Bahamas cruising in June

It will be a dream trip. You can't really go wrong with what you see. With two young kids, I'd enjoy all the extremes. Perhaps when flying in or before flying out I'd treat the family to Atlantis and the water park and the incredible things to see there. Then I'd enjoy the natural beauty of the Exumas. Go from the Pigs to just simple swimming in beautiful water. Try a little fishing if so inclined although that might be a great side charter for a day. Too hot and windy? Have any kids swimming ever said it was too hot? Not like you're going to be wearing your winter coats.

Do you scuba or snorkel?

There are so many wonderful beaches you can't go wrong but don't try to pack too much into the time and use the nicer marinas to enjoy restaurant food and not worry about cooking and to just get out and walk.

Do make sure to follow all their health protocols with testing, masks and separation. Have the adults been vaccinated?

Been going year round for almost 15 years. May and June, into July are the best months as winds are lighter and you don’t have the fronts coming down like you have in winter.

Personally I never understood why anyone would waste a night at Atlantis. No need to go to the Bahamas, just go to Orlando. Every guest who insisted on spending a night there either at the start or the end of their charter agreed that day woudl have been better spent in the Exumas.

as olderboater said don’t try to pack too much and too many stops. There is so much to see in the Exumas that you d need 3 months... we have repeat guests coming back every year and we still take them to places they ve never been.

Skip Highbore, yeah the restaurant is nice, but if you have a chef on the boat who cares. The stops below are a lot more special.

On a first trip I d do Shroud, Warderick, Compass, Staniel (two nights... there is so much to do), Hawksbill and Norman’s on the last night (or back to NAS if your flights leave before noon the next day)

here is a video I put together a couple of years ago. It s south to north but will give you an idea

Note that I didn't say Atlantis by reducing Exumas, just before or after the charter. The kids will definitely appreciate it. We love it but we're kids. Dolphin Cay and the Marine Habitat are very nice. I was hoping you'd discuss the Exumas in the detail you have.

Yea the aquariums are pretty amazing. Yes insuring a night ashore it’s worth it.

not sure what you meant by your last sentence

I meant exactly what I said as you have tons of Exumas experience and knowledge so I was assuming and hoping you'd post in the thread. We've been to the Exumas probably 8 to 10 times and my guess is you've been dozens or hundreds of times.

Ok... sorry. Brain is bit slow today

How many times would you guess you have been to the Exumas? I know they're your true love. We've not done nearly as many Bahamas trips plus traditionally have done more Abacos than Exumas and do the other areas as well.

I don’t know. We ve going been 6 to 8 times a year for the last 13 year or so. Anywhere between 2 to 6 weeks each trip.

yeah, it s definitely our favorite place to go to.

i lived on st barths from 81 to 95 and I ve been all over the Caribbean. There are some beautiful islands but few have the water colors you have in the Bahamas. And now the Caribbean is way too crowded. Everywhere.

when I left st barths, things were getting busy around new year in the harbor and just outside... maybe up to half a mile off the harbor. This year I looked at AIS on New Year’s Eve... yachts were anchored all the way to Colombier? At the NW tip. I ve talked to friends who say it takes them 45 minutes to get into Gustavia by car. And it s the same story everywhere. Tortola, Virgin Gorda, St John.. even the grenadines.

so yes the Exumas are still special although it s changing. A lot of construction on Staniel... lots of boats too. This spring break was as busy as I ve seen it with fewer cruisers on sailboats but 3 or 4 times more MY over 100’.

that said there are still dozens of nice anchorages where you will not have more than handful of boats anchored around you especially south of Staniel.

Most boats do the same week long trip. 1 night in Nassau... then Highborne, compass and Staniel with either shroud, hawksbill, Norman’s, warderick on the remaining 3 nights. This leaves a lot of quiet spots. We have repeat guests that have been coming for years and we still find new places to take them to. Of course Staniel is pretty much one destination everybody wants to spend at least one night at.

personally I love the southern exumas. great Guana as a number of peaceful anchorages... Cave, Rudder, Lee Stocking which is probably our favorite. Beautiful island, great beaches, trails incl why we call the cliff walk on the sound side. A couple of miles of trails going up and down the cliffs onto small Sandy coves. Stunning.

even great Exuma has a lot to offer beside Chat n Chill where everyone seems to conglomerate around. Moriah Harbor national park is stunning.



Further south, Sandy Cay has amazing sandbars. That’s where some of Pirates 2 was shot.



and it’s all so close to sofl. That’s what s amazing.

As I suspected, at least 10 times our Exuma trips. We love the Caribbean but obviously haven't been able to return recently. This summer in Europe but hopefully later in the year to the Eastern Caribbean again.

We like the major marinas but we also like for a day or even overnight to anchor off one of the hundreds of uninhabited islands. Often we just choose one we know is for sale.

We made two three week trips over this spring and it was very interesting as some areas were crowded with boats and others have plenty of empty slips. We did not figure out the pattern. We went to the Exumas one trip and to Harbour Island and the Abacos the other. Brief stops at Atlantis.

We also dock at marinas mostly rather than anchoring so unaware of the issues you're talking about in the Caribbean due to both having reservations and never being there very long ago. So changes aren't noticeable to us. Now New Year's is a mess anywhere.

This spring in the Exumas the marinas were pretty full it was hard to find slips at HB, compass or SC. Emerald always has room but they were a little more busy than usual. Exuma Yacht club had the usual few boats but with half the docks unusable and almost no power it doesn’t mean much

Personally I think the Exumas are all about anchoring out. Many anchorages are just spectacular and so peaceful. I think in this last trip out of 7 weeks we docked 6 or 7 nights only. Most of our charter guests, as well as the owners, like to dock a couple of nights but love being on the hook the rest of the time. Between groups we also anchor out...

Power is a big issue at compass and Staniel. Breakers are always tripping so we often have to run a gen anyway like most other boats. I like being at the dock to be on shore power but if it keeps tripping it’s not worth it.

the other big advantage in the Exumas Vs the carib is that the distances are very short and the runs are always protected. Nassau Staniel is about 120nm round trip. Same with Gtown Staniel. This allows guests to spend a lot less time underway and not having to secure everything for rough water saves a lot of time too. Fuel costs are lower as well.

We ve been to harbor island a couple of times and while it is probably the nicest settlement in the Bahamas (every house is painted...) it s all about marina life. Opposite of the Exumas.

Abacos have never done it for us. Before Dorian there were just too many boats there and not enough remote anchorages.

but as usual it s all a matter of personal preferences.

If you haven’t explored the southern Exumas between Staniel and gtown, try it next time. Very different.

We have. We also really liked Long Island and even Crooked Island and spent extended time in the southern Exumas and beyond on our way to Turks and Caicos. There are other areas of the Bahamas that I don't think get the mention they deserve, the Berry Islands and southern Eleuthera through Cat and San Salvador. We just like every island. We feel as South Florida residents we're so lucky to have the Bahamas here for our enjoyment.

Berrys are ok but limited. White Cay / Hoffman is one good anchorage, Bird is cool too with quite a bit to explore especially the old Francis Francis estate. Little harbor cat is often mentioned but too shallow

the new Chub is very nice and Great Harbor Cay had great shelter but I don’t think you can get anything over 90’ in there.

We most frequently take an 85' with a 5' draft.

Pascal.. would you confirm for me the drone you use for your videos please and thank you.

The latest ones were ee done with Mini2. Most of the others were shot with Parrot Anafi

that’s good. I ve been to GHC with an 84 (also 5’ draft). GHC is nice... low key family island. Beautiful beaches on the ocean side. One thing in the Berrys is that many islands are private.

+1 for Chub. Very impressed by their marina and restaurant was the best I’ve seen in Bahamas.

Has anyone been west end lately? Anything todo?