Exuma Bahamas excursions are a day trip you won’t want to miss out on while traveling around the archipelago. Famous for its crystal-clear water and stunning beaches, the Exuma Cays are a chain of 365 islands to the south of Nassau. Besides being home to postcard-perfect natural scenery, they also house many famous attractions, including the Swimming Pigs.
In this article, we’ll examine what you can see on day trips from Nassau to Exuma. By the time you finish reading, you’ll have the knowledge you need to get excited about Exuma tours and start planning exactly what your Exuma day trip will look like.
Keep reading to find out more about Nassau Bahamas shore excursions to Exuma.
Exuma Bahamas Excursions: Nassau Bahamas Cruise Excursions
1. Flights to Staniel Cay
When you’re exploring different options for Exuma Bahamas excursions, you’ll notice that many tours take you to the Exuma Cays by boat. In most cases, you’re going to want to avoid boat tours and instead sign up for one that travels by plane.
Flying on Exuma tours to Nassau is much more efficient than traveling by boat; you can expect to arrive 30 minutes after take off as opposed to two to three hours later. You also get to avoid the rough waves and swells that oftentimes prevent boat tours from leaving altogether. Likewise, you also enjoy a comfortable experience with fewer people. Plus, nothing beats the views from the plane window!
Day trips from Nassau to Exuma treat you to stunning views.
After the 30-minute flight, you land on Staniel Cay, a stunning island that serves as the gateway to Exuma. Once you switch over to a powerboat in the waters around the island, your Exuma excursions can officially begin!
2. The Exuma Pigs
Unsurprisingly, Big Major Cay and the Swimming Pigs are a highlight of Exuma Bahamas excursions. While many of the best excursions in Bahamas feature Swimming Pigs, unless they take you to Pig Island in the Exuma Cays, you’re not visiting the original pigs.
Part of the reason why the original Swimming Pigs are so special is that their origins are something of a mystery. Some people believe they were shipwrecked nearby and swam to shore, while other islanders will tell you that farmers brought them to Big Major Cay decades ago with plans to eat them but never returned. Either way, they’ve become a must-see attraction on day trips from Nassau to Exuma.
Exuma Bahamas excursions let you meet the famous Swimming Pigs.
As your boat pulls up to their island, you can expect the Exuma Pigs to hop into the water and swim out to greet you. Once they’re near your boat and before you step foot on their island, you can feed them bits of bread. After stepping onto their beach, you won’t be able to feed them, but you can bottle feed some of the babies.
Watching the pigs interact with their tropical surroundings is one of the best parts of a Pig Beach excursion from Nassau!
3. An Underwater Plane Wreck
In the warm Exuma waters, you won’t just find schools of fish, nurse sharks, and Swimming Pigs. On Exuma Bahamas excursions to the island chain, you’ll also visit an underwater plane wreck.
Decades ago, a smuggling plane traveling from Colombia crashed into the water. Saddled to the brim with drugs, the pilots, unfortunately, weren’t able to escape. But while the plane may have tragic origins, it’s since been transformed into a place of life.
Today, it’s full of coral, tropical fish, and other marine creatures, making it one of the many great snorkeling sites in the region. Given that the water around the vessel is shallow, it’s also possible to dive down and view the plane up close.
Given its unique history and the snorkeling opportunities it offers today, the Exuma underwater plane wreck is another highlight of Exuma excursions.
There are a couple of famous plane wrecks in the warm Exuma waters.
4. Beautiful Sandbars
The Bahamas is full of beautiful beaches, from those on New Providence and Paradise Island to Harbour Island and Rose Island. That said, if you’re looking for beachy vistas that’ll truly take your breath away, the Exumas are a must-visit destination.
When the tides at Pipe Creek roll back, sugary-soft sandbars pop out of the water. As the water pulls back, the sandbars serve as the perfect place to sink your toes into the warm sand and soak in the majestic beauty of your surroundings.
Nothing on your Bahamas vacation will compare to the stunning Exuma sandbars.
Besides offering stunning natural beauty, the sandbars are something that most Nassau Bahamas cruise excursions don’t visit. That means that when you sign up for Nassau Bahamas shore excursions that travel by plane, it’s common to have the whole area to yourself!
5. Swimming With Sharks
While swimming with pigs is a highlight of Exuma Bahamas excursions, some people crave a bit more of a thrill. If you fall into that category of traveler, you’ll be happy to know that the best excursions in Bahamas also give you the chance to go swimming with sharks.
The best excursions in Bahamas let you swim with nurse sharks at Compass Cay.
At Compass Cay, another beautiful island close to Pig Beach, the owner of a local marina has tamed a school of nurse sharks. They now stay right in the clear waters around the docks, making the site the perfect place to hop in the water with them.
While nurse sharks aren’t dangerous or aggressive, seeing massive fish swim around you is a thrilling experience nonetheless. If you’re a true adrenaline junkie, you can even hold the sharks or lay on your back as they swim around you!
6. Endangered Iguanas
Besides swimming with pigs and sharks, a Pig Beach excursion from Nassau also takes you to Bitter Guana Cay. There, you’ll have the chance to tour another spectacularly beautiful island, as well as interact with more Exuma wildlife.
Bitter Guana Cay is home to the Bahamian northern rock iguana. These colorful lizards have sadly seen their population decline in recent years, making this stunning island one of the few remaining places where travelers can see them.
The Bahamian northern rock iguana resides on Bitter Guana Cay.
While you shouldn’t disturb or harass the iguanas, they are eager to greet people on their island. Once you get off the boat, you’ll see them crawl out of the vegetative undergrowth and make their way to the beach with their distinctive gait.
7. Super Spy Snorkeling at Thunderball Grotto
Thunderball Grotto serves as another one of the top sites to experience on Exuma Bahamas excursions. It combines two of the top reasons why the Exuma Cays are so famous: beautiful scenery and unique history.
Thunderball Grotto is a system of caves that serve as another fantastic snorkeling opportunity during low tide. You can see a menagerie of tropical fish there, as well as other animals like sea turtles if you’re lucky.
However, besides being great for underwater sightseeing, Thunderball Grotto is also famous for its Hollywood history. It was one of the filming locations for the James Bond film Thunderball, for which the caves get their name.
The Exuma Cays feature fantastic snorkeling opportunities.
Pig Beach Excursions From Nassau: Soak up the Best of Exuma
Exuma Bahamas excursions from Nassau let you fly out from the capital to experience some of the best parts of the country.
From meeting the Swimming Pigs at Big Major Cay to snorkeling through the azure waters of the Exuma Cays, there’s so much to see and do on the day trip it’s hard to predict what your favorite stop will be.
Sign up for Pig Beach excursions from Nassau today to experience all that Exuma has to offer!
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