The Island with Pigs is one of the most popular travel destinations in The Bahamas. Images of friendly pigs snorting and paddling through crystal-clear water have put the Bahama beach with pigs on many travelers’ bucket lists. Nevertheless, most travelers don’t know much about the island itself.
Below we’ve put together a guide on the geography of the Island With the Pigs. From its location to how to get there, we’ll cover everything you need to know before visiting.
Keep reading to learn more!
Island With Pigs: Guide to Big Major Cay
A visit to Pig Island gives you plenty of time to spend with the playful Swimming Pigs.
Swimming With Pigs: Where to Do It
If you’re looking to go swimming with pigs in The Bahamas, you’ll come across many locations claiming to be the Island with Pigs. Most of these places aren’t home to the original Bahama beach with pigs and are simply trying to imitate the authentic experience.
Some of the new Island of Swimming Pig destinations include:
- Rose Island
- Meeks Patch Island
- Freeport
- Athol Island
All of these locations are beautiful and worth visiting. They also offer the chance to go swimming with pigs. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for the authentic Island With the Swimming Pigs, you’ll need to travel to Exuma on a Swimming Pigs Big Major Cay day trip.
Island With the Pigs: The Original Swimming Pigs
The Bahamas is home to 700 islands, with the district of Exuma comprising 365 of those islands. While natural beauty abounds throughout the archipelago, the Exumas are home to some of the most scenic sites in the country. Expect to find top-tier beaches, swaying palms, and crystal-clear water full of marine life when you visit.
The Island of Swimming Pigs, officially known as Big Major Cay, is one of the islands in Exuma. Located around 80 miles southeast of Nassau and New Providence, the small island is home to a special group of residents: the Swimming Pigs Big Major Cay.
A short flight is all it takes to travel from Nassau to Pig Island Exuma.
Unlike the imitation Island of Swimming Pigs destinations, a sense of mystery surrounds the Exuma Pigs. No one can say with certainty how they originally arrived at their island. Some of the theories that seek to explain their origins include:
- The pigs were shipwrecked in nearby waters and swam to shore
- Nearby farmers left the pigs on Big Major Cay, intending to return and eat them, but never did
- Nearby islanders dropped the pigs off on the island after growing tired of their odors
Regardless of their true origins, the friendly pigs have resided on their island home for years. Over that period, they’ve become one of the most recognizable travel attractions in the world.
Swimming Pigs Big Major Cay
If you sign up for an Island With Pigs tour, what can you expect when visiting the Swimming Pigs Big Major Cay?
As your boat approaches the beautiful Island With the Pigs, expect to see a handful of pigs swim out to greet you. As nearby islanders have traveled to Big Major Cay for years to feed the pigs, they now associate boats with food. As the pigs paddle out to your boat, snorting along the way, you can toss them various types of pig-friendly foods. Feeding them anything else is prohibited.
After feeding the pigs, you can hop in the shallow, warm water and make your way to their island. You can then spend some time on the original Bahama beach with pigs. You’ll see pigs of all shapes and sizes around you – including piglets, which you can bottle-feed. While there, you’ll also learn more about the pigs and how the guides help take care of them. All of the pigs, for example, are vaccinated.
Big Major Cay is a beautiful, uninhabited paradise.
Once you soak up your fill of the Island With Pigs, you’ll continue your tour by visiting several other attractions in the area. Some of the other Staniel Cay Tour highlights you’ll visit include:
- Staniel Cay, the island you fly into
- Compass Cay, home to a school of nurse sharks
- Underwater caves at Thunderball Grotto
- White sandbars at Pipe Creek
- Iguanas at Bitter Guana Cay
- An underwater plane wreck
Island With the Swimming Pigs: How to Visit
Given that it’s 80 miles away, many travelers visiting Nassau worry that the Swimming Pigs Big Major Cay are difficult to visit. The reality is that day trips from Nassau and other destinations make the Island With Pigs easy to reach.
When you travel with Bahamas Air Tours, you fly in a comfortable private-class plane, sightsee for several hours, and return to your original destination later that afternoon. As flying is the most efficient way to travel around The Bahamas, it gives you time to explore more destinations than a traditional boat tour. Likewise, air travel also prioritizes comfort, offering incredible views throughout the journey.
Flying promises a scenic and comfortable journey.
Flights From Nassau
Signing up for a day trip to the Island With Pigs from Nassau is a great idea no matter the length of your Bahamas vacation. A flight from Nassau to Staniel Cay takes just around 30 minutes. This contrasts with boat tours, as their journeys can take a couple of hours. Shorter travel time means more time at each destination and fewer crowds in the earlier hours of the day. Expect fewer crowds as you visit sites like Pig Beach before the crowds arrive by boat.
Once you land in Staniel Cay, you’ll be just a several-minute boat ride away from the Exuma Pigs.
A day trip from Nassau to Exuma also includes a hotel pick-up service, so you won’t need to worry about making your way to the airport. After getting picked up and arriving at the terminal, you’ll wait in a luxurious and secluded lounge before your flight. From there, it’s just a short walk onto the runway before you jet off.
Flights From Miami
As air travel is so efficient, it’s also possible to sign up for an Island With Pigs tour from South Florida. The journey to Staniel Cay takes around two hours, which includes a stop at Andros Island to clear customs.
While the journey from South Florida is longer than that from Nassau, you still cover the 259-mile distance quickly. Plus, the views from the sky make it incredibly enjoyable.
Unlike boat tours from Florida and Nassau, Bahamas day trips by plane can proceed whether it’s sunny or raining. Only in extreme weather scenarios do air tours cancel.
Flights to and From Other Destinations
One of the biggest benefits of air travel is that it opens up travel opportunities to and from other locations. Because of that, if you’re looking for additional itinerary flexibility, consider chartering a plane.
Whether you’re traveling from Florida or The Bahamas, nearly the entire region is open to visit. From the Abaco Islands to Eleuthera, Great Exuma, and the Florida Keys, you can easily spend weeks sightseeing from location to location.
No matter what you hope to see, Bahamas Air Tours can assist you with itinerary planning and help you get there.
Island With Pigs: Visit Big Major Cay, Exuma
If you’re looking to visit the Island With Pigs, make sure to visit the original Swimming Pigs of Exuma. Day trips from Nassau, Miami, and other destinations make visiting the incredible Bahamas destination a breeze.
On an Exuma day trip with Bahamas Air Tours, you don’t just meet the Swimming Pigs. You also visit six other incredible destinations in the region. From nurse sharks to sandbars, the attractions you see make for the experience of a lifetime.
Book a tour to the Bahama beach with pigs with us today!
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