The weather is getting colder and I’m starting my Bahama Islands Bucket List!

They say life is better at the beach, and I couldn’t agree more. With Canadian temperatures dropping as we gear up for winter, I would much rather be waking up with sand between my toes than frost! Did you know that The Bahamas are just a three hour non-stop flight away from Toronto? So, I could leave my boots at home and in just a few hours be walking barefoot on one of the world’s best white (or pink!) sand beaches. This required some deeper investigation and I’ve come up with my Bahama Islands Bucket List.

The Bahamas are made up of more than 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean. While Grand Bahama, Nassau and Paradise Island are among the most popular, you can easily catch a same-day connection to many other Islands of the Bahamas, including Bimini.

Located just 50 miles off Florida’s coast, Bimini is the closest Bahamian island to the United States and home to Bimini Road, which some believe is a remnant of the legendary Lost City of Atlantis making it the first spot on my bucket list!

You won’t find Bimini Road off  any local highway – it’s actually located underwater west of the bluff of North Bimini. The road or some call it a wall, is a series of beautiful square blocks fifteen hundred feet long that lie in an orderly row. Some believe that this was part of the road system of the Lost Continent of Atlantis.  It is a popular scuba diving site which can be accessed by boat only and would be incredibly exciting to see!

While we are in the water, add Bimini’s Black Coral Garden to the list and explore all the sea life you can imagine in those pristine turquoise waters. There are also a number of shipwreck dives that would be incredible to see including a sunken ship that was built by Henry Ford during the First World War. There’s also a large wreck of a Spanish ship, complete with rocks and cannonballs.

Heading to the surface, but not ready to leave the crystal clear waters just yet, my next bucket list wish is water sports. Snorkeling and kayaking are long time favourites and I’ve been dying for the chance to get on a stand up paddle board or SUP as they’re called! I would much rather have my first try out in the warm, beautiful waters of The Bahamas than here in Ontario where our lakes are freezing!

Did you know that Bimini is known as Ernest Hemingway’s favourite escape? He called it his ‘summer home’, oh, to be so lucky. Jimmy Buffett also spent time here while writing his book, and Martin Luther King, Jr. even composed parts of his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech while out sailing. It sounds to me like Bimini is a site for great inspiration! A visit to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is a must!

Because hiking is one of my favourite activities at home, it’s also something I would love to do while traveling. A guided tour of the Bimini Nature Trail allows you to see the plants and animals that call Bimini home, right in their natural environment. Nature and wildlife are different everywhere, so I love the idea of having a guide with me. They have all the stories about the ecology and history of Bimini that aren’t offered anywhere else.   Besides, meeting up with the endangered Bimini Boa is not something I would want to face alone!

Visit The Bahamas website to discover more about all the islands and create your own travel bucket list! 

Want to join the conversation? Follow #BahamasBucketList on Twitter

Although this post has been generously sponsored by The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, the opinions and language are my own.