The water around Great Exuma is so brilliantly blue, astronauts can pick it out from orbit. Down at sea level, it's even better. The Exumas stretch across a chain of 365 cays, and many of them feel like your own private island. Here, the tides and the breeze set the schedule, and island time is simply how life works.

Days are spent chasing sandbars that rise and vanish with the tide and snorkeling into Thunderball Grotto, where sunlight beams through openings in the limestone ceiling. Swim alongside the famous pigs of Big Major Cay, then pull up to Chat 'N' Chill for fresh conch salad with your toes in the sand. The vibe is barefoot and unpretentious, a world away from the bright lights of Nassau. Nature outnumbers people here, and every hidden cove is an invitation to put the phone away and just enjoy the sea.

Great Exuma is made for boaters, beach lovers and anyone who thinks a deserted shoreline is the ultimate luxury. I'll line up the right place to stay and the boat days that get you to the pigs, the grotto and the sandbars at the best times.