beach perfect caribbean
Cape Santa Maria Beach on Long Island in The Bahamas.
Flights

How to Fly to the Perfect Caribbean Beach  

By: Alexander Britell - June 2, 2024 - 9:04 pm

When it comes to the perfect beach, you know it when you see it. 

The brightness of the sand, the brilliance of the blue, that perfect permutation of palm trees dotting the shore. 

We’ve been to more Caribbean beaches than just about anyone on earth. But this one is special. 

This is Cape Santa Maria Beach, the crown jewel of Long Island in The Bahamas. 

the cape
Cape Santa Maria.

It’s set on the northwestern tip of Long Island, a deliciously uncrowded, pristine gem in the Out Islands, and it’s exactly the kind of dreamy Out Islands shoreline you imagine: that Windex-level shade of turquoise, with sand so white you have to squint just looking at it; a rhythmic, calm lap to the waves. 

Photos don’t do it justice. Even your eyes can’t quite grasp the beauty. 

But spend a week at the Cape Santa Maria beach resort, and you’ll begin to understand it. 

the beach
It’s hard to describe or convey just how beautiful this beach is.

But when it comes to this beach, named for Columbus’ October 1492 landing here, there’s really just one way to fly here: Makers Air, the Fort Lauderdale-based airline that just started the first-ever scheduled nonstop routes between the United States and Long Island’s Stella Maris Airport — just a 10 minute drive from the Cape, as it’s affectionately known. 

Makers is a semi-private airline with a broad network of charter and scheduled flights from its terminal at Fort Lauderdale Executive across the Out Islands — to places like Staniel Cay, Rock Sound and Andros. 

cape with rocks and water
The Cape is one of the best-kept secrets in the Caribbean.

But the new Long Island route is particularly welcome, connecting a fabulously beautiful, decidedly hard to reach spot with the important market of travelers in South Florida. 

So what else do you need to know? 

The Fort Lauderdale-Long Island service runs twice per week, with flights on Sundays and Thursdays, meaning the perfect long weekend or a great option for week (or longer) vacations. 

Even better? Cape Santa Maria isn’t just home to one of the best beaches in the Caribbean — it’s also a tremendous value, with toes-in-the-sand rooms starting at around $295 on a representative booking for next week. 

To learn more, visit Makers Air. 

Popular Posts antigua long bay

25 Perfect Caribbean Beaches to Add to Your Summer Bucket List

There’s nothing like a Caribbean beach in summer. The crowds thin out, the winds relax, and the islands start breathing in a different way. The beaches you thought you knew feel new again— stretches of sand once packed with winter […]


The 15 Best Hotels in Trinidad and Tobago, From Hidden Eco-Retreats to Luxury Towers

trinidad and tobago hotels where to stay

From Port of Spain to Tobago’s quiet coasts, these are the places to check in now No two Caribbean islands are quite like Trinidad and Tobago—and no two hotels here feel the same. This is a destination of contrast: Carnival […]


This Marriott All-Inclusive Resort Is Coming to Barbados —  And You Can Book It With Points

new brand for the caribbean

Barbados has long been a haven for adults in search of refinement — the kind of place where luxury and culture blend in quiet, confident harmony. Now, that ethos is becoming the foundation of a new resort concept that aims […]


Related Posts casa colonial

The 10 Best Caribbean Hotels You Can Book With Hilton Honors Points

There’s something deeply satisfying about unlocking a luxury Caribbean vacation using nothing but your Hilton Honors points. It’s a bit like knowing a secret — the kind of secret that smells like sea salt and sunscreen, and sounds like waves […]


A New Plan to “Reimagine” Caribbean Tourism

caribbean tourism remagining

The Caribbean has long been a mosaic of sun, sea, and culture — but now it wants to be something more. With a bold new roadmap unveiled in New York last month, the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization is charting a […]


Marriott’s Smallest Caribbean All-Inclusive Resort Is An Adults-Only Hideaway With an “Art Crawl” and Beach Ambassadors

all-inclusive caribbean marriott smallest

A quiet road breaks away from the more familiar western coast here and winds past village shops, and salt-blown sea grape trees. There are no mega-resorts. No throngs. No day trippers on quick-shore missions. Just you, the island, and a […]