Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park

Set up in 1958, this was the first land and sea park anywhere in the world, and in 1986 it became a full no-take reserve where nothing at all may be caught or collected. That decision has been studied ever since, because the park now demonstrably restocks the fishing grounds around it: Nassau grouper and spiny lobster grow to sizes rarely seen elsewhere in the region and their larvae drift out to the wider chain. It covers around four hundred and fifty square kilometres of cays, sand banks and reef in the northern Exumas, with no settlements, no shops and no scheduled transport, reached by private boat or charter and used mostly by cruising sailors.

What you actually see

• The no-take reserve - large grouper, lobster and conch on the reefs.
• Warderick Wells - the park headquarters and its mooring field.
• Boo Boo Hill - the driftwood signs left by passing sailboats.
• Rocky Dundas - sea caves with stalactites, entered by dinghy.

When to go

December to May is the dry season with the calmest conditions; the moorings at Warderick Wells book out in the winter cruising season. Summer brings heat, calms and the hurricane risk from June to November.

Honest expectations

There is no way in without a boat, and no scheduled service exists; visiting means chartering or sailing. Nothing may be taken, including shells and lobster, and the rules are enforced. There are no supplies, no fuel and no medical help inside the park. Moorings are limited and anchoring is restricted to protect the seagrass.

Nearby

Staniel Cay is south; Highbourne Cay is at the northern end.