Bahamas island hopping and Florida – trip for licensed pilots and passengers

The resort lies near Governor's Harbour on Eleuthera, on the sheltered Caribbean side of the island, with its own jetty into the turquoise water. Governor's Harbour airfield is a short drive away, as is the settlement with its restaurants and fish market.

The resort belongs to a colonial-style settlement running down a planted slope to the water. Lawns, palms and narrow paths lie between the houses; the pool sits centrally among the villas and the jetty reaches far out into the bay.

The accommodation is free-standing villas with white verandas and tiled roofs. A partial ocean-view villa with a king-size bed at around 65 m² is booked; larger villas are available for a supplement. Inside, pale colours, timber floors, shutters and plenty of light set the tone.

You can swim and snorkel from the jetty, and the water in the bay stays shallow and calm a long way out. Boats come alongside at the house, which makes the hop to Harbour Island or the offshore reefs a short one.

It is no distance to the other side of this narrow island, where the Atlantic runs along long and mostly empty beaches with far more surf. Worth seeing are the Glass Window Bridge in the north, where only a few metres separate the two sides, and the pink sand beaches near Harbour Island.

One night is planned here, after the first leg you fly yourself across from Florida. The next day you continue by air to Northern Eleuthera and by boat to Harbour Island and Pink Sands Beach.

The Staniel Cay Yacht Club sits in the middle of the Exumas, on a small island with its own airstrip and harbour. From the runway it is a few minutes on foot to the dock. Thunderball Grotto, from the 1965 Bond film of the same name, lies just outside, as does Big Major Cay with its swimming pigs.

The club began in the 1950s as a stop for sailors and flyers and has stayed both: marina, airstrip and hotel in one. The tone follows from that. People sit together in the evening, and nobody here has ever needed a tie.

The rooms are brightly painted waterfront bungalows on stilts, around 35 to 45 m², each with its own veranda over the water. Inside they are light and simple, with timber ceilings and large windows onto the bay. Two nights are booked here.

The club restaurant is the island's meeting point, colourful and entirely unstuffy; the lobster at Sea Level has a reputation well beyond the Exumas. What comes in that day is what gets served, with drinks at the bar above the water.

Boats can be hired straight from the dock, usually without a skipper. That puts the neighbouring islands, the sandbanks and the reefs of the Exuma Cays within your own reach. Snorkelling gear comes with them, and Thunderball Grotto is best at low water.

Big Major Cay with its famous swimming pigs is minutes away by boat, as is Norman's Cay with the wreck in the shallows. If you would rather stay, the beach is at the door and the island village can be walked around in half an hour.

The resort lies at the northern tip of Long Island on a white beach that runs for kilometres and shelves very gently. Stella Maris airfield is a short drive away. Dean's Blue Hole, one of the deepest in the world, lies to the south of the island and makes a rewarding local flight.

Single-storey bungalows and villas stand among coconut palms immediately behind the beach, linked by timber walkways through the sand. Nothing rises above the palms; the resort stays low and quiet. The restaurant sits raised directly above the sand.

A bungalow of around 37 m² is booked for two nights. The rooms are bright and simply furnished, with a ceiling fan, large windows and a veranda of their own. From there it is a few steps into the sand. Larger villas with several bedrooms are possible on request.

The beach counts among the finest in the Bahamas and is usually all but empty. The water stays shallow and clear far out. Kayaks, stand-up paddleboards and snorkelling gear are on hand, and the house arranges boat trips.

In a sheltered bay in the south of the island the sea floor drops to more than 200 metres. From above the blue hole reads as an almost black circle in turquoise water, a sight that makes the local flight on day 9 worthwhile. Freedivers from around the world train there.

Two nights are planned here, after the stop at Little Farmers Cay where the airstrip runs straight to the beach. From Long Island you fly back to Tampa via Boca Raton.