An unspoiled island in the Bahamas
Explore the natural beauty, windswept beaches and crystal-clear waters of Eleuthera

Tourism first took off in Eleuthera in the 1950s, but this rugged sliver of an island in the Bahamas is still delightfully "unspoiled", says Eric Lipton in The New York Times. It is serviced by regular flights from the archipelago's capital, Nassau, but has no major resorts and its roads are so quiet, there are no traffic lights.
This year, Disney is opening a "manufactured, self-contained town" for cruise ship customers at the island's southern tip, but that's unlikely to affect the rest of Eleuthera: it is less than a mile wide in most places, but a full 100 miles long. Most visitors stay in rental houses, and hire cars to visit its sleepy villages, its natural wonders and its dozens of beaches.
Taíno people once lived on the island, but it was unoccupied by 1640, when the first British settlers arrived. The capital they founded, Governor's Harbour, is the nicest place to stay today, with its "hillside colonial homes and white picket fences".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Among the best-known sights elsewhere are Cathedral Cave (a limestone cavern where banyan trees grow through holes in the roof), the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve (a botanical garden with more than 400 native species), and Sweetings Pond (a protected lagoon known for its seahorses). There are also some pleasant restaurants (such as the Buccaneer Club), and the weekly Friday-night fish fry at Governor's Harbour is a good chance to mingle with locals over Kalik beer, conch fritters, rum babas and more.
Food and other commodities are expensive, and though there are some decent hotels (such as The Cove, and French Leave Resort), Eleuthera is not a place to look for "day-to-night pampering". Come instead to enjoy its slow pace of life and its natural beauty, from the wild, windswept sands of the ocean-facing east coast to the calm, "crystal clear" waters of the west (home to an "insane array" of tropical fish), and the extraordinary and "seemingly endless" stars visible in the pitch-dark night sky.
Sign up for The Week's Travel newsletter for destination inspiration and the latest news and trends.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Magazine solutions - June 27, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - June 27, 2025
-
Magazine printables - June 27, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - June 27, 2025
-
Army commissions tech execs as officer recruits
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Some of the tech industry's most powerful players are answering the call of Uncle Sam
-
Echo Valley: a 'twisty modern noir' starring Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney
The Week Recommends This tense thriller about a mother and daughter is 'American cinema for grown ups'
-
Larry Lamb shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The actor picks works by Neil Sheehan, Annie Proulx and Émile Zola
-
Stereophonic: an 'extraordinary, electrifying odyssey'
The Week Recommends David Adjmi's Broadway hit about a 1970s rock band struggling to record their second album comes to the West End
-
Shifty: a 'kaleidoscopic' portrait of late 20th-century Britain
The Week Recommends Adam Curtis' 'wickedly funny' documentary charts the country's decline using archive footage
-
Lollipop: a single mother trapped in a 'hellish catch-22'
The Week Recommends Daisy May Hudson's moving debut feature is a gut puncher in the Ken Loach tradition
-
Marfa, Texas: Big skies, fine art, and great eating
Feature A cozy neighborhood spot, a James Beard semifinalists, and more
-
6 light-filled homes on the Jersey Shore
Feature Featuring a Victorian with a wraparound porch in Beach Haven and a condo with ocean views in Asbury Park
-
This week's dream: Exploring Rome's underground
Feature Beneath Rome's iconic landmarks lies a hidden world