Fast ferry day trip to Harbour Island

Bahamas Ferries' Bo Hengy III is a 130-seat fast ferry that makes the day trip possible on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It leaves Potter's Cay Dock under the bridge at 8am, calls at Spanish Wells at 11:30 and ties up on Harbour Island at about 12:15. The return leaves at 3:40pm and gets back to Nassau around 7:40. That leaves you under three and a half hours ashore after a crossing of about four hours each way. Check-in opens an hour before sailing, payment is by card only, and seats can be upgraded to the Voyager cabin. The open stretch between New Providence and Eleuthera cancels sailings in bad weather, so check the alerts page the night before.

Harbour Island, which locals call Briland, has a single town, Dunmore Town, with pastel New England-style houses and flower-lined streets, and was once the capital of the Bahamas. Nobody rents cars here; people get around by golf cart or taxi. The pink sand runs the length of the east shore, tinted by the reddish shells of a microscopic sea creature. To reach it, go up the hill from town and follow the signs; chairs are rented on the beach, and the rental stands sell snacks and drinks.