Briland: Barefoot Luxury, Pink Sands & a Standing Return Ticket to Harbour Island, Bahamas
Curated By
Molly Chester
Curator’s statement
I’ll be honest: Harbour Island is a place I almost don’t want to share. I’ve visited more times than I can justify given my ever-growing bucket list, but I’m already planning my next return. There are no high-rises, no sprawling resorts, no chain restaurants. Instead, there are miles of powder-soft pink sand, impossibly clear water, pastel-painted clapboard houses, and conch shells piled outside every door. Harbour Island is called “the Nantucket of the Caribbean,” and it really does feel like the Nantucket of my childhood. The luxury here is barefoot and unpretentious, and the locals are some of the most genuine and welcoming people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I keep going back, and I think you might too.
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Where to stay on Harbour Island
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Things to do on Harbour Island
Pink Sands Beach on the busiest day of the year
Pink Sands Beach
The beach is the reason people come to Harbour Island, and it delivers on every level. Three miles long, nearly empty even in high season, and genuinely pink. The sand is the same pale blush as the inside of a conch shell, which feels quite fitting, but it gets its color from the crushed shells of tiny reef invertebrates mixed into the coral sand. The water is calm, shallow, warm, and impossibly crystal-clear.
Post up at TeeJay's or Ms. V's
These are the local beach chair and umbrella vendors right on Pink Sands, and they are an essential part of the Harbour Island experience. Rent a pair of chairs, order a rum punch or a cold Kalik beer, and let the afternoon happen to you. Both serve simple snacks and drinks beachside, and the vibe is relaxed, friendly, and gloriously unhurried. This is where you stay for four hours when you planned to stay for one.
Book a full boat day
If you do one “thing” in Harbour Island, make it this! Hire a local captain for the day and let them take you out to the sandbars, where you can wade in ankle-deep water in the middle of the ocean with a drink in your hand, and swing on a practically made-for-instagram swing. Snorkel alongside sea turtles, stop at shallow reefs teeming with fish, or yes, visit the famous swimming pigs. A great captain makes the day, and The Bahamas rewards those who get out on the water!
Snorkel and dive
The waters around Harbour Island are exceptional for snorkeling and diving. The reefs just off Pink Sands Beach and around the harbor are teeming with marine life, including (some very social) sea turtles, rays, and reef fish. Whether you’re a brand new snorkeler or an experienced diver, you will find plenty to see and it’s always a treat to be in the water here.
Explore Dunmore Town
Dunmore Town is one of the most charming villages I have been to anywhere in the world. The clapboard houses are painted in mellow pastels, the picket fences are draped in bougainvillea, and the quarterboards display ever-more-clever house names to spot as you meander around.
Whether you’re walking or zipping around in your golf cart, it is a delight to pop in to the many boutiques (Blue Rooster always has something to catch the eye), galleries (a print from Princess St Gallery has never failed to wind up in my homebound suitcase), and souvenir shops (Dilly Dally is a personal favorite).
Places to eat & drink on Harbour Island
Dunmore Deli: no better spot for breakfast.
A quick leading note: dining on Harbour Island is excellent but expensive, and there are no truly “budget” options to speak of. This is a tiny island that imports nearly everything (the produce and seafood are local and amazing), so come prepared and lean into it. The quality and the setting makes everything taste better.
Rock House Restaurant
Rock House is a classic that has earned its reputation. Set within the boutique hotel of the same name, the restaurant is intimate and beautiful, with a “dress it up, dress it down” vibe that can feel both special-occasion and completely relaxed at the same time. The menu focuses on fresh, local ingredients and Bahamian classics.
Acquapazza
An Italian restaurant in The Bahamas sounds like a strange combination until you try Aquapazza’s Conch Capellini Fra Diavolo. The seafood here is as fresh as it gets, and the kitchen knows exactly what to do with it. Plan on a long dinner and a good bottle of wine.
Da Vine Wine Merchants
Speaking of strange combinations, Da Vine is a sushi restaurant inside a wine shop, and it is my favorite restaurant on the island! The sushi is excellent, with classics like a best-in-the-biz yellowtail jalepeno roll, and their kitchen menu is full of outstanding and completely original takes like Szechuan Grouper and Chili Garlic Shrimp that I cannot for the life of me replicate at home.
Queen Conch
You cannot go to The Bahamas and not eat conch, and Queen Conch is the place to do it here. This is a local institution: casual, fun, unpretentious, and serving the best of the best fresh conch fritters and cracked conch around. Order the conch salad if it is available, then order it again the next day.
Dunmore Deli
Dunmore Deli is the go-to for a casual breakfast, a quick lunch, or picking up supplies for the beach. The spicy breakfast sandwich is way more than the sum of its parts in deliciousness, and they have ceiling fans on their covered porch—what more could you want?
Dinner at home with your private chef
The utmost luxury is not having to think about dinner at all. If you rent a villa (perhaps the best way to visit Briland), hiring a private chef completes the stay like nothing else can. Having a little cocktail with your traveling companions on your patio while dinner is made (and cleaned up after!) is peak island living.
Need to know
Getting there
Fly into North Eleuthera Airport (ELH), which has connecting service through Nassau and direct service from several U.S. cities, including Miami and Atlanta.
From the airport, a short taxi ride takes you to the ferry dock, and then a quick water taxi across the harbor deposits you on the island. The whole journey from airport to island takes perhaps 20 minutes. This is not a stressful series of steps that you need to prebook, and it really just flows from baggage to taxi to water taxi and there you are!
Getting around
There are functionally no cars on Harbour Island. Golf carts are the universal mode of transport, and renting one for your stay is the move. It is so fun.
When to go
Harbour Island is beautiful year-round, but the sweet spot is December through April. Shoulder season (late April through early June) is also genuinely lovely: fewer visitors, lower prices, and the water is warm. Hurricane season runs ~August through November, and many resorts close for the season during this time.
Budgeting
This is not an inexpensive destination—there is no way around it. It is not glitzy by any means, but prices for food in particular can come with a bit of sticker shock.
Practical notes
The Bahamian dollar is pegged 1:1 with the U.S. dollar; both are accepted everywhere.
The island is very small and very safe, and the sense of community here is genuine. It is truly an island to return to again and again.
Travel Advisor
Molly Chester
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