Pigs, Sharks, and Iguanas, OH MY! The Bahamas truly does have it all. From the white sands and clear blue waters to the animals, you there really is something for everyone here! Dan and I took a trip to the Bahamas for his 30th Birthday, and this trip was a memorable one! We flew into Nassau from Orlando and stayed at the Baha Mar in Nassau (More on that in another post!) One of the excursions I knew I wanted to set up and plan for his birthday was a trip to the Exumas to swim with the pigs! The Exumas are a district of the Bahamas consisting over 365 islands called the cays and begin about 35 miles southeast of Nassau. I knew there were a couple of different ways we could go about setting up this trip, so I really did explore and research all of our options.

The best option would be for us to fly into Staniel Cay on Flamingo Air from Nassau the morning of our excursion and fly out the same day. There are 2 flights per day to Staniel Cay from Nassau. We left super early in the morning (on a little prop plane- cue my anxiety and fears) and within 30 minutes, we had landed in Staniel Cay! Since we were only going for the day, I brought our beach bag and only took the essentials so it wouldn’t be heavy: sunscreen (yes, it went through security with no problems!), towels, CASH (the island runs more on cash than credit cards, so make sure to bring some to tip your guide and use on the island!), our hats, hand sanitizer and sanitizer wipes (SO important to have after touching the pigs!), our phones/GoPro, and our portable battery chargers. Once we went through security, we bought water to have with us. These planes are SMALL. I had never been on a prop plane like that where you are basically sitting right behind the pilots and can see everything they are doing. You even walk out to the middle of the tarmac to board. With only about 12 people on this plane, you can imagine how small it is! Flamingo Airlines is the only direct flight from Nassau to Staniel Cay. You actually have to call in and book your flights with an airline representative and then they send you a credit card authorization form to fill out and send back to them. It’s totally old school and not a scam, even if it seems a little sketchy. If you tell them that you are doing only a day tour, you actually get a discount on the flight ticket, so make sure to call in and tell them that information!

 

I had set up a tour with a company for our day in Staniel Cay and am SO glad I did! Swimming Pig Tours was AMAZING and I highly recommend them! We had booked a swimming pig and shark tour that was open to anyone to join us, but we lucked out and ended up being the only 2 people on the tour. It felt like it was our own private tour, which was really cool and fun! I felt like a VIP. :) This tour includes a boat captain, fuel, beach towels (if you don’t bring your own), and airport transfers to the boat and back.  We were picked in a golf cart as soon as the plane landed in Staniel Cay by Keiran, who greeted up and was our captain for the day. Kerian went out of his way to make this trip so special and memorable for us. From the golf cart, we went to the boat. Our first stop was to see the pigs! Since we had landed so early, we were over to “Pig Beach” at Big Majors Spot by 9 AM, and we were the only ones there! Keiran said he liked to go there first before a bunch of other groups showed up, and I am so glad we did that. We had the beach and pigs to ourselves, and it was awesome having a personal experience with them without a bunch of other tourists trying to get in pictures, etc. I loved how caring Keiran was with the pigs. He knew them all by name and told us about each of them. The pigs are taken care of and have regular visits from vets as well as local residents of Staniel Cay to make sure they have shelter, food, and freshwater.  These pigs were cute and so funny to see actually swimming in the water! They ate apple cores and potato chips and were not afraid to let you know if they wanted more! We spent a good hour here, and I loved having the beach to ourselves. If you are on a private tour, definitely ask your captain to stop here first! By the time we were leaving, 3 other boats filled with people had shown up and the beach was getting crowded. The pigs were the sweetest and I LOVED them. I could have spent all day just hanging out with them!

After Pig Beach, we dropped anchor at this beautiful Pipe Creek sandbar just to relax and enjoy the sunshine and clear water. Look how beautiful!!

After the sandbar, we went to Compass Cay to swim with sharks. To be honest, I was TERRIFIED. Like most people, when you see a shark, you are told to get OUT of the water. Not IN! I was so scared and you can definitely see the fear in the majority of my photos haha! Keiran was really awesome at Compass Cay. He knew the owners and did his best to ensure we were safe regardless of the other tourists also in the water. Let’s be honest here- Don’t be an idiot when you get in the water with sharks. Some people were screaming, others splashing their hands around, putting their hands in front of the shark’s mouths, etc. The best advice was to go in relaxed and calm and to keep your hands where you (and the sharks) could see them. We actually tried to stay away from the other people in the water and because we were so calm, the sharks actually came over to us and stayed nearby. They don’t like crazy, that is for sure! Keiran actually fed some squid to the sharks while we were in the water to get them near us at first. I was so scared thinking they would bite me or mistake me for food, but these are nurse sharks, so that wasn’t the case. (However, to me, a shark is a shark, no matter their temperament lol) Is this something that I want to do again? Probably not, but it was a cool experience. There is a little shack offering drinks and snacks after your shark experience. We made sure to get a Kalik after that crazy experience!

 

From Compass Cay, Keiran arranged for us to have lunch at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. We both had cheeseburgers and they were delicious. They tasted fresh off the grill. We had a table by the window overlooking the ocean and loved it. The Yacht Club even has rooms available for you to stay on your vacation. I see why people would want to come and stay there!

  

After lunch, our final stop was to see the iguanas at Bitter Guana Cay. These endangered iguanas live on two separate islands separated by a small cut. Feeding these iguanas is illegal because they want to keep the iguanas relying on their own natural food in their habitat. Human food disrupts their digestion processing system and could eventually lead them to extinction. These iguanas are totally unique to the Exumas and are monitored by Shedd Aquarium out of Chicago. It was crazy to see them all come running out to our boat when we pulled up to the island. These iguanas were huge! I’m not a huge iguana fan, but it was cool to learn more about them and to see them in their natural habitat.

 

We still had a little time left before we had to get back to the airport for our flight back to Nassau, so Keiran asked if we wanted to go to Thunderball Grotto for some snorkeling. We had already had an amazing day, so decided not to snorkel. Instead, he gave us a better option to go back to Staniel Cay Yacht Club and enjoy drinks at the bar. That was more up our alley 😉 We got to talk to some of the locals as well as other visitors who were actually staying on the island. Keiran was so professional and responsible coming to pick us up on the golf cart in a timely manner to make sure we wouldn’t miss our flight back to Nassau. He checked us in for our flight (and by checking us in, I mean talking to a lady in a building that writes our names down in a book) and then are taken to a gazebo (YES, A WOODEN GAZEBO) to wait for our plane to land and pick us up. The flight was an experience in itself. The same plane that landed did not even turn off when it picked us up. They just ushered us on to the back of the plane and that was it! If you were late, you weren’t flying back with us! It was just crazy to me how the entire process works and so cool to get to experience it!

This was such an experience getting to swim with the pigs, sharks, and see iguanas. I definitely recommend how we did this excursion. It was a long day, but totally worth it. I loved getting to say in Nassau for my trip, but getting to fly to Staniel Cay for the day was amazing. I highly recommend a tour with Swimming Pig Tours. Keiran was an excellent captain!

If you are wanting to stay in one location that does not require you to fly in from Nassau like we did, your best option would be to stay at Sandals Emerald Bay in Great Exuma! This all-inclusive luxury resort in Exuma offers a mile-long beach, exotic adventures, 3 pools, 11 restaurants, and is adult only. It doesn’t get much better than that! Why choose this location?

Location: It’s in the Exumas. Need I say more?

Swim with the Pigs: This resort can set you up with a wide range of Bahamas tours and excursions

Accommodations: Rooms offer extensive views of the beach

11 Unique Restaurants: From an English pub to barefoot oceanside dining, they have it all!

Premium House Wines at No Extra Cost

Unlimited Premium Liquor

Endless Ways to be Entertained: A piano bar, live bands, and more!

Golfer’s Paradise

Unlimited Water Sports

Amazing Pools

Regardless of where you stay when visiting the Bahamas, swimming with the pigs is a MUST DO. I highly recommend it! If you are interested in this tour and need help planning, contact me for help! Remember, my services are always free! Molly@MarvelousMouseTravels.com

Love and Travel Dust,

Molly