Pig Beach, Exuma
A colony of semi-wild pigs swims out to greet boats off Big Major Cay, an uninhabited island in the Exuma Cays. No roads, no dock, no ticket booth, just turquoise water, white sand, and the Bahamas' most famous residents.
A colony of semi-wild pigs swims out to greet boats off Big Major Cay, an uninhabited island in the Exuma Cays. No roads, no dock, no ticket booth, just turquoise water, white sand, and the Bahamas' most famous residents.
Full-day boat excursions run from Nassau, roughly 89 miles (143 km) each way, about 2 hours by speedboat, often combined with stops in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park.
Shorter crossings run from Great Exuma (Georgetown) and Staniel Cay, both closer to Big Major Cay than Nassau, with half-day and multi-stop cay-hopping options.
Private boat charters and seaplane transfers can be arranged through operators based in Exuma or Nassau for a more flexible, less crowded visit.
Pig Beach has no official tour operator. Confirm current departure points, schedules, and pricing directly with a licensed Exuma or Nassau boat charter before you go.
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An estimated fifty to sixty semi-wild pigs live on the cay and swim out to greet arriving boats, an encounter unique to a handful of Bahamian islands.
Turquoise shallows, white sand, and a scatter of uninhabited cays make the boat ride out as memorable as the beach itself.
Most trips pair Pig Beach with other well-known Exuma stops, since it sits along the same run of cays that many day tours already cover.
Where exactly is Pig Beach?
Pig Beach is on Big Major Cay (also called Major Cay), an uninhabited island in the Exuma Cays, Bahamas, roughly 89 miles (143 km) southeast of Nassau, near Staniel Cay.
How do you get to Pig Beach?
There's no way in by road. Visitors arrive by boat, either on an organized day tour from Nassau, Great Exuma, or Staniel Cay, or via a private charter.
Can you actually swim with the pigs?
Yes. The pigs are used to boats arriving and will often swim out to greet visitors, though how many come down to the water varies day to day.
Are the pigs safe to be around?
Most encounters are calm, but the pigs are wild animals, not pets. Some visitors have reported nips while hand-feeding, so local guides generally recommend not entering the water with food and keeping fingers and toes clear of the pigs' mouths.
How did the pigs end up on the island?
No one knows for certain. Popular theories include sailors who left the pigs to fatten up and never returned, pigs that survived a shipwreck and swam ashore, and animals brought over deliberately by nearby residents in the 1990s. Part of the beach's charm is that no single story is confirmed.
Is there an entrance fee?
Pig Beach itself is a wild, uninhabited beach with no gate or entrance fee. The only cost is getting there: a seat on a tour boat or a private charter.
What's the best time to visit?
Calmer seas typically make morning departures more comfortable, and going earlier in the day tends to mean fewer boats sharing the beach. Confirm seasonal conditions and schedules with your operator.
Big Major Cay sits among the more than 365 islands and cays of the Exuma district of the Bahamas, near Staniel Cay. It's home to a colony of feral pigs, estimated at fifty to sixty animals as of 2019, along with a few stray goats and cats, but no permanent human residents.
How the pigs got there is still debated. Stories range from sailors who planned to return and cook them, to pigs that survived a shipwreck and swam ashore, to animals stocked deliberately in the 1990s by residents of nearby Staniel Cay. Whatever the origin, the pigs are now fed by locals and visiting boaters, and the cay has become known simply as Pig Beach.
The beach has become a fixture on social media and travel shows since the early 2010s, drawing day-trippers from across Exuma and Nassau. It's usually paired with other Exuma Cays stops, since the boat ride out passes some of the most photographed water in the Bahamas.
