Long Island is 80 miles long and sits at the southeastern edge of the Bahamas, well south of the Exumas and far enough from Nassau that most visitors never make it. That distance is exactly the point. Long Island has no resort developments, no jet ski rentals, no day-trip boats from the capital — just a series of small settlements, miles of empty limestone coastline, and one geological feature that has made it quietly famous among divers and freedivers the world over: Dean's Blue Hole.
Destination Guide
Long Island: The Quiet One
The Main Event
Dean's Blue Hole
Dean's Blue Hole is the deepest known ocean blue hole in the world, dropping 202 metres (663 feet) straight down from a shallow turquoise bay near Clarence Town. From the surface it's a perfect circle of deep indigo in the middle of crystal-clear shallows — you can swim to it from the beach in minutes. The contrast between the 6-metre surrounding shelf and the sudden void beneath you is one of the stranger physical sensations available in the Bahamas.
The site hosts the annual Vertical Blue freediving competition, where athletes including the legendary William Trubridge (who set multiple world records here) have descended past 100 metres on a single breath. You don't need to be a competitive freediver to appreciate it — snorkeling over the edge and peering down into something that disappears into darkness is memorable all on its own.
The Island
What Long Island Is Really Like
The island is bisected by a ridge of limestone that creates two completely different coastlines. The Caribbean (western) side has calm, flat water, white sand beaches, excellent snorkeling, and good anchorages. The Atlantic (eastern) side is exposed and dramatic — limestone cliffs, surging swells, and a raw, unfinished quality that makes the western side feel even more sheltered by contrast.
Clarence Town is the administrative capital and one of the more architecturally interesting settlements in the Out Islands, with two hilltop churches — St. Paul's (Anglican) and St. Peter's (Catholic) — both built by the same man, Father Jerome, who converted between the two religions over the course of his life and built a church for each. They face each other across the town from opposite hilltops. Both are worth the climb.
Salt Pond is a pleasant village with a small marina and the island's main gathering point. The annual Long Island Regatta in May draws traditional sloops from across the southern Bahamas.
Bonefishing: The shallow flats on the western side of Long Island are among the best in the Bahamas for bonefishing. If your group includes any fly fishing enthusiasts, this is a legitimate reason to plan a trip around Long Island specifically.
Getting There & Being There
Long Island is a longer sail from Nassau than the Exumas — roughly 160 nautical miles to the northern tip at Cape Santa Maria, which means a full overnight passage or a multi-day approach via the Exumas. We typically position Long Island as the end point of an extended 9-night charter or as the destination for guests who've already done the Exumas and want something completely different. It isn't a casual detour.
That distance filters the crowd. The anchorages are quiet. The people are unhurried. There's very little to do in the conventional tourist sense, which means there's everything to do in the actual sense — snorkeling, reading, swimming, eating fresh lobster, watching the light change over the Caribbean. Guests who come to Long Island tend to talk about it differently than they talk about anywhere else. Something about the silence seems to stick.
"You don't go to Long Island because it's convenient. You go because you want to know what the Bahamas felt like before anyone decided to make it easy."
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