Taking advantage of its proximity to the USA, the Bahamas has successfully promoted itself as a popular destination for jetsetters and snowbirds fleeing the North American winter. Nassau, the sprawling, crowded capital, has become nearly indistinguishable from many US cities. Yet there are lots of places among the country's 700 islands and 2500 cays to disappear into a mangrove forest, explore a coral reef and escape the high-rise hotels and package-tour hype.

The 18th-century Privateers' Republic has become the 20th-century banker's paradise, at least on New Providence and Grand Bahama. On the other islands - once known as the Out Islands but now euphemistically called the Family Islands - the atmosphere is less oriented toward the North American tourist and more toward the rhythms of West Indian life. You'll certainly be more in tune with the local environment listening to a rake 'n' scrape band in a bar on a backwater cay than sunning by the pool at a Paradise Island resort.