Bahamas · The Exuma Cays
The milk run: the week we send almost everyone on
Three hundred and sixty-five cays in a line south-east of Nassau, with the clearest water we have ever anchored in, sandbars that appear at low tide, the pigs at Big Major and the Land and Sea Park. Nassau to Staniel Cay and back is the Bahamas week, and the first one we recommend to anyone.
Where
Bahamas, from 35 nm south-east of Nassau
Fly to
Nassau (NAS); Staniel Cay and Great Exuma have strips
Best months
December to April; good all year except June to November
Give it
A week from Nassau and back; ten days to Great Exuma
Known for
The pigs, Thunderball Grotto, Warderick Wells, the sandbars
Water
Shallow banks on the west side, deep sound on the east. Draft decides the anchorage
Ellie in the Exumas
My Exumas, in pictures
The full week is on the Bahamas page. These are my own photos from the cays, taken on the days we actually did these things, so you can see what the water really looks like.
Ellie Malouf · Ahoy Club
Why go
The Exumas, honestly
Nobody who has anchored in the Exumas argues about the water. The cays run a hundred and twenty miles south-east from Nassau with the shallow Bahama Bank on one side and the deep Exuma Sound on the other, and the colour between them is the reason people come back. Sandbars appear at low tide and vanish at high. You read the bottom at thirty feet.
The famous stops are in the middle: Big Major Cay, where the pigs swim out to the tender; Thunderball Grotto, the cave from the Bond film; Staniel Cay Yacht Club, the bar at the heart of it; Compass Cay with its nurse sharks; and Warderick Wells, the headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, where the moorings sit in a crescent of white sand.
The week runs from Nassau to Staniel Cay and back and we send almost everyone on it first. Ten days reaches George Town on Great Exuma, which has an airport, so the trip goes one way; or it adds Harbour Island and Eleuthera in the north for the pink sand.
Where we anchor
The anchorages, in the order we use them
- Highbourne CayAnchorage, first nightThe first Exuma anchorage, three hours from Nassau. Nurse sharks off the marina dock, and the morning walk from the marina to Horseshoe Bay: hammocks, pontoons, a little bar on the sand and buggies for anyone who would rather ride.
- Norman’s CayAnchorageThe sunken plane to snorkel and a sandbar to walk at low tide.
- Warderick WellsMooring, overnightThe heart of the Land and Sea Park. Moorings in a crescent of sand, and the boa trail to the top.
- Staniel CayAnchorage, overnightThunderball Grotto, the yacht club bar, the pigs a mile away at Big Major, and an airstrip for changeovers.
- Pipe CreekAnchorage, settled weatherA maze of turquoise channels between Compass and Staniel. Sunset drinks here are the photograph.
Ashore
The Exumas off the boat
Not a directory. If it is here, we have sat at the table or stood at the bar.
Eat
One bar that matters and a few beach grills.
Staniel Cay Yacht ClubThe bar at the heart of the Exumas since 1956. Conch fritters, a rum punch and every boat in the chain.
Chat ’N’ Chill, Stocking IslandConch salad made in front of you on the beach across from George Town, for the ten-day trip.
- The crew’s beach picnicA table on a sandbar at low tide, which is the Exumas’ version. Nowhere does it better.
Drink and dance
Sunset on a sandbar. There is no nightlife and nobody misses it.
Pipe Creek at sunsetCocktails on deck in a turquoise maze as the light goes.
Chat ’N’ Chill eveningsBeach bonfires and live music on Stocking Island.
Do
The water, every day.
The pigs at Big MajorThey swim out to the tender. Go early, before the day boats from Nassau.
Thunderball GrottoSnorkel into the cave at slack low tide, the light coming through the roof.
The Land and Sea ParkWarderick Wells’ trails and moorings, the first no-take marine reserve in the world.
The Norman’s Cay planeA drug-runner’s wreck in six feet of water, now a fish nursery.
Where it sits
The Exumas on the chart
The Exumas start thirty-five miles south-east of Nassau and run a hundred and twenty miles to Great Exuma. The week turns at Staniel Cay; ten days reaches George Town and flies out, or adds Eleuthera to the north.
Drag to move. Double-click or ctrl-scroll to zoom.Zoom with the buttons, then drag to move.
When
When to be in The Exumas
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
- December to April: the season, with the Mediterranean fleet across. Cooler fronts pass in January and February, two days each.
- March and April: the warmest water of the season and settled weather. The best weeks.
- May and October to November: quiet, warm, few boats. Good if the dates suit.
- June to September: hot, humid, hurricane season. We would not send you then.
Itineraries
Itineraries that call at The Exumas
Full plans, day by day, with the boat each one runs on. Send one to the people coming with you; we reshape it around your yacht and dates.
The Exumas in a week
Nassau8 stopsNassau
Nassau to Staniel Cay and back: Norman's Cay, the Land and Sea Park, two nights at Staniel for the pigs, the grotto and the sharks at sunset, Pipe Creek and Shroud Cay. The week we send almost everyone on.
Open
The Exumas and Harbour Island in ten nights
Nassau8 stopsHarbour Island
The milk run, then across Exuma Sound to Eleuthera for Harbour Island's pink sand, Dunmore Town by golf cart, horses on the beach and lunch at the Dunmore.
Open
The whole Exuma chain in ten nights
Nassau9 stopsGeorge Town
One way, Nassau to George Town: two nights in the park, two at Staniel, then Black Point and Little Farmer's where the day boats never go, and a flight home from Great Exuma.
Open
The Abacos in a week
Marsh Harbour8 stopsMarsh Harbour
The northern sailing ground from Marsh Harbour: Hope Town's lighthouse, Pete's Pub, Nippers on the dune, Treasure Cay's beach and New Plymouth. Flat water behind the cays, a different week from the Exumas.
OpenYachts
Yachts in the Bahamas now
Draft matters here. The shallow-draft boats in the fleet reach the inside anchorages; the big ones anchor in the sound.
CORAL OCEAN
Lürssen · 73m · 1994, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 28 crew
€650k – 790k
PILOT LOUNGE
Horizon · 28m · 2015, refit 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$48k – 52k
MEMENTO VIVERE
Westport · 40m · 2005, refit 2021
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$120k – 150k
MIDORI
Sunreef Yachts · 21m · 2016, refit 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$44k – 48k
LADY J
Palmer Johnson · 43m · 1997, refit 2021
12 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
$109k – 119k
SWEET CAROLINE II
Trinity Yachts · 50m · 2009, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
$19k – 230k
MURPHY'S LAW
Delta Marine · 38m · 1998, refit 2015
10 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
$7k – 81k
MARY KATHLENE
Westport · 42m · 1989, refit 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 7 crew
$85k – 95k
INDY
Hatteras · 26m · 2005, refit 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$45k – 50k
Afforded Leisure
Lazzara · 24m · 2001, refit 2025
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
$31k – 34k
CROSSED SABRE
Burger · 44m · 2006, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
$175k – 195k
SAINT
Sirena Yachts · 27m · 2021
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$85k – 98k
M3
Intermarine Savannah · 45m · 2002, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
$145k – 167k
LADY GRACE
Westport · 28m · 1996, refit 2025
6 guests | 3 cabins | 4 crew
$35k – 40k
Akasha
Lagoon · 19m · 2018
8 guests | 2 crew
$45k
PLAYTIME
Lagoon · 20m · 2018, refit 2021
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
$43k – 49k
NEVER ENOUGH
Feadship · 43m · 1992, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$110k – 127k
CARPE DIEM
Azimut · 31m · 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
$99k – 115k
CAMILLE
Broward Marine · 38m · 2007, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
$85k – 98k
NOW OR NEVER
Westport · 34m · 2010, refit 2020
8 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
$65k – 75k
SOVEREIGN
Burger · 30m · 1966, refit 2020
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$48k – 50k
Alegria
Azimut · 32m · 2024
8 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
€100k – 110k
Princess Mila
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2022
6 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$43k – 49k
CHANSON
Christensen · 37m · 1995, refit 2020
9 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
$75k – 85k
HAPPY HOUR
Horizon · 34m · 2018
11 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
$95k – 105k
NOMADA
Mochi Craft · 24m · 2010, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$50k – 55k
TANZANITE
Westship · 44m · 2004, refit 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$145k – 160k
RELENTLESS
Trinity Yachts · 44m · 2001, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
$150k – 173k
TRUE NORTH
Broward Marine · 36m · 2000, refit 2019
8 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
$60k – 69k
COPAY
Lazzara · 24m · 2003, refit 2020
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
$36k – 41k
A PLACE IN THE SUN
Broward Marine · 30m · 1992, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 4 crew
Price on request
RISK & REWARD
Crescent Yachts · 37m · 2004, refit 2022
9 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
$75k – 85k
Giuli
Sunseeker · 23m · 2000
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
$34k – 44k
TCB
Trinity Yachts · 50m · 2008, refit 2022
11 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
$175k – 200k
BEYOND BEYOND
Riva · 29m · 2019
6 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$95k – 105k
SeaQuest
Christensen · 38m · 1999, refit 2025
10 guests | 5 cabins | 6 crew
$85k – 98k
LADY ELAINE
Christensen · 50m · 2008, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
$200k – 225k
KING OF FUN
Northern Marine · 40m · 2005, refit 2022
10 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
$120k – 138k
LEXINGTON
Horizon · 26m · 2006, refit 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$40k – 46k
BG
Feadship · 47m · 1990, refit 2022
12 guests | 6 cabins | 10 crew
$140k – 170k
BUNDALONG
Sunreef Yachts · 24m · 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins
$82k
SPECTRE
Princess · 29m · 2009, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$50k – 65k
PRIVILEGE
Custom Line · 34m · 2010, refit 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
Price on request
Andiamo
Symbol Yachts · 28m · 2010, refit 2023
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
$35k
PIER PRESSURE
Azimut · 27m · 2020, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 4 crew
$70k – 80k
OCEAN ROSE
Ocean Alexander · 26m · 2018
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$43k
SLEEPOVER
Westport · 34m · 2008, refit 2021
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$65k – 75k
TOP FIVE II
Royal Hakvoort · 61m · 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 19 crew
$600k – 650k
48 yachts in rotation. The order changes with every visit so no boat is always last.
Questions we get asked
The Exumas, answered
Common questions
What is the Exumas milk run?
The week nearly everyone does: Nassau south through the cays to Staniel Cay and back, with the pigs at Big Major, Thunderball Grotto, Warderick Wells and the Land and Sea Park, and sandbars at low tide every day. Our one-week Bahamas itinerary is this route.
How do we get to the Exumas?
Fly to Nassau, three hours from New York, under an hour from Florida and direct from London. The yacht meets you there and the first Exuma anchorage is three hours away. Staniel Cay and Great Exuma have airstrips for a changeover mid-charter.
Can we see the swimming pigs from a yacht?
Yes. They live on Big Major Cay next to Staniel and swim out to the tender. Go first thing in the morning before the day boats arrive from Nassau.
Does the yacht’s draft matter in the Bahamas?
More than anywhere else we go. The banks are shallow, so a yacht drawing under three metres reaches anchorages the big boats cannot. Tell us the group and we will pick the boat for the water.
When is the Bahamas season?
All year, in theory. December to April is best, when the Mediterranean fleet has crossed. June to November is hurricane season and hot, and we would steer you elsewhere.
Want The Exumas in your week?
Tell us the dates and who is coming. We will say which nights to give it, which berth to hold, and whether the week you want is still open.