What the trip actually involves, including the distance nobody mentions until you have booked.
The swimming pigs live on Big Major Cay, an uninhabited island in the middle Exumas, a short run from Staniel Cay. They are not in Nassau, and they are not a short boat ride from Nassau. Big Major Cay is roughly seventy five miles from Nassau harbour.
We say this first because it is the single most common misunderstanding we deal with. Guests regularly ask for a two hour trip to see the pigs, and that trip does not exist. On a fast yacht in settled conditions the run is around two and a half hours each way. Add time at the island and you have a full day of eleven hours or more, most of it under way.
It is a genuinely good day out. It is just worth knowing what you are committing to.
If the pigs are the main reason for your trip, book a three day charter rather than a single long day. You will see the pigs without spending the entire time travelling, and you will also get Thunderball Grotto, the nurse sharks at Compass Cay and the sandbars, all of which are within a few miles of Big Major Cay.
If a day charter is the only option, it is workable on a fast vessel. Ask us which yachts are quick enough to make it sensible.
The yacht anchors off the beach and you go in by tender. The pigs recognise the sound of an engine and will usually swim out to meet you before you reach the sand. Some are large, and they are stronger swimmers than people expect.
Most groups spend thirty to forty five minutes here. It is a stop rather than a destination, and the surrounding cays are where the rest of the day goes. Nobody we have taken has wanted to stay longer than an hour.
A few things we tell every group before they go in.
The pigs are wild animals that have learned people bring food. Crew will advise on what is appropriate, and the answer is not bread or anything from the yacht's galley. Feeding them badly is how animals here have got sick in the past.
They are friendly but they are big, and they will climb toward anything that looks like food, including a person holding it. Let them come to you and do not swim between a pig and the beach.
Anything you take into the water will get splashed. Waterproof cases only, and keep phones in the tender rather than in a hand.
Early is better. The pigs are more active before the middle of the day, and by mid afternoon in high season there can be several boats on the same beach. Our captains aim to arrive ahead of the crowd where the schedule allows.
Big Major Cay sits in the most interesting few miles of the entire Exuma chain, which is the real argument for going. Within a short run you have:
A charter that reaches Big Major Cay and turns straight around has missed the point. If you are making the run, build a day around the area rather than a single stop.
Distance, timing, and what the stop is genuinely like.
On Big Major Cay, an uninhabited island in the middle Exumas, a short run from Staniel Cay. They are roughly seventy five miles from Nassau harbour.
About two and a half hours each way on a fast yacht in settled conditions, and longer in poor weather. Allowing for time at the island, a day trip runs to eleven hours or more.
No. This is the most common misunderstanding we deal with, and there is no two hour version of this trip. If a full day is not practical, a three day charter is the better answer.
Most groups spend thirty to forty five minutes. It is a stop rather than a destination, and nobody we have taken has wanted to stay longer than an hour.
Yes. They recognise the sound of an engine and will usually swim out to meet the tender before you reach the beach. They are stronger swimmers than most people expect.
Generally yes, with sense. They are large wild animals that associate people with food, so let them come to you, keep your distance in the water, and do not swim between a pig and the beach.
Only what the crew advise, which will not be bread or scraps from the galley. Feeding them the wrong things has made animals here ill in the past.
Many families do it and enjoy it, but the pigs are big and pushy around food. Younger children are usually happier watching from the tender or from the beach rather than being in the water among them.
Early. The pigs are more active before the middle of the day, and by mid afternoon in high season there can be several boats on the same beach. Our captains aim to get there ahead of the crowd where the schedule allows.
Yes, but anything you take in will get splashed. Waterproof cases only, and leave phones in the tender rather than carrying them in a hand.
Big Major Cay sits in the most interesting few miles of the whole chain. Thunderball Grotto at Staniel Cay, the nurse sharks at Compass Cay and several sandbars are all close by.
Most guests say yes, provided they went with the right expectations. A charter that runs all the way there, spends forty minutes and turns straight around has missed the point. Build a day around the area.
This run is more weather dependent than any other we do, because of the distance and the open water. If conditions are poor the captain may shorten or change the route, and flexible dates help considerably.
Not every vessel in the fleet is suited to a Nassau to Exumas day trip. Tell us your dates and group size and we will tell you which yachts are fast enough, and whether a longer charter would serve you better.
We will tell you if a day trip is the wrong choice for what you want.
Weather decides this run more than any other, so flexible dates help.