7-Day Abacos Islands Yacht Charter Itinerary | Round Trip

You board in Marsh Harbour and cruise north about 15 nautical miles, roughly 1 to 2 hours, to Treasure Cay. National Geographic has ranked this beach among the best in the world, and the three and a half miles of fine white sand and turquoise water make it an easy opening day rather than a long shakedown cruise.

We would use the afternoon for paddleboarding or simply lounging ashore, with the crew setting up a beach picnic or aft-deck cocktails. If anyone on board fishes, the flats here are known for world-class bonefishing, and marlin, tuna, and barracuda are all in range just offshore.

The shortest leg of the week, at just 5 nautical miles, takes you to Manjack Cay. There is no settlement here and almost no other charter traffic, which is exactly the point after a livelier first day.

We would anchor in the sheltered bay and spend the day paddleboarding the mangrove creeks, snorkeling the reef edge, and watching for turtles. Most charters have the anchorage entirely to themselves.

Green Turtle Cay's main village, New Plymouth, was founded in 1783 by Loyalists who left the newly independent United States. It is one of the oldest settlements in the Bahamas, and the pastel clapboard houses and narrow lanes still look the part.

We would go ashore to see the Albert Lowe Museum, the first historical museum in the Bahamas, and the Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden nearby, a collection of 24 bronze busts of the island's earliest settlers. The yacht moors near White Sound or Black Sound depending on the weather, with a short tender ride to the town dock.

The longest leg since day one brings you to Great Guana Cay, known for its beach bars and the reef running just offshore. We would anchor in Fisher's Bay and tender ashore rather than try to bring the yacht any closer in.

This is the day to snorkel the outer reef, then head up to Nipper's Beach Bar on the bluff above the beach for lunch or a rum punch. In the evening, the crew can set up sunset drinks on board or arrange a barefoot dinner ashore, depending on how social the group wants the night to be.

Man O'War Cay is the only dry island in the Bahamas, with no public sale or consumption of alcohol, and it still feels like a working settlement rather than a resort stop. The Albury family has built boats here since the 1820s, and Albury Brothers still builds its skiffs on the island today.

We would tie up or anchor near the harbor entrance and tender guests to the town dock to walk through the village, the canvas shops, and the boatbuilding yards. It is a quiet, reflective afternoon by design, so we would let the crew set up a private happy hour back on board as the sun goes down.

A short cruise brings you to Hope Town on Elbow Cay, one of the most photographed harbors in the Abacos. The red-and-white Elbow Reef Lighthouse, built in 1863, is the only lighthouse left in the world that is still hand-cranked and kerosene-burning, and it is worth climbing for the view alone.

The yacht moors in the harbor, with tender access to the town's cafes, art galleries, and narrow, flower-lined streets. We would build in real time here rather than rushing through, since Hope Town rewards a slow afternoon on foot.

Your last full day heads south to Little Harbour, home to the Johnston Art Foundry, the only bronze foundry in the Bahamas. Artist Randolph Johnston settled here in 1952, and his son Pete still casts sculptures on site using the lost-wax method, with the gallery and Pete's Pub next door.

Beyond the foundry, this is a good day to slow down: paddleboarding, a beach walk, or a sunset swim in a peaceful, undeveloped anchorage. On your final morning, it is a short, easy run back to Marsh Harbour, so there is no reason to rush breakfast or the pack-up before disembarkation.