A Taste of the Bahamas in the Berry Islands

After checking in at Bimini we set off for the Berry Islands. About 80 miles east, across the Bahamas Bank lays this very small island chain.

You can sail straight from the U.S to the Berry Islands and check-in at Great Harbour Cay or Chub Cay if you chose.

Great Harbour Cay

This is the most northern island in the chain. We anchored on the outside at the Beach Club anchorage which is on the north east corner of the island. This anchorage does get some swell from the open ocean so it wasn’t the most comfortable anchorage. We used a swell bridle to keep the boat pointed into the swell vs into the wind and that did help quite a bit. If you anchor along the northern shore you will be much better off than in the southern half of the bay where the swell is worse.

The beach here is stunning and quite long. The sand is super fine, soft and white. The beach is lined with houses which all were pretty empty when we visited. The Beach Club restaurant is located in the bay, we didn’t eat here but it looked nice.

On the south end of the anchorage you will find Shark Creek which is a mangrove lined saltwater creek that actually runs all the way through to the other side of the island. You can explore by dinghy or by kayak or paddle board. It was recommended to us to go on an incoming tide so that the water is more clear. We saw a ton of sea turtles and several eagle rays. We had read that there are plenty of small sharks but we didn’t see any during our visit. It is really pretty and we would highly recommend visiting while in the area.

Petit Cay lays across the bay. We headed over, unsure what we would find. We beached the dinghy and had a really nice walk along the beach and rocks, we were almost able to walk around the whole island before the beach and rocks turned into more thick vegetation and we had to turn around. We would recommend wearing some type of shoe here as the rocks are quite sharp.

Along the southern shore of Petit Cay there is a nice, shallow cove we good snorkeling and spearfishing. We got a huge lobster here. Some other cruisers who were also spearfishing the area said they saw some really nice, large fish in the deeper water just outside the rocks that line the cove. The shallow waters had some really nice, small reefs and plenty of small fish to see.

Hoffman’s Cay

Our next stop was Hoffman’s Cay. We anchored near White Cay, trying to tuck behind some land for shelter from an incoming northeast wind. During the day with this wind we got some waves which we expected but our wind died off in the evening then shifted out of the east. We spent several nights here since there is so much to explore!

Hoffman’s Blue Hole is the main attraction here. Its a short walk from beach to the blue hole, the path is very narrow but easy to find. The water in the hole is 600 ft deep and is said to have only oysters living in its waters. You can get a great view from on top of the rocks then follow the path to the right to head down under the rocks where you will find yourself right on the shore of the blue hole. The water is super clear and perfect for jumping in if you chose.

Also on Hoffman’s Cay there is a nice hike across the island on the north end of the island. Again the path is narrow but easy to find from the beach. Once across on the ocean side of the island the beach is beautiful and full of sea glass! We ended up with quite a pile of it after just a short walk along the shore.

If you head south from Hoffman’s you can explore Devil’s Cay. There is a cruisers beach on the south side of the island with a couple beach chairs, a welcome sign and small table. The chairs are not in the best shape but we enjoyed lounging in them for a bit, soaking up the sun. From that beach you can walk along the rocks around the inlet and out to the ocean side of the island. Again the beach was beautiful and full of more sea glass!

While some of the beaches around the anchorages here are private most are not and there are tons of little beaches to explore! The snorkeling in all the small bays in the area is said to be great as well. We didn’t have the warmest days during our visit so most of our exploration was on land.

This area was by far our favorite part of the Berry Islands. We could have easily spent more time in the anchorages here but the weather was changing and we had to get moving!

Frazer’s Hog Cay

We set off, south along the island chain and spent the night at Frazer Hog Cay. The beaches here looked nice but we only stayed one night before continuing on. We needed to find better protection from some incoming wind.

Chub Cay

Chub Cay is the last, furthest south island in the Berry chain. Chub Cay is private but you can anchor outside in the bay. Going ashore you will need to pay a landing fee at the marina. We booked a slip for one night at the Chub Cay Marina. Booking through their website you can get a good deal. Prices fluctuate frequently. You can check the website several times a day and see different prices each time, if you do want to stay, book the slip when you see a good price. Your slip will get you access to the island and all of its amenities which include a pool overlooking the beach with swim up tiki bar, hot tub, restaurants, bathroom/showers and access to a small store with some grocery essentials.

We really enjoyed our stay here. We met plenty of other cruisers and had a nice dinner at the Nauti Rooster restaurant.

Fishing in the Berry Islands

We found the fishing all along the island chain to be fantastic! We fished whenever we were sailing, except near Chub were there is a reserve that you cannot fish. While in the Berries we caught a king mackerel, three blue runners, one cotton mouth jack, one barracuda (which we threw back), one yellow-tail snapper (we threw back because it was pretty small) and one banded rudderfish. While the king mackerel was by far our favorite, the others were really good as well!

One final note on the Berry Islands- There are really no all weather anchorages. Most anchorages are protected from 1-2 directions. If you have a lot of changing wind direction and weather it will be challenging to find protection. Anchorages with exposure to the ocean we found to be very rolly even when the wind wasn’t that heavy. Inside the island chain you don’t get swell but your exposed to west wind and often to north and south as well. We would certainly have enjoyed these islands even more if we had more settled weather.

From the Berries we will continue through the Bahamas, heading towards Eleuthera and then the Exumas. There are plenty of other anchorages in the Berry Islands that we didn’t explore this time around and we’d love to go back one day!