Swimming With Pigs in the Bahamas: Most effective Excursions & Guidelines

Shots and videos of people today frolicking with pigs on a seaside in the Caribbean have far more than most likely surfaced on your Instagram and TikTok feeds at a person issue or a different. After all, tens of millions of men and women partake in this special expertise in the Bahamas each and every calendar year, and the attraction is so well-liked that other individuals have replicated it.

If a journey to go to the popular swimming pigs is on your bucket checklist, browse on to find the ideal tour solutions as nicely as what to take into consideration when you stop by.

Situated in the Exumas, Huge Key Cay – normally acknowledged as Pig Beach – is accessible from a number of islands in the Bahamas as properly as Florida. Most swimming pig tours include other vacationer sights and experiences, including snorkeling in Thunderball Grotto (a filming place for two James Bond movies) and swimming with nurse sharks at Compass Cay. It is really least difficult to attain Pig Seaside from the subsequent locations:

Terrific Exuma: The biggest island in the Exumas, Fantastic Exuma properties some of the very best resorts in the Bahamas, such as the family members-friendly Grand Isle Vacation resort & Residences and the adults-only Sandals Emerald Bay. To get to Pig Seaside from Good Exuma, it can be ideal to guide directly with your lodge. You will have the option to just take a whole-day tour (with a approximately two-hour boat experience to the points of interest from Excellent Exuma) or fly to Staniel Cay and choose a brief boat ride to Massive Key Cay from there.

Pig Seaside is reachable from Nassau through aircraft and/or boat. Under are some of the leading-rated swimming pig tours from the Bahamas’ funds metropolis:

3N’s Holiday Companies: Swimming Pigs Flight & Tour

Price: From $675 per individual
Duration: 7 several hours

This comprehensive-day, all-inclusive tour transports passengers from Nassau to Staniel Cay by airplane, exactly where you can expect to carry on your excursion via boat. The tour involves a number of stops and things to do:

Snacks, lunch, delicate beverages, beer and h2o are lined in tour fees snorkel equipment and towels are supplied. Tour rates start out at $675 for every individual not which include a conservation cost (ages 2 and young are free, even though this tour is not advised for young little ones). When tour groups are restricted to 12 visitors at highest, non-public excursions are accessible for a additional personal practical experience. The latest reviewers say they relished this tour, though some expressed blended emotions about the captains.

Born Free Charters: Exuma Island Hopping and Swimming Pigs

Selling price: From $399 for every particular person
Duration: 9 hours

This tour departs from Paradise Island by higher-speed powerboat and stops at the adhering to destinations:

New travelers extremely propose this tour, praising the guides, the lunch and the all round expertise. Tickets get started at $399 per adult and $299 for every baby ages 2 to 6 (not like taxes). This tour isn’t really advised for young youngsters, expecting gals, or people suffering from continual back again and/or neck pain.

Bahamas Air Tours: Miami to Bahamas Working day Vacation

Selling price: From $875 for each man or woman
Duration: 12 hours

This entire-day tour begins with personal transportation from Fort Lauderdale Government Airport. It also features in-destination transportation to Pig Seaside, Guana Cay, Thunderball Grotto, Compass Cay and the sand bars at Staniel Cay. Each alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks are bundled in the value as well. Modern tourists rave about this expertise, with some noting it really is the best tour they have ever taken.

Take note that passports are required for this day journey, and that while small children are permitted on the tour, it is really not perfect for younger children. This excursion is also sick-suited for pregnant females, and the tour operator demands a doctor’s clearance for expectant mothers. Tours are confined to nine visitors (but require a minimal of 5 participants) private charters are also accessible.

Even although the Bahamas restrictions the amount of tour operators authorized to stop by Pig Seashore per day, there’s some controversy encompassing the island and no matter whether or not it truly is ethical to pay a visit to.

In 2017, quite a few pigs have been observed dead just after an influx of holidaymakers still left snacks on the seaside, leading to the pigs to ingest much too a lot sand. Also, travelers can be intense with the pigs (for those aforementioned social media photographs), generally chasing them, finding them up or even striving to journey them – boosting considerations about the welfare of these animals.

In latest yrs, a quantity of safety actions have been place in area to protect each the pigs and holidaymakers. Per the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, they consist of the subsequent:

Although the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism maintains that the attraction is sustainable, know that there are not any legal constraints shielding the pigs at this time.

All tour guides are meant to share the following protocols with travelers irrespective of whether they do or not, it is critical to respect these rules for both the basic safety of the pigs and you: 

Pack a seashore bag, dry bag or backpack with the adhering to merchandise:

It really is ideal to use a swimsuit and a address-up or T-shirt with sandals for the journey.

Amanda Norcross beforehand visited Pig Seashore for the duration of a media visit to the Bahamas. Disheartened by other tourists’ mistreatment of the pigs, she aims to educate tourists on how to pay a visit to Major Key Cay and other animal-centric locations responsibly.