The challenge of the long-weekend vacation getaway: you need three or four days to relax, recharge and refresh, but in the week running up to your departure, you must plan your vacation, pack, make sure your work duties will be covered, double check that pets, children and parents will be well cared-for in your absence, and guarantee that your house won’t burn down — whew. Okay. Deep breaths. And by the time you are ready to leave, you have twice the stress as usual to alleviate.

Fortunately, if you’re based in Eastern Canada, the Bahamas offer a great opportunity for a short vacation to another world. A direct flight from Toronto or Montreal to Nassau takes only about three hours, and there is no time change involved. Nassau, on New Providence island, has everything most people require for a vacation: sun, sand, and plenty of rum. This most populous island in the Bahamas archipelago features a bustling tourist-friendly city boasting many large brand-name resorts not far from the airport, including the recently renovated Sheraton Cable Beach which has a relaxed stylishness to the decor, plenty of pools and beach territory to enjoy, and a mature vibe that will suit anyone not thrilled by the battle cry “Spring Break.”

Nassau, though, is a quintessential tourist town, besieged daily by an armada of cruise ships. Because it is so near the US — New Providence island is only a few hundred kilometres east of southern Florida — a short-stay visitor might be forgiven for feeling like he has landed in an extension of the Sunshine State, a colony of South Beach. That feeling is exactly what some vacationers need to unwind, a place where a hard day of tanning can be topped off with a little but of bottle service and Beyonce — and if you prefer your bottle of Cristal to arrive with sparklers, head straight for Aura, the hedonistic Vegas-style nightspot at the famous Atlantis hotel and casino on Nassau-adjacent Paradise Island.

For those who need a slower-paced getaway, the lesser-known and less-frequented Bahamian islands offer everything one needs to forget the meaning of the word “stress.”

Upon landing in Nassau, a short wait in the town’s unassuming airport, followed by a 45-minute flight on a 10- or 20-seat propeller airplane can take you to an idyllic place like Long Island. The Beechcraft that took our group featured interior styles reminiscent of a well-preserved 1980 Lincoln Town Car, and in a plane that size every seat is both a window and an aisle seat, every passenger can enjoy a peaceful view puffy pink clouds hanging over a necklace of green islands in the turquoise sea.

Long Island is one of the “home islands” — the more southerly Bahamian islands that mark the border between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is an 80-odd kilomtre long strip of land with a single main road dotted by settlements and coves. Somewhere around the middle sits the Stella Maris resort, a  venerable family-run collection of single-storey accomodations clustered around a few pools, a place where the doors have no locks, because none are needed. (They do have a safe for valuables at the front desk, which one senses is there more for peace of mind than security).

Upon arrival at the resort, shoulder knots start to untie themselves, as the salty ocean scents drift through the palms, and the conch fritters, the rum punch and gentle guitar music at the pre-dinner social gathering at the Stella Maris club house work their magic. Any stubborn remaining tension will be shown the door by the next morning’s excursion to Cape Sanata Maria at the end of Long Island, home of a long and lithe stretch of beach, ranked among the best in the world — which, nonetheless we had to ourselves, bar a couple of figures strolling far far away along the sands. Snorkelling above the nearby reef, gazing lazily at the irridescent fish in their shimmering schools will have you forget exactly what that whole concept of  “stress” was ever about.