Swimming Pigs
Rose Island in a morning, or Exuma for the day.
The Experience
A 5½-hour catamaran run to three cays off Nassau, with the strongest rating of any high-volume pig tour in the catalogue.
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Select your preferred date and time. Instant confirmation — free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
Four steps from choosing a pig beach to standing in the water with them.
The pigs in every photograph you have seen live on Big Major Cay in the Exumas, about 80 miles from Nassau — a full day and $329 upward. Nassau's own colonies on Rose, Pearl and Athol islands are twenty to forty minutes out and start at $67. Both are real; only one is Pig Beach.
Several operators sell the boat trip and the pig interaction separately. One catamaran here lists feeding, swimming with the pigs and holding a piglet as a $30-per-person add-on; a private charter sells it at checkout. Read the exclusions before you compare two prices.
Two of the four Exuma day trips on this site refuse cruise-ship passengers outright, because an eight-hour run to the Exumas does not fit a port call. The Nassau-area tours are built for it, and several collect you at the cruise port.
Every tour on this site confirms instantly and cancels free up to 24 hours ahead. Almost none of them supply towels. Bring one, plus reef-safe sunscreen and a waterproof camera — the photograph is most of the reason you are going.
How It Actually Works
Here is the part the photographs leave out: a full-day trip to Big Major Cay is about four hours on a boat and forty minutes with the pigs. That is not a complaint about the operators — it is what 89 miles each way costs. What you are buying is the Exumas, with the pigs as the headline stop. This is Born Free's published itinerary, hour by hour.
Photo Gallery
Swimming pigs, green turtles and reef, twenty minutes to an hour off New Providence.
Three ways to meet swimming pigs from Nassau, and what each one actually costs you in money and daylight.
| Feature | MOST PEOPLE Nassau-Area Pig Tour | Exuma Day Trip to Pig Beach | Going Independently |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which pigs | Rose, Pearl or Athol island colonies — managed and hand-raised | Big Major Cay, the original Pig Beach from the photographs | Big Major Cay, if you can reach it |
| Distance from Nassau | 20–40 minutes by boat | About 89 miles — close to 2 hours each way | About 89 miles |
| Price | $67 – $220 per person | $378 – $515 per person | Private charter or a chartered flight — dearer than every tour here |
| Time it costs you | Half a day, 2½ to 5½ hours | A full day, typically 9am to 4:30pm | A full day, plus arranging it |
| Time actually with the pigs | 1 to 3 hours, depending on the tour | About 40 minutes — the rest is the Exumas | As long as you like |
| Works on a cruise port call | ✓ Several collect from the cruise port | ✗ Two of four operators refuse cruise guests outright | ✗ Not realistically |
| Also includes | Reef snorkelling, turtles, lunch, often an open bar | Rock iguanas, nurse sharks, a plane wreck, lunch ashore | Whatever you arrange yourself |
| Scheduled public transport | ✓ Water taxis run twice daily from downtown | ✓ Daily departures from Paradise Island | ✗ No scheduled ferry from Nassau to Big Major Cay |
| Best for | Anyone who wants the photograph without losing the day | Travellers on a land stay for whom the specific beach is the point | Groups already chartering a boat for other reasons |
| Check Availability | Compare Exuma Tours |
More Ways to Do It
Water taxis, half-day catamarans, cruise-port pickups, full-day Exuma powerboats and private charters.
MOST REVIEWED
LOWEST PRICE
CRUISE PORT PICKUP
BIG MAJOR CAY
PRIVATE ISLAND
PRIVATE CHARTERThe photograph that brought you here was almost certainly taken on Big Major Cay, an uninhabited island in the Exumas. That beach is the one the travel press means by Pig Beach, and it sits about 89 miles southeast of Nassau — roughly two hours each way in a fast boat.
Nassau also has swimming pigs. They live on Rose Island, Pearl Island and Athol Island, between twenty and forty minutes from the harbour, and they are a different proposition: hand-raised and managed rather than free-roaming, reachable in a morning, and available from $67.
Both are real animals in real water, and a good day out. But a tour title containing the words “Pig Beach” tells you nothing about which one you are booking, and the price gap runs from $67 to $515. This site separates them.
Four operators on this site run the full distance. Three of them reach Big Major Cay itself: Born Free’s island-hopping day at $489 (our breakdown), Exuma Escapes’ powerboat run at $378 (our breakdown), and Aqua Shores’ luxury powerboat tour at $515. The shape of the day is consistent between them: an hour out to Allen’s Cay to feed the rock iguanas, on through the cays to Compass Cay to wade with nurse sharks, then Big Major Cay for the pigs, a sandbar stop and a Bahamian lunch.
The fourth is the one to read carefully. Powerboat Adventures’ Exuma day trip is the cheapest full day at $329 and has by far the most reviews of any Exuma option, but it goes to the company’s own private island at Ship Channel Cay, at the northern end of the chain. Its pigs are described in its own listing as resident — the operator’s animals, on the operator’s beach. It is a genuinely good day, with an open bar, a lunch buffet, stingrays and a shark feed. It is not Big Major Cay (our breakdown).
The time on the pigs’ beach is shorter than most people expect. Born Free’s own itinerary allocates forty minutes at Pig Beach against nearly four hours of boat time. You are buying the Exumas, with the pigs as the headline stop.
Closer to home the catalogue is deep — around thirty tours between $67 and $220, most of them a half day combining pigs with reef snorkelling, a turtle stop and lunch at a beach club. The cheapest, the Rose Island water taxi, does nothing else: a thirty-minute ferry from Señor Frog’s on the downtown waterfront, three hours on the island, and the pig-beach entry fee included in the ticket (our breakdown).
That inclusion matters more than it sounds. On several tours the boat and the pig interaction are sold separately. The catamaran featured at the top of this page lists feeding the pigs, swimming with them and holding a piglet as a $30-per-person add-on rather than part of the fare, and the JNC private charter sells the same interaction at checkout. Two tours advertised at similar prices can therefore differ by $30 a head once the thing you came for is included. The exclusions list on each listing is where this is disclosed, and it is worth thirty seconds before you compare.
Nassau is a port call, and the catalogue splits on that fact. Two of the four Exuma day trips — Powerboat Adventures and Born Free — refuse cruise passengers outright in their own booking conditions. An eight-hour run to the Exumas plus transfers does not reliably fit between docking and all-aboard, and they would rather not sell you the risk.
The other two Exuma operators accept cruise guests, and most of the Nassau-area tours are built around them, with several collecting from the cruise port itself. If your ship is alongside for a standard day, the honest answer is that the nearer colonies are the sensible choice and the Exumas are a trip for a land-based stay.
Almost everything here is a question of how much of your day the pigs are worth. If the specific beach from the photographs is the point, only three tours go there and they cost from $378. If what you want is to stand in clear water while a pig paddles over, Rose Island does that for $67 and gives you the afternoon back. Our guide to which Nassau pig beach tour is right for you walks the choice tour by tour, and Pig Beach versus Rose Island compares the two colonies directly.
Every tour on this site confirms instantly and cancels free up to 24 hours ahead, so an early booking costs nothing if the forecast turns.
Guest Reviews
Ratings and review counts are the tour operators' live figures on GetYourGuide and may shift slightly day to day.
"totally worth every second ! we loved the ride on the catamaran , the hammocks up front are sick. crew is fantastic. food is outstanding. (real food, great chef) we got to snorkel a lot longer and found a bunch of really cool items. 10/10 worth the money and would do it again. thanks again guys!"
"We had a great time on this activity. The operator was amazing to work with after our cruise ship was delayed arriving in port and they found great places for us to snorkel despite there being rain. The food and drinks were delicious too. We would definitely do this again!"
"Very good day with wonderful stops, good drinks and food"
"Everything was as advertised, but the experience was truly incredible. The captain was incredibly friendly and kid-friendly, and the crew was incredibly helpful and hospitable. The food was delicious, and the open bar offered a wide variety of drinks without any restrictions. The coral reefs, swimming with pigs, starfish diving, and turtle encounters were out of this world. I highly recommend this trip! Thank you all!"
"Carlos, Omar, and crew were great. Everything was on time. Very relaxing on the boat, it was much more spacious than expected. Food was delicious and drinks were cold. I appreciated the laid back cruising speed of the catamaran vs the other cruises that where on a much faster boat. We had a great time and would definitely recommend. Thank you guys!"
"Our whole family had a great day! High lite of our trip"
"We had the best time. The staff was incredible, the food was amazing, and we had such an incredible time!"
"It was one of my family favorites! It was a good value and they arrived on time to start the none rushed experience."
Read all 1050 verified reviews
See All ReviewsThirty-four bookable pig tours from Nassau, from a $67 water taxi to a full day in the Exumas. Every one on this site cancels free up to 24 hours ahead. Starting from $145 per person.
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The questions people actually search before booking a swimming-pig trip from Nassau.
Not the famous one. Pig Beach proper is on Big Major Cay in the Exumas, about 89 miles southeast of Nassau — close to two hours each way in a fast boat, and a full-day trip from $378. Nassau has its own swimming-pig colonies on Rose Island, Pearl Island and Athol Island, which are 20 to 40 minutes from the harbour and start at $67. Both are genuine; only one is Pig Beach. Our Pig Beach versus Rose Island guide compares them side by side.
Across the 34 bookable tours on this site, prices run from $67 for a Rose Island water taxi to $515 for a full day in the Exumas, with most half-day trips between $109 and $150. Private charters are not priced per person but per group, starting at $700. The figure to watch is the pig interaction itself: on several tours feeding the pigs and swimming with them is a paid add-on rather than part of the fare — one catamaran charges $30 per person for it. See our full cost breakdown.
Yes, but not every tour. Most Nassau-area trips are built for cruise passengers and several collect from the cruise port itself. The Exuma day trips are a different matter: two of the four operators on this site — Powerboat Adventures and Born Free — exclude cruise-ship guests outright, because an eight-hour run to the Exumas plus transfers does not fit safely inside a port call. Our cruise-port page lists which tours accept you.
Less than most people expect on the Exuma trips and more than they expect close to Nassau. Born Free's published itinerary allocates 40 minutes at Big Major Cay against roughly four hours of boat time. The $67 Rose Island water taxi, by contrast, leaves you on the island for three hours. If time with the animals is what you are buying, the cheaper tour gives you more of it.
They are large animals that associate people with food, and they will push, nudge and occasionally nip when they are being fed. Operators run waivers for that reason, and several exclude young children, pregnant travellers and people with mobility impairments. The managed Nassau-area colonies are generally calmer than the free-roaming Exuma pigs because they are hand-raised and handled daily. Our safety and ethics guide covers the 2017 Big Major Cay deaths and what changed afterwards.
December to April is the Bahamian dry season and the most reliable stretch for a boat day, with Nassau in the 70s to low 80s Fahrenheit and little rain. Water clarity peaks slightly later, between May and August, when visibility can exceed 100 feet — better for the snorkelling half of these tours. Hurricane season runs June to November and peaks between August and early October. See the month-by-month guide.
Not for most Nassau-area tours, where the pigs come into shallow water you can stand up in and life vests are provided. Some Exuma operators do list non-swimmers as unsuitable, and the reef snorkelling stops on the longer tours assume you are comfortable in open water. Each tour page on this site lists that operator's own restrictions.
Food usually is on anything over three hours — most half-day catamarans include lunch and many pour unlimited rum punch. Towels are not: no tour in this catalogue of 34 lists them under inclusions, so pack your own along with reef-safe sunscreen and a waterproof camera or dry bag.
Every tour on this site cancels free up to 24 hours before departure and confirms instantly, so booking early to hold a date costs nothing if the forecast turns or your plans move.
If the specific beach from the photographs is the point, only three tours here reach Big Major Cay and they start at $378. If you want to stand in clear water while a pig paddles over, Rose Island does that for $67 and gives you the afternoon back. Our booking guide walks the decision tour by tour.
Still have questions? Email us at info@nassaupigbeachtours.com
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