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Just 52 miles off the Florida coast, Grand Bahama Island is easily accessible by air or by water and is home to some of the best fishing, golfing, horseback riding, snorkeling, and diving in the Caribbean. So whether you spend a week or a weekend here, there's plenty to see and do.

Grand Bahama Island boasts one of the largest underwater cave systems on the planet, three national parks featuring six different ecosystems, miles of white-sand beaches, crystal-clear water, and exotic marine life. And with bountiful natural treasures come endless activities, including hiking and biking, diving and snorkeling, kayaking and fishing, golfing and gambling, and--of course--shopping.

While this 96-mile long island packs in tons of excitement, its expanse of sun-drenched beaches and resort amenities offer a heavy dose of relaxation.

The island's earliest known inhabitants were the Stone Age hunter-gatherer Siboney Indians, of whom little evidence remains apart from artifacts such as ornamental shells or jewellery. These primitive people eventually disappeared to be replaced by the Taino Arawaks from South America, who travelling in dugout canoes eventually colonized most of the Caribbean. The Arawak communities on Grand Bahama, who became known as Lucayans (a name that lives on in the popular tourist town of Port Lucaya) were believed to have advanced and well-organized social and political structures, and there were estimated to be approximately 4,000 on Grand Bahama at the time of the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in 1492. This arrival, and the subsequent claim of the island by Spain shortly after, eventually caused the Lucayans to disappear from Grand Bahama entirely, whether dying through the spreading of European diseases, through the frequent European genocides, or being captured as slaves (usually to mine for gold in the larger Caribbean islands of Hispaniola or Cuba, or to dive for pearls in Trinidad). The disappearance of the Lucayans was rapid, and it is probably for this reason little is known beyond rough estimates about their society. However, in sites such as the Lucayan National Park and Dead Man's Reef there have been numerous artifacts discovered including animal bones, pottery shards, shell beads and evidence of a complex burial system.

Christopher Columbus's first landfall in the New World was on San Salvador Island, also known as Watling's Island, in the southern part of Bahamas. Here, Columbus made contact with the Lucayans and exchanged goods with them.