Lucayan National Park

Lucayan National Park packs an improbable amount into a small area on Grand Bahama's south shore: beneath it runs one of the longest surveyed underwater cave systems on earth, with two caverns open to visitors by stairway - Ben's Cave, where bats roost seasonally, and the Burial Mound Cave, where Lucayan remains were found. Above ground, boardwalks cross mangrove creek and pine coppice to Gold Rock Beach, a vast pale sweep that at low tide exposes rippled sand flats stretching hundreds of metres out, backed by the offshore rock that gives it its name.

What you actually see

• Ben's Cave and Burial Mound Cave - the two accessible caverns and their clear water.
• Gold Rock Beach - the wide low-tide sand flats and offshore rock.
• The mangrove boardwalk - creek crossings between forest and shore.
• The pine coppice - Caribbean pine and native plants along the trails.

When to go

Winter and spring are drier and cooler for walking. Time the visit to low tide for Gold Rock Beach, when the rippled flats appear - tide tables make the difference between a good beach and an extraordinary one. Ben's Cave closes to visitors during bat nursing season, usually in summer.

Honest expectations

The caves are small - two staircases and viewing platforms, not a cave tour - so visitors expecting extensive caverns should recalibrate. Diving the system requires full cave certification and permits; casual snorkelling is not permitted in the caverns. Mosquitoes in the mangrove sections are enthusiastic, so bring repellent. Hurricane Dorian damaged this coast severely in 2019 and recovery has been gradual, so facilities remain simple.

Nearby

Freeport, the Garden of the Groves and Grand Bahama's south-shore beaches.