Nassau or the Exumas: where a Bahamas superyacht charter really begins

There’s a point, somewhere out on the Bahamian banks, where the water stops looking like water. It turns the colour of pale glass, so clear that the sand on the bottom seems to sit just under the hull, and the yacht looks as though it’s floating on air. It’s hard to describe to someone who hasn’t seen it, and harder still to photograph. Most people only believe it once they’re standing on deck.

It’s also why I get the same question from almost every client planning a Bahamas superyacht charter: do we start in Nassau, or go straight to the Exumas?

Nassau: The gateway

Nassau is where most Bahamas charters begin, and for good reason. There’s a major international airport, marinas built for superyachts, easy embarkation and good provisioning. Paradise Island sits just across the harbour, with resorts, restaurants and beach clubs for guests who want an evening ashore before the cruise starts. Within a few hours of leaving, you’re among some of the most pristine anchorages in the Bahamas.

For something more private, there’s also Albany, on the south coast of New Providence. It’s a members-only marina, so you can only embark and disembark there if you’re a member. Non-members can ask for permission, and if it’s granted there’s still a very high charge. One of our clients is a member and lives there, so he wanted to start and end the trip from Albany: leaving home and stepping straight onto the yacht. It made for a complete experience, and it’s not something you can arrange just anywhere.

The Exumas: Where the week really happens

The Exuma Cays are a chain of more than 365 islands and cays, and the days here are built around anchoring more and cruising less. Passages are short, the water is clear enough to read the seabed from the deck, and the tender and the toys do most of the exploring.

The chain offers a lot. There are sandbars that appear at low tide, the famous swimming pigs at Big Major Cay, and Thunderball Grotto, where sunlight filters through the limestone into the water inside. Compass Cay is known for its nurse sharks, and Pipe Creek is a maze of channels and pale sandbanks. Further north, Warderick Wells sits inside a protected marine park, and Shroud Cay has mangrove creeks that open onto an Atlantic beach.

A few things are worth knowing, and they’re the sort of detail a captain builds the week around. Thunderball Grotto should be visited near slack tide with a guide. The park around Warderick Wells is a strict no-take reserve, and Shroud Cay has rules on where motorized boats can go. Wildlife is something to watch with respect, not to disturb.

Putting a week together

Seven days is the sweet spot. It’s long enough to spend a night at Highbourne, Staniel Cay, Compass Cay and Shroud Cay and still arrive at each stop with time to swim. A five-day cruise works too, for example from Albany to Compass Cay and back, but the first and last days then include long passages, roughly seven hours out and five hours back. With a week or more, you spend much more time at anchor.

Life on board

There is something here for everyone. Families, multigenerational groups and couples all find what they are looking for: sport and water activities for those who want them, quiet time for those who would rather do nothing, and places to go out in the evening for those who like a bit of life ashore. Days run on the tides. The crew sets up the beach, the tender takes guests to a sandbar or an empty cay, and the evening ends with a sunset drink at anchor. On some nights there’s a beach party, a themed dinner or an outdoor film on the sundeck.

One moment from a recent charter stays with me. During the beach set-up, the eldest son of our client had quietly arranged to propose to his girlfriend. It was a surprise for her, in front of the whole family, on an isolated beach where it was just the two of them who had come ashore from the yacht. It was emotional and very romantic, and honestly one of the most special things I’ve seen on a charter.

Guests have often told me they were taken by surprise. The trip didn’t just meet their expectations, it went beyond them: the beach set-up, the excursions, the food, everything on board. That is what a well-planned charter feels like here.

Choosing the right yacht

The Exumas are busy with superyachts, so for a charter here I would look at around 35 metres and above. If a guest prefers a catamaran, I would look at luxury catamarans from 60 feet up. We focus on the super-luxury end of the market, and that makes a real difference. Shallow water and short hops also mean the choice of yacht matters more than people expect. The draft, the tender and the toys on board decide how much of the cays you can actually reach.

When to go, and when to book

The best weather runs from November to April, with demand at its highest between December and March. May and June bring warm water and fewer crowds, and summer is good for flexible itineraries.

If you’re thinking of Christmas or New Year, plan early. New Year is by far the most requested date of the whole season, and the best yachts go first. Christmas leaves a little more room, but in both cases I’d move well in advance.

So where does it begin?

Honestly, with both. Nassau gives you the easy start: the flights, the marinas, the first evening ashore. The Exumas are where the trip becomes what people remember. A good week puts the two together, and the one that stays with you is usually the one where the water did most of the talking.