on wide screens from the bar. On weekend nights until 2 am, a DJ plays everything from R&B and hip-hop to pop and golden oldies. Telephone: 242-359-8133
The Backside Bar
This is the local hot spot for dancing and fun, and we are known for great chicken wings and other things, like conch fritters. You can enjoy the fish fry experience every Tuesday night, plus fresh conch salad every night. Located just before you reach St. Bartholomew Anglican Church in Bullock’s Harbour. Telephone: 242-367-8622 or 242-451-0770
The Best Berry Islands Area Hotels (Nassau)
Wow! Berry Islands Bahamas. The paradise on Earth!
Hi Leahrae!
As always a wonderful post! I just love your site. Great design, great posts! I really do wish you massive success with it!
I have to tell that I am impressed with the beauty of the sea and the island. It is also maybe because I leave on the coast as well. We in Croatia have nice sea and more than 1000 islands. We know how to value the beauty of the sea and islands, especially if the water is so clear and the beaches so nice as on Berry Islands!
U have never been there but going there once would be like visiting the heaven! Lovely sea, bays, beaches, and shore. The whole nature is awesome. I just hope there are not too many sharks there, lol!
I enjoyed watching the video and reading your post! I will definitely bookmark your site and who knows, maybe one day …
Great work, keep it up!
Best regards,
Igor
Thanks so much Igor! I am so glad you enjoyed your digital visit to The Berry Islands. Hopefully it is on your bucket list now and a vacation there is in the makes! Let me know if you need any additional information.
Beautiful! Although I have always known how amazing the Bahamas must be, I didn’t know about the Berry Islands. Your article has awakened a new desire to travel in me 😉 I would love to go to those beaches, not run into anyone, and enjoy the clear water of the Carribean. It just looks so amazing!
I live near the beach, but near the Pacific Ocean, which is very different. I love the Pacific, its wildness and beauty. And the beach near my place has no to few visitors, which I love as well. Those beaches on the Berry Islands though are spectacular and I can just see myself there with my boyfriend, enjoying the water and sun, with an umbrella, no one around. Sounds like heaven.
Hopefully one day we’ll make it there 🙂
Oh my Christine, it is heaven. I absolutely love the beach anyway, but to have it to myself which you will get here, is heaven for sure. Thanks for stopping by.
Wow what an absolutely gorgeous looking place, I wasn’t even thinking about going away but after seeing this I really do want to go, in fact I hadn’t even heard of Berry Island before I saw this website and by the way, I feel I must congratulate you on your website, it is so well laid out and easy to read, it just looks so professional, you have succeeded in making Berry Island look so attractive that it is now most definitely on my to do list, I have bookmarked your site for future reference, thank you for sharing.
Russ
You are so welcome Russ and I am glad you enjoyed your visit to beach travel destinations. Thanks for stopping by and visiting The Berry Islands travel post.
I will be traveling to the Bahamas in a couple of months and I am looking for some sightseeing mostly of desolate places. Berry Islands seem like exactly what I am looking for.
Are there ways to get to those footprint-free beaches or private coves by foot or do we have to take a ferry or a small boat to get there?
How exciting! You will have a great time. It really depends on where you stay. But generally you will taxi a boat to take you to the beaches. You can find a great list of the best beaches in the Bahamas here. This way if you know where you want to be, you can plan ahead on transportation. If you need any assistance, please let me know. Thanks for visiting, and I am sure you will have a wonderful time in The Berry Islands.
This place looks amazing and im due for a holiday, it looks more for honeymooners and couples though, do you think i could take my children or would they get bored easily?
It depends on what your kids like. Mine love the beach, the ocean, and playing in the sand. So this type of vacation suits them well. I do not think they would get bored easily, yet it is a really great destination for couples and honeymooners 🙂 Thanks for reading The Berry Islands.
I have never heard of this place until now. I have been looking for a great place to go on vacation and this looks like a pretty amazing place. I am actually glad I found your site. What a wealth of information. I am definitely look into Berry Islands, what a wonderful destination. I need this vacation!
I am glad you found my site on The Berry Islands. Truly is an amazing beach destination with so much more to offer. Please let me know if you need any additional information! Thanks for reading 🙂
Wow! Never heard of the Berry Islands, but is sure looks awesome! Thanks for the restaurant reviews with the tags on how expensive they are, great value. I don’t have the money right now, but I am making sure I remember the Berry Islands for in the future!
Yes, a lot of people have not heard of them 🙂 Just a wonderful slice of paradise in the Caribbean. One day, you will have to visit and you will absolutely fall in love with the islands. Thank you so much for visiting BeachTravelDestinations.com!
Your site is the best! I quite frankly never heard of the Berry Islands. Looks like the perfect get-away spot to rent a scooter and explore. Very helpful information and love the video. Our next destination was going to be a beach get-away, so this will be on our list.
Great, I am glad you enjoyed visiting my site! Yes, the Berry Islands would make a perfect getaway and personally I love beach destinations anyway. When you begin planning, please let me know if you have any questions, as I would be glad to help. Thanks for visiting the Berry Islands!
It is cool, i love it. In fact, I’m planning to visit one island next year, I was thinking to go to Phuket Island. I think i will change my mind now, i will come to you soon in order to get help from you 🙂
Thank you for your wonderful article.
Great, I would love to help any way I can 🙂 It is a passion of mine, so make sure you shoot me a message. Thanks for visiting beachtraveldestinations.com!
That’s a great post about Berry Island.
Makes me wanna put it on my bucket list.
Thank you for bringing to us such great places.
Cheers!
You are very welcome and yes definitely worth a bucket list item 🙂 Glad you enjoyed and thank you for visit The Berry Islands 🙂
I want to go to the Berry Islands now. I love how you have a mixture of reviews, media, content, pictures, and a ton of other stuff going on that I did not have the time to really go through. I really enjoyed it! It really feels navigable and everything too.
Did you ever think about breaking up your post into smaller posts?
Thanks for visiting. Well, breaking it up into smaller posts would mean that I would end up with a LOT of posts. Too many really. I am glad you enjoyed and thank you for visiting!
I live in Florida so have access to beaches year round, but I must admit looking at these beaches makes you want to travel to the Bahamas! The water looks so clear and refreshing. Looks like I may have to put this on my bucket list. Going to a beach definitely makes for a relaxing vacation!
Yes, I too live in Florida, but there is something different about the water in the Bahamas. We sure don’t have that amazing crystal clear water, and the crowds in the Bahamas are going to be substantially less. It is the perfect place for a change of scenery in beaches and well worth it!
Hi, Leahrae,
Whenever I think of the Bahamas, and being a big James Bond 007 fan my entire life, I recall the 1965 movie “Thunderball” which was set in the Bahamas. At one point trying to find a secluded “cay” in which the criminal mastermind had possibly hidden a nuclear bomb, Bond and another person were flying by helicopter over so many of these uninhabited small islands.
Gorgeous settings, also seen in the YT vid that you embedded in your review article, Leahrae!
I can imagine that if a couple wants to be off on their own in a nice tropical setting, as opposed to vacationing in a densely populated setting, (Waikiki, Hawaii) that the Berry Islands, which you did a fantastic job of explaining in full detail, would be the perfect place to visit.
With so many water activities to choose from, people could not possibly get bored even if on certain days they saw few other human beings.
You mentioned that one restaurant, “Carriearl” as being extraordinarily expensive as far as eating a meal. I would gather that this place is not your average fast-food place, even one that serves seafood – Popeye’s seafood eating establishments located in many Southern U.S. states.
Jeff
Thank you for your wonderful comments on my website. Yes, you are right about the Carriearl Restaurant. It is one of those places that I would dine at for special occasions, or just for a wonderful meal. So, yes it is miles apart for your average “nice” restaurant and well worth it. I also agree that, the Berry Islands is that type of place for couples to go and just enjoy. Thank you so much for visiting!
I loved reading your article, as well as watching the video. They made me dream about vacation. I feel like I can follow my dreams and make them all possible now. I love the peace and tranquility of the beach. To be honest, I have been wanting to go to Bahamas for a while! I was surprised though, how expensive the hotels are in the Bahamas! But I really do plan to go in two years for my 30th birthday. So this is great information for the planning stage.
I’d like to say great review here, but I have a question. Are the Berry Islands safe there?
Yes, the Bahamas tend to be a little more expensive because of their location and popularity, along with all the amenities you get then you are there. I think it will be doable for you for your birthday if you are already planning 🙂 Yes, it is totally safe there. With the Berry Islands being a huge tourism area, they take great effort in keeping their visitors safe. Thanks for reading!
After reading your article on the Berry Islands, I watched the video and now I am sold! I wanna go!
It looks so calm and serene but, maybe I am a bit prejudiced because I adore pristine white sand beaches!
My problem is I am normally on a pretty tight budget and I would have to save forever to be able to afford such a luxurious vacation.
You labeled the hotels using $, $$, $$$, and $$$$. Could you give me an idea of what that equates to in actual dollars?
Also, are there any all-inclusive hotels on the beach in the Berry Islands?
Thanks, for a wonderful article!
Marty
No all inclusives at all on the Berry Islands that I could find anyway. If you head to some of the more popular destinations in the Bahamas, you will find the all-inclusive resorts. I cannot really put a dollar figure on the hotel $ rating as this is something that is part of the actual hotel information. I would probably click on the hotels you are interested in to get a better idea of the rates. Thanks for visiting!
Fantastic review of the Berry Islands. It’s detailed including where to stay, what to do and where to eat which is so helpful for the traveler. The video is enchanting and makes me want to book a reservation. I especially would love to visit Hoffman’s Cay and the blue hole. One question I have is about Bill fish. I’ve never heard of it and wonder it’s comparable to.
Bill fish is a term used to cover such fish as the Marlin, Sword fish, and sailfish. So a “bill fish” is a broad term for these fish. I am glad you enjoyed reading and yes Hoffman’s Cay Blue Hole is definitely worth seeing while in the Berry Islands. Thanks for visiting!