City/Settlement: Simms and Clarence Town

Location: Located 150 miles southeast of Nassau

Size: The island stretches north to south for 60 miles and is only one-and-a-half miles wide on average, with its broadest point measuring three miles

Population: Approximately 3,000

      Images Courtesy of: Bahamas Tourist Office Long Island was originally named Yuma by the Lucayan Indians and was renamed Fernandina by Christopher Columbus upon his third landfall in the New World. Then, in 1790, Fernandina was settled by Loyalists from the Carolinas and their slaves. They built large plantations and produced sea-island cotton until the abolition of slavery, which made them unprofitable. Pace of life has not changed much from Long Island’s deep past. The carriage road, built more than a century ago, is lined by the island’s major settlements of Burnt Ground, Simms, Wood Hill, Clarence Town, Roses and South Point, all situated around the island’s harbours and anchorages.

Today, many of the Loyalist mansions still stand as a reminder of the island’s past. Although the plantations are overgrown and non-productive, agriculture is still a very important part of life. Pot-hole farming, which is a method that utilizes fertile holes in the limestone where fertile top-soil collects, yields much of the food supply for the other islands, including peas, corn, pineapples and bananas. Raising sheep, goats and pigs is also popular amongst Long Islanders.

Long Island is one of the most scenic hideaways in The Islands Of The Bahamas, famous for its world class scuba diving and bonefishing. The island is divided by the Tropic Of Cancer and is bordered on each side by two contrasting coasts, one with soft-white beach and the other with rocky headlands that descend into the sea and serve as boundaries for the crashing waves. The topography of the island varies as well—from sloping hills in the northeast to low hillsides in the south to stark white flatlands to swampland to pristine beaches, all of which combine to create a picturesque landscape and an ideal haven for seamen, sun-lovers and vacationers alike.

• Island Express (954-359-6953
• Yellow Air Taxi (888.935.5694)
• Locair (877-359-3099)

• Bahamasair (800-222-4262)
• Southern Air (242-377-2014)
• Sky Bahamas (242-377-8993)
• PineApple Air (242-377-0140)

• Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort (800-663-7090)
• Stella Maris Resort Club(800-426-0466)
• Gems at Paradise Resort (242-337-3016)
• Chez Pierre (242-338-8809)
• Winter Haven Inn (866-348-5935)

All visitors to Long Island should visit this very cute, very quaint Bahamian Conch Shack for their taste of Long Island’s best conch salad. Other specialty dishes include: jerk chicken/pork, grilled conch, fish, peas’n rice and various soups. It takes determination and the help of a resident of the area to reach the ruins of the old Dunmore estate. This former slave plantation house, built of limestone with two fireplaces and chimneys, is located in Dunmore’s, a very small settlement in the south. There are still drawings of sailboats used during the plantation era on the walls. About half a mile from the site rest two pillars, apparently the remaining gate-posts of the plantation. St. Mary’s is thought to have been built by the Spanish in the 17th century. It is said to be the oldest church on Long Island and there are plans to add St. Mary’s to the national register of historic places. Gaze in wonder at the world’s deepest blue hole, dipping some 600 feet into the ocean floor right off shore. Explore the cave system where Lucayan artifacts were discovered in 1935. U.S. currency is accepted and is interchangeable with the Bahamian dollar. In September through May, the temperature on the Island averages 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit; the rest of the year is warmer, with temperatures between 80 and 85 degrees. Nighttime temperatures are generally cooler by 5-7 degrees. All U.S. citizens and foreign nationals traveling to/from the United States to/from The Bahamas are required to present a valid passport, passport card or WHTI-compliant document to re-enter the United States. All Canadian citizens traveling to/from Canada to/from The Bahamas are required to present either a valid passport, an official birth certificate or an original naturalization/citizenship certificate. For more information please visit Bahamas.com.