We had heard from several sailors that the Exumas are the best cruising ground in the Bahamas! We were super excited to make it to these islands. After spending just over a month in the Exumas we can now confirm! The Exumas are stunning and they have some much to offer!
Allan Cay
This was our frist stop in the Exumas. We anchored in-between Allan and Leaf Cay. The area is stunning! There is strong current in this anchorage and the holding varies. There are sandy spots with fantastic holding but also spots with hard pack sand. We waited out a blow here and held just fine. Several charter boats came into the anchorage and one struggled to anchor and did end up dragging overnight. Be mindful and check your anchor set if you plan to stay here.
Inside the anchorage we found some really nice snorkeling. Ryan went spearfishing twice a day (at slack tide due to the strong current in the anchorage). He ended up getting several lion fish, snapper and grouper. The main attraction on Allan seems to be the Rock Iguanas. They are used to tourists feeding them so they will run up as you approach the beach. If you don’t have anything for them they will leave you alone. We did see a few tour boats come through each morning, drop people off for about a half hour then they would leave. You can have the beach to yourself or share with only other cruisers if you wait until after the tour boats clear out.
Norman’s Cay
We anchored in the bay on the north east side of the island as we had west and north winds during our stay. The bay is beautiful and there is plenty of space to anchor with good holding. Along the whale tale at the edge of the bay is great spearfishing and snorkeling. We headed out that way a couple of times. We got a snapper, trigger fish, a crab and a lobster here. There is shallow snorkeling then it drops off to about 20-25 ft.
The must see item everyone talks about on Norman’s is the plane wreck. The plan is believed to have crashed in the 1980s by drug smugglers. It lays in shallow water and there are plenty of fish calling it home. Do be sure to go during slack time. Friends of ours said when they attempted the current was pretty strong. We went during slack and had nearly no current.
The beaches surrounding this anchorage are stunning. We took the dinghy around and found some really pretty spots. There are plenty of deep water channels then shallow spots and sandbars giving you all the beautiful and varying shades of blue.
Shroud Cay
A visit to Shroud Cay is a must! But if you can time it with the Young Cruisers Association’s Floatchella event, than its even better. We rafted up 15 boats in total and then took the tide to float through the natural lazy river that flows through the island. The day we did this float the current wasn’t super strong so we didn’t float too far. But the previous day we took our paddle boards through on our own and paddled quite far. The mangrove lines channels flow all the way through to the other side of the island. The water is crystal clear and the scenery is stunning! We saw several turtles and a couple small lemon sharks along the way. Highly recommend visiting this island.
Big Majors Spot
We anchored just off from the famous pig beach at Big Majors Spot near Staniel Cay. The major attractions here are the pig beach, thunderball grotto and Staniel Cay Yacht Club.
To visit the grotto is is best to go at low, slack tide. This way you can enter the cave snorkeling/swimming with your head above water. If you plan to go at high tide you’ll have to swim underwater to reach the entrance. The current does move quickly through the cave, we were a bit late for slack tide and had to swim against current to enter. Once in the cave there are ropes to grab onto. Inside the cave, in the center area there is no current and you can swim around without worry. There are plenty of fish to see and the cave itself is really pretty! While there will be tour boats and it is a more crowded place to visit we really enjoyed it!
The pig beach wasn’t that exciting for us. Plenty of tour boats visit the pigs each day. They will swim out to the boats expecting food. We did take the dinghy over to see them and gave them some stale food from the pantry. The anchorage its self is nice and well-protected so its a great place to anchor and spend a few days but the pigs aren’t why you visit.
The day we visited the yacht club they happened to be hosting a wahoo fishing tournament. We arrived as they were weighing all the fish from the days catch. It was really cool to see the giant fish being brought in. the yacht club is an iconic stop for anyone cruising the Bahamas. It has a great atmosphere and a fantastic happy hour! The food was nothing special but the rum punch was great (2 for 1 at happy hour 4-6pm) and it was a great place to hang out with some fellow cruisers for the evening.
Black Point Settlement
We spent two days in Black Point. In town you will find a couple small grocery/convenience stores. The laundry in town is supposed to be one of the best in the Bahamas although we didn’t use it we have heard it is really nice. There are a couple restaurants to chose from. We were there during the Super Bowl. Every restaurant in town was having some type of special but we ended up at Lorraines for dinner, drinks and to watch the game. It was a fun place to hang out, many cruisers and locals showed up to watch the game.
The following day we went back to Lorraines to grab some local bread. They bake cinnamon, cinnamon raison, cinnamon raison coconut and plain white bread. It was so good and well worth the $10 a loft price. After walking through town you can head across the island to see the blow hole and from there walking along the beach there are lots of cool rock formations and beautiful beaches.
George Town
George Town is a huge cruising hub and many boats spend the entire season here. During our stay there were about 350-400 boats in the Harbor. We happened to be in town at the beginning of the 2024 cruising regatta. There were so many events taking place! We really enjoyed the cruisers junkanoo parade. The event showcased a couple local junkanoo groups and a group of cruisers. It was really fun to see all the costumes and be part of something the locals celebrate every year.
We anchored near Monument Beach on Stocking Island. The hiking trails on the island are really pretty and the beaches along the Exuma Sound/Atlantic side of the island are stunning!
Of course, no visit to George Town would be complete without spending some time at the Chat N Chill. Every Sunday they do a pig roast event that starts at noon. It is $25 a plate. Their normal/everyday menu features burgers, hot dogs, chicken and conch burgers. The beach has volley ball nets, yard games and plenty of tables in the shade. We always found someone we knew or we met new friends hanging out on the beach there.
In Town you will find groceries and two liquor stores right near the dingy dock. There is also a gas station, free RO water and trash. You can listen in on the cruisers net each morning at 8am on channel 72 for more details on what is happening in the harbor or to have any questions you have answered.
Our final day we took the dinghy south to Crab Cay. There is a man-made cut that you can take the dinghy through. The project was abandoned so it doesn’t go all the way through the island but it does go back pretty far. We enjoyed floating through and seeing the crabs along the tall rocky walls on either side.
On our way back North, through the Exumas we took our time and stopped at several anchorages we had passed on our way south to George Town.
Between Norman’s Pond and Leaf Cay
We both agreed this was one of our favorite anchorages. It is really pretty and there are tons of small beaches and rocky areas to explore. We spent our time spearfishing, exploring and just relaxing on the beaches.
Rudder Cut Cay
This is another stop we really enjoyed. Here you can snorkel around the piano and mermaid statue. We then snorkeled the shallow bay at Rudder Cut Beach where there are tons of sea turtles. The turtles don’t mind you swimming with them at all and many are quite large. Along the rocky edge of the bay we found plenty of small fish, a lemon shark, lobster and small corals. The other attraction nearby is a cave you can dingy into.
Oven Rock
We stopped here to see the cave with a salt water pool inside. If you are brave enough you can snorkel or cave dive in the water here. We did not, opting only to walk around the cave and check out the pool. It was really cool to see and worth a stop for an afternoon or night if you have time. The anchorage is just north of Big Farmer’s if you do need anything in town.
Little Bay (just south of Black Point)
We read this anchorage is typically pretty quiet, empty but we found plenty of other boats here the night we stayed. The beach here is one of the nicest we found. The white sand is super soft and the water is shallow, perfect for anchoring the dinghy off the beach and walking in. There isn’t much else here but you are just south of Black Point. It was a really pretty stop and we enjoyed it.
Fowl Cay
This anchorage is just outside of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. We anchored here to stop at Rachel’s Bubble Bath. The “bubble bath” was one of our favorite stops in the Exumas! After wading in through shallow river you arrive at this pool. When the wave crash over the rocks the foamy water in the pool give it a bubble bath/jacuzzi feel.
The anchorage also have great snorkeling in the north west corner. The other nearby attraction are the Rocky Dundas caves. There are mooring balls outside the caves to tie your dingy to. We went by to check it out but the waves and swell were up so we didn’t feel good about swimming into the caves. We were stopped by the park rangers on our way back to the anchorage and told that even if your anchored outside the park you are supposed to pay the fees if you enter the park- $14 per person per day.
The anchorage here was pretty rolly in 15-20 south east wind. We also found it to be pretty shallow. We anchored in enough water but at low tide the wind shifted directions to be out of the north as a squall went through. Once the boat shifted we were touching the bottom until thankfully the wind shifted back and we ended back in deeper water. We left first thing in the morning before the next low tide (we draw 6 ft).
O’Brian’s Cay
From this spot you are really close to the aquarium snorkeling spot. There are so many fish here and the coral was really pretty! It was one of the best, if not the best, snorkeling spot we visited! Around the corner from the aquarium you can hang out on the sand bars. The huge area of shallow water is stunning and we saw several sting rays as we wandering around the shore.
We also took the dinghy to nearby Cambridge Cay for some hiking. We really enjoyed the rocky coastline on the sound side of the island. The trail is well-marked and you can get great views along the way.
Wardrick Wells
Our final stop in the Exumas was Wardrick Wells. The north mooring field is a really pretty spot! You do need to call the day before to get on the list. We were a bit confused by this process. We called and they said there were 9 boats ahead of us on the list for arrival the following day. They didn’t confirm that we would get a ball or not. We were told to hail the park ranger on VHF channel 9 upon arrival to the entrance. When we did that the ranger asked if we were on the list, we said yes and were given a ball assignment. The ball cost us $30 for the night with a 39 ft boatl. If you can’t get into the north mooring field there is another one, Emerald Rock that typically has balls available.
There are several beautiful hiking trails on the island. After hiking for a few hours we stopped off at the coral garden at the south end of the mooring field. There is a pretty strong current if you don’t go at slack tide. We saw a spotted eagle ray and several large fish. We didn’t snorkel for long as it was pretty wavey when we went.
Wardrick Wells was another one of our favorite stops. We ended up only staying one day as we had a great weather window to sail back north from the Exumas the following day. There are plenty of other anchorages and great things to see and do in the Exumas. We hope to cruise through this island chain again some day!
