The Exuma Cays

The Exuma Cays, a 120-mile chain of over 350 tiny islands strung across the central Bahamas, are the archipelago's crown jewel, a scene of almost unreal beauty where powder-white sandbars and cays float in water of the most dazzling, luminous turquoise imaginable. Boat tours weave among them to famous sights: the swimming pigs of Big Major Cay, paddling out to meet visitors, the rock iguanas of Bitter Guana Cay, nurse sharks at Compass Cay, the protected Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, and endless sandbars for a castaway picnic.

What you actually see

• The swimming pigs - the famous pigs of Big Major Cay.
• The sandbars and cays - the powder-white bars in turquoise shallows.
• The rock iguanas - the endemic iguanas of Bitter Guana Cay.
• The Land and Sea Park - the protected marine wilderness.

When to go

December to May, the dry season, for the sunniest, calmest weather and clearest water; the summer is hotter and wetter with a hurricane risk from June to November. The cays are explored on boat tours from Great Exuma, best booked ahead in peak winter season.

Honest expectations

The Exumas are reached by a flight and then boat tours, so they are not a cheap or spontaneous destination, and the famous swimming pigs have become a busy, much-photographed attraction. But the sheer, luminous beauty of the turquoise water and white sandbars is genuinely breathtaking, among the most beautiful island scenery anywhere, and the wildlife encounters are a delight.

Nearby

Great Exuma, Nassau and the other Bahamian islands are reached by air.