With more than 130 beaches on the island, you won’t have any trouble finding a secluded, beautiful beach to while away the day, pick up shells, do some snorkeling or spot some sea life.

Here’s a list of our top beaches (from North to South) You can click on the links for directions and more information.

Handy Tip: *** denotes travelers Kim and Jason’s very favorite beaches on the island!

North

Ben Bay Beach

Tay Bay Beach***

North Central

Gaulding Cay Beach***

Surfer’s Beach

Rainbow Bay Beach

Airport Beach

Central

Alabaster or Receiver’s Beach***

Twin Coves Beach***

Club Med or French Leave Beach***

Poponi Beach

Double Bay Beach

Ten Bay Beach***

South

Winding Bay Beach

Whiteland Beach***

Lighthouse Beach***

The Glass Window Bridge, also known as the narrowest point on earth, connects North Eleuthera to the rest of the island. It sits high above the ocean, with the Caribbean Sea (Exuma Sound) on one side and the deep blue Atlantic on the other. The contrasting water is incredible to see and even more staggering from the air. Don’t forget to bring your drone for photos like these!

The Queen’s Bath is just beyond the Glass Window Bridge (if you’re headed south from ELH).

These natural “baths” are created when the ocean is at low tide, making it the perfect spot for a sunny dip away from the waves. However, this spot — much like Glass Window Bridge — can be quite dangerous if you visit when the tide is higher, or the water is rough. Please remember that when you’re in Eleuthera, you’re an airlift away from a major hospital!

Official Eleuthera Harbour Island brings you information on the Sapphire Blue Hole. This blue hole is located on the mainland of North Eleuthera. To visit this place, you will pass the entrance on the road to Preacher’s Cave.

The place gets its name from its deep blue color. With unique surroundings and crystal-clear water, Sapphire Blue Hole should definitely be on your itinerary when visiting Eleuthera. If you like adrenaline, you can jump off a cliff into the mysterious blue hole. Jump is about 30 feet. The temperature of the water is comfortable.

You can see a lot of fishes and crustaceans in the waters but remember, fishing is not allowed here as the authorities have designated it as a protected water body since the 1970s. We recommend you to visit the place with a group of friends. Getting out can be complicated and you must do it via the rope. It’s better if someone outside the blue hole can help you get out.

Things to Do on Eleuthera

“Surfer's Beach is for wave riders, but there are also beaches for snorkelers, swimmers and shell collectors. Best of all, you can have one all to yourself. Around midafternoon on New Year's Eve, when nearly all the island's rooms were booked, not a single soul could be spotted on Ten Bay Beach, six miles south of Governor's Harbour, despite a brilliant sunshine and near perfect temperatures.” New York Times, February 19, 2006. It’s obvious that the reporter who penned these lines was seeing Eleuthera for the first time. Regular visitors are surprised to find anyone on their favorite beach. With seventy miles of beaches and a few dozen hotel rooms, Eleuthera is a paradise for beach lovers who enjoy privacy and unspoiled natural beauty. Beyond the beaches, Eleuthera is surrounded by coral reefs that offer exceptional diving and snorkeling. The Devil’s Backbone, the most famous Eleuthera dive, is a large coral formation off North Eleuthera, notorious for wrecking ships. The Current Cut, a narrow channel with currents that regularly reach 10 knots, has been rated one of the ten best dives in the world. Buttonwood Beach has a shipwreck, and there is even a sunken train wreck off the north coast of the island. Shark dives and other guided adventure dives are also available. (See SCUBA below.) Eleuthera is famous for bonefishing and deep-sea fishing. Reef fishing and spear-fishing are also popular. (Guides and charter captains are listed below.) The Caribbean side of the island is usually free of heavy surf, providing excellent conditions for sailing, windsurfing, and kayaking. Powerboat, sailboat, and jet ski rentals are available. Trails through the fields and woods are perfect for jogging, hiking, and mountain-biking. You won’t find them on a map or in a guidebook, so ask a local resident or watch for trails on the side of the road. The Atlantic side of the island north of James Cistern offers several excellent beaches for surfing, with Surfer’s Beach and Holiday Beach being the most famous. Surfing lessons are available. Eleuthera offers varied and unique sightseeing. The Hatchet Bay Cave extends for a mile underground. At the Cliffs, giant ocean swells crash into a coral precipice. The Rock Sound Ocean Hole, said to be bottomless, is an inland salt lake connected by subterranean passages to the sea. Feed the tame saltwater fish miles from the ocean. The more adventurous will enjoy cliff-jumping from the cliffs surrounding the hole, which range in height from 5 to 25 feet. The Glass Window Bridge, painted by Winslow Homer, is the narrowest point on the island, where the calm turquoise waters of the Caribbean almost touch the turbulent deep blue of the Atlantic. The cavernous Preacher’s Cave provided shelter for the first European settlers of Eleuthera, and served as their first church. The Queen’s Baths are a collection of small pools carved out of the soft rock by wave action. At low tide, the Queen—or anyone fortunate enough to be on Eleuthera—can bathe amongst the little fishes. These sites are all in their pristine state. Don’t expect to find a guide booth--or even a paved road. www.eleutheravacationrentals.net 2 Eco-tourism is growing on the island. The Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve in Governors Harbour is the first national park on the island of Eleuthera: www.levypreserve.org/. Visitors can walk miles of trails through the preserve to view the orchids, food and medicinal plants, and hardwood trees that played an important role in the history of the island. The Island School www.islandschool.org and the Cape Eleuthera Institute www.ceibahamas.org offer fascinating daily tours of their facilities and their work in tropical and marine ecology, and building strong relationships between people and their environment. Each of Eleuthera’s score of picturesque villages deserves a visit. Gregory Town, home of the annual Pineapple Festival, is also home to Pam’s Island Made Gift Shop, featuring local handicrafts, and Thompson’s bakery, creator of Eleuthera’s famous pineapple and coconut tarts. Spanish Wells is an island fishing village off the north coast of Eleuthera with lovely nineteenth century cottages in pastel colors. Governor’s Harbour features an historic waterfront, colonial homes, and the recently restored Haynes Library. Governors Harbour also hosts the Friday night fish fry, a weekly waterfront street party that brings out locals and visitors alike. Harbour Island, a five-minute watertaxi ride from Eleuthera, offers five-star hotels, shopping, and celebrity sightings. No private cars are permitted on the streets of Harbour Island, so plan on renting a golf cart. Live music is also popular on Eleuthera, part-time home to Lenny Kravitz and his band, Mariah Carey, and others. There is live music somewhere every night of the week during most of the year. For details, see Entertainment, below. Eleuthera has numerous annual events, from the Pineapple Festival and the Ride for Hope to the International Food Fair and the North Eleuthera Regatta.