With the Caribbean nation made up of 700 islands and over 2,400 smaller cays, the Bahamas make for an ideal cruise ship destination.
While the main Nassau port saw a record of over 5.6 million disembarkations in 2024, other Bahamian ports include Freeport on Grand Bahama and the Port of Out Islands used to get cruisers to smaller islands such as Bimini and the Exumas.
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Bahamas for spring break? Here is what you need to know about the updated travel advisory
The latest numbers from the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism showed that over 11.2 million international visitors came to the Bahamas in 2024 while a large portion of the American visitors arrived from East Coast cities such as Miami and New York.
Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Carnival (CCL) have dozens of itineraries with stops in Nassau and other Bahamian ports; some are short tours of the area while others make the Bahamas the first stop on a longer Caribbean tour.
At the cusp of peak spring break travel season, the U.S. State Department put out a travel advisory reiterating the country’s “exercise increased caution” rating. While the official rating on a four-tier system ending at the highest level reserved for war zones and authoritarian governments remains the same, the government is telling travelers to be mindful of crime that “can occur anywhere in The Bahamas.”
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“Most crime occurs in Nassau and Freeport on New Providence and Grand Bahama islands,” the advisory updated on March 31 reads. “Stay alert in the ‘Over the Hill’ area in Nassau, south of Shirley Street, where gangs have killed residents.”
Exumas in the Bahamas is composed of over 365 islands and cays.
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Water safety rules: ‘Always follow local weather and marine alerts’
Other tips are to stay alert in vacation rental properties that may not have the same security as hotels and be mindful of water safety when swimming and using jet skis.
“Watercraft operators sometimes ignore weather forecasts,” the advisory reads further. “Always follow local weather and marine alerts.”
More on travel:
Trump starts presidency with three executive orders affecting travelGovernment issues new travel advisory on popular beach destinationAnother country just issued a new visa requirement for visitors
At the end of winter, the U.S. State Department issued a similar advisory for the overseas British territory of Turks and Caicos. The fellow Caribbean nation made up of 40 different islands is also at a level two travel advisory while the new warning comes both amid a spike in local crime and incidents in which Americans ran afoul of local law by bringing in things like drugs, weapons and ammunition on their vacation.
In April 2024, 40-year-old Oklahoma resident Ryan Watson was stopped and found to have four rounds of bullets in his suitcase at the airport flying home. While Watson claimed that he had left them there during domestic travel and did not know the local law, he spent months unable to leave Turks and Caicos and the risk of up to 12 years behind bars before a judge let him get off with a $2,000 fine.
“Police strictly enforce these laws, even at the airport when travelers are leaving,” the government warned. “Travelers face arrest, jail time, and heavy fines. Some U.S. citizens have been detained and unable to depart for several weeks or more after being found with bullets in their luggage.”
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