To really experience The Bahamas, exploring The Exuma Cays in The Out Islands is a must for any seasoned traveler. The Exumas are made up of 365 cays, each and every one with pristine white beaches. The Exuma Cays begin just 35 miles southeast of Nassau and stretch over 120 miles. Some cays are no bigger than a footprint-less sandbar. You could really have an entire beach all to yourself here, that’s a pretty special experience. The beautiful waters of the Exuma Cays are famous for the filming of two well-known movies: James Bond’s Thunderball and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Great Exuma
This is the largest island in the Exumas. Most of the 7,500 plus residents of The Exumas live on Great Exuma or Little Exuma, and many can trace their ancestry back to the 1700s. Great Exuma is home to Georgetown, where the Bahamas’ National Family Island Regatta is held every year. If you are flying into Exuma, the easiest way to get here is to fly in Georgetown airport. Georgetown is the easiest jump off point to get to Stocking Island and of course, Chat ‘N’ Chill®.
Stocking Island
The four-mile-long island has very few inhabitants, the upscale Kahari Resort, St Francis Resort, lots of walking trails, two gorgeous white beaches rich in seashells and plenty of good snorkeling sites. Stocking Island is home to the laid-back beach bar, Chat ‘N’ Chill®.
If you like to hike, Stocking Island’s trails are incredible. What makes this hike so incredible is the variety of the terrain, from long expanses of surf beach, to hidden coves to sand dunes to salt flats to shaded paths under a full canopy of dry tropical forest. There is always something to discover on Stocking Island other activities include the Stromatolites & Sand Dunes, Starfish Beach and Jacques Costeau Mystery Cave.
Little Exuma
Only 12 square miles, Little Exuma is particularly picturesque, boasting some of the very best beaches in the Bahamas. The Tropic of Cancer passes directly through Little Exuma, giving name to the Tropic of Cancer beach. An unspoiled strip of white sand in a crescent shape in a protected cove, where the water is usually as calm as a pond.
Scenes from two Pirates of the Caribbean movies were filmed on the southern end of Little Exuma and on one of the little cays just offshore. The movies’ stars, Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, often roamed around the island and ate at Santana’s open-air beach shack, the island’s best-known restaurant.
Staniel Cay
Known as a hub of activity in the cays, and a favorite destination of yachters. Thanks to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club—one of the best full-service marinas in the cays, there is a great restaurant on the water here too. Staniel Cay is great jumping point to swim with the pigs, nurse sharks and sea turtles, visit the grottos and iguanas and even to get your social media shot with an underwater piano. When you visit Staniel Cay you can easily go swim the pigs on Big Major Cay. If you skip a trip to swim with the pigs, did you even go to the Bahamas?
