A 7-day Bahamas yacht charter itinerary through the Exumas: Nassau, Highbourne Cay, the Land and Sea Park, Staniel Cay and Big Major, with draft and tide tips.
A 7-day Exumas charter itinerary runs south from Nassau through Highbourne, Allen's, Norman's and Shroud Cays to Warderick Wells, Staniel Cay and Big Major. The water is the reason guests book: 365 cays strung along a bank so shallow and so clear that the anchorages photograph like a rendering.
Most Bahamas yacht charters head straight for the Exumas, a chain of cays south-east of Nassau where shallow, clear water makes draft and tides as important as distance.
That same shallow bank is the planning constraint. Draft, tide and the park rules decide this week more than wind does. This guide covers how crews plan it, and where Guest Trip removes the spreadsheet stage.
The season runs mid-December to mid-April, with March and April often the sweet spot for settled conditions and thinner crowds. May, June and November are shoulder months with warm water and softer pricing. Hurricane season is 1 June to 30 November. Winter cold fronts sweep down from the north every week or two, bringing a clocking wind that makes east-facing anchorages untenable for a day — the single most common reason an Exumas plan moves.
Depth is the defining feature. The Great Bahama Bank averages roughly 10 to 15 feet, and the shallow-draft power catamarans that dominate the charter fleet draw only 3 to 5 feet, which is what lets them sit on the sandbars. A deeper-draft displacement yacht runs the deeper Exuma Sound side and tenders in, which is a completely different week — establish which one you are planning at the brief.
1. Fix the entry point and the paperwork
Nassau is the customs and immigration gateway and the usual embarkation port; Staniel Cay is about 40 minutes by air from Nassau and works well for guests who would rather skip the passage south; George Town on Great Exuma serves the southern end. The yacht needs a Bahamas cruising permit, and charters attract a charter tax and VAT, which the operator handles. Get the arrival plan and the flights aligned before the route.
2. Plan around draft and tide, not just distance
The cays are not line-of-sight from one another and there are real open-water crossings, but the binding constraint is water depth over the banks and through the cuts. Plan the shallow entrances for a rising tide, know the yacht's true draft including any trim, and keep a deeper-water alternative for every shallow anchorage. Sandbar excursions — the ones guests photograph — are tide-dependent by definition, so they belong on the plan with a time, not just a day.
3. Budget the park and brief the no-take rule
The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, established in 1958 as the world's first land-and-sea park and a no-take marine reserve since 1986, covers 112,640 acres between Wax Cay Cut and Conch Cut. It charges by the vessel rather than the head: daily anchoring fees run $0.50 per foot for vessels under 90 feet and $1.00 per foot at 90 feet and above, and mooring balls are priced in length bands — roughly $20 up to 40 feet, $30 to 50 feet, $40 to 60 feet, $70 to 70 feet and $95 to 90 feet. Pay by card at the Warderick Wells headquarters, cash at the drop boxes, or online through the Bahamas National Trust.
The restrictions matter more than the fee. The park is a strict no-take zone: taking any fish, conch, crawfish, turtle or marine resource is prohibited, as is removing plant life or dumping waste, and vessels must hold idle speed in the mooring fields and anchorages. Brief the guests before someone puts a line in the water — a guest catching a fish inside the boundary is the crew's problem, not the guest's.
4. Give the week its three set pieces
Shroud Cay's mangrove creeks and the tidal run locals call the Washing Machine; Warderick Wells for Boo Boo Hill and the park's snorkelling; and Staniel Cay for Thunderball Grotto and the swimming pigs at Big Major. Add Compass Cay's nurse sharks and the Allen's Cay iguanas and you have more marquee stops than days. Choose three and let the rest of the week be water.
custom saved locations with draggable pins let the crew keep their own library of sandbars, cuts and snorkel stops, and reuse them across the season.
5. Plan the cold-front day before it happens
A winter front means the wind clocks from south through west to north over a day or so, and anchorages that were perfect become lee shores. Experienced Exumas crews keep a west-protected and an east-protected option for every night of the week and move early rather than late. Guests accept a repositioning much better when it was already on the plan as an alternative.
6. Layer the onboard programme onto the route
Provision fully in Nassau or bring it in with the charter — the cays have little beyond Staniel Cay Yacht Club and a few small stores, and prices reflect the logistics. Plan the ashore evenings for Staniel Cay and Highbourne, keep the rest aboard, and put the spa on the passage days. This is the most watersports-heavy week in the Caribbean: the toys, the tender and the dive plan matter more than the restaurant list.
7. Publish it as a live page
An Exumas week moves for tide and fronts, often at short notice. Publish the itinerary as a guest site the crew can edit so the plan on the guests' phones is the current one.
the itinerary publishes as a PIN-protected, branded guest site and can be updated mid-charter without re-sending.
Day 1. Embark Nassau at midday; passage south-east to Highbourne Cay; welcome dinner aboard. About 35 nautical miles. Day 2. Allen's Cay iguanas in the morning; Norman's Cay for the sunken plane wreck and the night. Short hops. Day 3. Shroud Cay: mangrove creeks by tender, the Washing Machine, quiet night at anchor. About 10 nautical miles. Day 4. Warderick Wells: park moorings, Boo Boo Hill, snorkelling at O'Brien's Cay. About 15 nautical miles. Day 5. South to Compass Cay and Pipe Creek; sandbar stop on the tide. About 15 nautical miles. Day 6. Staniel Cay: Thunderball Grotto at slack water, pigs at Big Major, dinner ashore. Short hops. Day 7. Return north or fly out from Staniel Cay; disembarkation brief. Flexible
A one-way week finishing at Staniel Cay or George Town gives guests more water time than a Nassau round trip, which spends the best part of two days on the transit.
For a first Bahamas yacht charter, usually yes. The Exumas combine the clearest water, protected anchorages, the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park and Staniel Cay within easy reach of Nassau. Check the yacht's draft early, because it decides which cays and channels are realistic.
Anchoring fees are $0.50 per foot per day for vessels under 90 feet and $1.00 per foot per day at 90 feet and above. Mooring balls are priced in length bands from roughly $20 up to 40 feet to $95 for 70 to 90 feet. Fees are paid by card at Warderick Wells, cash at the drop boxes, or online through the Bahamas National Trust.
Shallow-draft yachts drawing 3 to 5 feet reach almost everything, because the Great Bahama Bank averages only about 10 to 15 feet deep. Deeper-draft yachts run the Exuma Sound side and tender in, which changes the shape of the week.
Mid-December to mid-April, with March and April often the best combination of settled weather and thinner crowds. Hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November.
Roughly 75 to 80 nautical miles down the cays, usually broken over two or three days with stops at Highbourne, Norman's and Shroud. Staniel Cay is about 40 minutes from Nassau by air if guests prefer to fly down.
Custom pins for the cuts, sandbars and snorkel stops you have run before, with your own notes.
Legs drawn on navigable water down the cays, with an overview chart for guests.
Park fees, moorings, flights and tide-bound excursions attached to the day.
Reposition for a front and the guests' plan moves with the yacht.
BVI Charter Itinerary: Planning a 7-Day British Virgin Islands Yacht Charter
Planning a 7-Day Caribbean Yacht Charter Itinerary: St Maarten, St Barths and Antigua
Pin the cuts and sandbars you trust, hold the park fees against the day, and publish a guest-ready site that moves when the front does.