America Country Guide

Health and Vaccinations

Tetanus: Yes
Typhoid: Sometimes
Diptheria: Sometimes
Malaria: No
Rabies: No
Hepatitis A: Sometimes
Yellow Fever: No. Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate required by travellers aged over one year travelling from an infected area.

Health Care

Medical facilities in The Bahamas are as good as those in the USA, and as costly too!

The authorities in The Bahamas strongly advise full travel insurance for all travellers to the country. Make sure that the cost of air ambulance is covered in the insurance coverage.

Travel Advice

From time to time, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK issues Travel Advisories for visits to The Bahamas. Accordingly, most visits to The Bahamas are trouble-free but the global threat from international terrorism can never be ruled out. Therefore, the travellers should take adequate precautions while visiting the places of tourists’ interest in The Bahamas.

The months from June to November are Hurricane months in The Bahamas. So, the travellers are advised to consult the local weather office before planning their visit to the country during these times.

Few incidents of violent crimes have been reported in the country. Though mostly locals are involved and affected; yet tourists should take proper caution as stray incidents of robbery when alone involving foreign travellers have also been reported.

While indulging in water-sports activities in The Bahamas, avoid renting jet-skis in New Providence and Paradise Island due to poor facilities in these areas that have resulted in several fatal incidents in the past.

At the time of publishing, this information is correct. However, the travel advice is periodically and rapidly updated. Therefore, all the visitors are advised to contact at the following addresses for the latest travel advice:

British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Tel - 0845 850 2829
Website - www.fco.gov.uk

US Department of State
Website - www.travel.state.gov/travel

Passport and Visa Info

Passport

Passport is required for all nationals of the countries as mentioned in the chart above except nationals of:
Note 1: Canada, provided they are holding a birth certificate; and
Note 2: USA

Passport is valid for at least six months from the date of arrival in the country.

For detailed information about the documents required, the visitors are advised to consult their local embassy.

Special Note: Passports issued on or after 26 October 2005 require a biometric identifier in order to enable the holder to travel visa-free under the VWP. Machine-readable passports issued between 26 October 2005 and 25 October 2006 require a digital photograph printed on the data page or an integrated chip with information from the data page. Machine-readable passports issued on or after 26 October 2006 will require an integrated chip with information from the data page (e-passport).

(iv) As of 23 January 2007, all persons, including US citizens, travelling by air between the USA and Canada, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda are required to present a valid passport, or other approved document, when entering or re-entering the USA. For further details about the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, please visit the website of the US Department of State (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html)

Visas

Visa is not required by nationals of the abovementioned countries except nationals of:
Note 3: those from Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia; those from Austria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Sweden for visits of over three months; nationals of Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and the UK for stays of over eight months.
Note 4: those from Australia, Canada and the USA for stays of over eight months.

Visa Fee for UK travellers: Single Entry - £30; Multiple-entry: £40 (3 to 6 months); £50 (6 to 12 months). Payable by cash only.