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The Nassau-to-Staniel Cay charter run is 95 nautical miles down the Exuma chain, the 2026 Bahamas cruising permit is $1,500 for a single entry plus tiered surcharges over 100 feet LOA, and the Exuma Land and Sea Park covers the central 22 nautical miles of the chain with strict mooring and no-fishing rules. The captain who runs this week well anchors at Norman's Cay on Saturday, Highbourne on Sunday, Warderick Wells on Monday, Staniel Cay Tuesday and Wednesday, then runs back via Compass and Allan's by Friday. The captain who runs it poorly puts Pig Beach in the middle of the day.
The Exumas is the most photographed charter chain on the planet. The Big Major Cay pigs, the Thunderball Grotto at Staniel, and the Compass Cay shark dock have become Instagram set pieces, and the volume of day-boats running these stops from Nassau and Staniel has changed the destination in the last six years. The yacht charter still works. The week needs to be designed around the day-boat schedule, not against it. This page is the brief for that design.
The 2026 cruising permit and the new tiered structure
The Bahamas Maritime Authority updated the cruising permit fee schedule in 2024 with a tiered structure that increases the fee for larger yachts. The 2026 numbers:
Single-entry cruising permit, foreign-flagged commercial yacht, valid 90 days: $1,500 base fee for yachts up to 100 feet LOA. Additional $1,000 per yacht over 100 feet LOA (a one-time surcharge, not per-foot).
VAT on charter fee: 4% of the charter contract sum if the yacht charters in Bahamian waters. This is the structural change from the prior 4% on charter starts only. The new rule applies pro-rata if the charter combines Bahamas and US waters.
Frequent Digital Cruising Card: an alternative for repeat-visitor yachts. $1,500 annual fee, multi-entry, with electronic clearance at the Bahamas Customs portal.
Customs clearance: at the Nassau Yacht Haven Marina, Atlantis Marina, Albany Marina, or any of the outer-island ports (Staniel Cay Yacht Club, Sampson Cay, Highbourne Cay). The Atlantis and Albany customs offices handle most commercial charter inbound clearance.
The Exuma Land and Sea Park rules
The ELSP runs from Wax Cay Cut in the north to Conch Cut in the south, covering Warderick Wells, Hawksbill Cay, Shroud Cay, and the central protected chain. The 2026 rules:
Mooring: $50 per night per yacht on the designated mooring fields at Warderick Wells, Shroud Cay, and Hog Cay. Anchoring outside the moorings is restricted to sand zones marked on the park chart.
Fishing: prohibited park-wide. Spear fishing, line fishing, lobster, conch, and shell collection all prohibited. The park rangers do enforce.
Park fee: $5 per person per day. Paid to the rangers at Warderick Wells headquarters or on the mooring field.
Tender activity: permitted, with no-wake zones near the mooring fields and the swimming reserves.
The park is the structural reason the central Exumas remains the best part of the chain. The fishing ban, the anchoring restriction, and the moored-only night schedule keep the water clean and the marine life intact. The flip side is that the park-night options are limited (Warderick Wells holds 22 yachts on the mooring field, Shroud holds 8) and the bookings are first-come, first-served. The captain calls the park on VHF 09 the morning of arrival.
The 7-day route from Nassau
The standard week. Saturday embarkation at the Nassau Yacht Haven or Atlantis Marina, Saturday disembarkation in the same.
Day 1, Saturday: Embark Nassau. The run south is 35 nautical miles to Highbourne Cay at the north end of the Exumas. A 50m yacht at 14 knots is on the Highbourne anchorage by 17:00 with a Saturday-noon pickup. Anchor in 4m to 6m of sand off the leeward side. Dinner aboard.
Day 2, Sunday: Highbourne Cay morning, lunch at the Highbourne Cay marina restaurant or on the hook off Norman's Cay. The Norman's Cay anchorage in front of the Norman's Cay Beach Club is the better lunch stop. Afternoon run 15 nautical miles south to Shroud Cay in the ELSP. The Shroud Cay creek tender run through the mangroves to Camp Driftwood is the recurring Exumas image (15-minute tender trip from the mooring field). Overnight Shroud on the mooring.
Day 3, Monday: Shroud to Warderick Wells (8 nautical miles south). Pick up a mooring on the north field. Park headquarters check-in, pay the per-person fee. Hike to Boo Boo Hill in the late afternoon (a 30-minute walk to the top of the cay with the painted yacht-name driftwood). Overnight Warderick Wells.
Day 4, Tuesday: Warderick Wells to Staniel Cay (20 nautical miles south). Long water day. Lunch on the hook off Compass Cay or Sampson Cay. Arrive Staniel mid-afternoon, anchor in 4m to 8m sand outside Staniel Cay Yacht Club. The Thunderball Grotto at slack tide (check the tide tables, the grotto is unsafe at full ebb or flood). Overnight Staniel.
Day 5, Wednesday: Staniel and Big Major Cay day. Pig Beach at 08:30 (see passed-on note below), then Thunderball Grotto at the slack-tide window, then lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club (the cracked-conch fritter is the order). Afternoon at Compass Cay (3 nautical miles north) for the shark dock at the Compass Cay Marina. Overnight Staniel.
Day 6, Thursday: Staniel back north to Big Major's swimming pigs at sunrise (07:00 to 08:00), then a long run north via Sampson Cay and Bell Island anchorages. Lunch at Sampson Cay (open since the 2023 reopening) or on the hook off Pasture Cay. Overnight at Allan's Cay (the iguana cay, 12 nautical miles north of Highbourne).
Day 7, Friday: Allan's Cay morning (the iguanas), then run 30 nautical miles north back to Nassau. Final afternoon at Rose Island (8 nautical miles east of Nassau) for a beach hook and tender swim. Final dinner aboard in Nassau or ashore at Graycliff or Cafe Matisse.
Day 8, Saturday: Disembark Nassau Yacht Haven. Transit to Nassau International (NAS), 25 minutes by car.
Total mileage: approximately 130 nautical miles round trip. Fuel pass-through on a 50m yacht at 14 knots: roughly 2,500 to 2,800 liters across the week.
The Pig Beach problem and how to solve it
Big Major Cay sits 1.5 nautical miles north of Staniel and houses a feral pig colony that swims out to passing tenders for food. The first viral Instagram video of the swimming pigs ran in 2014. By 2018 the Big Major beach at midday in February was crowded to the point of comedy. In 2026 the count of day-boats arriving at Pig Beach between 10:00 and 14:00 in peak season is 30 to 50, plus another 15 to 20 yacht tenders.
The solution is timing. Pig Beach at 07:00 in February is empty. The pigs are awake (they sleep little), the light is clean, and the swim and photograph window is 30 to 45 minutes uninterrupted. By 09:00 the first Nassau day-boats arrive. By 10:00 the beach is crowded. The captain runs the tender from the Staniel anchorage to Big Major at 06:45, the guests are in the water at 07:00, and the yacht is back at Staniel for breakfast by 08:30.
The same logic applies to Thunderball Grotto. Slack tide and an arrival 30 minutes before slack puts the tender at the grotto entrance ahead of the day-boat queues. Slack at noon (check the tables) is the busiest. Slack at 06:00 or 18:00 is the cleanest.
If the brief is "we want Pig Beach without the crowd" and the timing does not work, skip Pig Beach. The Compass Cay sharks are a clean substitute. The Allan's Cay iguanas are the third option, less photographed and less commercialized. The week does not need Big Major.
The 10-day variant south
The 10-day variant extends to Black Point Settlement, Little Farmer's Cay, Big Farmer's Cay, and Cave Cay, then into the Ragged Range and George Town on Great Exuma. This is the long-haul Exumas. The route adds:
Day 8: Staniel south to Black Point (12 nautical miles). The Black Point Settlement is the community of the Exumas, with the Lorraine's Cafe and the Rockside Laundromat. Lunch ashore, afternoon at the Black Point beach. Overnight Black Point.
Day 9: Black Point to Little Farmer's Cay (15 nautical miles). The Farmer's Cay anchorage is the southern bookend of the ELSP. Overnight Farmer's.
Day 10: Farmer's back to Staniel (15 nautical miles) and disembark Staniel by air (the Staniel airstrip handles light private aircraft) or run the full 95 nautical miles back to Nassau.
The 10-day version is the better one for the brief "Exumas, all of it." The 7-day version, run well, is the brief "Exumas, the central chain."
Passed on
We pass on the Pig Beach midday stop. The math does not work in any peak month. Take the 07:00 window or skip the stop.
We pass on the Nassau overnight at Atlantis Marina for any charter with more than four guests under 18. The Atlantis water park is excellent for kids, the marina is technically excellent for yachts to 70m, but the family budget reset in the Atlantis ecosystem (admission, food and beverage, retail) adds $3,000 to $6,000 per day to the charter that the broker does not preview. Stay at the Yacht Haven and tender to Spot Island for a half-day if the brief is "Atlantis for the kids."
We pass on the Compass Cay shark dock for any charter with kids under 6. The nurse sharks are physically harmless but the marketing positions the shark dock as an interactive swim, and the experience for a small child is loud and crowded. The Iguanas at Allan's Cay are the better young-family substitute.
We pass on Highbourne Cay alongside in any yacht over 50m. The marina is small and the inside berths run 35m maximum. The offshore anchorage works for larger yachts.
We pass on the George Town extension on a 10-day route. The 60-nautical-mile run from Farmer's Cay to George Town crosses a long open passage with one viable anchorage in the middle (Lee Stocking Island). George Town itself is the Bahamas equivalent of a small commercial harbor, not a charter destination. The 14-day route reaches it on a yacht with the right range and brief.
How to ask the broker
Three questions for an Exumas charter brief.
First, "is the yacht based in Nassau or repositioning from Florida or the BVI?" A yacht based at Nassau Yacht Haven or Atlantis between charters skips the positioning leg. A yacht repositioning from Fort Lauderdale (180 nautical miles west) or from St Thomas (450 nautical miles southeast) adds a positioning charge.
Second, "is the captain park-park experienced?" The ELSP rules reward repetition. A captain on a yacht new to the Bahamas may not have the Warderick Wells mooring assignment dialed and may run the Compass Cay timing badly.
Third, "what is the tax structure on the charter contract?" The 4% Bahamas VAT applies to charters operating in Bahamian waters. The contract should disclose how it is calculated and whether it is included in the MYBA base or carried as a pass-through line.
FAQ
What is the Bahamas cruising fee in 2026? The 2026 Bahamas cruising permit for a foreign-flagged yacht over 35 feet is $1,500 for a single entry, valid 90 days. The new tiered structure adds $1,000 per yacht over 100 feet LOA. Plus 4% VAT on the charter fee for charters operating in Bahamian waters.
What does the Exuma Land and Sea Park add? The Exuma Land and Sea Park covers the central Exuma chain from Wax Cay Cut to Conch Cut. The 2026 mooring fee is $50 per night, anchoring is restricted to designated sand zones, and fishing is prohibited park-wide. Park headquarters at Warderick Wells issues the permits.
Is Pig Beach worth the stop? Once, briefly, and not in the middle of the day. The Big Major Cay swimming pigs are the most photographed thing in the Bahamas. The reality at noon in February is 30 tender groups in the water with the pigs. Go at 08:30 or skip and visit the Compass Cay sharks instead.
What yacht size works for the Exumas? 35m to 60m. Below 35m the long water day from Warderick Wells to Staniel compresses the week. Above 60m the inner anchorages at Shroud, Warderick, and Compass become limiting. The largest yachts work the outer ocean route and use tender for the inside cays.
Can the charter end in Staniel Cay instead of Nassau? Yes, by light private aircraft from the Staniel airstrip. The savings on the return leg of the 95 nautical miles run are real. The trade is that the Staniel airstrip handles only private charter (no commercial), so the air leg cost is significant.
For the broader Caribbean week structures, the Caribbean charter pillar holds the inventory. The Bahamas pillar holds the destination details. For the cost framework, the Caribbean cost guide. For sibling routes, the Abacos charter 2026 update, the Turks and Caicos shallow-draft brief, the BVI USVI customs reality, the April Caribbean shoulder, and the Grenadines route. For shore stays, the Staniel Cay hotel list covers the Staniel Cay Yacht Club cottages; the Nassau restaurant list covers Graycliff and Cafe Matisse.