Which Nassau Pig Beach Tour Is Right for You?

Are there swimming pigs in Nassau?

Not on New Providence itself, the island Nassau is on. Nassau is the departure point for several different swimming-pig trips, and the island a tour goes to is what separates them.

Tours from Nassau go to Rose Island, to the neighbouring Pearl and Athol islands, to private islands with their own pigs such as Powerboat Adventures’ Ship Channel Cay, or all the way into the Exuma Cays to Big Major Cay. Swimming pigs in the Bahamas maps every one of them.

What is the original Pig Beach?

The original and best-known Pig Beach is on Big Major Cay in the Exuma Cays, about 89 miles southeast of Nassau.

If the original matters to you, look for Big Major Cay or Pig Beach, Exuma in the itinerary, because many Nassau tours use “Pig Beach” in their title for a different island. Our Big Major Cay guide covers what the island is like and how long you get there.

Start here: do you need Big Major Cay specifically?

This is the whole decision, and it is worth being honest with yourself about the answer.

Big Major Cay in the Exumas is Pig Beach. It is where the photographs come from, it is uninhabited, and the pigs there roam free. Getting to it from Nassau means about two hours each way in a fast boat and a day that runs roughly nine to half past four. Three tours on this site go there, starting at $378.

The pigs on Rose, Pearl and Athol islands are twenty to forty minutes from the harbour. They are hand-raised and managed rather than wild, which in practice makes them calmer and more reliably present. You will get the same photograph — a pig paddling towards you in absurdly clear water — for $67 to $145, in half a day.

If you have told people you are going to Pig Beach and you mean that beach, pay the $378. If what you want is the experience rather than the postcode, everything below $150 does it better per hour and per dollar.

Quick comparison: Nassau swimming pigs tours by type

Six kinds of pig tour from Nassau

Option 1: Rose Island swimming pigs tour

For most people staying in Nassau, Rose Island is the practical choice. It is far closer than Big Major Cay and turns up on most half-day and day-trip itineraries, usually combined with beach time, snorkelling, drinks, lunch and another island stop.

The most-booked is the 3 Islands tour at $125: four hours, with more than 3,500 reviews, snorkelling off Pearl Island, a turtle stop at Green Cay and two hours on Rose Island with lunch and kayaks.

Option 2: Exuma swimming pigs tour from Nassau

This is the choice if you want the original Pig Beach. The Exuma tours are about much more than the pigs: depending on the operator, the day includes Big Major Cay, Allen’s Cay for the rock iguanas, Compass Cay for the nurse sharks, a sandbar, snorkelling and lunch ashore. The two best options are in the picks below, and our Exuma page compares all four operators.

Option 3: Half-day swimming pigs tour from Nassau

A half-day tour is a strong choice if the pigs are your priority and you do not want to spend a whole day on the water. These trips stay close to Nassau.

The shortest are the Swimming Pigs Express at $79, two islands in under three hours with pig feeding included (4.1 from 262 reviews), and the 2½-hour pigs and snorkel catamaran at $119, which adds a reef, lunch and an open bar.

Option 4: Swimming pigs and snorkelling tour

Most pig tours from Nassau add snorkelling, because the cays around the harbour have shallow reefs and clear water within a few minutes of each other (Nassau snorkelling tours covers the reef-only and turtle trips too, and the turtle snorkel tours guide compares the Green Cay stops). Besides the 5½-hour catamaran pick below, the pigs, snorkel and beach club tour leaves from Paradise Island for $123, and the Rose Island pigs and turtles snorkelling tour at $150 adds a stop at the Green Cay turtle sanctuary (4.6 from 115 reviews).

Option 5: Private swimming pigs tour

Private tours are the premium option, with more say over the departure time, the swimming stops, beach time, snorkelling and the pace of the day. They are priced per boat, not per person, which is why they make sense for groups; the private charter pick below explains the arithmetic, and private pig charters covers the rest of the range.

Option 6: Cruise ship swimming pigs excursion

Nassau is a major cruise port, and swimming pigs are one of its most popular shore excursions. For cruise passengers the question is time: a Rose Island or nearby island trip fits a port day far more easily than an eight-hour Exuma run. The cruise-port page lists which tours accept cruise guests.

The picks

Most people: the 5½-hour catamaran, $145

Snorkeling, Pig Beach, Swim with Turtles, and Lunch is the highest-rated Nassau pig tour that carries real review volume — 4.8 across 1,080 guests, where the tours above it on rating have a handful of reviews each. One catamaran does the whole circuit over three cays, so there is no transferring, and five and a half hours is long enough for each stop to be a stop rather than a pause. Lunch is cooked on board, the bar is open throughout, and gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian meals are made to order.

One number to add before you compare it with anything: the pig interaction — feeding them, getting in the water beside them, holding a piglet — is a $30-per-person add-on, not part of the $145. Full breakdown.

Cheapest, and the most time with the pigs: $67

The Rose Island water taxi does one thing. Thirty minutes across from Señor Frog’s on the downtown waterfront, three hours on the island, thirty minutes back. No reef, no turtles, no lunch.

For a lot of people that is the right trade, because three hours is more time with the animals than the $145 catamaran gives you. The pig beach entry fee is inside the ticket, which is not true of several dearer tours. Two departures a day, at 9:30am and 11:30am. Full breakdown.

The real Pig Beach, cheapest: $378

Exuma Cays Swimming Pigs and Iguanas reaches Big Major Cay for $111 less than the next tour that does. The day covers Allen’s Cay for the endangered rock iguanas, Compass Cay for nurse sharks, the sunken plane wreck off Norman’s Cay viewed from the boat, and a Bahamian lunch ashore.

Be clear about the evidence: 3.7 across 12 reviews is the thinnest record of any tour with a page on this site. It is also the lowest rating on this page, and with so few reviews a couple of poor days move the average a long way. If the rating matters more to you than the $111, the $489 alternative is rated 4.9 from 56 reviews. Full breakdown.

The real Pig Beach, best reviewed: $489

Born Free’s island-hopping day rates 4.9 across 56 reviews and snorkels the plane wreck rather than passing it. Landing fees and food for the pigs are both included. It is a shared boat carrying up to 24 guests.

It will not take cruise passengers. Neither will the $329 Powerboat Adventures trip. Full breakdown.

A full Exuma day for less: $329 — but read the island

Powerboat Adventures’ Exuma day trip has 172 reviews at 4.7, more than the other three Exuma tours combined, and it is the cheapest full day in the chain. It goes to Ship Channel Cay, the operator’s own private island at the northern end of the Exumas, and its listing describes the pigs there as resident.

That is not a criticism — an open bar, a lunch buffet, stingrays, a shark feed and a private island for the day is an excellent way to spend $329. It is simply not the beach from the photographs, and the tour title does not make that obvious. Full breakdown.

Groups of four or more: $700 for the boat

The JNC private charter is not priced per person but per group, so the arithmetic flips as the party grows. At six people it works out near $117 each — about what the shared catamarans charge per person — and nobody else is on the boat. For two people it is an expensive morning.

Note the pig interaction is an add-on here too, and that the listing title says up to seven people while GetYourGuide’s price basis says up to six. Full breakdown.

Rose Island vs Exuma: which swimming pigs tour is better?

Choose Rose Island if you want less time on the boat, only have half a day, are on a cruise, are travelling with young children, or mainly want time with the pigs.

Choose Exuma if Big Major Cay is the priority, you want the original Pig Beach, you enjoy a full day on a fast boat, and you want to see the iguanas, the nurse sharks and the sandbars along the way. Pig Beach versus Rose Island compares the two colonies in detail.

How long are swimming pigs tours from Nassau?

Tour length varies a lot. The shortest Nassau-area trips take under three hours, the standard half day runs about four hours, and the longest catamaran circuit five and a half. Every Exuma tour is a full day of about eight hours, because the crossing alone is close to two hours each way.

How much do Nassau swimming pigs tours cost?

Prices depend mainly on distance, the boat, the length of the tour, group size, the number of stops, food and drinks, and what activities are included.

On this site, Nassau-area tours cost $67 to $220 per person, Exuma day trips $329 to $515, and private charters start at $700 for the boat. What it costs to swim with pigs in Nassau goes through each band, including the add-ons.

What should a good swimming pigs tour include?

Before booking, compare the exact island, the boat, the total length, the number of stops, snorkelling equipment, food and drinks, transfers and the cancellation policy. The checklist below covers the three that most often change the real price.

Before you pay

Check whether feeding the pigs is included. This is the single most common gap between two similar-looking prices. On one catamaran it is $30 per person on top; on a private charter it is an add-on at checkout; on the $67 water taxi the entry fee is inside the fare. The exclusions list on each GetYourGuide listing is where it is disclosed.

If you are on a cruise, check you are allowed before you check the times. Two of the four Exuma operators refuse cruise-ship guests outright. See the cruise-port page for which tours take you.

Bring a towel. Not one of the 34 tours here lists towels under inclusions. Add reef-safe sunscreen and a waterproof camera or a dry bag, because the photograph is most of the reason you are going.

Time with the pigs is not proportional to price. Forty minutes at Big Major Cay on an $489 day; three hours on Rose Island for $67. You are paying for distance and for what surrounds the stop, not for pig time.

Everything here cancels free up to 24 hours ahead. Booking early to hold a date costs nothing, and Bahamian weather moves.

Are swimming pigs tours suitable for children?

Many are. The Nassau-area tours suit families best because the boat rides are short.

Check the age limits first: the 5½-hour catamaran and the Swimming Pigs Express do not take children under five, and the Exuma operators do not take babies.

Which tour is best if you get seasick?

A shorter Nassau-area tour is the safer choice, because the Exuma trips spend close to four hours on the boat.

Read the restrictions, too: the $123 pigs, snorkel and beach club powerboat lists people prone to motion sickness as unsuitable, and so does Exuma Escapes. A catamaran is generally steadier in a swell than a small powerboat.

Are swimming pigs tours worth it?

For most visitors, yes, if you choose the right kind. The best tours combine the pigs with a beach, a reef, a turtle stop or a day in the Exumas, so the pigs are the highlight of a good day on the water, not the whole of it.

Best swimming pigs tour for cruise passengers

A nearby island trip is usually the easiest option. The 2½-hour pigs and snorkel catamaran includes pickup at the cruise port and is back well inside a port day.

Whatever you book, leave a comfortable margin before all-aboard; the longest itinerary on offer is rarely the right one for a port day.

Should you choose a speedboat or catamaran?

A speedboat or powerboat is the better choice for covering distance, which is why every Exuma tour uses one.

A catamaran is better for a relaxed, social day and for shorter scenic trips: it has room to move around, and on the 5½-hour tour it has a bar and a galley on board.

Common mistakes when booking Nassau swimming pig tours

• assuming every tour goes to the Exumas
• assuming every “Pig Beach” tour goes to Big Major Cay
• ignoring how much of the day is spent on the boat
• choosing on price alone, without checking whether the pig interaction is included
• booking an eight-hour trip too close to your ship’s departure
• not reading the itinerary

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you swim with pigs from Nassau?

Yes. Thirty-four bookable tours leave Nassau for a swimming-pig colony, from $67.

Where do Nassau swimming pigs tours go?

Depending on the tour, they go to Rose Island, the nearby Pearl and Athol islands, a private island, or into the Exuma Cays to Big Major Cay.

Is Pig Beach close to Nassau?

The original Pig Beach at Big Major Cay is not close to Nassau. It is about 89 miles away, close to two hours each way by fast boat.

Are there pigs on Rose Island?

Yes. Rose Island has its own hand-raised swimming-pig colony, twenty to forty minutes from Nassau, and many Nassau pig tours stop there.

Is Rose Island the original Pig Beach?

No. The original Pig Beach is on Big Major Cay in the Exumas.

Bottom line

There are two main ways to meet the swimming pigs from Nassau.

Choose a Rose Island or nearby Nassau tour if you want a shorter, easier trip with the pigs, a beach and usually some snorkelling.

Choose an Exuma tour to Big Major Cay if the original Pig Beach is the goal and you are happy to give it a full day.

Related reading

• Swimming pigs in the Bahamas — every colony and how to reach it
• Where is Pig Beach? — and whether you can visit from Nassau
• Big Major Cay visitor guide — what the original Pig Beach is like
• Pig Beach versus Rose Island — the two colonies compared directly
• What it costs to swim with pigs in Nassau — including the add-ons
• Is swimming with pigs safe? — and the 2017 deaths
• Best time to visit — month by month