Economy Class: Bahamas Bargains

— -- Sometimes you go just so far and discover something wonderful. Go just a little bit farther, and you might find even more.

There are approximately 700 islands of the Bahamas. Beyond the well-known destinations of Nassau/Paradise Island and Grand Bahama Islands is a wealth of Out Islands that offer accessibility (by island-hopper flights and by water) plus an array of more indigenous experiences, unique pleasures — and bargains.

Here are some good buys for those who prefer the many activity options of the more popular islands and for those who favor the quieter, more natural pace of Out Islands.

Brilliant Junkanoo Colors

You can access the activity level of Nassau while still enjoying true Bahamiam spirit and style with a stay at Compass Point, adjacent to Love Beach and eight minutes from Nassau International Airport. Its 20 oceanview cottages are painted in brilliant Junkanoo colors. Your roof may be robin's egg blue, the front of your cottage crimson and the sides of your cottage canary yellow or aqua. Eaves are handpainted in traditional two-color designs. The cottages have full open-air kitchens, complete TV/VCR/CD/cassette entertainment centers and interiors as original as the exteriors. Compass Point has a fresh water pool, an Island Outpost store and tennis, watersports and golf nearby. (877) 364-1100 or www.islandinns.com/37.html.

For economical lodging on Paradise Island, try Comfort Suites, offering junior suite rates from $205 a night through April 28. After that date, they should drop to about $160 a night (starting rate), double occupancy. Children age 16 and under can share the suite at no charge. Third and fourth adults sharing the suite are $30 each. These prices include deluxe continental breakfast. The hotel has a pool with swim-up bar and a garden restaurant. A big plus is full use of all exclusive features at the Atlantis mega-resort. (800) 228-5150 or www.comfortinn.com/hotel/BS003.

Andros, 20 miles west of Nassau, is the largest, yet one of the least explored, of the Islands of the Bahamas. Its many beaches are often all but deserted. You can often claim one as your own and spend an entire day in relaxing solitude with perhaps only the surprise of a diver surfacing from the shallows. Andros offers five lodging places, designated by the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism as Small Treasures.

Kamalame Cay is a 12-room inn with stone-wrapped roman tubs and rates that include food and beverages. (800) 688-4752, (242) 368-6281 or www.kamalame.com.

Mangrove Cay Inn is an economy option that is a two-minute walk from the beach and close to a dive camp. (800) 688-4752, (242) 369-0069 or www.mangrovecay.com.

Point of View Villas offers 14 small villas set within a botanical garden overlooking the ocean. (800) 688-4752 or (242) 368-2750.

Seascape Inn offers five beachfront cabanas, a full service dive shop, bicycle use for guests, kayaks and snorkel gear. (800) 688-4752, (242) 369-0342 or www.seascapeinn.com.

Small Hope Bay Lodge is comprised of 20 one- and two-bedroom beachfront cottages. Small Hope Bay offers free introductory scuba and snorkeling lessons and a variety of specialty dives for all classes of divers. (800) 223-6961, (242) 368-2013 or 2014, or www.SmallHope.com.

Golfers might try Abaco's Treasure Cay Hotel Resort & Marina, with the naming of its Dick Wilson-designed course a four-star golf package property by Golf Digest magazine. The resort also has a marina, produces theme events such as the Bahamian Junkanoo celebration, and offers fishing, diving, snorkeling and tennis. (800) 327-1584, (954) 525-7711 or www.treasurecay.com.

Cat Island offers Fernandez Bay Village, eight charming cottages painted in tropical colors and each one different from the others. All accommodations in the property are nice. The thatched-roof Shane's Shack, almost touching the water, is particularly desirable with its four-poster bed and caned plantation chairs. (800) 940-1905.

Harbour Island's Pink Sands has one- and two-bedroom cottages set in a brilliant tropical garden. They also make two-line phones, data jacks, fax machines and cellular phones available. All rooms are oceanfront with private paths to the beach. Pink Sands has a fresh water pool, three tennis courts (one lighted for night play), an exercise studio, clubhouse and library, and an Island Outpost Store. PADI diving facilities are nearby, and island tours, fishing charters and other watersports are offered. (800) 688-7678, (305) 531-8800 or www.islandoutpost.com.

A Click or a Call Away

Grand Bahama Vacations offers air/hotel packages using jet travel from Baltimore/Washington, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Fort Lauderdale, Hartford, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New York JFK, Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham and Richmond. New specials are posted weekly. (800) 545-1300 or www.gbvac.com.

Nonstop scheduled air service to Grand Bahamas International Airport is offered from Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, New York JFK and Newark. Bahamasair (www.bahamasair.com), the national airline of the Bahamas, provides flights from Florida to the Bahamas and inter-island service.

The official Bahamas tourism site (www.bahamas.com) includes hotel links, activity and transportation options, and a search function that lets you enter your zip code to locate the name of a nearby travel agent trained in Bahamas travel. A very extensive "unofficial" site can be found at www.bahamasvg.com. One of its most valuable features is information on charter boat tours around the Out Islands. Call them at (242) 327-8653.

Reach the Bahama Out Islands Promotion Board at (800) 688-4752, (305) 931-6612 or www.bahama-out-islands.com.

Tom Parsons is editor of Best Fares Magazine.