Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s recent romantic getaway in the Bahamas triggered a massive surge of online searches for the Caribbean island.
Swift was pictured in a yellow bikini while Kelce went shirtless in blue patterned swim trunks as they enjoyed some fun in the sun on Harbor Island Tuesday in images obtained by Fox News Digital.
Amid the explosion of public interest in Harbour Island, here is what to know about Swift and Kelce’s tropical oasis.
One of the Bahamas’ 700 islands, Harbour Island is located 50 miles east of the Bahamian capital city of Nassau on the island of New Providence. The island is one of the country’s smallest at approximately 3½ miles long and 1½ miles wide. According to the 2010 census, the total population of Harbour Island is 1,762.
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Since there is no airport on Harbour Island, visitors to the island must fly into the North Eleuthera (ELH) airport on the nearby island of Eleuthera. After landing in Eleuthera, visitors can take a water taxi to Harbour Island. Traveling the 1.45 miles between the two islands by water taxi usually takes about seven minutes.
According to the official website for Eleuthera and Harbour Island, celebrities who have rented homes in the idyllic vacation destination include George Clooney, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Hanks, Mick Jagger, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Dwyane Wade, Bono, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Elle MacPherson, Jennifer Hudson, Richard Gere, Tyra Banks and Bella Hadid.
During their vacation, Swift and Kelce reportedly stayed at Harbour Island’s Rosalita House, prompting a 1,556% surge in searches for the luxury, beachfront villa, according to the Daily Mail. The outlet reported that research for the Bahamas spiked 341% after photos of the couple on the beach surfaced online.
Dunmore Town, which was named after the 18th-century governor of the Bahamas, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, is the only town on the island. The town features boutique hotels, small shops, restaurants, grocery stores and a historic district.
Harbour Island is most famed for its 3-mile stretch of pink sand beaches. The beaches’ pink hue is derived from foraminifera, a microscopic organism that has a reddish-pink shell.
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Bordering the pink beaches is the most exclusive enclave of the island, The Narrows, also known as Millionaire’s Row.
According to CNBC, Bill Gates, Ron Perlman, former J.Crew and Gap CEO Mickey Drexler, Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group Barry Diller, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and Miami Dophins owner Wayne Huizenga own homes on Harbour Island.
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Though the island features mansions, resorts and private villas, it is best known for its pastel-colored cottages and traditional Bahamian architecture.
Popular activities on Harbour Island include snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming, sunbathing, tennis, horseback ridingand shopping. Tourists can also visit spas for a variety of beauty and wellness treatments.
Originally inhabited by the Arawak, one of the two tribes of Lucayan Indians, Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1492 during an expedition. The Lucayans were subsequently wiped out by the Spanish conquistadors.
The island remained uninhabited for 100 years until British Puritans seeking religious freedom settled on the island in 1650. In 1717, the Bahamas, including the islands of Eleuthera and Harbour Island, became a colony of the British Crown. The Bahamas gained its governmental independence in 1973 and became the 49th member of the British Commonwealth. Its current monarch is King Charles III.
Harbour Island started to become a popular tourist destination in the 1920s. After Bahamas Airlines began flying into the Eleuthera airport, tourism exploded and became the main industry of Harbour Island.
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