This Airline Is Adding Daily Flights to a Caribbean Island With Bungalow Hotels, Legendary Music and Some of the Best Beaches You’ve Ever Seen 

The beaches. The music. The calm. You can spend the whole day on a beach in Cat Island and never see another soul. It’s one of those fantasy islands, the ones you think don’t exist anymore, where the sand is sugar white, the water is brilliant turquoise and you feel like you have the entire place to yourself. 

And it’s getting even simpler to visit the island. Makers Air, the Fort Lauderdale-based carrier that connects South Florida to a range of Out Islands in The Bahamas, is expanding its Fort Lauderdale-Cat Island flights to daily this month. 

That’s a huge lift for the island, which has always been one of my favorite places to visit in the region. The service includes stops in both of Cat Island’s airports, New Bight-Freetown and Arthur’s Town. 

When you come to Cat Island, you instantly fall in love: with the pace, with the scenery, with the feel. It’s the essence of what’s so cool about the Out Islands — timeless, low-key and filled with stunning natural beauty. 

And did we mention Rake and Scrape? The unique sound that’s so integral to the culture of The Bahamas was actually born on Cat Island — and this weekend is actually the island’s annual festival honoring the art form. 

Where to stay on Cat Island

The hotels in Cat Island are all small, and mostly consist of boutique, bungalow-style retreats where you step out onto the sand. 

The island’s hotel product also includes one of my favorite hotels in the region: the Rollezz Villas Beach Resort, the family-owned, colorful bungalow hotel that just so happens to be set on Old Bight Beach, the signature stretch of sand on the island. Rooms start at $316 right now.

What I like the most about Makers Air is it’s semi-private; that means you head to their hangar in Fort Lauderdale’s Executive Airport, check in, walk to a chair and wait for your flight.

The Makers Air flights run about $910 roundtrip, but you’re getting a far more comfortable, luxurious experience than on commercial aviation. And this is the only international route to Cat Island, so it’s worth every penny.

Because when you arrive on the island, you feel like you’ve discovered the next great paradise. And it’s all yours.