If you’re planning a trip to The Bahamas, don’t miss out on signing up for a swim with the pigs Bahamas tour. Considered one of the country’s top attractions, Pig Island is a site worth seeing no matter the length of your Bahamas vacation.
To help you better understand the Swimming Pigs, we’ve put together this guide. Besides looking into their past, we’ll also highlight how to visit them, as well as what other attractions you can expect to see near their island.
Keep reading to learn all about the island with the Swimming Pigs!
Swim With the Pigs Bahamas: Your Guide to Swimming Bahamas Pigs
Island With the Swimming Pigs: Where Is It?
The Swimming Pigs are in Exuma.
If you’re looking to embark on the swim with the pigs Bahamas experience, you’ll probably enter the country via Nassau, the country’s capital. With a recently renovated cruise port and an international airport, Nassau is the country’s most popular entry point.
Nevertheless, while you can see pigs on a beach in Nassau, the original island with the Swimming Pigs is actually outside of the capital area.
Officially known as Big Major Cay, “Pig Island,” as it’s nicknamed, is around 80 miles south of Nassau in a district of the country called Exuma. A chain of 365 islands, Exuma is home to some of the most popular attractions in The Bahamas.
Besides being the home of the original Swimming Pigs, Exuma is famous for its beautiful beaches, bright blue crystal-clear water, and other unique destinations like the James Bond Caves and underwater plane wrecks.
Swimming Pigs Big Major Cay: How Did They Get There?
One of the most common questions people have when they look into the swim with the pigs Bahamas experience is how Pig Beach came to be in the first place. To put it more simply – how did the Swimming Pigs get to their otherwise uninhabited home of Big Major Cay?
Different myths seek to shed light on the origins of the Exuma Pigs.
Notably, several theories surround the origins of the Swimming Pigs Big Major Cay. Some locals, for example, believe that farmers brought the pigs to their island because they couldn’t stand the smells they were leaving behind. Others will tell you that, while local farmers were involved, smell had nothing to do with it; the farmers intended to slaughter the pigs but never got around to doing so. Finally, another theory states that the pigs were shipwrecked in nearby waters and swam to shore.
Regardless of their true origins, the Swimming Bahamas Pigs have now lived on their island home for decades. Throughout that time, they’ve become one of the most recognizable tourist attractions, to the point that other, imitation Pig Islands have appeared throughout The Bahamas.
How to Go Swimming With Pigs
While Big Major Cay is around 80 miles away from Nassau, that distance is remarkably easy to cross. A swim with the pigs Bahamas day trip makes it possible to visit Pig Island, even if you’re just visiting Nassau for the day.
On a Swimming With Pigs excursion, you’ll leave the capital in the morning, sightsee for several hours, and return to Nassau later that afternoon. Such tours make traveling easy and prevent you from needing to worry about accommodations, transportation, or other travel logistics.
Additionally, given the distance you travel, you don’t just visit Exuma to swim with the pigs. You also get to visit other attractions before returning to Nassau.
Given that The Bahamas is an archipelago, Swimming with Pigs tours come in two varieties: boat tours and plane tours.
Swimming With Pigs Boat Tours
Boat tours are the more popular swim with the pigs tour option. Groups of travelers transit together to Exuma on a powerboat, visit Big Major Cay and a couple of other islands, and then head back to Nassau a couple of hours later.
While Swimming With Pigs boat tours can be a good option for some tourists, the logistics of such excursions come with a couple of drawbacks.
For one, the journey to Exuma takes a couple of hours, and when you factor in the trip home, this equates to several hours of travel time. Time is precious to all travelers, but especially those whose time in The Bahamas is short, which often makes boat tours an impractical choice.
Similarly, boat tours are also weather-dependent. The open waters between the islands are often rough and choppy, and far from just causing discomfort, this can lead to outright (and last-minute) cancellations. If you’re in The Bahamas for a limited amount of time, this can seriously impede your ability to visit the attractions you expect to see.
Finally, the time it takes to reach Exuma from Nassau limits the number of destinations you can visit upon arrival. While you’ll go swimming with pigs and see a couple of other attractions, the travel time shortens your sightseeing window.
The Swimming Pigs love paddling out to greet visitors.
Swimming Bahamas Pigs Plane Tours
Historically, swim with the pigs boat tours have been the more popular option, but in recent years, more and more travelers are signing up for Swimming Bahamas Pigs plane tours. While these operate similarly to boat tours, the logistics of air travel allow them to sidestep many of the issues that accompany boat excursions.
In contrast to hours of transit time, the flight from Nassau to Staniel Cay (an island near Big Major Cay) takes just around 30 minutes. Upon landing in Exuma, you’ll switch over to a speedboat and begin exploring the region. This gives you more time to tour Exuma and lets you add a couple of other stops to your itinerary.
Besides saving time, flying also makes for a more comfortable travel experience. Far from being jostled around a powerboat as you cross rough open waters, you’ll sit back in comfort on a private-class plane. No waves, no bright sun, no wind whipping at your face – just spectacular views of the islands of The Bahamas from the sky.
Reasons to book a Bahamas Air Tours Exuma Day Trip:
- The original Swimming Pigs fly-in Tour Operator from Nassau.
- Inclusive Pricing: Price includes flights, lunch, hotel transfers in Nassau and taxes.
- Fly to Exuma in 40 minutes, vs a 3-hour uncomfortable Powerboat Ride one way.
- Since flying is quicker, you get more time on island to visit 6 Attractions.
- Explore our 6 Exuma Attractions here.
- Guaranteed small group size, 10-14 persons per boat.
- Operates Rain or Shine. Weather Cancellation very rare.
- Private Boat Upgrade Packages available.
- Exclusive Fully Private Day Trip available on request with private flights and private boat.
- Trusted, fully licensed US registered Tour Company with 5-Star Trip Advisor Rating.
For many people, especially those with shorter stays in Nassau, swim with the pigs Bahamas tours that travel by plane are the ideal option.
The Swimming Bahamas Pigs and Nearby Attractions
After you land at Staniel Cay and switch over to a powerboat, Big Major Cay will be one of the first attractions you visit. As your boat pulls up to Pig Island, you’ll see the Exuma Pigs swim out to greet you. From there, you’ll spend some time with the pigs on their island home.
Nurse sharks at Compass Cay are another attraction you see on an Exuma day trip.
Although the swim with pigs portion of the day trip is a highlight, it’s not the only stop to look forward to. When you travel by plane, you’ll visit several other islands and sites, including:
- Compass Cay Marina: Home to the swim with sharks Bahamas experience
- Staniel Cay: “The Gateway to Exuma” you arrive and later lunch at
- Bitter Guana Cay: A stunning island home to the northern Bahamian rock iguana
- An underwater plane wreck near Staniel Cay
- Picturesque sandbars near Pipe Creek
- Thunderball Grotto: Also known as the James Bond Caves; an incredible snorkeling destination
Swim With the Pigs Bahamas: Sign up Today
No trip to the Bahamas is complete without embarking on the swim with the pigs Bahamas experience. Located south of Nassau, air travel makes getting to Big Major Cay easy, while also letting you see nurse sharks, iguanas, sandbars, and several other top attractions in the area.
Book a Swimming Pigs Big Major Cay day trip with Bahamas Air Tours today!
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