Are you wondering about the best shore excursions in Nassau? If you are, you’re not alone. As one of the busiest cruise ship hubs in the world, many visitors to the Bahamas are looking for things to do once they arrive. In particular, many are looking to embark on Exuma excursions, as they know that’s where the world-famous Swimming Pigs are.
In this guide, we’re going to highlight five of the best shore excursions in Nassau you won’t want to pass up on. The good news is that you get to visit all the amazing sites listed below on a Swimming Pigs tour from Nassau.
Keep reading to learn more!
Best Shore Excursions in Nassau: 5 Can’t-Miss Tours
1. Pig Beach: Swimming with Pigs
Pig Island tours from Nassau are what most people who pass through the Bahamas are hoping to see, and it’s no wonder why. The Exuma pigs are friendly, sociable creatures that make them a joy to be around. Plus, nothing beats getting to see them interact with their surroundings on their island home.
The easiest way to reach the Swimming Pigs is by signing up for a day trip that takes you there by plane. When you skip the boat, you save time, arriving in 30 minutes as opposed to three hours. You also get to enjoy a more comfortable, personalized experience, one that avoids the crowds that plague many of the other Exuma tours from Nassau.
Traveling to Pig Island by plane is doubtlessly one of the best shore excursions in Nassau.

The Swimming Pigs on Big Major Cay are one of the best Exuma Excursions.
2. Thunderball Grotto: James Bond Underwater Cave
In the region around Pig Beach (also known as Big Major Cay), you’ll find a number of other great destinations. One of these is Thunderball Grotto.
Another one of the top Exuma tours from Nassau, Thunderball Grotto is a system of underwater caves. There you can find all sorts of marine life, including coral and a plethora of tropical fish. Given the beauty of the area, it was even featured in the James Bond film Thunderball, which is where the site gets its name.
Whether you’re into snorkeling, swimming, or curating the most enviable Instagram feed in the world, you’ll find Thunderball Grotto to be another one of the best shore excursions in Nassau.
3. Bitter Guana Cay
Whereas most travelers to the Bahamas looking to embark on a Swimming Pigs tour from Nassau imagine themselves with the pigs, they’re not the only animals you get to see. Another animal you can expect to see is iguanas.

The iguanas at Bitter Guana Cay are beautiful and colorful.
Bitter Guana Cay is one of the islands that the northern Bahamian rock iguana calls home. Sadly, this beautiful creature’s population has declined in recent years, making it more difficult to see. However, you’re still guaranteed to see it here on the best shore excursions in Nassau.
Their warm and bright colors contrast vividly with their island surroundings. It’s no wonder that so many people end up calling Bitter Guana Cay their favorite of the Exuma excursions.
4. The Exuma Plane Wreck
The Exuma plane wreck is another stop you get to visit on Pig Island tours from Nassau. As its unofficial name implies, the site refers to a plane that crashed down in the waters around Staniel Cay in the 70s.
Decades later, the wreck remains, but time has transformed it into something more than the original drug-smuggling vessel that it was. Today, it’s another great snorkeling spot in the region, full of fish and other marine life. It’s also in shallow water, making it easy to swim down and explore up close.
All of that makes the site another one of the best excursions in Nassau.
5. Compass Cay: Swimming with Sharks
Compass Cay is another one of the top sites on a Swimming Pigs tour from Nassau. What makes it one of the best shore excursions in Nassau is the fact that it lets day trippers see another amazing animal: nurse sharks.
A school of nurse sharks calls the waters around the Compass Cay marina home. Because of that, Exuma excursions give you the perfect chance to see the sharks beside you – closer than many people have ever seen them before. If you want, you can even swim alongside them. While it’s a safe experience, it’s an exhilarating one nonetheless!

The nurse sharks at Compass Cay offer another one of the best shore excursions in Nassau.
The opportunity to swim with sharks makes Compass Cay another one of the best Exuma tours from Nassau.
Exuma Tours From Nassau: Don’t Miss Out
Many travelers to the Bahamas wonder about the best shore excursions in Nassau. However, the answer as to which tour is best is simple. Exuma tours from Nassau allow you to see so much, then return back to Nassau later that afternoon.
From the Swimming Pigs to nurse sharks and iguanas, Pig Island tours from Nassau are the best investment of both time and money you can make while you’re in the Bahamas.
Just make sure to sign up for Exuma excursions that take you there by plane.
Sign up for a day trip today!