Lit by only the flame of the crackling bonfire, 80-year-old Christopher Stubbs regales us with humorous yarns passed down to him by his grandparents many years ago, to the soundtrack of the waves gently lapping on Old Bight Beach.

The Cat Island local is a storyteller in his spare time, and is sharing his favourite tale, featuring a goat and a magistrate as unlikely main characters.

The details of this particular story are hazy in my mind, perhaps due to the delicious homemade rum-laced iced tea I’ve been sipping. But the evening itself will live long in my memory as an authentic experience far from the typical all-inclusive resort one might expect from a trip to The Bahamas.

Next year, July 10 will mark 50 years since this Caribbean archipelago of 16 major islands gained independence from Britain, and the country is keen to show the world how it has thrived since then.

The islands are mainly accessible by local flights, with some ferry options available. Beginning your trip in Nassau means you can sample city-life before embarking on your adventure to find tranquil beaches on some of the other islands.

Here are some Bahamian highlights to look out for…

Cat Island is the perfect peaceful escape

Pamela Poitier “fell absolutely in love” with the place where her Oscar-winning father Sir Sidney grew up, she says, describing it as somewhere that allowed her to have “sanctuary and peace”.

There is a feeling of the untouched here, with stunning sandy beaches and turquoise waters mere minutes after you leave the tiny airport. Ms Poitier hails the “sense of freedom” as she speaks to us by phone during our island stay.

Gone are the buildings and many residences that line the streets of the heavily-populated Nassau. Instead, lush green vegetation and a picture-perfect coastline greets visitors.

The welcome at Rollezz Villas – with its pastel-coloured wooden lodgings complete with porches and rocking chairs – is a warm one. Yvonne Rolle envelopes me in a hug on arrival and later feeds me a home-cooked dinner of fried chicken, peas and rice, finished off with guava cheesecake.

The family-run resort can cater for up to 28 guests at a time, meaning the beach right on your doorstep is always going to have a private feel. A daytime dip followed by a rest in the hammock can turn into a night-time beach bonfire with traditional Bahamian dancing, storytelling and the renowned rake-and-scrape music, which traditionally features a saw played with a screwdriver, alongside an accordion and drum.

Junkanoo is the carnival you can’t miss

The popular Bahamian parades, which happen at Christmas, New Year and on the annual anniversary of independence, bring a carnival atmosphere as participants don elaborate, vibrant cardboard costumes to dance their way along to the sound of cowbells and goat skin drums.

Arlene Nash Ferguson has taken part in Junkanoo since she was just four years old. Now 72, the retired teacher has combined her love of the national parade with her love for children by converting her childhood home into the Educulture Mini Junkanoo museum and resource centre (31 West St, Nassau; $5/£4).

She teaches local young people and tourists alike the history of the parade, describing it as an act of defiance by slaves who, on a rare few days of freedom around Christmas, covered themselves in paper, despite not being allowed to read or write, and danced through the streets.

“I’m not supposed to have it? I’m gonna decorate myself in it,” she tells us, as she explains how the costumes have developed down through the years to the weighty – some are up to 70 pounds – beaded and feathered outfits seen today.

Sweet and savoury will please your palette

On Grand Bahama island, we hear the history of Johnny cake – a dense bread with its origins in being packed for long journeys years ago. It is thought it was originally known as ‘journey’ cake or bread due to how well it lasted.

Seafood is of course a common part of most meals on the islands, none more so than conch.

“We do conch every which way, so you can conch yourself out,” our guide David tells us with a hearty laugh. The shellfish – pronounced conk – is available battered (known as cracked), stewed in a soup, in a tropical salad with pineapple… the list goes on.

It is one of the most fished marine animals in the Bahamas. To conserve the popular fish, it must only be harvested when its shell has grown to have a well-formed flaring lip, so if you are worried from an environmental perspective, you can ask to see the shell before eating.

Aside from the popular Bahama mama rum drink, the memorably-named Gullywash cocktail – also known as sky juice – is a must-try. Coconut water, sweetened condensed milk and gin combine with a cherry on top to make for a pina-colada style drink best enjoyed by the beach. It’s available at every decent bar.

It’s easy to discover secret spots with locals

Visitors can experience local living through the Bahamas government’s free People to People programme, which aims to match tourists to local ambassadors who can cook them traditional dinners in their homes, and show them hidden gems on the various islands.

Applicants must register two weeks in advance of their travel, and can apply online by visiting bahamas.com.

On Grand Bahama, adrenaline junkies can see some of the island on a quad, as part of a two-hour nature ATV tour (from $60/£48 per person). Aim to time it with the sunset to get the most beautiful views as you negotiate at-times rocky terrain through vegetation, before ending up on a beach drive along the water.

On Cat Island, Dan King is a local guide offering curated paid-for tours, from the ruins of an old plantation house and touching the soft cotton which still grows on plants nearby, to a nature walk over a rocky path through the reeds to the beauty of Great Lake (also known as Mermaid Hole). A full-day tour for two, including food, is approximately $200/£163 through [email protected]

There are ways to help protect the environment

The Bahamas remains part of the Commonwealth and enjoyed a visit from the Prince and Princess of Wales back in early 2022.

Tourists can follow in royal footsteps by dropping into Coral Vita – the world’s first land-based commercial coral farm for the restoration of reefs. Stark statistics greet visitors on arrival, warning that half of the world’s coral reefs have died within the past few decades and without action, it could be 90% by 2050.

But coral restoration specialist Alannah Vellacott has hope for the future. She and her team are growing baby corals to try and regenerate reefs with coral that can withstand the ever-warming climate.

The project won the Revive Our Oceans category in William’s £50 million Earthshot Prize, and Coral Vita hopes to work one day to allow visitors who go diving around the Bahamas to help outplant coral, moving it from the nursery back onto a reef. Currently, it’s possible to book a tour of the facilities ($20/£16; coralvita.co/tours).

How to plan your tripBritish Airways flies from London to Nassau six times a week, with prices starting from £713 return.

Between Nassau and Grand Bahama there are four outbound and four inbound flights per week, from $255 per person return, with local airline BahamasAir (bahamasair.com).

If you have more time, there is one outbound and one inbound ferry per week (Wednesdays), from $229 per person (bahamasferries.com).

Ferries are not available between Nassau and Cat Island, but there are five flights outbound per week and four inbound from $255 per person return, on local airline Western Air (westernairbahamas.com).

A stay at Rollezz Villas (rollezz.com) is $259/£187 per villa, per night, including breakfast (based on two people sharing a one-bedroom villa).

For a full rundown of events in the anniversary year, visit bahamas.com.