The Compass Cay Marina is the best place to go swimming with nurse sharks in the Bahamas. When you visit Compass Cay Bahamas, you’ll get up close and personal with the sharks, as well as see many other amazing sites in the area.
Read on to learn about the top Bahamas swim with sharks experience.
Compass Cay Marina: Swimming With Nurse Sharks Bahamas
Compass Cay Exuma: What to Know
Many visitors hope to go swimming with nurse sharks in the Bahamas in the capital. However, for the best Bahamas swim with sharks experience, you’ll need to leave Nassau.
The Exuma Cays are a chain of 365 islands south of Nassau. They’re home to gorgeous beaches, crystal-clear water, and fun local attractions like those at the Compass Cay Marina.
While Compass Cay Bahamas has beautiful beaches, it’s the sharks that have really made the island famous. Today, visitors travel from across the world to get a glimpse (or swim alongside) these beautiful creatures.
The Compass Cay Marina is home to a school of nurse sharks.
When you sign up for Bahamas day trips to the Exumas, you can also participate in your own Bahamas swim with sharks experience.
Compass Cay Marina: How Did the Sharks Get There?
As mentioned, people don’t just see sharks anywhere around the waters of Compass Cay Bahamas. They see them at the local Compass Cay Marina.
It might sound crazy, but the owner of the marina has managed to “tame” a school of nurse sharks. Today, he views them as exotic pets, naming them and encouraging them to stick around the piers.
While other shark experiences require chum buckets or tools to attract the animals, swimming with nurse sharks in the Bahamas is possible at all times since the sharks are always there.
Besides drawing in tourists and adventure seekers from different countries, the marina has also attracted visitors of another sort.
Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and other networks have all featured the famous island in their programs.
The Compass Cay Marina has become a popular spot in the country.
Compass Cay Bahamas: How Can You Get There?
As many travelers make their way through Nassau, many day trips take you to Compass Cay Exuma from there. However, you can also reach the island from other places, including:
- Georgetown, Exuma: By boat and by plane
- Miami: Only by plane
While you can find many boat tours that can take you to go swimming with nurse sharks in the Bahamas, we recommend flying by plane in most cases.
What Makes Flying the Better Option?
Many people don’t realize that boat travel throughout the Bahamas can be slow. From Nassau, it’ll take you at least 2 hours to reach the area around Compass Cay by boat.
However, when you fly, you can get there in 30 minutes. Day trips from Nassau by plane land at nearby Staniel Cay and then switch over to a boat, which you use to explore the area.
After flying to Staniel Cay, the swimming with nurse sharks experience is just a short ride away.
Besides being much more efficient, air travel offers day trippers a more comfortable experience. From the spectacular views to avoiding the crowds, it’s the best way to get the most out of your Bahamas swim with sharks experience.
Bahamas Swim With Sharks: Is It Dangerous?
Once you arrive at the Compass Cay Marina, you might be wondering whether the experience is safe. After all, documentaries like Shark Week often portray sharks as killers.
Luckily, you don’t have anything to worry about while splashing and floating around the waters of Compass Cay Bahamas.
Provided you follow instructions, the Bahamas swim with sharks experience will be perfectly safe.
For one thing, most sharks aren’t as scary as the media makes them seem. More often than not, they just want to be left alone and are more afraid of you than you are of them.
Additionally, the sharks at Compass Cay are nurse sharks, one of the most docile species. Nurse shark attacks on humans are rare as they resemble catfish more than killer predators!
That said, local safety experts will still give you some tips to ensure the experience remains safe and enjoyable for all.
Other Top Sites in the Area
The great thing about visiting the Compass Cay Marina on a Pig Island tour is that you also get to see many other exciting attractions in the area.
You can also look forward to visiting:
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- The famous Exuma Pigs at Big Major Cay
- The Staniel Cay Yacht Club for lunch
- Endangered iguanas at Bitter Guana Cay
- Beautiful white sandbars at Pipe Creek
- An underwater plane wreck
- Underwater caves at Thunderball Grotto
It’s hard to say what your favorite memory from the trip will be.
Explore Swimming Pigs Island and the Exumas
The Compass Cay Marina is the best place in the country to enjoy a Bahamas swim with sharks experience. However, swimming with nurse sharks in the Bahamas isn’t all you get to do.
On a Pig Island tour to Compass Cay Bahamas, you also get to visit Pig Beach, iguanas, sandbars, and much more.
Sign up for a Swimming Pigs Island day trip today!
