Nassau: Discover Exuma Island Hopping and Swimming Pigs Tour

About This Experience

Of the tours on this site that actually reach Big Major Cay, this is the highest rated, at 4.8 across 47 reviews. It is a full day: out of Sterling Marina on Paradise Island, an hour to Allen's Cay for the rock iguanas, on through the cays to Compass Cay to get in the water with nurse sharks, then Big Major Cay for the pigs, a sandbar swim and lunch ashore.

The plane wreck off Norman's Cay is the stop people tend not to expect — a drug-running aircraft ditched in the shallows in the 1980s, now a snorkel site in a few metres of clear water.

Two things to hold in mind before booking. It is a shared boat with up to 24 guests, so it is not a private day. And the schedule gives forty minutes at Pig Beach against close to four hours of running time. That is normal for the distance involved, but it surprises people who have budgeted $489 expecting an afternoon with the pigs.

Cruise passengers cannot book this one. The operator excludes them, and with a day this long that is the right call rather than an inconvenience.

Highlights

• Reaches Big Major Cay, the original Pig Beach, about 89 miles from Nassau
• Snorkel the sunken drug-running plane wreck off Norman's Cay
• Feed the endangered Bahamian rock iguanas on Allen's Cay
• Wade with nurse sharks under the docks at Compass Cay Marina
• A buffet lunch at a local Exuma restaurant rather than a packed meal on the boat
• Food for the pigs and all landing fees are in the ticket

What's Included

• ✓ Full-day speedboat run from Paradise Island into the Exuma Cays
• ✓ Forty minutes at Big Major Cay with the swimming pigs
• ✓ Allen's Cay rock iguana stop and Compass Cay nurse sharks
• ✓ Snorkelling at the Norman's Cay plane wreck, with gear
• ✓ Buffet lunch at an Exuma restaurant
• ✓ Local beer, sodas, bottled water and light snacks
• ✓ All landing fees and food for the pigs

Not Included

• Crew gratuity
• Transport to the check-in marina
• Towels

What to Bring

• A beach towel
• Reef-safe sunscreen
• A waterproof camera
• A hat

Good to Know & Caveats

• Cruise-ship passengers are excluded by the operator — the day is too long for a port call.
• This is a shared boat carrying up to 24 guests, not a private charter.
• The itinerary allocates 40 minutes at Pig Beach against roughly four hours of boat time. The Exumas are the day; the pigs are the headline stop.
• Getting yourself to the marina on Paradise Island is not included.
• Landing fees and pig food are included, so there is nothing further to pay at the beach.

Meeting Point

Carnivale Bahamas, 1 Marina Way, Sterling Marina, Hurricane Hole, Paradise Island