Active Pursuits

Biking

A half-day bicycle tour with Bahamas Outdoors Ltd. (tel. 242/362-1574; www.bahamasoutdoors.com) takes you on a 5km (3-mile) bike ride along scenic forest and shoreline trails in the Coral Harbour area on the island's southwestern coast. New Providence resident Carolyn Wardle, an expert in the region's ecology, bird life, and history, provides tutelage and ongoing commentary. The itinerary follows a series of easy trails, usually on hard-packed earth, along seashores and through pink forests. En route, you'll see sleepy Adelaide Village (settled by freed slaves in the 1830s) and views, with the naked eye or aided by binoculars, of local birds. Shorts and a T-shirt are the recommended attire, and tours rarely include more than a half-dozen participants at a time; most are morning events that rarely last more than 4 hours. The cost is around US$70 (£35) per person.

If you'd like to go it alone, know that some of the major hotels on Paradise Beach and Cable Beach rent bikes to their guests. You can bike along Cable Beach or along the beachfront at Paradise Island, but roads through downtown Nassau are too narrow and traffic is too congested to make the ride genuinely pleasant or even particularly safe.

Boat Cruises

A number of operators offer cruises from the harbors around New Providence, with trips ranging from daytime voyages for snorkeling, picnicking, sunning, and swimming, to sunset and moonlight cruises.

Barefoot Sailing Cruises, Bay Shore Marina, on East Bay Street (tel. 242/393-0820; www.barefootsailingcruises.com), operates the 41-foot Wind Dance, which leaves for all-day cruises involving many sailing and snorkeling possibilities. This is your best bet if you're seeking a more romantic cruise and don't want 100 people aboard. The cruises usually stop at Rose Island, a charming, picture-perfect spot with an uncrowded beach and palm trees. You can also sail on a ketch, the 56-foot Riding High. Cruise options are plentiful, including sailing, snorkeling, and exploring for US$65 (£33) per person for a half-day and US$99 (£50) for a full day. A 2-hour sunset cruise, departing between 5 and 8pm two to three times a week, depending on the season, the weather, and advance bookings, costs US$55 (£28) per person.

Flying Cloud, Paradise Island West Dock (tel. 242/363-4430), is a twin-hulled sailing catamaran carrying 50 people for day and sunset trips. It's a good bet for those who want a more intimate cruise and shy away from the heavy volume carried aboard the Majestic Tours catamarans . Snorkeling equipment is included in the cost, which is US$60 (£30) per person for a half-day charter. A 2 1/2-hour sunset cruise also goes for US$60 (£30). Evening bookings are on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Sunday, a 5-hour cruise leaves at 10am and costs US$75 (£38) per person.

Majestic Tours Ltd., Hillside Manor (tel. 242/322-2606; www.majesticholidays.com), will book 3-hour cruises on two of the biggest catamarans in the Atlantic, offering views of the water, sun, sand, and outlying reefs. This is the biggest and most professionally run of the cruise boats, and it's an affordable option, but we find that there are just too many other passengers aboard. An onboard cash bar keeps the drinks flowing. The Yellow Bird is suitable for up to 110 passengers and departs from Prince George's Dock in downtown Nassau, just behind the Straw Market; ask for the exact departure point when you make your reservation. The cost is US$54 (£27) per adult, half-price for children under 10 years, and snorkeling equipment is included. The tour lasts 4 hours and includes lunch and drinks. The outfitter has also added another boat, the Robinson Crusoe, which holds 200 passengers. On Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, cruises run from 10am to 4:30pm, costing US$55 (£28) for adults and half-price for children 10 and under. Sunset dinner cruises (7-10pm on Tues and Fri) cost US$61 (£31) per adult, again half-price for children.

Fishing

Fishing choices are plentiful: You can troll for wahoo, tuna, and marlin in the deep sea, or cast in the shallows for snapper, grouper, and yellowtail. Anchoring and bottom-fishing are calmer options. May to August are the best months to catch oceanic bonito and the blackfin tuna, June and July for blue marlin, and November through February for the wahoo found in reefy areas. Arrangements for fishing trips can be made at any of the big hotels, but unfortunately, there's a hefty price tag.

One of the most reliable companies, Born Free Charters (tel. 242/393-4144; www.bornfreefishing.com) maintains a fleet of three vessels, each between 11 and 14m long, that can seat six comfortably. You can rent them for a half-day (US$600-US$800/£300-£400) or a full day (US$1,200-US$1,600/£600-£800). Each additional person pays US$50 (£25). We recommend this company because it offers so many types of fishing and gives lots of leeway regarding where you want to fish and how much time you want to spend.

Occasionally, boat owners will configure themselves and their boats as businesses for deep-sea fishing. Unless you're dealing with a genuinely experienced guide, however, your fishing trip may or may not be a success. John Pratt has emerged over the years as one of the most consistently reliable deep-sea fishermen. He maintains a 14m fishing boat, making it available for full- or half-day deep-sea fishing excursions. It docks every night at the island's largest marina, the 150-slip Nassau Yacht Haven, on East Bay Street (tel. 242/393-8173 or 422-0364), where a member of the staff will direct you. Alternatively, you can call tel. 242/422-0364 to speak to Mr. Pratt directly. It takes about 20 minutes of boat travel to reach an offshore point where dolphin and wahoo may or may not be biting, depending on a raft of complicated seasonable factors. These trips need to be booked several weeks in advance.

Golf

Some of the country's best golfing is in Nassau and on nearby Paradise Island. Although "dormant," or storm-damaged, courses on the extreme western end of New Providence might one day be rejuvenated, at press time, the only functioning golf course on New Providence Island that was open to nonmembers was the Cable Beach Golf Course on West Bay Street, Cable Beach (tel. 242/677-4175). An intricately designed 18-hole, 6,453-yard, par-71 championship golf course, it benefited from a major redesign between 2000 and 2003. The makeover reshaped the fairways, repositioned putting greens, and introduced new hazards and water-lined holes throughout two-thirds of its layout. Better year-round playing conditions were ensured by introducing a salt-tolerant grass (paspalum) that is greener, firmer, and more upright, withstanding the salty breezes and tropical heat while providing a premium putting surface. The alterations were overseen by veteran designer Fred M. Settle, Jr.

Many of the players who tee off are guests of hotels on Cable Beach. Between November and April, greens fees cost US$110 (£55) for guests of the Sheraton or Wyndham hotels, or US$180 (£90) for people staying anywhere else. In the off-season (May-Oct), residents of the Wyndham or Sheraton properties pay US$90 (£45); people staying at other venues pay US$120 (£60). Greens fees include the use of an electric golf cart.

By 2010, the Cable Beach course may have gravitated into the orbit of Baha Mar Resorts. As such, it will eventually benefit from massive amounts of capital available for additional improvements and reconfigurations; it might become more Disney-esque and lavish, but work likely won't begin until late 2009, and it will remain closed for a full 2 years after that. Stay tuned.

Horseback Riding

Windsor Equestrian Centre & Happy Trails Stables, Coral Harbour, on the southwest shore (tel. 242/362-1820; www.bahamahorse.com), offers a 90-minute horseback trail ride, which is limited to a maximum of eight riders at a time, for US$110 (£55) per person. The price includes free transportation to and from your hotel. The stables are signposted from the Nassau International Airport, which is 3km (2 miles) away. Children must be 12 or older, riders must weigh less than 91kg (201 lb.), and reservations are required.

Snokeling, Scuba Diving & Underwater Walks

There's great snorkeling off most of the New Providence shores, especially Love Beach. Most hotels and resorts will rent or loan snorkeling equipment to guests.

Our favorite site for snorkeling is Goulding Cay, off the island's western tip. Underwater, you'll find a field of hard corals, especially the elegant elkhorn. The clear waters here and shallow coral heads make it ideal for filmmakers. In fact, it's been featured in many films, from a number of James Bond movies to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. More elkhorn coral is found to the south at Southwest Reef, which also shelters stunning star coral in water less than 2.4m (8 ft.) deep. To the north is Fish Hotel, which is not much on coral but graced with large schools of fish, especially red snapper, jacks, and grunts.

There are more dive sites around New Providence than you can see in one visit, but a few of our favorites follow: Shark Wall, 16km (10 miles) off the coast, is the most intriguing. Others include the Rose Island Reefs, the Southwest Reef, Razorback, and Booby Rock Reef. Dive outfitters can also lead you to many old shipwrecks off the coast, along with caves and cliffs. Wrecks include Mahoney and Alcora, plus the wreck featured in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. Divers can also explore the airplane propeller used in another Bond film, Thunderball. All dive outfitters take you to one or more of these sites.

Bahamas Divers, on East Bay Street (tel. 800/398-3483 in the U.S. or 242/393-5644; www.bahamadivers.com), offers packages that include a half-day of snorkeling at offshore reefs for US$45 (£23) per person, and a half-day scuba trip with experienced certified divers for between US$65 (£33) and US$119 (£60), depending on the destination. Half-day excursions for certified divers to deeper outlying reefs, drop-offs, and blue holes can be arranged, usually for US$99 (£50) for a two-tank dive and US$65 (£33) for a one-tank dive. Novice divers sometimes sign up for a carefully supervised course which includes instruction with scuba equipment in a swimming pool, followed by a shallow shorefront dive accompanied by an instructor, also for US$99 (£50) per person.

Participants receive free transportation from their hotel to the boats. Children must be 10 or older, and reservations are required, especially during the holiday season.

Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas, on Southwest Bay Street, South Ocean (tel. 800/879-9832 in the U.S. or 242/362-4171; www.stuartcove.com), is about 10 minutes from top dive sites, including the coral reefs, wrecks, and the underwater airplane structure featured in James Bond thrillers. For the island's most exciting underwater adventure, divers head to the Caribe Breeze wreck, depicted in the film Open Water. Here the staff feeds reef sharks some 15m (49 ft.) below the water; from a position of safety, divers in full scuba gear witness the show. Steep sea walls and the Porpoise Pen Reefs (named for Flipper) are also on the diving agenda. A two-tank dive in the morning costs US$99 (£50); an all-day program goes for US$150 (£75). All prices for boat dives include tanks, weights, and belts. An open-water certification course starts at US$950 (£475). Bring along two friends, and the price drops to US$490 (£245) per person. Three-hour escorted boat snorkeling trips cost US$55 (£28) each; children under 12 are included for US$30 (£15) each.

A special feature is a series of shark-dive experiences priced from US$145 (£73). At Shark Arena, divers kneel while a dive master feeds the toothsome predators off a long pole. On the Shark Buoy dive at a depth of about 9m (30 ft.), sharks swim among divers while the dive master feeds them.