from $124.80 Swimming With Pigs in Nassau, Bahamas
Boats leave the waterfront every morning for a pig beach 6 miles out. Swimming with pigs Nassau tours reach Rose, Pearl or Athol Island, not the Exuma one off the postcards, and the eight below differ more than their photos suggest.
Updated August 2026
- 8 GetYourGuide tours checked August 2026
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours
- From $120 per person
Quick answer
Swimming with pigs from Nassau means a 25 to 30 minute boat ride to Rose Island, Pearl Island or Athol Island, where operators keep small habituated herds. The original Pig Beach sits on Big Major Cay in the Exumas, 80 miles away, and no Nassau half-day tour reaches it. Prices run $120 to $155 per person, most trips last 4 hours, and the pigs themselves take 15 to 30 minutes of that.
Key takeaways
- Highest rated: the 5.5-hour catamaran day, 4.8 from 992 reviews, $154.81 per person with lunch, unlimited rum punch and hotel pick-up
- Most booked: the three-island speedboat run at $124.80, rated 4.3 from 3,282 reviews, which visits Athol Island, Rose Island and Green Cay in 4 hours
- Cheapest: $120 for a 4-hour boat to the pigs and the turtles at Green Cay, boarding at the Señor Frog's pier downtown
- Shortest: a 2-hour safari run at $140 for anyone with a tight cruise window
- Watch the extras: the catamaran leaves Pig Island admission out of the ticket, so bring $30 to $35 in cash per person
- Every listing here carries free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, and most let you reserve now and pay later
best rated The Highest-Rated Boat on the Water
Nassau: Snorkeling, Pig Beach, Swim with Turtles, and Lunch
Set sail on a full-day catamaran cruise in the picturesque Bahamas. Meet swimming pigs, swim and snorkel on the Caribbean reef alongside turtles, enjoy lunch, and soak up the sunshine.
- 4.8 from 992 reviews, the strongest score among Nassau pig tours with real volume behind it
- 5.5 hours, the longest day here, with reef snorkelling and turtle time either side of the pigs
- Catamaran rather than a speedboat, with washrooms, shade and cover from rain
- Lunch with gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options, plus unlimited rum punch and Cuba Libre
- Duration
- 5.5 hours
- Meeting Point
- Montagu Beach on East Bay Street, past Fort Montagu at the Village Road lights, by the pink washroom building at the main dock
- Included
- Catamaran, crew, snorkel gear, lunch, drinking water, unlimited mixed drinks, hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Not Included
- Pig Island admission of $30 to $35 per person, paid in cash on the island, plus towels and tips
- Price Range
- $154.81 per person, rated 4.8 from 992 reviews
Check Dates for the Catamaran Day
Live availability for the 5.5-hour catamaran. Morning departures put you at the pigs while they are still active, and the boat sells out first in March, April, July and August.
Every Swimming With Pigs Nassau Tour, Compared
Eight boats leave Nassau for the pigs. They split by hull, by island and by how much of the day they claim. Prices are per person in US dollars, taken from the operators' own listings in August 2026.
from $124.80 
from $128 Nassau: Pigs, Snorkel, Turtles, Lunch, Private Beach Club
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from $120 Nassau: Swimming Pigs And Snorkel With Turtles
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from $154.81 Nassau: Snorkeling, Pig Beach, Swim with Turtles, and Lunch
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from $140 Nassau: Swimming Pigs and Snorkel Tour w/ Lunch & Beach Club
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from $140 From Nassau: Swim with Pigs Safari
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from $139 Nassau: Swimming Pigs and Private Beach Club Trip with Lunch
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from $150 Nassau: Rose Island Swimming Pigs & Turtles Snorkeling Tour
Check AvailabilityWhich Boat Suits Your Day
The differences that matter sit in the columns operators bury: which island the pigs live on, whether the pig fee is inside the ticket, and where you board.
| Tour | Pig island | Length | Book | From | Pig fee included | Boarding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Islands speedboat | Athol Island | 4 hours | $124.80 | Yes | Hotel pick-up or downtown | |
| Pigs, snorkel, turtles, beach club | Pearl Island | 4 hours | $128 | Yes | Hotel pick-up | |
| Swimming pigs and turtle snorkel | Rose Island | 4 hours | $120 | Yes | Señor Frog's pier or Margaritaville | |
| Catamaran full day | Pearl, Rose or Athol | 5.5 hours | $154.81 | No, $30–$35 cash on site | Montagu Beach | |
| Beach club with jet skis | Rose Island | 2.5–4 hours | $140 | Yes | Hotel or cruise port | |
| Swim with pigs safari | Rose Island | 2 hours | $140 | Yes | Woodes Rodgers Walk | |
| Da Pig Beach island escape | Rose Island | 4 hours | $139 | Yes, all landing and government fees | Hotel or cruise port | |
| Secret Cays small group | Rose Island | 3.5 hours | $150 | Yes | Paradise Island Ferry Terminal |
The Numbers Behind the Decision
Six figures decide whether this trip works for you, and most of them never appear in a tour photo.
80 miles
Nassau to the real Pig Beach
Big Major Cay lies in the Exumas, southeast of Nassau. Getting there is a flight or a long charter day, which is why every half-day tour sold in Nassau goes somewhere else.
15–30 min
Time you get with the pigs
On a 4-hour tour the pig stop is one segment among snorkelling, turtles and lunch. Reviewers who expected a whole afternoon of pigs say so in their write-ups.
$30–$35
Cash the catamaran asks on site
Pig Island admission is collected on the beach, not at checkout. It covers feeding, holding a piglet and photos. Guests who skip it stay onboard.
4.8 / 992
Best rating with real volume
The catamaran day holds the highest score among tours with meaningful review counts. The most-booked boat sits at 4.3 from 3,282 reviews.
50–60
Pigs on Big Major Cay in 2019
The Exuma herd is a wild population of about that size. The Nassau-side beaches keep far smaller groups that staff rotate and feed on a schedule.
15
Cap on the smallest boat
The Secret Cays powerboat runs a maximum of 15 travelers, against 30 or more on the big three-island speedboats.
The Pigs You Will Actually Meet
Nassau's Pigs Are Not the Exuma Pigs
The photograph that sells this trip was taken on Big Major Cay, an uninhabited island in the Exumas about 80 miles southeast of Nassau. That is the beach people mean when they say Pig Beach. Reaching it from Nassau takes a flight to Staniel Cay or a long charter, and it costs several hundred dollars per person before you have eaten anything.
No 4-hour boat from the Nassau waterfront goes there. What the Nassau boats do instead is run 6 miles east to a cluster of small islands off New Providence, where operators keep their own herds on private beaches. Rose Island takes the most traffic. Pearl Island and Athol Island have their own groups, and one catamaran rotates between all three depending on the day and the sea state.
That swap is the single most useful thing to know before you book. It is not a bait and switch, and the listings name their islands honestly. It does change what you get: a shorter crossing, calmer water, a beach with washrooms and a bar, and pigs that meet visitors every day of the week.
Wild Herd Versus Operator-Raised Herd
The Exuma pigs are feral. Nobody owns them, they roam the whole cay, and they have learned that boats mean food. Visitors describe them shouldering into the water, biting at bags, and losing interest the moment the bread runs out. Reddit threads about swimming with pigs in Nassau are full of that warning, which mostly belongs to Exuma rather than to the islands the Nassau boats use.
The Nassau-side animals are operator-raised. Staff at Rose Island bring them up from piglets, feed them on a schedule, and move them off the beach between boats. Sandy Toes rotates its pigs back to their pen every 30 minutes so they get shade and rest. Guests on those beaches describe pets rather than wildlife: a pig that walks into knee-deep water, takes a carrot, and lets a child hold a piglet for a photograph.
Whichever beach you land on, the animals are large, fast in shallow water, and food-motivated. Keep the food in your hand rather than in a pocket, feed at arm's length, and let the staff manage the piglets.
How Long You Really Get
Guides at Big Major Cay allow about 15 minutes ashore before moving on. The Nassau beaches are more generous, but the pig segment still sits inside a day built around snorkelling and lunch. Expect 15 to 30 minutes of pig time on a 4-hour tour, and a review that says otherwise usually belongs to a private charter.
One traveller on the beach-club boat put the balance plainly in May 2026: the cove was private and safe for families, and the interaction time with the pigs was only a few minutes. Book the trip for the whole day on the water, and treat the pigs as the part you photograph rather than the part you spend the afternoon in.
If pig time is the only thing you care about, the 2-hour safari and the Da Pig Beach island escape hold the highest ratio of pigs to boat. The three-island speedboats give you the most coastline and the least time per stop.
How Far Each Pig Beach Sits From Nassau
Drawn against a typical cruise call of about 9 hours ashore. The bar shows time on the water in both directions, then time at the beach.
- Athol Island 5 miles about 15 minutes each way 45 min ashore The closest pig stop, used by the three-island speedboats that also run to Green Cay and Pearl Island.
- Pearl Island 5 miles about 20 minutes each way 90 min on the island A developed private island with a lighthouse, an observation deck and an aviary, so the beach time covers more than the pigs.
- Rose Island 6 miles about 30 minutes each way up to 2.5 hours ashore The main pig beach for Nassau tours. Beach chairs, restrooms, a bar and shaded seating, which is why the longest stops happen here.
- Big Major Cay, Exuma 80 miles flight plus boat, 2 hours each way at best 15–20 min ashore The original Pig Beach. Reachable from Nassau only as a full-day air excursion at several hundred dollars per person, not on any tour listed here.
- Time on the water, both directions
- Time at the beach
- Full bar = a 9-hour day ashore
Crossing times assume calm water. A north wind pushes the Rose Island run past 35 minutes and is the usual reason a captain reshuffles the stops.
Where the Boats Go
Rose Island lies east of Paradise Island, with Athol Island and Green Cay between it and the Nassau harbour mouth. Everything on this page sits inside that stretch of water.
When to Book, Month by Month
The water stays warm all year. What moves is rainfall, the hurricane risk that cancels boats, and how many cruise ships are in port on the morning you sail.
- 50mm Jan 26°C
- 44mm Feb 26°C
- 48mm Mar 27°C
- 62mm Apr 28°C
- 117mm May 29°C
- 218mm Jun 31°C
- 147mm Jul 32°C
- 213mm Aug 32°C
- 173mm Sep 31°C
- 163mm Oct 30°C
- 78mm Nov 28°C
- 53mm Dec 27°C
- December to April: dry, busiest, calmest seas
- May and November: quieter, still reliable
- June to November: hurricane season, most cancellations
Pigs are livelier in the morning and sleepy by mid-afternoon, so an early departure beats a late one in any month.
What Travellers Wrote After Going
★★★★★
★★★★★
Absolutely fantastic. Shout out to Papi - legend. Beautiful boat ride, piggies were so fun, and just a memorable experience. 5 stars all the way. Highly recommend!
★★★★★
★★★★★
The boat ride was lovely and the ocean was beautiful. Pig time was so cute! These guys are not aggressive at all and I loved being around them. We even got to take pictures holding a baby pig!
★★★★★
★★★★★
Best tour I've ever done! I liked the smaller group and boat. We saw sea turtles and a ton of colorful fish when snorkeling. I expected the pigs to be more aggressive but they are like friendly pets.
★★★★★
★★★★★
The staff explained and encouraged interacting with the animals and also took pictures with us holding and feeding the pigs. Hesitant at first but became very comfortable within seconds.
★★★★★
★★★★★
The boat is comfortable but not a jet boat. The cove is private and safe for families and lots of activities to keep everyone occupied. The pigs are a joy to behold, while interaction time is only a few minutes.
★★★★★
★★★★★
They did great at getting us off on the excursion fast, which meant we were the first boat to get to the sea turtles and saw a few right away before everyone else showed up.
Reading These Listings Before You Book
Check where you board
Three boarding points repeat here. Señor Frog's and Woodes Rodgers Walk sit on the downtown waterfront, a short walk from the cruise berths. The Paradise Island Ferry Terminal at Margaritaville needs a taxi over the bridge. Montagu Beach is a 10-minute drive east of downtown and has no address, only a pin.
Read what the price excludes
Seven of these tours fold the pig-beach landing fee into the ticket. The catamaran does not, and asks $30 to $35 per person in cash on the island. Towels are absent from almost every list, and tips are extra on all but one.
Hull decides the ride
Speedboats reach the islands fastest and slam hardest in chop. Catamarans and powerboats take longer and stay flatter, which matters if anyone in your group gets seasick or has a back problem. Most operators exclude pregnant travellers outright.
Small boat, more beach
The Secret Cays trip caps at 15 travelers and the private charters run smaller again. Fewer people means less queuing at the pig pen and more of the turtle stop before the next boat arrives.
Lunch is not always lunch
Most boats include a hot Bahamian plate with rum punch. One sells food at the stops rather than including it, so a family of four should add $60 to $80 to that ticket before comparing it with the rest.
Weather beats every plan
Every operator here cancels for weather and offers a reschedule or a full refund, and every one takes free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. Book the first sea day of your trip and you keep a spare day to move to.
Planning the Day
What a 4-Hour Tour Looks Like
Pick-up runs from the resort strip and the cruise port between 8:30 and 10:00. Boarding takes 20 minutes because every operator collects a signed waiver before anyone steps aboard. The crossing to Rose Island takes about 30 minutes on a speedboat, longer under sail.
The reef stop usually comes first, with masks and fins handed out on deck and 30 to 40 minutes in the water. Green Cay follows, where green turtles feed in the shallows. Sightings are not guaranteed, and every honest listing says so.
The pigs come next, then lunch on the beach with a rum punch. Boats leave the island by early afternoon to be back before the cruise ships sail. Anyone bleeding or with an open wound is kept out of the water on safety grounds, which several operators state in writing.
Cruise Passengers: Watch the Clock
The catamaran operator publishes the sharpest warning on this. If your ship's gangway closes at 3:30 PM for a 4 PM departure, avoid the long tours in March, April, July and August, and avoid Sundays in those months entirely. Nassau's harbour traffic and the road back from Montagu Beach both back up when four ships are in port.
The safer combinations for a cruise stop are the 2-hour safari, the 3.5-hour Secret Cays run from the Paradise Island Ferry Terminal, or the Da Pig Beach escape, which includes cruise-port transport and all landing and government fees. Every listing here allows free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, so booking early costs nothing if your itinerary shifts.
Independent excursions are not covered by a cruise line's guarantee to wait. Give yourself 90 minutes of slack over the operator's own return time.
What to Bring, What to Leave
Bring a towel. Operators list towels under what to bring, not under what is included, on nearly every one of these tours. Add reef-safe sunscreen, a hat, a waterproof phone case and small bills for tips and the beach bar.
Leave the large bags at the hotel. Luggage, coolers, strollers and oversize bags are refused on most boats, and one operator bans chewing gum outright because of the pigs. Wear the swimsuit under your clothes; changing space onboard is a washroom the size of a phone box.
Bring cash if you are on the catamaran. The Pig Island admission is $30 to $35 per person, collected on the sand, and no card reader waits for you there.
Feeding Rules and the 2017 Deaths
In 2017 seven pigs died at Big Major Cay. Early reports blamed tourists giving them alcohol. The post-mortems pointed at sand: visitors had been throwing food onto the beach, the pigs ate the sand with it, and their stomachs filled with it.
The Bahamian Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources responded by asking visitors to feed the animals only pitted fruit and vegetables, and to do it in the water rather than on the sand. Carrots, apples, lettuce and watermelon are fine. Processed food, bread in quantity, chips and anything alcoholic are not.
On the Nassau beaches the staff hand out the food themselves, which removes most of the risk. Follow their lead, do not empty a snack bag onto the sand, and keep your hand flat when a pig takes a carrot from it.
Is This Ethical
It depends which beach you land on, and the honest answer has two halves. Welfare groups have criticised the Exuma population for years: no single owner, no resident vet, and a food supply that depends on whatever tourists happen to carry. Volunteers there have since installed freshwater tanks and built a piglet nursery, with a vet coming from Nassau.
The Nassau-side beaches are run as businesses with staff on site, scheduled feeding, shade, and rotation off the beach so no animal works a full day. That is better animal management than an unowned herd on an uninhabited cay, and it is also less wild than the marketing suggests.
If the idea of a habituated animal posing for photographs sits badly with you, this trip will not change your mind. If you go, the useful things you can control are simple: feed only what the staff give you, feed in the water, keep the group calm, and do not chase a pig that has walked away.
A Typical Nassau Pig Tour, Start to Finish
Timings from the four-hour boats. Private charters compress the same sequence and give the beach more room.
- 1 Pick-up, 8:30 to 10:00 Air-conditioned van from the resort strip or the cruise port, or you make your own way to Señor Frog's, Woodes Rodgers Walk, the Paradise Island Ferry Terminal or Montagu Beach.
- 2 Waiver and boarding, 20 minutes Every operator takes a signed waiver before boarding. Crews check reservations at the dock, where several boats load at once, so confirm the company name.
- 3 Crossing, 15 to 30 minutes Athol Island is the shortest hop, Rose Island the longest at about 30 minutes. Life jackets are aboard and handed out on request.
- 4 Reef snorkel, 30 to 40 minutes Masks, fins and vests are included. Guests who are bleeding or have open wounds stay on the boat, which operators state in their safety notes.
- 5 Green Cay turtles, 20 minutes Green turtles feed in the shallows off the cay. They are wild, so no operator guarantees a sighting.
- 6 The pigs, 15 to 30 minutes Staff hand out the feed, hold the piglets for photographs and rotate the animals off the beach so they can rest.
- 7 Lunch and beach time Bahamian plate, rum punch or soft drinks, chairs, hammocks and restrooms. This is where the longer tours spend their extra hour.
- 8 Back by early afternoon Most boats are alongside between 13:30 and 15:00, which keeps cruise passengers clear of a 3:30 PM gangway.
Swimming With Pigs in Nassau: Common Questions
Is swimming with the pigs in Nassau worth it?
For most visitors, yes, provided you book it as a day on the water rather than as a pig encounter. The boats combine reef snorkelling, turtles at Green Cay, a private beach and lunch, and the pigs take 15 to 30 minutes of that. Ratings back it up: 4.8 from 992 reviews on the catamaran day, 4.3 from 3,282 on the most-booked speedboat. The recurring complaint is that the schedule feels rushed, not that the pigs disappoint. Compare the boats in the tour list above. We weigh the case both ways in our honest verdict on the trip.
How much does it cost to swim with pigs in the Nassau, Bahamas?
Between $120 and $155 per person on GetYourGuide in August 2026. The cheapest is the 4-hour boat to the pigs and turtles at $120. The most expensive is the 5.5-hour catamaran at $154.81, which then asks a further $30 to $35 in cash on the island for Pig Island admission. Private charters cost several hundred dollars for the boat. Every listing carries free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. Full breakdown, including what each ticket leaves out, in the price guide.
Are the Nassau pigs the same as the Exuma Pig Beach pigs?
No. The original Pig Beach is on Big Major Cay in the Exumas, about 80 miles from Nassau, and its herd is feral. Tours leaving Nassau go 6 miles out to Rose Island, Pearl Island or Athol Island, where operators keep their own habituated animals on private beaches. If you specifically want Big Major Cay, you need a full-day air excursion, not any of the boats on this page. We map all four Bahamian pig beaches in where to swim with pigs and cover the routes in getting to the Exuma Pig Beach.
What is the cheapest way to swim with pigs in Nassau?
The $120 4-hour boat that boards at the Señor Frog's pier downtown is the cheapest seat, and its price includes the pig stop, snorkelling, turtles, lunch and drinks. Skipping hotel pick-up and walking to a downtown boarding point keeps the total lowest. Watch the catamaran here: its ticket looks mid-range until you add the $30 to $35 cash admission per person on the island.
What's the best time of year to swim with pigs?
December to April brings the driest weather, the calmest seas and the busiest boats. May and November stay reliable with fewer people. June to November is hurricane season and produces most of the weather cancellations, though operators reschedule or refund in full when they cannot sail. In any month, take a morning departure: the pigs are active early and sleepy by mid-afternoon. Month by month, with the cancellation windows, in the seasons guide.
Do the pigs bite?
The Exuma pigs are wild, food-driven and have nipped visitors, which is where most of the warnings online come from. The Nassau-side animals are operator-raised and handled daily, and reviewers repeatedly describe them as friendly pets rather than wildlife. They are still large animals in shallow water. Hold the food flat in your palm, feed at arm's length, and let staff manage the piglets.
Is Pig Beach in the Bahamas ethical?
The Exuma herd draws criticism because nobody owns it and no vet lives on the island, though volunteers have added freshwater tanks and a piglet nursery. Seven pigs died there in 2017 after eating sand along with food thrown onto the beach, which is why the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources asks visitors to feed only pitted fruit and vegetables, and to do it in the water. The Nassau beaches are staffed operations with scheduled feeding and rest rotation, which is closer to a managed farm than to wildlife. The welfare record and the feeding rules are laid out in are the pigs dangerous.
Can I do it on a cruise stop?
Yes, with attention to the clock. Independent tours are not covered by a cruise line's guarantee to wait, so leave 90 minutes of slack over the return time. If your gangway closes at 3:30 PM, avoid the long boats in March, April, July and August, and avoid Sundays in those months. The 2-hour safari, the 3.5-hour Secret Cays run from the Paradise Island Ferry Terminal and the Da Pig Beach escape with cruise-port transport all fit a standard call.
Can children and pregnant travellers go?
Children are welcome on most of these boats, with minimum ages of 2 on one listing and 5 on the catamaran. Almost every operator lists the tour as not suitable for pregnant travellers, and several also exclude guests with back problems, heart conditions or mobility impairments. Check the exclusion list on the tour you pick before paying.
What should I bring?
A towel, because operators list towels under what to bring rather than what is included on nearly every tour. Add reef-safe sunscreen, a hat, a waterproof phone case, small bills for tips and the beach bar, and cash if you are on the catamaran. Leave large bags, coolers and strollers behind; most boats refuse them.
Guides
Everything Else Worth Knowing Before You Go
Six guides that answer the questions this page only has room to summarise.