Grand Bahama, Bahamas

Gold Rock Beach, Grand Bahama
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gold_Rock_Beach,_Grand_Bahama_1.JPG
Author: BrokenSphere


Grand Bahama is one of the major islands of the Bahamas. It is the northernmost as well as closest major Bahama island to mainland United States, located just 90 km (56 mi) from the coast of Florida. Grand Bahama covers 1,373 sq km (530.1 sq mi), making it the fifth largest island in the Bahamas. It has a population of 52,000 people (2012 estimate), and is the location of Freeport, the second biggest city in Bahamas.

The island of Grand Bahama got its name from the Spanish, who named it Gran Bajamar, meaning "the great shallow seas". It is through Grand Bahama that the rest of the Bahamas eventually was named. Originally controlled by the Spanish, it was taken over by the British in 1670.

Grand Bahama was a sparsely populated island until the 19th century, when the British began to establish townships on the island. These are mainly populated by former slaves following the abolition of slavery in the British empire. The economy of Grand Bahama received a boost during the American Civil War, when it became a center for the smuggling of goods, mostly weaponry, in aid of the Confederacy. A second wave of smuggling occurred during the years of Prohibition.

Today, as in elsewhere in the Bahamas, Grand Bahama depend on touristm as the mainstay of its economy. The island is surrounded by pristine, clear-blue seas, with many beautiful beaches. The main townships and settlements on the island include Freeport, Lucaya, West End and Mc Leans Town.

Lucayan National Park, Grand Bahama
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lucayan_National_Park_path_to_Gold_Rock_Beach_1.JPG
Author: BrokenSphere

Visiting Grand Bahama

There are flights to the Grand Bahama from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte (North Carolina), Philadelphia and New York City.

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.