Leaving Miami before sunrise, you trade a crowded departure hall for a window seat over water that turns from gray to every shade of turquoise. The Exumas are a long chain of islands and cays strung through the Bahamas, and the moment the plane drops toward Great Exuma the color below you is the whole point of the trip. Getting there takes a flight, sometimes two, and a few choices about where to land and what to do once you have.
How do you get to the Exumas from Miami?
The easiest way is to fly, either straight to Exuma International Airport on Great Exuma or through Nassau, the country’s gateway, with a short hop onward. The Exumas are a district of the Bahamas, a separate country, and there is no road from Florida. Between Nassau and the Exumas lie about 150 miles of open water in a straight line, which is why almost everyone arrives in the air.
Exuma International Airport is the primary gateway into the district. It sits on Great Exuma near Moss Town, northwest of George Town, and it handles daily domestic and international flights. Air Canada, for example, flies there seasonally from Toronto. For travelers who would rather land closer to the northern cays, Staniel Cay Airport is an official Port of Entry in the Exuma Cays, with Customs and Immigration on site.
What decides your route is mostly where you will sleep. Great Exuma is the island with the towns, the hotels and the road: it is long and narrow, and Little Exuma joins it across a small bridge.
If your plans center on George Town, Elizabeth Harbour and the beaches along the island, the airport there is the natural arrival point. If you are headed for the swimming pigs, the nurse sharks or the cays farther north, you are thinking about boats and the smaller airstrips.
The second thing that decides is how much you want the journey to be part of the vacation. A direct flight puts you on the island quickly. Connecting in Nassau adds a stop but also adds choices, since the Bahamas is an archipelago reached either by flying into Nassau or directly into an Out Island. And if you arrive by sea, the trip becomes something you remember instead of something you endure.
Ways to get to the Exumas from Miami
Flying straight to Great Exuma
Exuma International Airport is the simplest landing: one runway, a low-lying field at the edge of the sea, and the island’s main settlement of George Town just a few miles away. The airport has daily domestic and international flights, so the choice is about finding the one that fits your day out of Miami.
This route suits travelers staying on Great Exuma or Little Exuma who want to be at the beach by afternoon. From the airport you are close to George Town, where the pastel Government Building, modeled on the Government House in Nassau, draws visitors, and the Peace & Plenty Hotel is a landmark on the harbor. Driving here is on the left side of the road, which is worth remembering before you take the wheel.
Connecting through Nassau
Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport is the country’s gateway, and several U.S. carriers serve it, among them American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Air Canada. From there, travelers fly between islands on scheduled and chartered service from certified domestic and international carriers. Bahamasair is the national airline that lists fares between Nassau and other islands.
This way suits anyone who wants a night or an afternoon in Nassau first, or who is combining the Exumas with another island. It adds a connection, so the day is longer, but it also opens the door to the northern cays. A tour of the Norman’s Cay plane wreck, a crashed cargo plane lying in shallow water in the lagoon, can start from Nassau as well as from Staniel Cay if you do not have your own boat.
Mailboats and ferries
Travelers can connect between major Bahamian islands by ferry and by the regularly scheduled mailboats, the working vessels that carry supplies and passengers through the islands. They are a slower, more local way to move, and they suit people who treat the journey as part of the trip.
The ferry picture is narrower. Bahamas Ferries runs its passenger service to Harbour Island and Spanish Wells, from Nassau, while its freight vessels reach George Town among other ports. For the Exumas, then, the boat you board is more likely a mailboat or a private vessel than a passenger ferry.
Charter flights and arriving by your own boat
At Exuma International Airport, Odyssey Aviation runs an FBO with direct access to the ramp, which is where private and general aviation arrivals are handled. Charter flights are one of the ways the Bahamas welcomes visitors, alongside commercial flights.
By sea, the deep water of Elizabeth Harbour at George Town is a popular spot for sea-faring travelers, and the Exuma Sailing Club trains local children there in the same cove. Arriving this way suits sailors, and it puts you in the harbor, with the town a short step away, rather than at an airport.
Options compared
| Option | Best for | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Direct flight to Great Exuma | Staying around George Town and the beaches of the island | Exuma International Airport has daily domestic and international flights |
| Fly via Nassau | Adding Nassau or another island to the trip | Nassau is the gateway, with onward scheduled and chartered flights |
| Mailboat or ferry | Travelers who enjoy the slow route | Bahamas Ferries carries passengers to Harbour Island and Spanish Wells, with freight reaching George Town |
| Charter or private flight | Groups and private aviation | Odyssey Aviation operates the FBO at Exuma International Airport |
| Your own boat | Sailors heading for the harbor | Elizabeth Harbour at George Town has deep water |
| Staniel Cay Airport | The northern Exuma Cays | An official Port of Entry with Customs and Immigration |
The honest trade is between speed and place. A flight to Great Exuma gets you to the island with the towns, while the smaller airport at Staniel Cay puts you beside Pig Beach and the nurse sharks.
A route through Nassau is longer on paper but flexible, and the boats are for people who care how they arrive. Pick the one that matches where your first night will be, and the rest of the plan follows.
Making a day of it
A day in the Exumas starts with a decision about direction. On Great Exuma, you spend it close to George Town, a small settlement founded in 1793 that sits on the water of Elizabeth Harbour.
Walk past the Government Building and the Peace & Plenty Hotel, watch the sailboats swing at anchor, and let the harbor set the pace. Little Exuma is a short drive across the bridge, and the island’s length means there is plenty of coast to follow.
Staniel Cay and Pig Beach
Pig Beach, near Staniel Cay, is a sandy beach occupied by pigs, and it is one of the sights people travel here to see. The pigs come down to the water, and visitors arrive by boat to feed them and take pictures. Staniel Cay itself is a small community in the Exuma Cays with its own airport and a marina.
At Staniel Cay Marina, visitors are allowed to swim with nurse sharks at their own risk. Nurse sharks can bite if you put your hands near their mouths, so keep your hands to yourself and watch from a respectful distance. Pairing the pigs and the sharks makes a full outing, best taken with a camera and a hat.
Norman’s Cay and the plane wreck
In the northern Exumas, the lagoon at Norman’s Cay holds a crashed cargo plane lying in shallow water. If you do not have your own boat, a tour from Staniel Cay or Nassau can take you to it. It is a quiet, strange sight, a plane resting under clear water, and it makes a good reason to venture out beyond the main island.
What to bring is simple: sun protection, a swimsuit and shoes you do not mind wetting. Plan on a full day for the cays, because the boat ride is part of the outing. If you are based on Great Exuma, the cays are an excursion and the island is home, so there is no rush to see everything on the first morning.
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 through November 30, so a trip in October or November falls inside it, and it is worth watching the forecast as your dates approach. The Exumas are far from Nassau, and the weather there is its own.
If you rent a car on Great Exuma, remember that Bahamian drivers keep to the left. Beyond that, pack light, bring the sunscreen, and leave Miami with room in your schedule for the sea.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Exuma International Airport (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exuma_International_Airport), checked October 10, 2026
- Wikipedia, George Town, Exuma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Town,_Bahamas), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Getting here (https://www.bahamas.com/getting-here), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Island hopping (https://www.bahamas.com/getting-here/island-hopping), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Flying to the Bahamas (https://www.bahamas.com/getting-here/flying), checked October 10, 2026
- Wikipedia, Transport in the Bahamas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_the_Bahamas), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamasair, home (https://www.bahamasair.com/), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamas Ferries, Your travel (https://bahamasferries.com/your-travel/), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamas Ferries, FAQ (https://bahamasferries.com/faq/), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamas Ferries, Our fleet (https://bahamasferries.com/about-us/our-fleet/), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamas Ferries, Our company (https://bahamasferries.com/about-us/our-company/), checked October 10, 2026
- Lynden Pindling International Airport, Airlines (https://nassaulpia.com/flights/airlines/), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (bahamas.com), The Exumas (https://www.bahamas.com/islands/the-exumas), checked October 10, 2026
- Wikivoyage, Exuma travel guide (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Exuma), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (bahamas.com), Exuma Sailing Club (https://www.bahamas.com/experiences/exuma-sailing-club), checked October 10, 2026
- Great-circle distance computed from the GPS coordinates of the two places, October 10, 2026
- U.S. Department of State, The Bahamas Travel Advisory, Level 2 (https://travel.state.gov/), checked October 10, 2026
- NOAA National Hurricane Center, Climatology (https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/), checked October 10, 2026
To plan your stay
- Best Time to Visit the Exumas: Weather, Sea Temperatures, Hurricane Season and Festivals
- Things to Do in the Exumas: Swimming Pigs, Thunderball Grotto, Beaches and Fresh Lobster
- Where to Stay in the Exumas: George Town, Little Exuma, Staniel Cay and How to Choose
- Know Before You Go to the Exumas: Entry Rules, Money, Getting Around and Sun