Exuma Things to Do

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Exuma is a string of islands and cays in the central Bahamas. Great Exuma and its main town, George Town, anchor the group. People come here for a short list of things: swimming pigs at Big Major Cay, an underwater cave at Thunderball Grotto, wild iguanas on the northern cays, and sandbars that stay empty even in March. Most of it gets seen from a boat. That means a charter out of George Town, or a day tour flown in from Nassau.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time on boats in South Florida and the Florida Keys. Exuma is the trip that boat people still bring up years later. The water out past the cays runs through more blues than I’ve seen off any other bow. The pigs are stranger and friendlier in person than the photos suggest. A few of the cays I’ve stopped at had nobody else on them at all. That almost never happens anymore in the Caribbean.

Exuma Bahamas

Great Exuma runs about 37 miles from tip to tip. George Town is its only real town and the seat of local government. A single road, Queen’s Highway, runs the length of the island. It connects to Little Exuma over a short bridge to the south. North of Great Exuma, the land breaks apart into the Exuma Cays. That chain runs more than 300 small islands and rocks toward Nassau.

Much of that northern chain sits inside the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. It’s a no-take marine reserve the Bahamas National Trust has managed since 1958. The park office lists its hours as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and Sunday mornings only. Boats moving through the park check in on VHF channel 9.

Great Exuma still feels like a small town despite the boat traffic passing through it. Straw stands and conch shacks line the road through George Town. Most of the island runs on Bahamian time, not a cruise-ship schedule.

Boat Tours in Exuma

Almost everything on this list gets visited by boat. There are two ways to do it. Book a day tour or private charter out of Great Exuma itself, which puts you closer to the northern cays and cuts the running time. Or fly in from Nassau on a combined flight-and-tour package. That option costs more, but it needs no overnight stay in the Exumas at all.

Excursion	Hours	Cost (per adult)
Full-day boat tour from Great Exuma (Exuma Water Sports)	About 8 hours	From $435
Powerboat day tour from Nassau (Powerboat Adventures)	About 7.5 hours	From $299 + tax
Fly-in day tour from Nassau (Staniel Cay Adventures)	Full day, door to door	From $700

The Great Exuma option runs longer, since the boat has farther to go to reach Big Major Cay and Staniel Cay. It’s also the cheaper way to see the same stops if you’re already staying on Great Exuma. The Nassau options work well for cruise passengers, or for anyone based in Nassau who wants Exuma as a single, self-contained day.

Book at least a few days ahead in the winter high season. Boats fill up fast, and larger groups get priority on the earlier departure times. Most operators take a deposit online and the balance in cash.

Swimming Pigs in Exuma

The swimming pigs live on Big Major Cay, a small uninhabited island in the northern Exumas. Nobody manages them officially. A colony of feral pigs took up residence there years back, and now they swim straight out to any boat that anchors nearby. Tours stop here first, before the midday heat and before other boats crowd the anchorage.

Bring fruit or vegetables if your tour allows it. Skip anything processed, since pork products and bread are not good for them. The pigs will nose right up to a kayak or paddleboard. Water this shallow means there’s no real risk in swimming with them. Guides usually ask everyone to keep hands well away from their mouths, since a nip from an excited pig still hurts.

Nobody has ever nailed down exactly how the pigs ended up on Big Major Cay. Every guide tells the story a little differently. What’s certain is that they’re well fed and thoroughly used to visitors at this point, since boats come through here daily.

Thunderball Grotto

Thunderball Grotto is a partly submerged cave near Staniel Cay. It’s named for the 1965 James Bond film that used it as a set. Swimmers duck under a low rock opening to come up inside a domed cavern lit by holes in the ceiling. Small fish move through the shafts of sunlight overhead.

Slack tide is the easier time to go, since the current through the entrance picks up as the tide moves. Most day tours schedule the stop for late morning. That’s also when the light through the roof is at its best. Bring a mask; snorkeling gear is usually included in the tour price.

Allen’s Cay Iguanas

Allen’s Cay sits at the northern end of the Exuma chain, closer to Nassau than to George Town. That’s why it shows up on Nassau-based tours rather than the ones out of Great Exuma. The cay is home to the Allen’s Cay rock iguana, a species found nowhere else and protected under Bahamian law. Guides toss out food to draw them down to the sand. They’re used to boats and unbothered by people standing a few feet away.

Tropic of Cancer Beach Exuma

Tropic of Cancer Beach sits on Little Exuma, named for the line of latitude that runs directly through it. It’s a long, quiet crescent of white sand facing open water. It rarely holds more than a handful of people, even during the winter season. If soft, uncrowded sand is what you’re after, this beach delivers it without the crowds.

It’s about a 30-minute drive from George Town down Queen’s Highway, past Forbes Hill and a scatter of small settlements. There are no real facilities once you arrive. Bring your own water and shade.

Chat N Chill Stocking Island

Chat ‘N’ Chill sits on the sound side of Stocking Island, directly across Elizabeth Harbour from George Town. Chat ‘N’ Chill’s own site puts the water taxi crossing at about five minutes, run by a handful of local operators shuttling back and forth through the day. The beach bar is the social center of Great Exuma. Expect volleyball, a sandbar you can wade out to, and a Sunday pig roast that draws a crowd from both sides of the harbor.

That ocean side is worth a look even if you don’t stay long. Low limestone bluffs and small coves face the open Atlantic, a sharp contrast to the flat, protected water on the harbor side.

How to Get to Exuma

Exuma International Airport (GGT) sits a few minutes outside George Town. Bahamasair and Silver Airways both run nonstop flights from Fort Lauderdale. Nassau connections run more often if Fort Lauderdale doesn’t fit your schedule, and the hop over from Nassau takes well under an hour. Taxis meet every flight, and George Town itself is small enough to get around without a car if your hotel is close to town.

Rental cars are available at the airport and around George Town. The one real adjustment for American drivers is that Bahamians drive on the left, even though most of the cars themselves are still left-hand drive, imported from the U.S. Queen’s Highway is the only real road on Great Exuma, so getting lost isn’t much of a concern.

A mailboat also runs between Nassau and George Town for travelers who aren’t in a hurry. The schedule shifts around, and it’s a slower, rougher way to go than flying. Most visitors just fly.

Exuma Travel Tips

A few questions we hear most often about planning a trip to Exuma.

Do You Need a Passport to Go to Exuma?

Yes. Exuma is part of the Bahamas, a separate country. U.S. citizens need a valid passport to fly in, even though it’s a short hop from Florida.

Is Exuma Safe to Travel To?

Exuma is one of the calmer parts of the Bahamas to visit. It sees far less crime than Nassau, simply because there’s so much less foot traffic. Ordinary travel precautions apply, the same as anywhere else in the islands.

How Many Days in Exuma?

Three to four days covers George Town, a boat tour of the cays, and a beach day or two. Add more time if you want to island-hop further north toward Staniel Cay, rather than take a single-day charter.

What Currency Does Exuma Bahamas Use?

The Bahamian dollar, which trades one-to-one with the U.S. dollar. Both currencies are accepted everywhere on Great Exuma, so there’s no real need to exchange money before you go.

Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.

Published October 3, 2026.