Bahamas: Out and about on the islands Where to stay Across the road from Government House is the luxurious Graycliff Hotel. Its Italian owners Enrico and Anna Maria Garzaroli have turned this 18th-century house and former home of Lord and Lady Dudley, Third Earl of Staffordshire, into an elegant hotel with 20 rooms, each beautifully furnished with antiques, two restaurants, a gym and two swimming pools. It is not on the beach, but the lovely beaches at Goodman's Bay are just a short taxi-ride away. Graycliff has one of the world's finest wine cellars and activities on offer include cigar rolling and gourmet experiences (001 242 302 9150; graycliff.com; deluxe rooms from £236). Abaco was settled by English colonists who remained loyal to the crown after the American Revolution, which is why the settlements such as Hope Town on Elbow Cay and New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay have the look of New England fishing towns, complete with picket fences and fine gingerbread trim. Hope Town is home to a candy-striped lighthouse, now a favourite postcard subject and wedding venue, but quite controversial when it was under construction back in 1863 because until then the island's residents had been making a comfortable living by salvaging ships wrecked on the offshore reefs. The many shipwrecks still attract divers today but Abaco and its lovely cays are more famous for their superb fishing. Where to stay Home-from-home comfort is on offer at The Delphi Club, a delightful British country house-style hotel owned by a former Financial Times journalist Peter Mantle. Furnished with antiques, some of them from Ireland where Mantle also owns a property, the hotel looks out over deserted beaches and is popular with fishing enthusiasts (366 2222; delphi-bahamas.com; doubles from £300 per night or you can take the whole property from £1,900 a night, including chef and staff). Some say the fabled lost city of Atlantis is located on Bimini while others claim it is the big-game fishing capital of the world, with catches such as marlin, sailfish and wahoo. For such a small island it is laden with heavyweight literary connections. Ernest Hemingway came here in the Thirties to fish and write Islands in the Stream. Martin Luther King also found relaxation on these peaceful shores. Locals will tell you it was here that he found the inspiration for his "I have a dream" speech and photographs of him adorn the walls of bars and cafés around the island. Lionfish nuggets are the local delicacy at the Bimini Big Game Club (242 347 3391; biggameclubbimini.com), which is also stuffed with Hemingway memorabilia. Founded as a dinner club in 1936 in Alice Town by the Nassau entrepreneur and bon-vivant, Neville Stuart, the Big Game Club has hosted world-class fishermen, major tournaments and international celebrities, including Judy Garland. The best way to get around Bimini is on foot or by golf cart, which enables you to traverse the island, from the slightly ramshackle museum and the eccentric Dolphin House, created by local author and historian Ashley Saunders, to a number of lively beach-front bars. Bimini's newest and most luxurious resort is The Bimini Beach Club, a combination of 374 Caribbean-inspired rooms and villas each with oversized sofas and rattan furniture, some with fully equipped kitchens. The resort has a marina and infinity pool and dining options include the Sabor waterfront restaurant and a family friendly pizzeria, Amiccis (347 2900; biminibayresort.com; one-bedroom garden view suites from £240 per night). Approximately three and a half miles long and only one and a half miles wide, Harbour Island is located just off the tip of Eleuthera, separated from it by a narrow channel. Its pink-sand beaches of Harbour Island are world famous (Elle McPherson and India Hicks both own properties here) but its main town, Dunmore, is important, too. One of the oldest settlements in the Bahamas, and the islands' former capital, the town was once the summer home of the Royal Governor, Earl of Dunmore. Its colourfully painted, New England-style architecture is set against lush palm trees, while its flower-dotted streets are lined with pretty shops, along with art galleries and cafés, notably Arthur's Bakery on Dunmore Street, a delightful place to stop for a cappuccino or a lobster sandwich (Robert Arthur's website at myharbourisland.com is packed with useful local information). Harbour Island is also the place for conch (pronounced conk). The tasty mollusc is eaten in salads and soups all over the islands and conch shacks are found throughout the Bahamas. Harbour Island, though, has some of the most colourful, including Queen Conch located near the harbour alongside the traditional straw vendors' distinctive blue and yellow stalls. Pink Sands Resort is a collection of 25 stylish cottages designed by the Biba founder, Barbara Hulanicki. The fashionable hotel has two restaurants, tennis courts and a freshwater pool (333 2030; pinksandsresort.com; one-bedroom garden cottage from £378 per night, including airport transfers and daily continental breakfast). British adventurers in search of religious freedom settled on Eleuthera 300 years ago and gave the island its name, which means freedom in Greek. With sweet pineapple farms dotting the landscape, Eleuthera also has miles of secluded beaches and waves just made for surf-lovers. The Glass Window Bridge - from where you can see the deep blue of the Atlantic on one side and the calm turquoise of the Caribbean on the other - is a spectacular stop-off on the drive to pretty seaside Governors Town. Although it looks sleepy, the latter jumps into life every Friday with its Fish Fry on the beach at Cupid's Cay. Pineapple Fields has 32 one and two-bedroom self-catering units with fully equipped kitchens and spacious bedrooms with king-size beds. Both front and back verandas have teak furniture with some spectacular views. Hotel amenities include an oversized pool, acres of lush tropical landscape, a gourmet deli, boutique and one of the hottest restaurants in the Out Islands, Tippy's, a bistro that sits right on the beach with live music every weekend (332 2221; pineapplefields.com; one-bedroom villas from £160 per night). The Exumas are a 120-mile-long island chain-within-a-chain of the Out Islands, with the Exuma Cays scattered in a long line extending north toward New Providence from Great Exuma. The reefs and island environments are so pristine here that the Bahamian government set aside a 176-square-mile section as the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, one of the world's most successful marine parks. Many of the Exuma Cays are private; some operate as exclusive private-island resorts and others are the homes of such illustrious names as Johnny Depp. The anchor of the Exumas archipelago is Great Exuma. Here, you'll find the laid-back capital Georgetown and a great selection of casual Bahamian restaurants. A short boat ride from Great Exuma is a barrier cay that protects the main island from the Atlantic. Stocking Island features spectacular views from atop its high bluff and a series of idyllic beaches separated by limestone promontories. The Peace and Plenty is a charming, historical colonial-style 32-room inn on Elizabeth Harbour near the middle of Georgetown. The property has a fisherman's club-type atmosphere, and is a favourite local hang-out. Guests enjoy complimentary access to the beautiful Stocking Island just a short ferry ride away (336 2552; peaceandplenty.com; waterfront rooms from £135 per night). Restaurants in Atlantis on Paradise Island are expensive but portions tend to be large so save money by not over-ordering. At sunset, sandflies get busy on the beach. Use repellent, cover your legs and don't go barefoot. All wines are imported so can be pricey. To avoid burning a hole in your budget, consider cooling down with one of the local beers, such as Sands, Kalik or Strong Back. Avoid having nothing but notes in your wallet. You'll need small change for the Jitney buses on Nassau and Grand Bahama Island - exact fare only in US or Bahamian dollars. British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com) flies five times weekly to Nassau from Heathrow. Bahamas Air (001 702 4140; bahamasair.com) flies between the islands. Nassau to Abaco is £100 return and to Eleuthera is around £60. Western Air (329 4000; westernairbahamas.com) flies the Bimini route from £95 return. Bahamas Flavour (0870 066 9975; bahamasflavour.co.uk) offers seven nights" b & b at Pink Sands Hotel, Harbour Island, from £1,999 per person, based on two sharing, including direct flights from Heathrow to Nassau, connections to Harbour Island and airport transfers. Seven nights at Pineapple Fields Hotel, Eleuthera, cost from £1,299 per person, including direct flights from Heathrow to Nassau and connections to Governor's Harbour. Nassau-based Majestic Holidays (323 1410; majesticholidays.com) can arrange island-hopping packages taking in a number of Bahamian islands, such as a nine-night, three-island safari covering Exuma, Long Island and Cat Island, staying at small characterful hotels, including Club Peace & Plenty Exuma, Stella Maris Resort Long Island and Fernandez Bay Village, Cat Island. The cost is from £1,018 per person, including internal flights but excluding international flights from the UK. Tailor-made packages are also available Sip Sip, Harbour Island ££ Overlooking the sea Sip Sip (it means gossip in local parlance) is the perfect place to sit and people-watch and enjoy delicious home-made food such as octopus salad, cooked by the owner Julie Lightbourn. Don't miss the distinctive cocktails such as Ginger Margarita (242 333 3316). Chat "N" Chill, Stocking Island ££ On the lee side of Stocking Island, the Chat "N" Chill is a classic beach bar with great food that seems to attract every boater in the area. The hog roast served at Sunday lunchtime is famous throughout the islands (336 2700; chatnchill.com). Luciano's of Chicago, Nassau £££ With views out to Paradise Island and lovely ocean-side seating, Luciano's is one of Nassau's top restaurants, serving fine Tuscan cuisine with a Bahamian twist. Signature dishes include a fine Tuscan fish soup and calamari (East Bay Street; 323 7770; lucianosnassau.com). Catch the ferry. Known affectionately by locals as the Bo Hengy, Bahamas Ferries operates services between the islands, including a two-hour trip from Nassau to Harbour Island (322 8185; bahamasferries.com). Although famous for pink sand and blue sea, the Bahamas doesn't only offer water-based activities. Abaco, for example, has more than 65 species of birds and is one of the few places where you can spot the green Abaco, or Bahama parrot. Nature tours take visitors into the beautiful Abaco National Park to see the endangered parrots as well as other colourful bird life (abaconature.com). Thrill-seekers should head for the shark dive at Stuart Cove's just outside Nassau. The proprietor's claim to fame is that he taught Sir Sean Connery to dive for 007"s underwater scenes in films such as Thunderball, and now his shark handlers take brave visitors down to encounter sharks and watch them feed from a pole spear (362 4171; stuartcove.com). Junkanoo is the Bahamas" annual festival, with major celebrations between Boxing Day and New Year's Day throughout the islands. The best time and place to watch the fun is on New Year's Day in Nassau, where throngs of cavorting costumed figures dance through the streets. A good viewing point is the capital's main shopping area on Bay Street. For further information on Speed Week, visit bahamasspeedweekrevival.com. Further information on the Bahamas at bahamas.co.uk.