13 Most Instagrammable Places in The Bahamas

Compass Cay is loaded year-round with nurse sharks that you can swim amongst and, of course, capture photos to share online. This is your opportunity to tell everyone you went swimming with sharks and have the photos to prove it—but with a far lower risk of getting hurt. While they look a lot like smaller versions of great white sharks, nurse sharks are actually docile mammals. They tend to take inquisitive nips, but these rarely result in any actual harm.

Snapping a photo of nurse sharks for your Instagram feed is a one-of-a-kind experience that you won't want to miss on your Bahamas trip, so be sure to plan a day trip to Compass Cay in the Exumas.

Atlantis Bahamas offers the opportunity to photograph an iconic pink and orange fortress that's become synonymous with the Bahamas, as well as a wide range of other photo ops. Here, you can go swimming with dolphins, pet stingrays, and explore the replicated underwater ruins of the lost continent of Atlantis. You can see sharks up close in a lagoon around a reproduction Mayan temple or head for the marina and take pictures of yachts on the water or at the docks.

If you're looking for a true island paradise adventure with the Instagram opportunities to match, Atlantis Bahamas is the place. It's located right in the heart of central Paradise Island.

Pablo Escobar's sunken plane at Norman's Cay lets you photograph a corroding skeleton of an old private propeller plane that you can only reach by guided snorkelling experience. This one is the very definition of adventure, as you charter a boat to get to the remote dive site and check out a piece of history. The plane went down in 1980 as drug smugglers working for Escobar were attempting to reach a secret runway. The crew survived the crash and even got their haul off, but the plane went down in a sandbar.

Today it's sort of an artificial reef, an ecological home for tropical marine life with crystal-clear waters allowing for snorkelling, swimming, and diving. Norman's Cay is part of the Exumas and makes for an outstanding day trip.

Pig Beach is a strip of powder-soft white sand on an island that is home to nothing but a colony of wild pigs that you can feed, snuggle, and photograph. The mystery of how the pigs came to be here is still unsolved, but most think they escaped from a nearby islet and just grew into a tribe of their own. The pigs are friendly and inquisitive, and so long as you follow the instructions from your guide, you can feed and get up close to them.

Pig Beach is amongst the Exuma Cays and is reached by ferry, so it's a day trip excursion. It's also a unique and wonderful photo opportunity to light up your Instagram feed.

The Ocean Atlas is one of the world's largest underwater statues, an 18-foot-tall depiction of a young Bahamian girl who holds the weight of the ocean on her shoulders. The 60-ton statue will certainly be amongst the most unusual additions to your feed. It's been there since 2014, and it's hoped that it will one day become an artificial reef.

The statue sits on the ocean floor just off of the coast of Nassau. It's certain to make a fantastic addition to your feed whether you shoot from above the water, the seafloor, or you take a selfie with it.

Elbow Cay has a reputation for being amongst the most beautiful in the islands, with vibrantly coloured farmhouses, quaint fishing town streets, and a candy-striped lighthouse towering over it all. One of the most enchanting things about Hope Town, the main town here, is that the city centre area is pedestrian-only, so you'll feel like you've taken a walk into the past, and you'll have the photos to back it up. You can even climb the lighthouse to get astounding panoramic photos of the cays and the surrounding sea.

From palm-lined trees to quaint walkable avenues, everyone will want to know where you got these pics for your feed.

The Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve lets you capture images of flowers and greenery unlike any you've ever seen, with guided nature walks amongst mangrove-lined trails. You can see local orchids, woodlands, wetlands, and learn all about the importance of these plants to the local ecology. You'll also take a walk through a medicinal plant trail to learn about the medical uses that many of these plants have had from ancient times through today.

This national park is located on Eleuthera, just 5 minutes up the coast from North Palmetto Point. The wealth of plant life here makes it an ideal addition to just about any social media feed.

The Pink Sand Beach is famed for its pastel-colored pink sands and the way they juxtapose against the turquoise water for a unique and stunning photo experience. The colour of the sand is caused by crushed seashells and red pebbles mingling with white sand. Due to the varying amounts of these, the pink shade varies from day to day. After you catch a photo here, you can take a donkey ride along the shore and capture a sunset image as the light sinks below the sugar sand.

The Pink Sand Beach is located on Harbour Island in Eleuthera. It's just a few minutes north of a few resorts, so you can have all your needs met on a stay here.

Salt Cay, colloquially called Blue Lagoon, has worn many hats over its long history and today offers stunning white-sand beaches, a stone tower, coconut groves, and other photo ops. This island was once a haven for pirates, served as a training ground for divers during World War II, and today is a destination for families. You can climb the Tower of McCutcheon for panoramic Caribbean views, take walking paths through coconut palm groves, capture images of native wildlife, and decorate your Instagram page with tonnes of gorgeous photos here.

Salt Cay is just off Paradise Island and is accessible by ferry. While here, you can even book a dolphin encounters tour to see these playful creatures in the wild.

The Garden of Groves offers photo ops of gushing waterfalls, lush greenery, and interesting natural rock formations with a lovely small hilltop chapel. This is a place where you can get away from the hustle and bustle to find some tranquility and relaxation. The chapel is sometimes used for weddings. Other times, people just come here for quiet contemplation and self-reflection. You can also walk a labyrinth built to let you get lost inside your thoughts. You'll get tonnes of opportunities here for stunning social media photos.

The Garden of the Groves is located in Freeport on Grand Bahama. It's just a few minutes from city centre and is located near amenities for shopping and dining.

The Queen's Staircase, also known as the 66 Steps, is a historic landmark connecting Fincastle and Nassau City and offering opportunities to tour and photograph the important cultural site. The steps are in the Fort Fincastle Historic Complex and were carved from solid limestone by slaves in the 18th century. They were renamed in the late 19th century in honour of Queen Victoria. Today, they serve as a cultural reminder and are sure to be a conversation starter on your Instagram feed.

Interestingly, though the original structure had 66 steps, today only 65 are present, as the final step was paved over with asphalt. It's right in the heart of city centre Nassau.

Thunderball Grotto lets you grab selfies and photographs amid stunning rock formations, a crystal-clear azure pool, and underwater scenes unlike any you'll see elsewhere. This is a popular spot for snorkellers, and when the light streams in from above, the water is illuminated and even appears to glow. The grotto is accessed by swimming through small crevices that fill up with water as the tide comes in. Beneath the water, you'll photograph brightly coloured tropical fish of many varieties. It's a truly magical hidden wonderland.

Thunderball Grotto is a national historic landmark located in the Exumas. It's just off the shore of Staniel Cay, an island known for yachting and diving.

Baha Mar Pier is a long boardwalk pier in the heart of the Baha Mar resort that offers photos of vast turquoise waters, endless sand, and gorgeous sunsets. The pier has become a favourite spot for travellers looking to light up their social media feeds with an iconic image of the Caribbean. Even better, it's just steps away from many other Baha Mar activities and photo ops, including cliff jumping, a gorgeous waterfall cave, and tonnes of snorkelling, swimming, and diving experiences.

The pier is part of the Baha Mar Resort on Nassau Beach, with a central location to many amenities, shopping, and dining opportunities. You can capture iconic photos here and then get pampered at the resort.