Nassau is the Bahamas' hub, so a lot of what is sold here happens somewhere else. The fast boats to the Exuma Cays, with their swimming pigs and iguanas, leave from the Paradise Island ferry terminal and are back by evening. Closer to home, the south-west coast of New Providence has some of the best and most accessible diving in the country, with walls, wrecks and the shark dives that made Stuart Cove's name. Downtown is small enough to walk, and the food and history walks are a better introduction to it than the cruise-ship strip on Bay Street.