Nassau has few mosquitoes. A still sunset is when the no-see-ums bite.

Very few, by most visitors' accounts. Repeat visitors to Paradise Island and cruise passengers on February calls describe hardly seeing a mosquito in Nassau. The CDC lists no malaria in the Bahamas, and the last dengue outbreak, in 2023, has passed. The bite you're likelier to feel is a no-see-um at dusk when the wind drops.

Dengue comes to New Providence in outbreak years

Dengue in the Bahamas arrives in outbreaks rather than every year, and New Providence, the island that holds Nassau and Paradise Island, carried most of the last one. By mid-September 2023, Bahamian press reported 88 confirmed cases and 5 hospitalizations, about 80 of them on New Providence, mainly in residential areas, and the country's first dengue death, a 9-year-old. The 2011 outbreak was larger, with more than 200 confirmed and more than 7,000 suspected cases.

No outbreak has been reported since, and no Bahamas dengue counts have been published for 2025 or 2026. The CDC's dengue risk page, updated in October 2026, still puts the Bahamas in its "frequent or continuous" group, though the country isn't on the CDC's global dengue notice. In its October 20, 2026 update, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said dengue across the Americas was well below 2025 levels but had risen in recent weeks in the Caribbean. That calls for a daytime repellent habit and a look at the local news before you fly.

There is no malaria to plan around. The CDC Yellow Book lists "No malaria transmission" for the Bahamas, and the Great Exuma episodes of 2006 and 2008 were on another island. Our Bahamas briefing covers that history and the Out Islands, where no-see-ums are far more of a story.

Few mosquitoes, and a midge hour

Reports from New Providence are mostly about how few mosquitoes visitors saw. Cruisers say beaches with any breeze tend to be bug-free, and that jungle tours and still air are where mosquitoes show up.

The exception is the Bahamian "sand fly," a biting midge that Americans call the no-see-um. Midges are weak fliers that a breeze grounds, so they come out on still evenings, at the sheltered back of a beach or on a garden terrace at sunset, and they bite ankles and lower legs. Our sand fly guide explains the insect. The dengue mosquito, Aedes, keeps a different schedule. It lives around settlements and gardens and bites in daylight, with peaks after sunrise and in the late afternoon.

At night, sleep with the air-conditioning on and the balcony door shut. Our dengue & Zika routine has the full daytime schedule.

Where you're going

Scores are for a December–April trip, the drier and breezier half of the year.

Heading on to Grace Bay? Our Turks and Caicos briefing covers Providenciales and Grand Turk.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor and Cruise Critic threads and linked so you can read them in full. None is dated, and one calm evening can change the picture on any visit.

• Paradise Island / New Providence · May and November

  A long-time visitor saw only two mosquitoes in 77 days spread over 12 trips in May and November. Another poster could not recall a single bite on New Providence. TripAdvisor ↗

• Nassau and Freeport (cruise stops) · February

  A cruiser said they had not run into mosquitoes on February visits but advised packing repellent anyway in case conditions change. Cruise Critic ↗

• Nassau (cruise stop)

  Cruisers who had been to Nassau said they saw no mosquitoes. Posters said beaches with any breeze tend to be bug-free and that jungle tours and still air are where mosquitoes show up. Cruise Critic ↗

• Atlantis, Paradise Island · February

  A pregnant traveler planning a February trip asked whether mosquitoes were a reason to cancel. Replies were split: one poster advised cancelling, while several reported few or no mosquitoes, including one writing from Atlantis during their stay who had not seen a single mosquito. TripAdvisor ↗

A few last notes. The CDC's Bahamas page lists Zika and warns that "An infected pregnant woman can spread it to her unborn baby," so if you're pregnant, review the CDC's Zika guidance before you book. The CDC also advises preventing mosquito bites for three weeks after you get home. And any fever during or after the trip means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were in the Bahamas.

Traveler questions