The most ‘exhausting’ but also the most amazing thing we did on the Exumas was this boat trip. Well, exhausting actually just because of the wind that’s hissing around your ears while riding on the boat. We felt quite dizzy when the ship was slowing down again.
There are a couple of tour providers on the island, offering similar tours. Our host recommended two of them and one of them was ‘Exuma Water Tours 4 C’s’. Besides day trips they offer half day tours without visiting Big Major Island (Swimming Pigs). Not an option for us!
We can totally recommend ‘Exuma Water Tours 4 C’s’ as a tour provider: Captain Yellow and his colleague were really entertaining and gave us the right amount of information we wanted on such a tour. More info about each island we visited later.
Costs
We paid 180$ each (beginning of peak season). We later found out it costs 10$ less if you pay cash, but nevertheless, it’s expensive.
It’s definitely worth the money. In this case, you shouldn’t be stingy as the tour was so much fun and had a lot to offer.
Other costs:
- 20$ each for lunch at an island around Staniel Cay; the buffet is really good
- 10$ each for getting off the boat at Compass Cay
Of course, I repeat the words like a mantra but seriously: 210$ per person is a very good investment here. How often will you be on the Bahamas and be able swim with sharks and the Swimming Pigs? Think about it!
Celebrity Islands
Actually, they could skip this part. The boat cruise over the thousand shades of blue, the Bahamas’ waters offers made it worth our time nevertheless. I’m afraid I’m not going to see these kinds of colours for a long time.
And: here and there it’s really fascinating seeing the properties of a David Copperfield or Taylor Swift. Of course, they treated themselves with the best views.
Plane Wreck
No one really knows exactly how this plane wreck got here. It’s rumoured that it was a drug plane.
Surrounded by the crystal clear water it was at least nice to watch. They offered us to snorkel here, but that would have cost some time at one of the other places. Nobody wanted that.
If you have more information about it, just send it over. Our tour guides didn’t really know about this. So we guess it’s kind of an urban legend.
The Swimming Pigs at Big Major Cay
Finally, we arrived at the place we dreamt about for years. We arrived at the beach of the slightly disgusting but super cute Swimming Pigs. We already saw them from afar when they were swimming in direction of our boat. You could see the hope in their eyes, looking forward to getting some toast – or actually anything else to eat.
We had met a few of them at Little Pig Beach before (one of the little bitches destroyed my beach towel). But this time, on Big Major Cay, we also met their little babies. They were adorable. It wasn’t easy taking good pictures with them. Of course, these little piggies are corruptible when you offer food. But in the end of the day, they’re just pigs and they do what they want.
It was really a lot of fun. The Swimming Pigs alone were worth the money.
By the way: we also saw some barracudas and stingrays here. Still, the Swimming Pigs are the true stars here.
Compass Cay
On the one hand, they sometimes feed them here, on the other hand, they’re still sharks. They told us not to put our fingers in front of them as they might think you’re offering sausages. (They partly feed them sausages.) Not the kind of information you want to hear before swimming in the water as you can’t let your fingers on land.
For a while, I was just watching. While everyone else was having fun I was still peeing my pants. As the sharks didn’t attack anyone I decided to go inside and started screaming after my mummy immediately. I was so scared when one of the sharks swam close to my belly.
The kind of shark you’ll see at Compass Cay are called Nurse Sharks and are in general really peaceful. After my first shock, I started getting used to them. Thank God they weren’t interested in us at all. Our tour guides told us there hadn’t happened anything ever.
To put it short: I’m a chicken and swimming with sharks was amazing!
The Sandbank
This is something we can’t tell much about. And it’s actually not necessary. This sandbank is the place where they shot the video to Kesha’s and Pitbull’s song ‘Timber’. (Just in case you’re interested)
When we arrived we saw the sandbank appearing thanks to the low tide. It was so dreamy and thanks to the Bahamas I definitely have a thing for sand banks now.
Thunder Ball Grotto
This grotto became famous after a scene of a James Bond movie was shot here. According to Jan, it’s a bit adventurous to get inside the Grotto (I suffer a little bit of claustrophobia and waited on the boat). You have to swim under the rocks to get inside.
There are a few holes in the rock ceiling which light up the inside of the grotto during midday perfectly. Unfortunately, it was still too dark for the GoPro so most pics turned out useless. Next to the great colour of the water there are many fish swimming crazily around you.
Iguanas
We’re in love with Iguanas since our time on Curaçao. On one of the little Exuma Cays, they were waiting for us in large numbers hoping to be fed.
They were photogenic like always and relaxed as usually. Love the little dragons!
Starfish Bay
It was a little bit disappointing and at the same time, it was not. When hearing the name Starfish Bay we imagined a bay full of starfish. But either it was bad luck or our expectations were too high: We could see two starfish and touch them. When you take them out of the water, don’t forget to put them back in the water soon after. It’s not dangerous for them to catch a little bit of air but no one wants (them) to dry out.
It was a great day trip with some of the most amazing Exuma highlights. You shouldn’t miss any of them. If you still have questions on this trip, just contact us.
You’ll find more about the Bahamas here.
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