7-Day Exumas Yacht Charter Itinerary | Round Trip

Board in Nassau and make the short 20-minute crossing to Rose Island. We would time the arrival for the afternoon: anchoring off First Beach gives immediate access to kayaking, paddleboarding, and snorkeling over healthy reef, and getting there after the day-trip boats have left keeps the anchorage calm.

Dinner is on board on night one, crew-prepared under the stars, which keeps the first evening relaxed rather than trying to be ashore somewhere on day one.

The longest run on the way out, broken up by a stop at Allan's Cay to see the resident iguanas. We would use fresh vegetables rather than crackers if guests want to interact with them, and build in 30 to 45 minutes here before continuing to Highbourne Cay.

Highbourne Cay Marina makes docking straightforward, with fuel, power, and dockage on site. For dinner, Xuma Restaurant right on the marina is the easy choice for a proper meal in a good setting.

A short hop south brings you to Norman's Cay, where a shallow, well-known plane wreck sits in about 10 feet of clear water just off the beach, an easy snorkel with plenty of fish around the structure. Ashore, MacDuff's is the usual lunch call, and we would phone ahead on VHF Ch 16 to confirm they can seat you.

We would stay the night here rather than pushing on. The bank-side anchorage is quiet once the day boats leave, and it puts you half an hour from Shroud Cay in the morning.

An easy morning transit brings you into the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park at Shroud Cay. The draw here is the mangrove creek locals call Sanctuary Creek, which you can explore by dinghy, paddleboard, or kayak: a winding channel that opens onto a secluded sandbar beach, with turtles and lobster often visible in the protected water.

We would anchor out in the shallow creek and stay the night, since waking up surrounded by the park rather than motoring in the next morning is part of the point of this stop.

Warderick Wells is the headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, and it is worth a mooring ball reservation over Ch 9 rather than treating it as a pass-through. Ashore, Boo Boo Hill gives panoramic views over the park and carries the long-running cruiser tradition of leaving a piece of driftwood behind.

The underwater trail near the mooring field is an easy, well-marked snorkel, and the park's visitor centre is worth a stop if guests want context on the park's conservation work before moving on.

A short run down from the park gives you a relaxed morning before arriving at Compass Cay Marina, where nurse sharks gather right at the dock. It is one of the most reliable wildlife encounters in the Exumas, and safe enough for most guests to get in the water alongside them.

The rest of the day is unstructured: paddleboards, snorkeling along the calm lagoon and coves, and burgers and beers at the marina grill in the evening.

Staniel Cay delivers the two moments most guests already know about the Exumas. Big Major Cay's swimming pigs are the first stop, best done early before the beach gets crowded with day-trip boats. Thunderball Grotto, the cave used in two James Bond films, is the second: timed for slack tide, the tide brings the current down and the light through the ceiling holes turns the interior genuinely spectacular.

Back at the village, you can dock or moor for provisioning, fuel, and an evening out at the Yacht Club if guests want to be ashore.

The last day is the only long run of the week. From Staniel it is about 77 nautical miles back to Nassau, roughly seven hours, so this is a travel day rather than a swimming one. We would start early and take breakfast underway, which puts you alongside in Nassau with the afternoon still in hand.

If you would rather break it up, there is a halfway anchorage at Ship Channel Cay. That means giving up a night further south, so your broker can build it either way depending on which end of the week matters more to you.