The Abacos, Bahamas, is a cluster of islands, islets and rocky outcroppings forming an archipelago that stretches for more than 100 mi/160 km, from tiny Walker's Cay in the north to the Hole in the Wall lighthouse on the southern tip of Great Abaco.
The Abacos, to the north of New Providence, form the second-largest grouping of islands in the Bahamas and sit at the north of the chain, just east of Grand Bahama Island. Great Abaco itself, aside from being the most affluent and most visited of the Out Islands, is also the most developed.
But with many islands that are virtually deserted, the Abacos are hardly crowded, and the pace is very slow. The archipelago is a mixture of isolated, dusty settlements and neat little towns and villages that could have been lifted straight out of New England. Many of the early settlers were Tories (British Loyalists) from the U.S. who wanted to remain under British rule after the Revolutionary War.
After 1776, the Loyalists established the first settlement in Abaco called Carleton and set up small cotton plantations near what is now Treasure Cay. Their pastel-colored clapboard houses and white picket fences found on the offshore "Loyalist" cays that they settled contrast sharply with the islands' dusty, bumpy, deserted roads that seem to go on forever. It can also contrast the rather dour modern concrete architecture throughout the rest of the chain.
More than 50 species of wild and tropical birds inhabit the islands, along with wild boar and several species of lizards. In the surrounding waters on the west shore, the elusive bonefish draws many an angler.
The region is known for shipbuilding and fishing, and most of the residents earn their living from the sea. Visitors can enjoy diving, fishing and notably great sailing in the calm waters of the Sea of Abaco, a reef-protected watery wonderland between Great Abaco and the cays.
Almost anyone will enjoy three or four nights in the Abacos, at a minimum, since the group offers as great a diversity as anywhere in the Bahamas.
Note: In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian inflicted severe damage on the Abacos. Recovery efforts are ongoing and expected to take years.
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