Travel Risk Atlas

Bahamas

Caribbean · Capital Nassau

Level 2 United States Exercise Increased Caution FCDO United Kingdom No advisory against travel Yellow Netherlands Yellow — pay attention Level 2 Canada Exercise a high degree of caution AA Germany No warning in force

Each opens that government's own advisory for Bahamas — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

24.1 Low risk
Atlas Risk Score · 87th safest of 220
shoreline and body of water during daytime
Photo: Fernando Jorge / Unsplash

The Bahamas takes seven million visitors a year, most on cruise calls to Nassau or resort stays, and the great majority have an uneventful trip. The resort islands and Out Islands are quiet and safe.

Nassau is the exception and the US embassy says so plainly: the capital has a high violent crime rate concentrated in specific areas, and there is a long-standing, specific warning about unregulated water-sports operators.

Where the risk actually is

Risk is rarely spread evenly across a country. The base colour is the code the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives Bahamas as a whole; shaded regions are those the UK Foreign Office names in an advisory against travel.

Acklins — Travel with cautionAcklins — Travel with cautionAcklins — Travel with cautionBerry Islands — Travel with cautionBerry Islands — Travel with cautionBimini — Travel with cautionBimini — Travel with cautionBimini — Travel with cautionBimini — Travel with cautionBimini — Travel with cautionBlack Point — Travel with cautionBlack Point — Travel with cautionBlack Point — Travel with cautionCat Island — Travel with cautionCentral Abaco — Travel with cautionCentral Abaco — Travel with cautionCentral Andros — Travel with cautionCentral Andros — Travel with cautionCentral Andros — Travel with cautionCentral Andros — Travel with cautionCentral Andros — Travel with cautionCentral Eleuthera — Travel with cautionCity of Freeport — Travel with cautionCrooked Island and Long Cay — Travel with cautionCrooked Island and Long Cay — Travel with cautionCrooked Island and Long Cay — Travel with cautionEast Grand Bahama — Travel with cautionEast Grand Bahama — Travel with cautionExuma — Travel with cautionExuma — Travel with cautionHarbour Island — Travel with cautionInagua — Travel with cautionInagua — Travel with cautionLong Island — Travel with cautionMangrove Cay — Travel with cautionMayaguana — Travel with cautionMoore's Island — Travel with cautionNew Providence — Travel with cautionNorth Abaco — Travel with cautionNorth Andros — Travel with cautionNorth Eleuthera — Travel with cautionRagged Island — Travel with cautionRagged Island — Travel with cautionRagged Island — Travel with cautionRum Cay — Travel with cautionRum Cay — Travel with cautionSan Salvador — Travel with cautionSouth Abaco — Travel with cautionSouth Andros — Travel with cautionSouth Eleuthera — Travel with cautionSpanish Wells — Travel with cautionWest Grand Bahama — Travel with caution
What governments advise Travel with caution

This map reads stronger than the world map's colour, and both are right. The world map shades Bahamas by its Atlas Risk Score — 24, Low — which blends government advice with crime, health, roads and natural hazards. This map shows the advice alone, and the strongest level anywhere in Bahamas is “travel with caution”.

What the warnings actually cover

  • Whole country — Travel with caution. No government currently advises against travel to any part of this country. The colour reflects general caution levels only, not a warned area.

Shading marks whole regions named in an advisory, but a warning is often narrower — a border strip, one road, or a single city. Read the wording, and check the official advisory linked below.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Crime
15% of score
44/100
142nd of 220
Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly cyclones
35/100
87th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
26/100
91st of 220
Political stability
10% of score
26/100
43rd of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
20/100
114th of 220
Road & transport
10% of score
17/100
56th of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
6/100
66th of 220

Biggest factor here: crime. Violent crime levels and how reliably the law is enforced.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
919
911 also works
Currency
BSD $
Languages
English
Visa (EU passport)
90 days visa-free
US: 240 days visa-free · UK: 240 days visa-free
Population
403k
World Bank 2025
Capital
Nassau
Driving
On the right
7.7 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type A, B
110-127V
Basic water access
99%
Widely available · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+1242
GDP per capita
$39k
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
7.2m
International arrivals, 2019

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Nassau, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around All year.

Daytime high warm hot
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain.

Common scams in Bahamas

Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.

Jet-ski damage claims and unlicensed operators

Nassau, Cable Beach, Paradise IslandVery common

Craft are rented without insurance or safety briefing, then damage — often pre-existing — is claimed on return with a large cash demand, sometimes with intimidation.

How to avoid it: Book only through your hotel or cruise line. Photograph the craft first, never hand over a passport, and decline anything sold on the sand.

Sources US Embassy Nassau — safety and security UK FCDO Bahamas — safety and security

Straw market and taxi pricing

NassauCommon

Taxis are unmetered with government-set zone fares that drivers often exceed, and market goods sold as local handicraft are frequently imported.

How to avoid it: Agree the fare before departure and ask for the official rate card. Fares are per trip by zone, not per person, whatever you are told.

Sources Bahamas Ministry of Tourism

Risk hotspots

Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in Bahamas is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.

'Over the Hill' and southern Nassau Violent crime

Residential areas south of the tourist strip with a high homicide rate. The US embassy advises against going there; there is no visitor reason to.

Nassau water sports Security

Unregulated operators, uninsured equipment and documented assaults. The single most specific warning any government gives about this country.

Hurricane season, June to November Natural hazard

Dorian in 2019 was a category 5 that flattened Abaco and Grand Bahama. September is the peak.

Unpatrolled beaches and reefs Natural hazard

Strong currents, no lifeguards on most beaches, and boat traffic close to swimming areas.

Water sports are the specific warning

The US embassy has repeatedly warned that jet-ski and boat operators in Nassau and Paradise Island are poorly regulated, that equipment is not maintained or insured, and that there have been serious injuries and reported sexual assaults by operators against tourists.

Book water sports through your hotel or cruise line rather than from the beach, never go out alone with an operator, and treat a demand for your passport as a deposit as a reason to walk away.

Hurricanes

The season runs June to November. Hurricane Dorian in 2019 was a category 5 that destroyed much of Abaco and Grand Bahama and killed dozens; recovery took years.

Insurance bought after a storm is named will not cover it. Buy early if travelling in season, and check the hurricane clause specifically.

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Bahamas:

CDC Travelers' HealthTravelHealthPro (NHS/UKHSA)

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.