On Cat Island, you can walk a beach for hours without passing another person. You can spend all day on the sand and nary see another soul. Sometimes for a whole week. In other words, the beaches aren’t just uncrowded. They’re empty. The sand runs long and white, uninterrupted by chairs or structures, and the water stays clear enough to see your feet several yards from shore. Wind moves through casuarina trees behind the beach. Small waves reach the sand and pull back. There are no attendants, no music, and no markers dividing one section from another.

That pattern repeats across the island. You can spend an entire day moving between beaches without encountering more than a handful of people. In some places, you can return to the same stretch of sand day after day and find it unchanged. On Cat Island, empty beaches are not limited to early mornings or off hours. They remain empty through most of the day and often through the week.

An Island Built Far From Volume

Cat Island lies well outside the main tourism corridors of The Bahamas. Development has remained limited, and settlements are spread out along a long, narrow landmass connected by a single main road. Traffic is light. Distances between towns are measured in miles rather than blocks. Beaches appear along the roadside without signage or facilities.

The shoreline alternates between wide sandy beaches and rocky sections that give way to shallow, clear water. Near shore, the water remains calm on most days, shifting gradually from light turquoise to deeper blue farther out. Swimming often happens directly off the beach, without docks or designated swim zones. Snorkeling requires little more than walking into the water where reef structure appears close to shore.

Small Hotels With Direct Access to the Beach

Accommodations on Cat Island follow the island’s physical layout. Properties are small, spread out, and positioned close to the shoreline. They function as bases rather than destinations.

Fernandez Bay Village sits along a long, gently curving beach on the island’s western side. The property consists of low buildings and beachfront cottages set just back from the sand. From most rooms, the beach is reached in seconds. The restaurant faces the water, serving Bahamian dishes and seafood with open views across the bay. Daily activity centers on the beach itself: walking the shoreline, swimming in shallow water, and returning to the room as the light changes. And then there’s the bonefishing nearby, too, in the creek.

Rollezz Villas Beach Resort, near New Bight, offers standalone villas spaced apart for privacy. The setting is quiet, with open views and little traffic. Guests handle their own schedules, cooking in-villa or eating nearby. Rollezz Bar and Grill, operated by the same family in New Bight, serves as a local anchor, known for cracked conch, grilled fish, and lobster during the season. Meals extend without pressure, shaped by conversation rather than reservation times.

Elsewhere on the island, guesthouses and small inns operate on similar terms. They provide direct beach access, modest rooms, and limited on-site programming. Most stays involve leaving the property during the day to explore other parts of the island and returning in the evening.

Beaches Without Crowds or Infrastructure

Cat Island’s beaches remain largely undeveloped. There are no continuous resort zones and no clusters of beach facilities. Orange Creek, Fernandez Bay, Greenwood, and the long stretches near Port Howe each present wide sections of open sand with little to no infrastructure.

It is common to arrive at a beach and find no one else present. You may see a fishing boat offshore or footprints from earlier in the day, but physical presence is sparse. Time on the beach extends naturally because there are no external cues to move on. Swimming, walking, and sitting replace scheduled activities.

Without crowds, beach use changes. People stay in one place longer. Walking becomes the primary activity rather than a transition between stops. Swimming happens without awareness of others. The sound environment remains limited to wind, water, and occasional bird calls.

Sidney Poitier and Cat Island’s Historical Context

Cat Island holds an important place in Bahamian cultural history through its connection to Sidney Poitier. Although born in Miami while his parents were traveling, Poitier grew up on Cat Island and spent much of his childhood there before leaving as a teenager.

His early years on the island were defined by isolation, limited resources, and close community ties. He later spoke about how that upbringing influenced his discipline and perspective. Arthur’s Town, where Poitier lived for part of his youth, remains a small settlement with little physical change over the decades. The scale of the town reflects the conditions of daily life that shaped him.

For visitors, that context adds dimension to the island’s quiet. Cat Island was not a retreat in retrospect. It was a working island where daily life unfolded without external attention.

The Monastery at the Highest Point in The Bahamas

Mount Alvernia rises near the center of Cat Island and marks the highest elevation in The Bahamas. At the summit stands the Mount Alvernia Monastery, also known as The Hermitage. Built by Father Jerome, a Franciscan monk, in the mid-twentieth century, the structure was constructed by hand using local stone.

Reaching the monastery involves a short uphill walk along a narrow path. At the top, the view extends across the length of the island and out to sea on both sides. The building itself is small, with stone walls, a chapel, and simple outdoor seating areas.

Visitors move quietly through the space. Some sit on benches near the chapel. Others walk around the perimeter to take in the view. The site remains open and accessible, without staff or formal programming. The elevation provides a clear geographic reference point for the island below.

Eating and Moving at Local Pace

Dining on Cat Island reflects local availability and timing. Small snacks and eateries operate on flexible schedules, opening when ingredients are available and closing when the day winds down. Meals emphasize seafood, conch, peas and rice, and baked goods prepared locally.

In New Bight, the Rollezz has an on-site eatery that’s also a great spot — and the Fernandez Bay eatery has great Bahamian food. Elsewhere, small kitchens and roadside spots open intermittently, often announced by word of mouth rather than signage. Meals tend to extend naturally, without set turnover or structured service pacing.

Rake-and-Scrape and Local Sound

Cat Island is closely associated with rake-and-scrape music, a traditional Bahamian style built around everyday instruments. The sound is driven by a saw scraped with a metal object, accompanied by goatskin drums, accordion, and hand percussion. The music developed as dance music for local gatherings, using tools that were readily available on the island.

Rake-and-scrape still appears at community events, festivals, and informal gatherings, particularly around Arthur’s Town and New Bight. Performances are typically live and unamplified, with musicians playing close to the crowd rather than on raised stages. The tempo is fast, the rhythm steady, and the music designed for movement rather than listening at a distance.

For visitors, encounters with rake-and-scrape tend to be situational rather than scheduled. You hear it at a roadside event, during a local celebration, or late in the evening when music carries across open space. It remains part of daily life rather than a performance arranged for visitors.

Every time I hear it, it feels new. And the best thing? There’s an annual festival each June where you can come and really savor the sound. 

How to Get There

Cat Island is reached primarily by air. Bahamasair operates scheduled service from Nassau to Arthur’s Town Airport and New Bight Airport, with flight times under an hour on small aircraft. Schedules vary by season, and flights typically operate earlier in the day.

Makers Air also serves Cat Island with direct flights from South Florida. The airline operates small turboprop aircraft into Arthur’s Town Airport, offering a nonstop option that bypasses Nassau. Flights are limited in frequency and capacity, consistent with the island’s low-volume access.

Once on the island, rental cars are the primary mode of transportation. Roads are paved but narrow in places, and distances between settlements make driving necessary. There is no regular ferry service from Nassau, and access remains controlled by air capacity rather than ground infrastructure.

Why Cat Island Remains Different

Cat Island has avoided the density seen on many Caribbean islands because large-scale development never took hold. Visitor numbers remain low, and infrastructure reflects that reality. Beaches stay empty because, well, there are just not that many people here.

For travelers accustomed to structured resort environments, Cat Island requires adjustment. Entertainment does not organize itself around visitors. Experiences occur through use rather than presentation. You have to get out there and do the work of vacationing.

Days settle into repetition. You wake, drive, walk a beach, swim, eat, and return. Over time, that repetition becomes the defining feature of the stay.

It’s one of the great untouched islands in the Caribbean. And it’s waiting for you.