This article talks about transportation in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, a North American

archipelagic state An archipelagic state is an island country that consists of an archipelago. The designation is legally defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In various conferences, The Bahamas, Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guine ...

in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Highways

Approximately of road in the Bahamas is classified as

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

. Of these, approximately are paved. Drivers drive on the left.

Ports and harbours

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

s and

harbours A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

are plentiful on The Bahamas islands, making aquatic travel an easy way to navigate between the islands group. Boat travel can be the only way to reach some of the smaller islands. Travelers entering the island will need to clear customs first, but boatsmen can enter any of the following ports of entry and harbours in The Bahamas: *

Abaco Islands Abaco is a variant Italian form of the Biblical name "Habakkuk" (but normally Abacùc or Abacucco). Abaco may refer to: People *Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco (1675–1742), Italian composer and violinist *Joseph Abaco (1710–1805), Belgian compose ...

Green Turtle Cay Green Turtle Cay is one of the barrier islands off mainland Great Abaco, The Bahamas. It can only be reached via ferry from the mainland or boat. There is not an airport on the island. It is considered part of the "Abaco Out Islands" and is ...

Marsh Harbour Marsh Harbour is a town in Abaco Islands, Bahamas, with a population of 6,283 as of 2012. The settlement lies on a peninsula just off the Great Abaco Highway, which runs south through Great Abaco to Cherokee Point and Little Harbour. North of to ...

, Spanish Cay,

Treasure Cay Treasure Cay, is a parcel of land connected to Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas. It has a population of 1,187 as of the 2010 Bahaman census. There are two resortBahama Beach Clubdeveloped by Businessman Craig H. Roberts and Treasure Cay Beach Ho ...

, or

Walker's Cay Walker's Cay is the northernmost island in the Bahamas, part of the North Abaco district. Once a popular sport fishing location, the island has been deserted since 2004, following severe hurricane damage. The island is currently undergoing renovati ...

Berry Islands The Berry Islands are a chain of islands and a district of the Bahamas, covering about of the northwestern part of the Out Islands. The Berry Islands consist of about thirty islands and over one hundred small islands or cays, often referred to ...

: Chub Cay and

Great Harbour Cay Great Harbour Cay is the major island in the north Berry Islands. It has a population of 353 (2010 census).Bimini Bimini is the westernmost district of the Bahamas and comprises a chain of islands located about due east of Miami. Bimini is the closest point in the Bahamas to the mainland United States and approximately west-northwest of Nassau. The populat ...

Alice Town Alice Town is a town in the Bahamas. It is located on North Bimini island and the population is 300 as of the 2010 census.Cat Cays The Cat Cays are two islands in the Bahamas, North Cat Cay and South Cat Cay, approximately south of Bimini. North Cat Cay is a privately owned island and is run as a private members club by the Cat Cay Yacht Club. South Cat Cay is currently ...

: Hawksnest Marina *

Eleuthera Eleuthera () refers both to a single island in the archipelagic state of The Commonwealth of the Bahamas and to its associated group of smaller islands. Eleuthera forms a part of the Great Bahama Bank. The island of Eleuthera incorporates the s ...

Governor's Harbour Governor's Harbour is a principal settlement and administrative centre in Eleuthera in The Bahamas. It corresponds roughly to the centre of the former district of Central Eleuthera. Established by William Sayle and the Eleutherian Adventurers in ...

, Harbour Island, Rock Sound, or

Spanish Wells Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Exuma Exuma is a district of The Bahamas, consisting of over 365 islands, also called cays. The largest of the cays is Great Exuma, which is 37 mi (60 km) in length and joined to another island, Little Exuma, by a small bridge. The capital ...

: George Town *

Grand Bahama Island Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island i ...

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Places United States *Freeport, California *Freeport, Florida *Freeport, Illinois *Freeport, Indiana *Freeport, Iowa *Freeport, Kansas *Freeport, Maine, a New England town **Freeport (CDP), Maine, the ...

Harbour, Lucayan Marina Village and Port

Lucaya Lucaya is a suburb of Freeport, Bahamas, a city on the island of Grand Bahama, approximately 105 mi (160 km) east-northeast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Lucaya's primary industry is tourism. Major hotels and attractions in the resort ...

, or Old Bahama Bay at West End *

Inagua Inagua is the southernmost district of the Bahamas, comprising the islands of Great Inagua and Little Inagua. The headquarters for the district council are in Matthew Town. History The original settlers were the Lucayan people, who arrived some ...

Matthew Town Matthew Town is the chief and only settlement on Great Inagua Island of the Bahamas. It is located on the southwest corner of the island. It was named after Bahamian Governor George Matthew (1844–1849) and first settled during his tenure in offi ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

: Stella Maris Airport *

Mayaguana Mayaguana (from Taíno language ''Mayaguana'', meaning "Lesser Midwestern Land") is the easternmost island and district of The Bahamas. Its population was 277 in the 2010 census. It has an area of about . About north of Great Inagua and southea ...

Abraham's Bay Abraham's Bay(named after Abraham Charlton) is a town in the Bahamas. It is located on the south side of Mayaguana Mayaguana (from Taíno language ''Mayaguana'', meaning "Lesser Midwestern Land") is the easternmost island and district of The Bah ...

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

New Providence Island New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...

: Any marina *

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

: Cockburn Town Facilities catering to large passenger

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

s are located on Grand Bahama Island and New Providence. The Lucayan Harbour Cruise Facility in Freeport and Nassau harbour's Prince George Wharf are built specifically to handle multiple modern cruise ships at one time. Additionally, several major cruise line corporations have each purchased an uninhabited island which they now operate as private island destinations available exclusively to their respective ships. These include

Great Stirrup Cay Great Stirrup Cay is a Sloan, Gene (June 24, 2017). "Norwegian Cruise's private Caribbean isle gets a serious spruce up". ''Times-Colonist'' (Victoria, British Columbia). p. D5. island that is part of the Berry Islands in the Bahamas. Norwegian C ...

, owned by

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6 ...

Little Stirrup Cay CocoCay or Little Stirrup Cay is one of the Berry Islands, a collection of Bahamian cays and small islands located approximately 55 miles north of Nassau. It is used for tourism by Royal Caribbean Group exclusively. Little Stirrup Cay is adjacent ...

otherwise known as

Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International (RCI), also formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Flori ...

's "Coco Cay", Carnival Corporation's

Little San Salvador Island Little San Salvador Island, also known as Half Moon Cay, is one of about 700 islands that make up the archipelago of The Bahamas. It is located roughly halfway between Eleuthera and Cat Island, administratively in the Cat Island District. It is a ...

or "Half Moon Cay", and

Castaway Cay Disney's Castaway Cay, or simply Castaway Cay (), is a private island in the Bahamas which serves as an exclusive port for the Disney Cruise Line ships. It is located near Great Abaco Island and was formerly known as Gorda Cay. In 1997, The Walt D ...

, of

Disney Cruise Line Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited, through the first vessel, ''Disney Magic'' and is domiciled in London, England ...

. Of these, only Castaway Cay offers ships an actual pier for docking. The others use tender boats to service ships anchored off shore.

Merchant marine

Total: 1,440 (2017 - CIA World Factbook) By type: bulk carrier 335, container ship 53, general cargo 98, oil tanker 284, other 670 (2017) The Bahamas are one of the world's top five

flag of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state ...

shipping registries.

Airports

The main

airports An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

on the islands are

Lynden Pindling International Airport Lynden Pindling International Airport , formerly known as Nassau International Airport, is the largest airport in the Bahamas and the largest international gateway into the country. It is a major hub for Bahamasair, Western Air, and Pineapple ...

on New Providence,

Grand Bahama International Airport Grand Bahama International Airport (GBIA) is an international airport in Freeport, Bahamas. It was privately owned until the government of the Bahamas purchased it in April 2021. The airport was a joint venture between Hutchison Port Holding ...

on Grand Bahama Island, and Marsh Harbour International Airport on Abaco Island. Out of 62 airports in all, 23 have paved runways, of which there are two that are over 3,047 meters long. Airports with paved runways: :''total:'' 23 :''over 3,047 m:'' 2 :''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 4 :''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 11 :''914 to 1,523 m:'' 6 (2008) Airports with unpaved runways: :''total:'' 39 :''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 5 :''914 to 1,523 m:'' 12 :''under 914 m:'' 22 (2008)

Airlines

Bahamasair Bahamasair Holdings Limited is an airline headquartered in Nassau. It is the national airline I888-393-I394 of The Bahamas and operates scheduled services to 32 domestic and regional destinations in the Caribbean and the United States from its b ...

is the national

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hist ...

airline of the Bahamas.

Heliports

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

is located on

Paradise Island Paradise Island is an island in The Bahamas formerly known as Hog Island. The island, with an area of (2.8 km2/1.1 sq mi), is located just off the shore of the city of Nassau, which is itself located on the northern edge of the island of ...

, as well as other smaller islands, such as the various

cruise line A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships that operate on ocean or rivers and which markets cruises to the public. Cruise lines are distinct from passenger lines which are primarily concerned with transportation of passengers. Though ...

private islands.

Railways

Today, there are no functioning railways in the Bahamas. However there have been a few in the past including in Inagua, Abaco, and Grand Bahama. These were used for the salt and logging industries. The most famous of these was at Wilson city in Abaco, where the Bahamas timber company and Owens Illinois built a large city for the purpose of logging. They operated three locomotives, being a Vulcan 2-6-0, a Vulcan 0-4-4 tank, and a shay locomotive built at Lima locomotive works in Ohio. Only one train remains at Wilson city, as a rusting hulk out on the beach. After Wilson city shut down at the end of the First World War, the island of Abaco was extensively logged by the Bahamas Cuban company until 1940, when they moved to Pine ridge in Grand Bahama. In Inagua, the Morton salt company used small Brookville diesel locomotives to pull trains of salt around the area. The locomotives were phased out eventually, but the tracks remained for a few more years before being removed due to contamination issued with the salt. There have been a handful of smaller railways which operated without locomotives. There were built for the purpose of transporting salt, sisal, and agricultural produce. These existed in Little Abaco, Exuma, Inagua (Inagua tramways, 1860s), cat island, and New Providence. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bahamas_timber_company_locomotive.jpg

References

External links

Transportation in the BahamasRoad Traffic Department of the Bahamas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transport In The Bahamas