Why go
Big Major Cay, an uninhabited island in the Exumas better known by its nickname, Pig Beach, is home to a colony of feral pigs that wade and swim out through the shallows to meet arriving boats. There’s no building to walk through and nothing to tour; the whole appeal is watching, and feeding, pigs that have learned to treat a boat engine as a dinner bell. Most beach wildlife keeps its distance from people. These pigs swim towards you, which is why it’s become one of the most photographed stops in the Exumas.
The island is reachable only by boat, whether your own, a chartered vessel, or a seat on a day-tour run out of George Town or Nassau, and it has no fixed opening hours or admission charge, so plan a visit around a boat booking rather than a ticket.
What you will see
Expect a small herd of pigs on the sand and in the shallow turquoise water just offshore, swimming out to meet dinghies and tour boats as they approach. The pigs are not shy: they will come right up to a boat’s hull, and in calm, shallow water some visitors wade or swim alongside them. Big Major Cay itself is otherwise undeveloped: a sandy beach backed by scrub, with the swimming pigs as the only real draw.
Visiting: feeding rules and access
Big Major Cay has no gate and no posted opening hours; there’s no admission fee either. It’s accessible by boat at any time, which is why the facts box above has nothing fixed to report. Signage on the island sets the feeding rules, drawn from the official Bahamas tourism page for the site: feed the pigs only fruit, vegetables, bread or locally bought pig feed, and only at the designated troughs, never by hand from the sand. Keeping to the troughs is as much for your own safety as the pigs’ welfare; a hungry pig going for food held at sand level is how most reported nips happen.
Tour pricing is not published on the official page, so prices vary by operator and season; for a specific quote, the Exumas Tourist Office takes enquiries at (242) 336-2457 or (242) 336-2430.
Getting there
There is no airstrip, dock infrastructure or road to Big Major Cay: every visit starts and ends by water. Most trips are arranged from Great Exuma, the main island in the chain, where George Town’s airport and marinas make it the usual base for booking a half-day or full-day boat tour out to the cay; some visitors also reach it on a longer charter running up the Exuma Cays from further south, or on a day trip out of Nassau that bundles in other cays along the way. Either way, build the crossing into your schedule: this is open water between cays, not a short paddle from a public beach.
Nearby
Big Major Cay sits among the same chain of cays that make up the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the Bahamas’ first marine reserve, a short further run north by boat for anyone combining the swimming pigs with a day of snorkelling and protected reef. Most operators running out to Pig Beach also stop at other Exuma cays known for sandbars, nurse sharks and iguanas, so a single boat charter from George Town can easily cover several of the chain’s best-known sights in one day.