Nassau: Discover Exuma Island Hopping and Swimming Pigs Tour

Fast boats make faraway islands feel close. This Exuma island-hopping tour packs five distinct stops into eight hours, from rare Bahamian Rock Iguanas to nurse sharks, swimming pigs, a sunken plane, and a final beach or sandbar. I like the smart variety and the all-inclusive setup, with lunch, drinks, snacks, snorkel gear, landing fees, and pig food included. The main drawback is the long day on a high-speed boat, with about two hours of total travel time each way across the open water.

I also like the way the schedule keeps moving. You rarely stay in one place too long, which helps you see a lot of the Exuma Cays in one outing. Still, the beach stop can be less memorable than the wildlife stops, and one recent booking suggested that an isolated sandbar would make the finale stronger.

Five moments that define the day

• Allen’s Cay brings you face to face with rare iguanas: The Bahamian Rock Iguana lives naturally on only three small Exuma islands.
• Compass Cay offers a close nurse shark encounter: The sharks gather beneath the marina docks and are accustomed to people.
• Big Major’s Cay is the famous Pig Beach: You can feed and swim with the pigs, with food supplied by the crew.
• Norman’s Cay adds an unusual snorkeling site: The wreck known as Pablo Escobar’s sunken plane sits in shallow water just offshore.
• Lunch is built into the schedule: A buffet meal, local beer, sodas, bottled water, and light snacks are included.
• The $489 price buys a full day away from Nassau: You also get a high-speed boat, snorkel equipment, landing fees, and a live English-speaking guide.

From Paradise Island to the Exuma Cays

Your day begins at the Carnivale Bahamas desk for Born Free Charters on Paradise Island. Transportation to the meeting point is not included, so you need to arrange your own way there and allow enough time to check in.

Once aboard, the boat heads southeast for about an hour. This is not a quick harbor cruise. You will spend a meaningful part of the day moving between islands, and the high-speed power boat is what makes this ambitious route possible.

The payoff is reach. Exuma is made up of hundreds of islands and cays, but many of the most famous sights sit well beyond Nassau. A regular sightseeing boat could not fit all these stops into one day as neatly.

The boat can carry up to 24 people, so this is a shared outing rather than a private charter. That group size is large enough to create some activity at popular stops, but small enough to keep the day more personal than a big cruise excursion.

The ride itself may be thrilling for some people and tiring for others. If you have back or heart problems, are pregnant, use a wheelchair, or have mobility limitations, this trip is not suitable. Children under 2 are also not accepted. Cruise ship passengers should note that the tour is not designed for them.

Allen’s Cay and the Exuma Rock Iguanas

After the first long ride, you reach Allen’s Cay for about 25 minutes of wildlife viewing. The focus here is the Bahamian Rock Iguana, a species found nowhere else in the world except three small islands in Exuma.

That detail makes this more than a quick animal photo stop. You are seeing a species tied closely to this small island chain, rather than visiting a general-purpose wildlife park. The stop also gives you an early sense of how different the Exuma Cays are from Nassau.

Twenty-five minutes is enough for a look and photographs, but not a long nature walk. The tour keeps the visit short because several other major stops are still ahead. If you prefer slow wildlife watching, you may wish for more time here. If you like variety, the brisk pace works well.

Bring sunscreen and a towel from the start. You will need both repeatedly during the day, and there is no reason to wait until the first swimming stop to think about sun protection.

Compass Cay and the nurse sharks

The boat continues south for about 45 minutes before reaching Compass Cay. You have around 35 minutes for marine life viewing, centered on nurse sharks that gather under the docks at Compass Cay Marina.

This is one of the day’s most unusual encounters. Nurse sharks are large, slow-moving animals, and these sharks are not shy around people. The setting beneath the marina docks puts you close to them in a way that feels very different from snorkeling over a reef.

You should listen carefully to the crew before entering the water. Any wildlife encounter calls for calm behavior and respect for the animals. The short time limit means you will want to be ready when the boat arrives, rather than spending the first few minutes sorting out your gear.

The stop is not designed as a long snorkel session. It is a focused chance to see the sharks and enter the water near the marina. For many people, this will be more memorable than a standard reef viewing stop because the animals are the clear stars of the scene.

Big Major’s Cay and Pig Beach

A 10-minute ride brings you to Big Major’s Cay, home of the famous swimming pigs. You have about 40 minutes here for swimming and wildlife viewing, including the chance to feed the pigs with food provided by the crew.

The pigs became internationally known through television appearances, including ABC’s The Bachelor, and through social media. The fame means this is not a secret local stop, but it remains a genuinely odd and entertaining sight: pigs walking into the water and swimming toward people.

Keep your expectations practical. The pigs are animals, not trained performers, and their behavior can change. Some may come straight to the water, while others may stay onshore. You should follow crew instructions when feeding them and keep your camera ready, since the best photo may last only a few seconds.

Forty minutes gives you time to see the pigs, take pictures, and get in the water if conditions allow. It does not give you a relaxed beach afternoon. This is a popular attraction with a clear purpose, and the schedule moves on once you have had your chance.

The tour includes food for the pigs, which is a small but useful detail. You do not need to bring anything for them, and the crew can help manage the feeding. Be prepared to get wet and sandy, and keep your towel handy for the next boat ride.

Buffet lunch at a local Exuma restaurant

After Pig Beach, the boat makes a short 10-minute run to lunch. You get about an hour at a local Exuma restaurant, with a buffet meal and a cold drink.

This break matters because the first half of the day is active. You have already spent time on the boat, walked around an island, entered the water near sharks, and visited the pigs. A sit-down meal gives you a chance to eat properly instead of relying only on snacks.

The included food also adds value to the $489 cost. You are not paying for transport alone. Lunch, local beer, sodas, bottled water, and light snacks are covered, which makes your spending easier to predict.

The supplied details do not specify the buffet menu, so you should not book this expecting a particular dish. Think of it as a practical local meal in the middle of a packed day. The one-hour stop is long enough to slow the pace without turning lunch into a separate event.

Snorkeling at Pablo Escobar’s sunken plane

After lunch, you take a 35-minute boat ride toward Norman’s Cay for a 30-minute snorkeling stop. The site is known as Pablo Escobar’s sunken plane, a wreck associated with the late 1970s and the cocaine-running operation connected with Norman’s Cay.

The story gives the site its name and much of its appeal. During that period, Pablo Escobar reportedly controlled Norman’s Cay and used its small runway as a base and refueling point for aircraft moving cocaine from Mexico toward the United States. The plane wreck is now a strange underwater reminder of that era.

You are not visiting a museum or touring the island’s runway. The attraction is the wreck in the water, viewed while snorkeling. The supplied information does not state the plane’s condition, depth, or the amount of marine life at the site, so keep your expectations centered on the unusual location rather than a specific underwater scene.

Snorkel gear is included, which saves you from packing your own equipment. You should still bring a towel and sunscreen, and you may want to wear a swimsuit under your clothes from the beginning. Thirty minutes is a reasonable amount of time for one focused snorkel, especially after several earlier water stops.

The final beach or sandbar stop

Your last stop is a beautiful beach or sandbar in Exuma, with about 30 minutes for swimming, sunbathing, and photographs. The exact location is chosen by the captain, and the order of the itinerary can change.

This flexibility is useful because boat crews can adjust the day around conditions and timing. It also means you cannot count on a specific beach or sandbar before departure. If your main goal is a picture-perfect sandbar, this uncertainty is worth considering.

The final stop provides a quieter finish after the more organized wildlife encounters. You can swim, dry off, or simply take in the pale sand and open water. Still, half an hour goes quickly, and the beach stop may feel brief compared with a dedicated Exuma beach outing.

That is the clearest tradeoff in the schedule. The tour gives you iguanas, sharks, pigs, lunch, a plane wreck, and a beach in one day, but each stop receives limited time. One booking specifically suggested that an isolated sandbar would improve this portion. If you prefer a slower beach day, choose a tour built around one or two islands instead.

The ride back and the real value of $489

The return trip takes about 70 minutes, bringing the total day to roughly eight hours. By then, you will probably be ready for a quieter ride, though the speed boat makes the return far quicker than a slower vessel would.

At $489 per person, this is an expensive excursion. The value depends on how many separate Exuma sights you want to cover and how much you value convenience. You are paying for a full-day boat route from Nassau, five island-area stops, a live English-speaking guide, lunch, drinks, snacks, snorkel equipment, landing fees, and pig food.

That package can make sense if you have only one free day and want a broad introduction to the Exuma Cays. Booking separate transport, meals, and activities would take more planning and might not fit into one day.

The price is harder to justify if you want long stretches of quiet swimming or beach time. This is a sightseeing circuit, not a restful charter. You pay for range and access, not for lingering at one perfect beach.

The transport receives a 93 percent perfect score, and the overall rating is 4.9 from 29 bookings. The strongest praise centers on the planning and variety. The schedule is tight, but it is designed to keep the day moving and make each stop count.

How to prepare for the boat day

Pack a towel and sunscreen, and wear clothing that can handle repeated swims. Bottled water, sodas, local beer, and light snacks are included, but the day still calls for sensible sun protection.

You should also plan for wet conditions on the boat. Keep phones and cameras protected, especially around Pig Beach and the shark stop. Bring only what you need, since you will be moving on and off the boat several times.

The tour is conducted in English. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure, and you can reserve now and pay later, which helps if your Nassau schedule is still shifting. Check the available start time before booking because the exact departure time is not fixed in the supplied details.

The captain controls the order of the stops. That is normal for a boat trip covering several exposed cays, but it means you should treat the schedule as a plan rather than a guarantee of exact timing.

Who will enjoy this Exuma tour most?

I would recommend it to you if you want maximum variety in one day. It suits active adults, couples, friends, and families with older children who can manage boat travel and repeated water stops.

It is especially good for first-time visitors to Exuma who want to sample the area’s signature sights without arranging several separate trips. The iguanas, nurse sharks, pigs, wreck, and beach each offer a different kind of memory.

I would hesitate if you dislike speed boats, get uncomfortable on long rides, or want a peaceful day with plenty of personal space. The boat can carry up to 24 people, and the schedule leaves little room to linger.

You should also skip it if you have a back, heart, or mobility condition listed among the restrictions, or if you are pregnant. Baby strollers, baby carriages, and electric wheelchairs are not allowed, and the tour is not suitable for cruise ship guests.

Should you book the Born Free Charters trip?

Book this tour if your priority is seeing a lot of Exuma in one well-organized day. The high price buys access to a packed route that would be difficult to reproduce on your own, and the included lunch, drinks, gear, fees, and snacks remove several extra costs.

Think twice if the beach is your main reason for going. The final stop can be beautiful, but it lasts only about 30 minutes and may be a beach rather than the isolated sandbar you imagined.

For the right person, the variety is the point. You get rare iguanas, friendly-looking nurse sharks, famous swimming pigs, a curious wreck, and a final swim before returning to Nassau. Just board expecting a brisk, active boat day, not a slow island retreat.

FAQ

How long is the Exuma island-hopping tour?

The tour lasts about eight hours, including the boat rides between Nassau and the Exuma stops.

Where does the tour begin?

It begins at Carnivale Bahamas on Paradise Island, at the Born Free Charters desk.

Is transportation to the meeting point included?

No. Transportation to the check-in location is not included.

What is included in the $489 price?

The price includes a buffet lunch, local beer, sodas, bottled water, light snacks, snorkel gear, landing fees, and food for the pigs.

Can I swim with the pigs?

Yes. At Big Major’s Cay, you can feed and swim with the famous swimming pigs, subject to conditions and crew instructions.

Will I see nurse sharks?

The Compass Cay stop is planned around nurse sharks beneath the docks at Compass Cay Marina, where you can view them and enter the water near them.

Is snorkeling equipment provided?

Yes. Snorkel gear is included, including for the snorkeling stop at the sunken plane near Norman’s Cay.

Can the itinerary change?

Yes. The captain may change the order of the stops at their discretion.

Who should not take this tour?

The tour is not suitable for children under 2, pregnant women, people with back or heart problems, people with mobility impairments, wheelchair users, or cruise ship guests. Baby strollers, baby carriages, and electric wheelchairs are not allowed.