The Exumas Travel Planning & Itineraries
By Bobby Atwal, TICO-registered travel advisor (Fora Travel), Toronto · Updated
The Exumas are what people picture when they say 'the Bahamas' — 365 cays strung across 200 km of water so clear it photographs like a swimming pool. This is the home of the swimming pigs, the nurse sharks of Compass Cay, the Thunderball Grotto, and a sandbar for every hour of the tide. There's no cruise port, no strip, and barely a town — just Great Exuma at the bottom, the private-island resorts in the middle, and a boat as your car. It's a yacht trip you can do from a hotel.
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The Exumas at a glance
- Best time to visit
- November to May is the window — dry, 24–29°C, light winds and the clearest water. February to April is peak demand and price.
- Budget
- $250–350 USD/day (a Great Exuma guesthouse or Airbnb, a rental car, groceries, one shared boat tour).
- Getting there from Canada
- Fly into Nassau (NAS) nonstop from Toronto (YYZ) on Air Canada and WestJet (~3.5h), then a 40-min hop on Bahamasair or a charter to Great Exuma (GGT), or a scheduled Flamingo Air / charter into Staniel Cay (TYM) for…
Planning Your The Exumas Trip
Best Time to Visit
November to May is the window — dry, 24–29°C, light winds and the clearest water. February to April is peak demand and price. May and November are the value months: fewer boats at the pigs, lower resort rates, calm seas. June to October is hot, humid and hurricane season; some resorts and boat operators pause in September. The water temperature only dips to about 24°C in January — still swimmable.
Budget Overview
Budget: $250–350 USD/day (a Great Exuma guesthouse or Airbnb, a rental car, groceries, one shared boat tour). Mid-range: $500–800/day (Sandals Royal Bahamian is on Nassau, so here that means Grand Isle Resort or Peace & Plenty, plus a full-day boat charter split with another couple). Luxury: $2,000–5,000+/day (Fowl Cay, Kamalame Cay on Andros, a Staniel Cay villa with a boat, or a crewed yacht charter). Boat days are the big line item — budget $800–1,500 for a private full-day charter.
Getting There
Fly into Nassau (NAS) nonstop from Toronto (YYZ) on Air Canada and WestJet (~3.5h), then a 40-min hop on Bahamasair or a charter to Great Exuma (GGT), or a scheduled Flamingo Air / charter into Staniel Cay (TYM) for the central cays. Bahamasair also flies GGT direct from Miami. A private transfer from GGT to the Grand Isle / Emerald Bay area is 15 min; to George Town, 10 min.
Getting Around
On Great Exuma, rent a car (drive on the left) — the island is 60 km long and the beaches are spread out. Everywhere else, you need a boat: day charters out of Barraterre or George Town run the pigs/sharks/grotto loop; staying on Staniel Cay puts you 5 minutes from everything by rented skiff. There is no ferry network between the cays worth relying on.
Common The Exumas planning mistakes
Staying in Nassau and “doing the Exumas in a day”
The speedboat day trips from Nassau are 3 hours each way on open water. Fly to Great Exuma or Staniel Cay instead — you’ll see twice as much with none of the misery.
Taking the big group boat to the pigs
Thirty people and a fixed timetable. A private or small-group charter gets you to Big Major early, before the pigs are fed up with visitors.
Not packing for a boat week
Dry bag, rash guard, reef-safe sunscreen, water shoes and a waterproof phone case. There are no shops on the cays.
Forgetting the Nassau connection
Build 2–3 hours between flights at NAS; Bahamasair runs late, and missing the GGT hop costs a night. An advisor will time this for you.
The Exumas Neighbourhoods
Emerald Bay (Great Exuma)
The resort zone — Grand Isle Resort villas, the Emerald Bay marina and golf course, a mile of white beach. Polished and easy. — best for: families, golfers, first-timers
George Town & Elizabeth Harbour
The sleepy capital, the yacht anchorage and the ferry to Stocking Island’s Chat ’N’ Chill. Peace & Plenty is the classic hotel. — best for: sailors, a local base, value
Stocking Island
A long barrier island across the harbour with the famous Sunday pig roast at Chat ’N’ Chill, stingrays in the shallows and hiking to Atlantic-side beaches. — best for: a lazy Sunday, snorkellers
Staniel Cay
The hub of the central cays — Staniel Cay Yacht Club, the swimming pigs at Big Major next door, Thunderball Grotto across the channel. Tiny, charming, boat-dependent. — best for: boat lovers, couples, repeat visitors
The private cays
Fowl Cay (all-inclusive island with your own boat), Musha Cay (David Copperfield’s), Over Yonder Cay. Buy-out or ultra-luxury territory. — best for: once-in-a-lifetime, large family groups, honeymoons with a budget to match
The Exumas Food & Drink
Chat ’N’ Chill
Beach-bar institution — conch salad made in front of you, the Sunday pig roast, stingrays nosing your ankles. ~$25–35/person. Take the water taxi from George Town.
Santanna’s Bar & Grill
Johnny Depp ate here during Pirates filming and the sign won’t let you forget it. Grilled lobster and cracked conch on the water, ~$30–40/person.
Staniel Cay Yacht Club
The central cays’ only real restaurant and bar — conch fritters and cold Kalik on the dock while nurse sharks circle below. ~$35–50/person. Dinner is a set seating; book.
Shirley’s at the Fish Fry
The cluster of shacks north of town — fried snapper, conch, peas ’n’ rice, Friday night music. ~$15–25/person. Cash.
Big D’s Conch Spot
Conch every way, on a dock over gin-clear water, with swimming and rum punch between courses. ~$20–30/person. Ask about Sunday.
Day Trips from The Exumas
The Exuma Cays boat loop
Full day from Barraterre or George Town (~$150–250/person shared; $1,000+ private)The reason you came: swimming pigs at Big Major, nurse sharks at Compass Cay, iguanas on Allen’s Cay, Thunderball Grotto, Pig Beach, and a sandbar lunch. Private charters beat the group boats for pacing and photos.
Moriah Harbour Cay sandbars
20 min by boat from George TownA national park of shifting sandbars, mangroves and shallows just south of Great Exuma — kayak, paddleboard or anchor and wade for hours. Few tourists.
Tropic of Cancer Beach
45 min by car from George TownA vast, empty, impossibly blue beach on Little Exuma right on the Tropic of Cancer line, with a painted marker on the steps. Bring everything — there’s nothing there.
Exuma Land & Sea Park (by yacht)
1h by boat from Staniel CayThe protected no-take park around Warderick Wells — the clearest water in the chain, hiking to Boo Boo Hill, and reef snorkelling. Only practical from a boat or a Staniel Cay base.
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A Sample The Exumas Itinerary
Here’s a flavour of what our AI planner builds. Generate your own personalized The Exumas itinerary in 60 seconds — free.
YYZ → Nassau → Great Exuma
- •Morning nonstop to Nassau
- •Afternoon hop to GGT
- •Check in at Emerald Bay, first swim
- •Fish fry dinner near George Town
The Cays boat loop
- •Early private charter from Barraterre
- •Swimming pigs, nurse sharks, iguanas
- •Thunderball Grotto snorkel
- •Sandbar picnic and the long blue ride home
Stocking Island Sunday
- •Water taxi to Chat ’N’ Chill
- •Pig roast and stingrays
- •Hike to the Atlantic beach
- •Sunset back at Elizabeth Harbour
Little Exuma by car
- •Drive south over the bridge
- •Tropic of Cancer Beach for the morning
- •Lobster at Santanna’s
- •Conch and a swim at Big D’s
Sandbars → departure
- •Kayak the Moriah Harbour Cay shallows
- •Last swim at Emerald Bay
- •Afternoon flight to Nassau
- •Overnight in Nassau or late connection home
The Exumas Travel FAQ
How do I get to the Exumas from Canada?
Nonstop to Nassau from Toronto (3.5h), then a 40-minute flight to Great Exuma. For the central cays, a charter into Staniel Cay. Allow a generous connection in Nassau; many trips add a Nassau night at the end.
Where exactly are the swimming pigs?
Big Major Cay, next to Staniel Cay in the central Exumas. It’s a full-day boat trip from Great Exuma or a 5-minute skiff ride if you stay on Staniel Cay.
Should I stay on Great Exuma or Staniel Cay?
Great Exuma for resorts, a car, beaches and a wider choice of restaurants — good for families and first trips. Staniel Cay for couples and boat people who want to be in the middle of the action with a rented skiff.
Is this a good honeymoon?
One of the best in the hemisphere if you love water and don’t need nightlife. A Staniel Cay villa with a boat, or a few nights on a private cay, is the trip advisors dream of planning.
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