The boat slows, the engine drops to a murmur, and a pink and brown shape trots down the pale sand toward the water, followed by another, then a pair of piglets. This is Pig Beach on Big Major Cay, a small uninhabited stretch of the Exumas where the residents come out to meet every arrival. It is a boat day built around animals, set in turquoise water and low green cays, and it suits anyone who wants something playful in the middle of the islands.
Is visiting the swimming pigs of Big Major Cay worth it?
Yes, if a day on the water with animals at the center sounds like your idea of fun, and especially for families and anyone who likes a trip with a story to tell afterward. The pigs are the reason to come, and the setting does the rest: a beach with no buildings, clear shallow water, and a long run of cays on the way.
What sets the visit apart from other beach stops in the Exumas is how it works. You do not wander up to a snack bar or a lounge chair.
You arrive by boat, step into a scene where the animals are the residents and you are the guest, and the whole encounter is about watching them, feeding them at the right place and letting them set the pace. Pigs paddling toward a boat is not a sight you meet on an ordinary beach.
It also comes as part of a bigger outing. Day trips from Nassau or from the Exumas include a boat tour through the Exuma Cays, so the ride itself is a good part of the day. If your idea of a vacation is quiet water, small islands and one memorable stop, this fits. If you want a long, hands-off wilderness walk, this is a shorter, livelier kind of visit.
Go with realistic expectations. These are real animals, not a petting zoo, and a few visitors say they have been bitten. Treated with common sense they are a delight, and most of the fun is simply watching them wade in.
What to see at the swimming pigs of Big Major Cay
Pig Beach and the herd
Pig Beach is the name most people use for Big Major Cay, and the herd is small, about 20 pigs and piglets. That makes the visit personal rather than a crowd scene. You can tell the animals apart: the big, lazy ones that sprawl in the shade, the bolder ones that march down to the waterline, and the piglets that stay close to the bushes.
How the pigs came to be here is told in several versions around the islands, and none of them is something to repeat as fact. What you see is simple enough. Pigs on a sandy beach, shallow clear water, and boats anchored just off the shore. When the pigs head into the sea, they often swim a short way toward a boat, which is how the cay got its nickname.
The feeding trough
Feeding is part of the visit, and there is a designated place for it: an installed trough on the cay. Using it keeps the pigs from swallowing too much sand or saltwater with their food, which is the reason it exists. The pigs know the spot well and gather there quickly.
Approved foods are fruits, vegetables, bread and pig feed bought locally. Watching them tuck in at the trough is the closest and most entertaining part of the stop, and it is easy to hold back and let the animals come to you rather than the other way around.
Pens, a vet and the care behind the show
Behind the postcard scene there is real care. A veterinarian from Nassau treats ill pigs on Big Major Cay, and separate pens exist for sick animals and for piglets. If you see a fenced corner away from the beach, that is what it is for, and it is a good reminder that the pigs are looked after rather than left to fend for themselves.
The pigs are described as docile, and visitors are encouraged to act responsibly around them. In practice that means calm movements, no chasing, and feeding at the trough instead of waving food around the beach.
Freshwater springs and the cays around
Big Major Cay has three freshwater springs, a rare detail on a small cay in the Exumas and a quiet reason the pigs can live here at all. You will not visit them as an attraction, but they explain why an uninhabited island can support a herd.
Staniel Cay sits close by, and it is the neighboring spot you will hear about most when planning a trip. The wider Exuma district counts over 365 islands and cays, so even a short boat ride puts you among scenery that keeps changing from one cay to the next.
Hours, tickets and rules
Pig Beach is on Big Major Cay, which is accessible only by boat. Your timing is set by the boat you take.
| Site | Open |
|---|---|
| Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park office | Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Sunday, 9am to 12pm. |
Rules for the pigs are short. Feed them only approved foods such as fruits, vegetables, bread and locally bought pig feed, and do it at the installed trough.
Within the boundaries of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, no fishing, shelling or conching of any kind is permitted, and wardens and Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers patrol the park. Anyone who sees poaching or unusual activity can report it anonymously on VHF Channel 09, calling Exuma Park, and VHF Channel 16 is monitored around the clock for emergencies.
How to get to the swimming pigs of Big Major Cay
You reach Big Major Cay by boat and only by boat. That can be your own vessel, a chartered one, or a seat on a booked boat tour.
From Nassau
Visitors staying in Nassau can book a day trip that includes a boat tour through the Exuma Cays. The distance from Nassau to Pig Beach is 89 miles, and by speedboat the crossing takes 2 hours. That is a real stretch of open water, so think of the day as a proper excursion with a long ride in each direction.
The payoff is the scenery on the way: cays rising from shallow, bright water and the sense of moving through the Exumas rather than just arriving at a stop. Whether you ride with a group or look for a private trip depends on how you like to travel, and the operators give you both choices.
From the Exumas
If you are already staying in the Exumas, you start much closer. Tour operators run private and group trips to Pig Beach from Great Exuma, from Staniel Cay and from other nearby cays. Staniel Cay is near Big Major Cay, so it makes a natural base for the pigs.
Staying in the Exumas turns the pigs into one stop in a day of island hopping rather than the whole outing. It also leaves you free to build the rest of the trip around other beaches and cays. For questions about the pigs or the tour facilities, The Exumas Tourist Office can be reached at (242) 336-2457.
When to visit the swimming pigs of Big Major Cay
Pig Beach has no opening or closing, so the best time is decided by your boat and by how you like your days on the water. Either way, the stop is short compared with the ride, so the timing of the whole day matters more than the exact hour at the beach.
Pick the part of the day that suits you. If you like quiet scenery and photographs, think about when the sun is lower and the water shows its color. If you are traveling with children, a stop earlier in the outing keeps everyone fresh for the boat ride home.
As for months, the pigs live on the cay all year, so there is no season when they are away. The one calendar point worth knowing is the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. Boat trips depend on the sea and the sky, so a trip in those months can be shaped by the weather, and the flexibility of your plans counts for more.
There is no festival or equinox tied to the pigs. The appeal is steady, and a visit works whenever your trip to the Exumas or Nassau falls. Make it a flexible part of the itinerary, with room to move it to another day if the sea does not cooperate.
Tips for your visit
Bring fruit, vegetables or bread if you want to feed the pigs, or buy pig feed locally, since those are the foods that are welcome. Take your camera, sunglasses and a sun hat, because there is plenty of open water and bright sand. A towel and a change of clothes are practical for any day on a boat.
Plan for a full day if you leave from Nassau, since the crossing alone takes up a good part of it. If you are based in the Exumas, tour operators offer private and group trips from Great Exuma, Staniel Cay and other nearby cays. A nearby base like Staniel Cay keeps the journey short.
What to combine it with
The boat tour through the Exuma Cays is part of the day trips, so you already get scenery on the way. Beyond that, the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park is nearby territory worth knowing. It was established in 1958 as the first marine reserve in the Bahamas and the wider Caribbean, and it covers 112,640 acres of land and sea.
Inside the park, visitors can follow several hiking trails and watch for birds, fish, turtles and iguanas, and moorings are available for boaters. It is the most visited national park in the Bahamas, and in 2018 it won the Platinum Global Ocean Refuge Award. If your boat day includes a park stop, keep its rules in mind.
Families and mobility
Families often enjoy the pigs most, especially children who like animals. Because some visitors say they have been bitten, keep children close, feed at the trough, and let the pigs come to you. Hands full of food attract attention quickly.
The cay is reached by boat, and stepping from a boat to a beach is part of every visit, so think about how comfortable that is for everyone in your group. Speak to your operator about it when you book.
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.
Bring your own sense of care too: the pigs are docile, but they are animals, and a calm approach keeps the day pleasant for them and for you. Sun on the water is strong, so cover up and drink plenty.
Look after the place as well. Feed only at the trough, take your trash back to the boat, and leave the cay as you found it. The herd lives on a small, quiet island, and your visit is one of many it sees.
Sources
- Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (bahamas.com), Official Home Swimming Pigs (https://www.bahamas.com/experiences/official-home-swimming-pigs), checked October 10, 2026
- Wikipedia, Big Major Cay (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Major_Cay), checked October 10, 2026
- Bahamas National Trust, Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (https://bnt.bs/explore/exuma/exuma-cays-land-sea-park/), checked 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 Bahamas: Weather, Hurricane Season, Sea Temperatures and Junkanoo
- Where to Stay in the Bahamas: Best Islands, Resorts, Boutique Stays and How to Choose
- Getting Around the Bahamas: Flights, Ferries, Mailboats and Taxis in Nassau
- Know Before You Go to the Bahamas: Entry Rules, Money, Getting Around and Local Customs