How To Swim With Pigs In The Bahamas At Pig Beach (2024)

Swimming with pigs is one of the best things to do in The Bahamas. Find out how to get there, the best time to visit, what to pack, and where to stay. Here’s everything you need to know about how to swim with pigs at Pig Beach!

Swimming With Pigs On Pig Beach In The Bahamas

Swimming pigs is something you don’t see every day and is definitely a bucket list experience. Picture it: crystal-clear turquoise water, sunshine-filled days, and little piggies swimming up to you while chomping on food. I mean… what’s not to love?

Though it’s debatable how the famous swimming pigs of the Bahamas got to the uninhabited island in the first place, these adorable tropical creatures are a huge bucket list item in The Exumas island cluster. You can expect both an unforgettable experience and some amazing photos.

The Best Time To Visit Pig Beach

The best time to swim with the Bahamas pigs is definitely in the off-season. Though beautiful and warm all year round, the high season in The Bahamas begins in December and runs through April — during which time hundreds of people visit the pigs every single day.

Hurricane season in The Bahamas runs from June through October, meaning there is a possibility of rain and an elevated risk of hurricanes.

Because of these two factors, I recommend visiting in September, October, November or May.

Personally, I visited the pigs in the middle of November, and though there was some rain, the weather was still perfect. Plus, I got to swim with the pigs without battling it out with tons of other people and got the experience of a lifetime because of it.

The Closest Place To Stay Near Pig Beach

Swimming with the pigs at Pig Beach is easily done by staying on Staniel Cay. Though the pigs swim off the shore of Big Major Cay, Staniel Cay is a quick 5-minute boat ride away and has the most tourism infrastructure in the area.

The cheapest way to swim with pigs in the Bahamas is by boat from Staniel Cay. Staying on the island gives you easy access and you won’t have to take an expensive full day tour from Nassau.

I stayed at EMBRACE resort on Staniel Cay and absolutely loved it. They offer seven different villas of various sizes and budgets and have amenities like kitchens and in-room jacuzzis. Plus, the resort is right next door to the airport so catching flights is a breeze.

PROMO CODE: Use our promo code TRAVEL21 when booking your vacation at EMBRACE Resort to get a 5% discount!

How To Get To Pig Beach In The Bahamas

By far the easiest way to swim with pigs in The Bahamas is by boat — specifically, a boat tour — and the closest inhabited island is Staniel Cay, which is a small island that is equipped with an airport.

With tours running out of Staniel Cay, 3N’s Exuma Vacations Swimming Pigs Tour makes planning your boat trip to pig island easy. Not only is this operator family-owned, efficient, and personable, but they also offer 12-15 person capacity boats while other companies in the area are much more crowded. Their tours also include multiple stops on each ride. In particular, this tour stops at the pigs, at the Compass Cay nurse sharks, a sandbar, Thunderball grotto and more.

If you’ve opted to stay in Nassau instead of Staniel Cay, then you do still have options. The best way to see the swimming pigs from Nassau is by booking a group tour. 3N’s Exuma Vacations runs a 7-Hour Swimming Pigs Tour from Nassau that includes 4 hours on the boat and a 30-minute flight to and from the Exumas.

Either way, it’s a good plan to book your pig excursion well in advance. Depending on the time of year, tours can book up fairly quickly and you don’t want to miss your chance.

Read more: Staniel Cay Travel Guide – Exuma Cays, Bahamas

How Did The Pigs Get To Pig Beach?

How the pigs got to Big Major Cay is debated.

The question everyone has when planning a visit to Pig Beach is… how exactly did they get there? While no one knows for sure and you’ll get a different answer from everyone you meet, the most acceptable answer is that the pigs stink and they had to be moved from a town to an uninhabited locale.

I mean, sure, the pigs are adorable when they swim in the tropical waters, but they are still farm animals!

What To Expect When Visiting Pig Beach

You won’t spend all day with the pigs.

When taking a Pig Beach excursion, most tour operators will allow you to spend about 15-20 minutes with the pigs. If you want to spend more time with them, plan to take a private tour, which will give you more freedom.

Tour guides cannot guarantee that the pigs will swim with you.

These are wild animals and they are free to roam as they please. They are motivated by food and can often be coaxed into the water, however, that depends on how many people have already fed them during the time you visit. I was able to swim with the pigs the first time I visited, but on my second visit, they were not as interested in food and they stayed closer to shore.

You will share the island with other tourists.

You won’t be the only tour boat at the island when visiting. There are often at least 2-3 other boats at Pig Beach. It never felt crowded when I was there, but I can imagine it might be crowded during high season — which is why I recommend visiting during the off-season.

Important Tips For Swimming With Pigs At Pig Beach

Beware Of Poo

Speaking of pigs being farm animals, they do tend to, you know, evacuate their bowels from time to time. However, instead of in a designated pigpen, they do it either on the beach or along the shore.

It sounds grosser than it is, and they tend to not do it in deeper water, but the big thing to remember here is to not dunk your head underwater around the pigs, and just be aware of the possibility of poop.

Don’t Bring Food

This one’s a little debatable, as pigs tend to eat (almost) everything, but there have been some hiccups with tourists feeding the pigs sand-encrusted food in the past. Pigs can’t digest sand, and food that has been dropped on the beach can be potentially very harmful to the animals.

The Swimming Pigs Ltd recommends if persons want to feed the pigs to bring fruits, vegetables or bread and NEVER to feed on the beach both for the pigs not ingesting sand and also to avoid pig bites.

Keep An Eye On Them

As the pigs don’t have great eyesight and can be easily startled, make sure you keep an eye on them at all times. Don’t let them get behind you, and don’t try to tease the pigs with food. There have been reports of tourists getting nibbled on by a hungry pig, but this can generally be avoided if you don’t treat food as a game.

Be Friendly

And of course — be friendly with the pigs! They’re pretty loveable animals who are used to humans, and they’re generally down for some rubs and affection.

That being said, please do not touch the newborn piglets. They do not like to be touched at that age and mama may bite if she hears her piglets squealing. 

Read more: 15 Affordable Honeymoon Destinations for Every Budget

What To Bring To Pig Beach

Toiletries: For any ocean-based trip, I highly recommend using reef-safe sunscreen. This will make sure that both you and the marine life stay healthy and happy. Also, pack some bug spray – it was sold out on the island during my stay, and you don’t want to be caught without it.

Water Gear: For swimming in The Bahamas in general, bring along 2 – 3 swimsuits, water shoes, a quick-dry towel, a rash guard/sun shirt, and a sun hat.

Electronics: To expertly capture your pig island experience, bring along a GoPro Hero 10 Black, a floatie stick, a tripod, and a travel camera.

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