Warderick WellsExuma Cays Land and Sea Park
Established in 1958 and fully no-take since 1986. Expect healthy reefs, grouper and conch. There’s no taking anything, including shells.
Park excursions →Things to do
The best of the Exumas, ranked by how much it’s worth the boat.
Almost everything here happens on the water. These are the stops worth planning a day around, and how to book each one well.
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The classic boat dayPigs, grotto, sharks, iguanas: the big four
A full-day charter out of Staniel Cay or Great Exuma usually strings several of these together. Small boats (under a dozen guests) are worth paying extra for.
01
Swim with the pigs at Big Major Cay
A colony of feral pigs that paddles out to meet boats. Arrive before late morning and you’ll have it mostly to yourself.
02
Snorkel Thunderball Grotto
Sunlight through the roof turns this flooded cave electric blue. Enter at slack tide only; the current at the entrance is real.
03
Wade with nurse sharks at Compass Cay
The marina’s nurse sharks have gathered at the dock for decades. Calm, photogenic, and still wild.
04
Meet the rock iguanas
Endangered, endemic, prehistoric-looking. Allen’s Cay and Bitter Guana Cay are the usual stops.
05
Stand on a disappearing sandbar
Low tide around Pipe Creek exposes ankle-deep bars in open water. There’s no fixed address; that’s the captain’s job.
06
Go private for the day
For a group or a family, a private charter often costs less per head than you’d think and lets you set the timing around tides and crowds.
In the waterWarderick Wells 
Reefs & wrecks
Flats & deep water
Reefs, fishing and the park
Warderick WellsReefs & wrecksSnorkeling trips
Coral gardens, a sunken plane near Norman’s Cay, and drift snorkels through cuts between cays. Bring reef-safe sunscreen.
Snorkel tours →Flats & deep waterFishing charters
Bonefish on the flats, mahi and wahoo offshore. Fishing is prohibited inside the Land and Sea Park; captains know the lines.
Fishing charters →On Great Exuma
Great Exuma
By road
Off-road
For the day the wind is up
Great ExumaIsland tour of Great Exuma
Beaches, settlements, and the Tropic of Cancer line on Little Exuma. A good first-day orientation.
Island tours →By roadRent a buggy for the day
See the length of Great and Little Exuma at your own pace. The best beaches aren’t the signposted ones.
Buggy rentals →Off-roadATV tour
Inland tracks and the north end. The land counterpart to a boat day.
ATV tours →Also worth your time: a water taxi to Stocking Island for its beaches and a long lunch on the sand, and Friday night at the George Town fish fry. More in Eat & drink.
Only have one day?
Exumas day trips from Nassau
Said plainly: these leave from Nassau, run long, and much of the day is the crossing. You’ll reach Pig Beach with the other day boats. If a day is what you have, they’re still worth it.
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Tip: look for trips that include the iguanas as well as the pigs. They’re harder to book otherwise.
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The Exuma Trip Planner
Everything on this site, boiled down to a plan you can actually follow:
- A 4-day itinerary that beats the Nassau day boats to Pig Beach
- Which island to base yourself on, by budget
- How to book the boat day (and what it should cost)
- Month-by-month weather & hurricane-season odds
- The packing list locals wish visitors brought