Overview: Newcomers to The Islands of The Bahamas quickly realize that they have stumbled upon not one, but many destinations. Cosmopolitan Nassau, once ruled by pirates, seems a world away from the desert-like wildlife sanctuary of Inagua. With more than 5% of the planet's reef mass, The Bahamas offer inexhaustible pleasures and challenges to snorkelers and divers. The natural beauty of the water extends to the thousands of miles of shoreline.

Dive Info: Dive the Bahamas diversity with activities including exhilarating shark dives, and explore sunken wrecks from the James Bond movie "Thunderball." The Bahamas are known for their blue holes, extraordinarily deep Inland Sea pools fed by the ocean via natural underground passages. The waters of The Bahamas yield incredible 100-foot visibility, coral that grows a bit larger and marine life that is slightly more abundant than elsewhere in the already-teeming Caribbean Sea.

Insider Info: These islands are only 50 miles off the coast of Florida, perfect for short get-a-ways and closer than any other Caribbean destination to the east coast of North America. The islands are also the birthplace of the Gulf Stream, a phenomenon that accounts for their wide variety of marine life.