3 Days in the Exumas: George Town, Tropic of Cancer Beach, Staniel Cay and the Swimming Pigs

The first morning in the Exumas often starts at the water’s edge in George Town, where masts crowd Elizabeth Harbour and small boats slip out toward the sandbars. The light turns the shallows a dozen shades of blue before breakfast is over. Three days is enough to taste both ends of this chain of islands: the long southern shore of Great and Little Exuma, and the cays to the north with their pigs, sharks and hidden grotto.

The cays and sandbars of the Exumas · Illustration

Is three days enough in the Exumas?

Three days is enough for a first visit if you want a taste of the district rather than all of it, and it suits travelers who like to spend their time on beaches and boats instead of ticking off sights. The Exumas are a district of over 365 islands and cays, so no short trip can cover them. What three days can do is give you one island with a town and long beaches, plus one outing into the cays.

In that time you can settle into George Town, walk the harbor front, spend a slow afternoon on the sand at Little Exuma, eat grilled lobster at a roadside spot, and give a full day to the boat trip that makes the Exumas famous. You will see pigs on a beach, perhaps swim near gentle nurse sharks, and float into a cave once used as a movie set.

What three days leave out is the quiet, far-flung side. The northern cays such as Norman’s Cay with its plane wreck, the anchorage at Highbourne Cay, and the wardens’ headquarters at Warderick Wells in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park all reward a longer stay, ideally with your own boat or a chartered one. Add days and you add sandbars, blue holes and the habit of doing nothing at all.

Day 1 in the Exumas

Start in George Town, the capital of the district, founded in 1793 and still small enough to walk. Morning is the time for the harbor front and the Government Building, a pale landmark inspired by the Government House in Nassau.

Elizabeth Harbour is deep and sheltered, and it draws sailors from all over, so the waterfront has a lively, nautical feel. Have coffee or a conch salad at one of the casual spots by the water, and watch the dinghies come and go.

In the afternoon, head across the small bridge that links Great Exuma to Little Exuma and settle on Tropic of Cancer Beach, also called Pelican Beach. It is the longest beach on Little Exuma, a graceful crescent of white-powder sand with translucent blue-green water, and the Tropic of Cancer itself runs across it. Bring a book and a hat, and take a long walk along the curve of the shore when the heat softens.

For the evening, drive on to the southern end of Little Exuma, along Queen’s Highway, to Santanna’s, a seaside stop named for Mrs. Rolle’s granddaughter. Mr. Rolle caught and grilled fresh lobster here, and that dish turned a roadside spot into a destination.

Order it, or a plate of fresh fish, and stay for the sunset. Then return to George Town at an unhurried pace, which makes this the right order: the south and its beach first, while the next days belong to boats.

Day 2 in the Exumas

Today is for the water around George Town. Elizabeth Harbour is the starting point for Stocking Island, easily reached by boat, and it holds some of the finest white sand beaches in the Bahamas.

Go in the morning, when the sand is quiet and the light is clear, and spend a few hours on the beach. Snorkelers and divers can explore the island’s blue holes, coral gardens and undersea caves, so bring a mask if you like looking under the surface.

Back on Great Exuma by early afternoon, you can pick a lunch of grilled fish or cracked conch at a harbor-side restaurant, then take the rest of the day slowly. Great Exuma stretches 37 miles, so a drive along its length shows settlements, small churches, salt-bleached houses and stretches of open water on both sides. Stop where something catches your eye, perhaps a roadside stand or a quiet cove.

If you are in George Town in the late afternoon, see whether the young sailors of the Exuma Sailing Club are out on the harbor. The club has trained local boys and girls since 2013, and watching small boats tack across the water gives you a sense of how closely this community lives with the sea. Finish with dinner in town and an early night, because tomorrow starts on a boat.

Day 3 in the Exumas

The third day goes to the cays around Staniel Cay, the outing that most visitors come for. Big Major Cay, also called Pig Beach, is reached only by boat, whether private, chartered or on a booked tour, and a day trip that includes a boat tour through the Exuma Cays can take in the pigs, the nurse sharks at Staniel Cay Marina and Thunderball Grotto, just west of the island. It is a full day on the water, and it fits here because it needs the energy of a fresh morning.

You may see the pigs wading into the shallows to meet the boats, and snorkelers can explore the grotto, whose small, almost hidden entrance opens onto a cave full of yellow-tail snappers, angelfish and sergeant majors. At the marina, nurse sharks can bite if you put your hands near their mouths, so keep your hands to yourself.

The evening back in town should be slow. Rinse off the salt, then walk the harbor front once more as the boats come in and the lights come on. Dinner can be a last plate of grilled lobster or fish, eaten outside if the air allows. Sit a little longer than you planned, watch the masts sway in Elizabeth Harbour, and let the day’s blues fade into night.

Where to stay for three days in the Exumas

For this plan, the best base is Great Exuma, in or near George Town. The town sits on Elizabeth Harbour, where boats leave for Stocking Island, and it is a short way from the bridge to Little Exuma and its beaches.

Exuma International Airport, the main gateway to the district, lies a few miles from George Town, so you do not waste a day on arrival. One base means you unpack once, and every day starts and ends in the same place.

Staying in George Town also gives you evenings among people who live there, with places to eat and a harbor to stroll. Resorts along the coast, such as Grand Isle Resort on Emerald Bay, which offers villas with private terraces and ocean views, suit travelers who want a retreat more than a town.

Another choice is Staniel Cay, a small island with fewer than 118 full-time residents and an official Port of Entry, with Customs and Immigration. It puts you next to the pigs, the grotto and the sharks, but it is a quiet island, and it suits boaters and people who want the cays to themselves. For a first three-day stay mixing beaches and a boat outing, George Town remains the more balanced choice.

What to skip if you only have three days in the Exumas

Skip the far northern cays. Norman’s Cay and its crashed cargo plane in the shallow lagoon can be reached by a tour from Staniel Cay or Nassau, but adding it to a short stay means more time on the water and less time anywhere.

Highbourne Cay, a favorite outpost of seasoned yachtsmen, is also better for a longer trip by boat. Use that time instead for a second swim at Tropic of Cancer Beach or a long lunch in George Town.

Skip a second round of the swimming pigs and sharks. One visit gives you the whole spectacle, and Compass Cay, where gentle nurse sharks live at the protected marina, repeats the same experience. Choose one and give the saved hours to Stocking Island’s snorkeling instead.

Skip the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park as a stop of its own. The park covers 176 square miles, was established in 1958, and is a no-take reserve where all fishing is prohibited, so it deserves a proper trip with time at Warderick Wells. Squeezed into three days, it would crowd out everything else. Leave it for a return visit and spend an easy evening at Santanna’s instead.

Getting around the Exumas in three days

Most of your time is spent on Great Exuma and Little Exuma, which are joined by a small bridge, so the two islands work as one stretch of coast. Great Exuma runs 37 miles, and George Town sits on it, a few miles from Exuma International Airport. Between the islands of the district, travelers move by air or by sea, and the cays beyond are reached by boat.

For the cays, you reach the pigs, grotto and sharks by boat, whether your own, a chartered one or a booked boat tour, or by hiring a local guide. Stocking Island is easily reached by boat from Elizabeth Harbour, so the harbor is the place where your sea days begin. Staniel Cay has its own airport, which is a Port of Entry for the cays.

If you come from Nassau, remember that the Exumas are a separate island group, and the Bahamas are an archipelago where islands are separated by sea. Scheduled and chartered air service links the islands, and Pig Beach lies 89 miles from Nassau. Plan your days around where the boat leaves, and the rest falls into place.

Good to know before you go

The U.S. State Department rates the Bahamas Level 2, “Exercise increased caution”, and says most crime occurs in Nassau on New Providence and in Freeport on Grand Bahama.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, so a trip in those months deserves a flexible mind about boat days. In winter, the sea near George Town is in the high 70s, and in July it climbs well into the 80s, which makes snorkeling pleasant in both seasons. At the sharks and pigs, keep hands away from mouths and follow your boat captain’s lead.

If you spearfish, the rules are clear: scuba spearfishing is prohibited in the Bahamas, and free-diving spearfishing is permitted with a valid permit. Inside the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, all fishing is prohibited, and wardens patrol the waters.

Sources

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