The Bahamas are filled with beautiful beaches and mountain roads, but their shiniest stars are the adorable pink-ish pigs who love to swim with humans. This unique experience can only be found in Pig Beach, Bahamas, and we will tell you everything you need to know.
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Over 700 islands and 2,000 cays, these one-of-a-kind encounters are exclusive only to the sandy shores of the Big Major’s Spot island in the Exumas of the Carribean, commonly known as Pig Beach. The stars of the show in the Bahamas are undoubtedly the wet and playful piglets that want to enjoy a day of swimming and running with curious, animal-loving tourists. The island, besides the pigs, is uninhabited to maintain safeties of the lively animals.
How did the pigs get to the island?
Photograph by @livepixx.de
By tales and locals stories, these pigs were not native to the island. The first story you will likely hear is that they were left there on the shore by pirates, who planned to use them as live stocks for future visits. Others say that these four-legged cutie-pies swam to land themselves after surviving a shipwreck. A more specific story involved 5 piglets, brought by nearby farmers for breeding. When tourists come to the land and started feeding them, they soon developed a pattern in which they will swim toward the tourists’ boats for food. Since then, they have been living freely, fed by the natives who live on the islands near them.
The best time to visit Pig Beach
Photograph by @Nejron Photo
The pigs drew a lot of attention from travelers to the Bahamas, they are the tourist attraction here. If you want to have personal moments with the pigs, without crowded noises, flashy cameras, then you might want to avoid visiting from December to mid-April. The island will also be quieter in September and mid-November, and the weather will still be pleasant then. Overall, you can visit them year-round, but it is unwise to see the lovely pigs at lunchtime or late afternoon as the porkers will not be taking a bath after their feed.
How to get to Pig Beach (and how much?)
Photograph by @Buckeye Sailboat
With many inhabited islands nearby, with boats, personal flights, or tour guides, there are a lot of ways you can get to Pig Beach. If you are at Staniel Cay, you might spot several sailors anchoring off Pig Beach one mile from the yacht harbor, from there it’s 10 minutes away by boat. While at Great Exuma, it will be a 2-hour boat trip. And if you are staying at Nassau for all the resorts and hotels, expect to spend 35 minutes flying to Staniel Cay, or a 3-hour speedboat ride.
What to expect?
No, you cannot spend a whole day drowning in piglets’ happiness. Most of the tours offer only 15 minutes to interact with Pig Beach, a longer duration, say 30 minutes, will require you to book a private tour.
Expect to see little to no pigs swimming at the time you arrived, it is all a natural process as they have their own habitual timeline. Be sure to share the experience with others, the more the merrier as the beach is often swarmed with boats of tourists.
Have fun, but be responsible
Photograph by @BlueOrange Studio
Remember that this is an uninhabited island full of natural life. Whether you are interacting with the pigs or going on a walk on the Pig Beach, it is important to be careful with everything.
The wild pigs are neutral in nature, they are friendly towards humans and will have a good time with you as long as you treat them with gentleness and kindness. Do not ride them or any other types of animal abuse. Finally, you can and should feed them with dried fruits and vegetables.
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