5 Day Bahamas Islands-Hopping: Nassau, Exuma and Eleuthera

One of the coolest excursions in the Bahama is swimming with wild pigs and nurse shark, or diving under the water into the Thunder Grotto cave from the open sea and get your fingers bitten off by the iguanas at Guana Cay (jk!). Exuma excursion could be a trip of a lifetime so make sure you choose and book your packages carefully; there are many, many offers from all the tour companies on Nassau.

I’m also stressing the “Nassau” part because you gotta make sure you choose Nassau as your starting point for your excursion and not any other islands. Some people book their swim with pigs tour on Staniel Cay, Exuma island because the price is a whole lot cheaper than other offers, then later realize they have to chart an expensive boat or plane from Nassau to take them to the Exuma island to hop on the tour itself.

On the other hands, there are also cheaper swim-with-pigs excursions that is instead of taking you to the Exuma islands where wild pigs have orginally been there for hundreds of years, you will be transferred to some closer outer islands of Nassau such as Rose Island, where pigs were actually shipped there for the commercial purpose of those excursions, aka viewer’s entertainment and business profits. But if the animals are well taken care of and it fits the budget for your family, I don’t think there is anything wrong with booking those tours.

Now however, if you have decided bathing in the same water with a lovely bunch of OG bacons in the real Exuma is your most wishful desire on this particular vacation, it’s time to pick the right way to get there.

The excursion will mostly be done by powerboat where a sea captain will take you and 20 other people all around the Exuma Islands to visit different point of interests (cays). The excursion also should include a mean for you to travel from Nassau to the Exuma to begin your tour, either also by another powerboat, or by a better and more expensive way which is by plane.

It all depends on your budget, but I ended up choose the latter because of several reasons I’ll share with you right below.

Could you endure a 9-hour *rough* speed boat ride where you spend at least 6 hours just to cross the sea from Nassau to the Exuma and back? You can check out some reviews where folks earned themselves a bonus trip to the hospital later due to major backache from sitting in the wrong spot on the boat (front) the entire time. If you take a tour that fly you to Exuma first, the flight time is only 30 minutes and it is much more pleasant on your body. Plus this could be your view of the sunrise..

Are you comfortable around 20-25 people packed in a crowded boat under the scorching sun and humid air? The more people means the less time you have to enjoy at each stop due to the disembarking process and vice versa. It’s also more difficult to get close to the animals when 25 people in your group are sharing the activity while 20 more in another group are also just arriving.

In the off chance when it is unfortunate that your trip get caught in a life-threatening storm where the waves hit as high as 6-8ft, do you have enough Oxycodone and nerve of a warrior to help yourself enjoy the excursion instead fearing for your life for two hours in the open sea? Our flight to North Eleuthera on the fourth day passed into a huge storm cloud, our pilot didn’t fight it he just flew higher.

Time. If your Exuma excursion gets you there by boat, you will start around 8:30AM and return roughly at 5:30PM. Once you depart from Nassau, you will enjoy the 3-hour boat ride and hit the first stop around 11:30AM if the sea isn’t too rough. By the time you come back, the sun will be set around 6PM and you probably get too worn out from that 3-hour boat ride back.

If you get to Exuma by plane instead, you’ll actually start off much earlier at around 7:30AM. It’s very likely that this type of excursion also offers a hotel pickup/dropoff if you need one. After the boarding process and flight, you will start your boat tour at approximately 9AM and hit the first stop at 9:15AM.

You find yourself on the islands with just your own group of 10-12 other people plus the captain. The excursion with plane transfer is typically 4x less crowded and gives more time for you to interact and enjoy the activities. While you’re visiting several the cays, people who take the boat transfer from Nassau would still be on the boat ride here. You might see one or two other tours where people come from the Great Exuma Island, but no one has the first dip as early as your excursion. At the end of the tour, you probably make your return to Nassau by 3PM which gives you plenty of time to do something else on the main island.

Now what are the drawbacks of booking an Exuma excursion with air travel? Well, the first thing as you know it, is cost. The average expense for a couple on the Exuma excursion with boat transfer is a little less than $900, but it will set you back over $1400 for the same excursion but with air transfer. Another thing to consider is, the cabin on these planes is often small and isn’t as comfortable as the one you took to Nassau in the beginning. It is also very LOUD since the seats are super close to the engines. Don’t make the same mistake we did, bring earplugs!

But whichever route you believe is best for you, the typical Exuma excursion likely includes these stops:

I book my Exuma excursion directly with 3N’s Exuma Vacation, or you could also do so via this listing on TripAdvisor since TripAdvisor sometimes run general promotion for Bahama excursions.

If you prefer the tour with boat ride to Exuma instead, this is one great option on TripAdvisor. You probably see other swim with pigs tours there as well, those are the shorter excursions (half day or 3-4 Hours) and you will be transfered to the Rose Island which is only about 30 minutes away from Nassau, not Exuma –they are a great fit for family with children since the price is much more affordable and the boat ride is also more tolerant.

Back to our epic Exuma tour, on the day before your excursion you should receive an email from 3N’s regarding the flight you will take and the exact details of the terminal location you will go to at Lynden Pindling International Airport. It’s very likely that Jet Nassau will serve you, which is in the building complex right up the street from the main airport.

You should meet your pilot in the lobby area and once everyone is ready for boarding, you will be guided to the airstrip shortly. Our wait wasn’t long since there was only a handful of people in our group –a young couple from NYC, another older couple from Germany, two boarding students from England and us two.

For the most part, the view of our 30-min flight is all about the magnificent cays and white sandbars of the Exuma Islands. Hey don’t worry, this trip will take you to many of those places.

After our pilot took care of the perfect landing, as survivors we were quickly greet by an associate of the 3N’s right at the Staniel Cay airport. She’d go over a few information with us about the upcoming excursion, some do’s and dont’s. If I remember correctly, probably something along the line of don’t attempt to dive off while the boat is moving at 10 knots and remember those are pigs, not bacon.

Once everyone has embarked, we meet our boat captain, Dave, who’s also the Bahama National Park Ranger. You will learn a thing or two from this great man; he’s also pretty popular among the pigs, sharks, fish and iguanas; so fair warning, don’t do anything a Florida man would do around here.

Speaking of iguanas, our first stop is the Bitter Guana Cay –the desert home of the remaining 1200 endangered Bahamian species of indigenous Rock iguanas. Be nice to them and respect their island, they are here long before you and will still be here long after you. Iguanas are herbivorous and their diet is consisted of native leaves, fruits and flowers. They definitely don’t need your M&M, caramel frappe or a ham sandwich.

The captain will anchor the boat several feet away from the island; hence the only way to get to dry land is… jump right into that crystal clear turquoise water of course!

And you know who might actually go after your ham sandwich? These little guys!

In the 25 minutes we stay on Bitter Guana Cay, we came across 19 of these hermies and over a dozen of Iguanas. And yet by the time we continued our tour onto the next cay, there was still no sight of another group of people around.

The next stop is a little more challenging because there will be no fine sandy shore to stand on your feet. In fact, you will be navigating along very sharp and rough rock surface that could cut deep if you are not careful.

The Thunderball Grotto is an absolute hidden gem of beautiful underwater cave system that is fully surrounded by the sea, where from surface to seabed is a 30ft drop. It is cinematically named after the James Bond’s Thunderball movie in 1965. I honestly haven’t watched that yet, but I’m sure there would be a lot of scuba diving and sharks in those scenes. Though it isn’t time to swim with sharks just yet, now is a chance to test your fear of open water in the deep blue sea and closed up space.

Maybe I made it sound way too scary. The Thunderball Grotto is a beautiful scenic stop and a fun snorkeling experience, it could very well be the highlight of your trip and leaves you with many, many stories to tell. Now the outcome of your tale with the Thunderball Grotto visit greatly depends on your luck, believe it or not. If the tide is low, you have a relaxing swim into the cave; or you can snorkel your way in without breaking sweat, all while observing a fascinating underwater world of conch, lobsters, tropical fish and a chance of sea turtle on the way.

However if the tide is high, be prepared to hold your breath and dive through a small underwater tunnel hidden in plan sight. You should have an option to conquer your fear, or put on a lifejacket and just enjoy the surrounding water outside the Grotto instead. Then again, the waves could be rough at high tide –verify with your gut before proceeding. In our case, tide was high and sea was slightly rocking! Perfect combination for an opportunity to conquer the fear of drowning aint it!

The excursion provides you with sufficient snorkel gears to enjoy the adventure, but the dual-tubing full face mask we brough along made a big difference to the experience. You breath more comfortably and get the chance see the world under for much longer.

And so it begins…

You probably spend roughly 45 minutes at Thunderball Grotto, yet since it’s packed with actions you would probably feel like it’s a lot longer than that time lot. However, note that if you got boat-transfer excursion from Nassau, the stop here might be much shorter due to time constraint. By 10:45AM, we returned to the boat and headed north towards the most famous and sensational cay in the world: the Big Major Cay, aka the Pig Beach of Exuma.

No one knows for certain how these pigs get here, but they have been here for a long while. Maybe they escaped from a shipwreck in the 1900’s, maybe they were relocated by residents of the nearby Staniel Cay due to the smell (srsly who hate Bacon?!), or maybe they came off the Titanic –nobody knows! But I’m glad the piggies have found a lovely place to call home and get to wake up to the pristine water every single day instead of a slaughter house. They even have a community of caretakers to look after them; nearby Bahamian folks have built a nursery shelter, provided fresh water and supplemental food sources for the bunch. I’m envious and impressed!

The families tend to be more active in the early morning but gradually get more sleepy as noon goes on, which sounds a lot like my 9-5. Since we’re the earliest group to get here, we got a warm and welcoming show as we were approaching the shore. Most of the big bro pigs swim out and greet us, it’s really adorable.

Once we docked, there was still no other guests around so we got the entire beach for ourselves.

One thing you must keep in mind while visiting the Pig Beach is they are wild animals after all. Nature often returns the karma equals to your sole action and attitude, which makes you ponder why there are several reviews on TripAdvisor where people got bitten by the pigs.

During the stop, our captain was very adamant about not sticking your hands to their mouth and never pick up a piglet, also be nice while you are in their territory –which is a kind way to say don’t be a fucking jerk, for the love of Jesus Christ and Bodhidharma. I just can’t see why these big bois could be aggressive to anyone, unless someone goes out of their way to provoke them, taunt them with food or show the intention to hurt their minis.

Pig Robert bro, you’re always a Saint Pancetta to me don’t listen to anyone else who says otherwise!

After we said our farewells to the Pig Beach, we headed north once again, to the Compass Cay. If you love to swim with sharks, this will be your time to shine! And you will be surprised to find a real shark nursery at the Compass Cay, with full-blown docking pier, boardwalk with giftshop and bar. It’s a fun stop for sure.

You also soon find out these are the docile nurse sharks and they are totally cool with you sharing the water with them; since they also pee in it, too.

And because they are the earliest group here, our captain was able to give us a close up and hands-on class with the nurse sharks. I really appreciate him taking the time to tell us all the awesome things he knows about Compass Cay and its inhabitants. We all graduate with flying colors, and no one lost a finger which is a huge deal this time around.

As we were leaving Compass Cay, tour boats from Nassau also started to march in. Their first stop often is the Compass Cay since it’s the closest from the general direction of Nassau. By the look of it, things could get busy and crowded pretty quickly and it’s likely you don’t have a many chances to fully engage with the sharks like when they are less occupied.

And our own tour is almost coming to an end. It’s been an exhilarating morning; we enjoy every second of it wholeheartedly. On the way back for lunch, captain took us to Pipe Creek by Pipe Cay to enjoy the beautiful white sandbars that stretch hundreds of feet in the middle of the turquoise ocean.

It’s breathtaking, relaxing and stunning to say the least. However, the high tide schedule caught up to us in a hurry, so the sandbars quickly disappeared and got replaced with shallow, crystal clear water. But I guess I could just sleep here all day and all night *check note: found a place for my ashes ☑*

A full day Exuma excursion typically provides you a mean to have lunch, and our dining pit stop was at the Staniel Cay Yatch Club. At the time of our booking, lunch cost was not included in the tour and must be paid separately –I was disappointed because our Buck Islands trip in Saint Croix was much less expensive than this tour, yet it came with decent meals –all prepped and cooked on the spot by their crew members for free.

However, it looks like 3N’s have made changes to the service recently and now covers basic meals for your excursion. SO I hope you take full advantage of those Fish Sandwich, Chicken & Bacon Melt, Coconut Chickpea Curry, Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry or Wings with Fries to a great extent.

Speaking of Staniel Cay Yatch Club, you can book a stay here for a little over $700 a night if you really want a total escape from civilization. We love the gentle, relaxing atmosphere and the friendly folks of this remote place a lot. That’s something I’d definitely consider on our next return to the Bahama in the future.

For now, we are just going to enjoy this happy, open-air restaurant for lunch.

After a yummy meal and letting ourselves melt away in the ocean breeze of the Caribbean afternoon, it was safe to say everyone in our group just didn’t want to leave the restaurant at all. But we got one stop left to check out –the sunken plane that’s half a mile out from our restaurant. It sits straight across from the Norman’s Cay.

In case you wonder, here is how it all happened in the short form –in the 1970’s, plane carrying heroin crashed, now is fish’s home and they are high af. Happily ever after– Jokes aside, if you want to learn more about the fascinating story of the intoxicated drug smuggler who blew it and sank this plane in a stormy night —check out this link.

It’s indeed a beautiful spot to snorkel and discover the aquatic life that have formed all around the plane itself.

And this visit to the past has concluded our excursion in the Exuma.

We bid our goodbyes to Captain Dave and thank him for an amazing trip and excellent service he has provided us and for everyone else. It’s been a superb day, without a doubt!

Once our boat docked by Staniel Cay again, we headed back to the airport and prepare ourselves for the trip back. Our pilot was already available and ready to get us back to Nassau immediately, we didn’t have to waste any second waiting at all.

All I could say after the tour is, booking the air-transfer has been the best choice among other best choices I have made in life — like that time I bought water when I was really thirsty, or letting an SUV cut in on 95 without blowing up my horn, turned out it was an undercover cop.

The flights have literally saved us so much time and energy, we didn’t have to deal with the 6 hours of torturing boat ride back and forth between Nassau and Exuma, we didn’t have to share the Cays with so many people. And most of all we came back to Nassau healthy with 35% battery left in us –which I feel like a big win of the day. And because of that, I didn’t want it end just yet.

As you know thus far, the Lynden Pindling International Airport is on the western side of Nassau. Most of the early activities we did have been on the eastern side so far, so now it is the perfect opportunity to hit up some of the interesting attractions on this end of the island.

1- First you have the Primeval Forest National Park. This forest is an old woodland with dramatic sinkholes and limestone caverns that span up to 50ft long into the ground. Most areas are easily accessible by boardwalks and bridges. If you still have the capacity of using legs, you will be rewarded with the encounters of beautiful birds, scenic nature and many interesting reptiles in this tropical forest.

+ Another place you could check out is the Shipwreck by the northern shore. It could make some pretty awesome photos for your vacation.

+ Or you can walk the rocks of the nearby Jaw’s Beach and meet a few starfish in the water if you are lucky.

+ There is also the Clifton Heritage National Park that provides guided tours for both land (Heritage) and underwater activity (Snorkeling). If you just want beach access, you can also pay a small fee to get in. Check out the admission rates for all available activities here, including the tour to the nearby Clifton Pier park.

My wife and I decide that after all of today crazy activities, we are going to take a step back and enjoy things nice and easy…and free. Hence, we are just going to visit the Pirate Stairs ourselves, which is a point of interests from the Clifton Heritage guided tour at the Clifton Pier park. And because we are going to solo this, it costs nothing and it’s a sweet little adventure on our own to end the day with.

You can see where we park our white car in the photo below.

From the limestone edge in the photo above and if the tide is low, you can find your way down to the lower level via a hidden pathway called the Pirate Stairs. Here is a bird-view angle captured by another fellow traveler.

The trail itself is a beautiful short hike, though it could get a little windy especially at the time when you try to do a low effort karate sidekick and the wind just blows away your sandal to the sea forever.

You can read a bit more about this wonderful Heritage Park on this site. That little natural swimming bath at the end of the stairs will make your afternoon very delightful, or totally deadly depends on how rouge the wave is that day and how yolo you are.

And somewhere along the way, you may find yourself wandering the Genesis Garden. It’s absolutely stunning and timeless. I almost feel the soul of captain Davy Jones watching me from the distance sea.

For those who love to hang around longer, you will be enjoying a spectacular sunset that’s almost beyond this world. Unfortunately for me, our digestive system just does not let us go gentle into that good night. So we rage, rage against the dying light to get back for a fulfilling dinner before surrendering ourselves to the hours of late.

Though we did not forget to say our goodbyes to these small friends we made along the trail, wondering how long it will be until we cross path again, at this very spot.

While we were busy in the Western area of the island, there was a flash storm that came to the East end and left rather quickly. We had no idea, but the air was truly pleasant going into the evening. This is got to be the second or third time we missed the rain and thunderstorms around here; they left so quickly.

Once again, we reported to the airport at 7 o’clock in the morning to wait for our flight to Eleuthera, the northeastern province of the Bahama. If the Exuma gives you a vibe of a fun and exciting island adventure, Eleuthera brings you the calmness and laidback joy of a quiet, breezy island afternoon.

Oops sorry, hang in there I’m still writing up this part…