Bahamas Boat Tour for Mermaids at Heart

Crystal clear waters and gorgeous healthy reefs make the Bahamas a top destination for mermaids at heart. If you plan to stay in the Exumas, you NEED to book a Bahamas boat tour to enjoy as many local experiences as possible! I booked a one-day private boat tour with Staniel Cay Adventures, and was able to swim with sharks, feed the famous swimming pigs, get lit on a sandbar, and explore a reef, a grotto and a sunken plane! I recommend taking an Exumas boat tour to anyone who tells me they’re planning a Bahamas Trip because you can pack so many incredible experiences into one boat day!

Swim with sharks in the Ocean

If you have ever dreamed of swimming with sharks in the wild- the Bahamas is the best place to do so! This popular tourist destination checks all the boxes: the water is the perfect shade of blue, the local sharks are sweet and plentiful, and the surrounding dock space gives you the perfect angle for your instagram-worthy swimming with sharks selfie!

Before actually “swimming” with the sharks, there is a dock space submerged in about 2 feet of water for you to get comfortable with the sharks swimming by you. You can get an up-close look at the sharks and pet their sandpaper-like skin while a crew member stands in the water with you, feeding them. The sharks are like ocean puppies, swimming around playfully, ready for pets. These sharks are so docile & acclimated to humans that the captain literally handed me a shark to hold for a photo!

When you’re feeling comfortable, you can step off the dock to swim with sharks in the ocean!  Swimming underwater with so many sharks was pretty exciting, so I caught the experience on my GoPro! The captain was also helpful in taking some of those iconic aerial shots from the docks above while I floated on my back with sharks circling me. If you are an adrenaline seeker or a shark lover, you need to swim with sharks in the Bahamas!

Explore the Land & Sea Park: Sea Aquarium

I didn’t see anything about our second stop online, but since the captain knew my goals were to get the best underwater videos in the Bahamas, he took us to a gorgeous local reef: The Land & Sea Park Sea Aquarium. This incredible reef is teeming with sea life and quickly took the spot of “coolest places to snorkel”. The water is so glassy it feels like you are swimming in an aquarium. Our captain threw a handful of fish food over the edge and brightly colored schools swarmed the surface. I jumped off the boat into an underwater wonderland! This snorkeling destination is one for the bucket list!

Chill on a Sandbar in the Middle of the Ocean

Where’s a mermaid’s favorite place to drink? The Sandbar of course! This exclusive sandbar only accessible by boat is out in the middle of the ocean!

This. small island of sand with tall stacked rocks, stretches out into the water for a long distance creating a breathtaking sandbar. We brought along our own spirits and mixed up a cocktail to enjoy on this perfectly relaxing spot in the middle of nowhere. This sandbar is ideal for taking a break and taking in some rays. If you like your adventure with a side of relaxation, then this sandbar should be added to the itinerary for your Bahamas boat tour!

See the Famous Swimming Pigs

Looking back, its hard to believe I almost passed up on this excursion- it was surprisingly one of my favorites! Swimming with the pigs was last on my list of filming priorities for a number of reasons. It seemed a little kitschy. Also, I did NOT want to be in the water if one of these pigs poops. And frankly they looked HUGE online. Regardless, our captain said we had time for the stop so I seized the opportunity. You know what they say,  when in the Bahamas, swim with the pigs.

As our boat revved up towards the famous Pig Island, two giant pigs came running across the shore, then swimming out to our boat. They knew our arrival means feeding time. Our captain tossed bread off the boat and into the open, waiting mouths of swimming pigs that were absolutely monstrous. More pigs arrived and they begin to make a sort of piggy conga line, even circling like sharks do.

After some warming up with the food, I hop in the water to do some piggy paddling with the babes. The pigs are giant and definitely weigh more than me. I pet their coarse fur and join the piggy conga line. The captain warns to watch for their cloven hooves. The pigs paddle for food and they don’t really care who gets in their way. They step on each other to get closer to their next meal, & there’s nothing stopping them from stepping on you, so its important to be alert when in the water. We used a GoPro dome to get some great over under shots of the swimming pigs, then captain joined us in the water with a baby’s milk bottle. The adult pigs rushed him, but he pushed through the pig crowd until he reached a small piglet. He handed the bottle to me and I got to feed and hold the smaller piglet. This trains the little piggies to get acclimated to humans just like the adult pigs. It was a unique experience getting to bottle feed a swimming pig and to see an island basically run by pigs. If you’re planning to take a boat tour, around the Exuma Cays, I highly recommend making this stop to swim with pigs!

Snorkel a Sunken Plane

Pablo Escobar’s sunken plane wreck rests in super shallow water so it’s an ideal snorkel destination for swimmers of all levels. Its a very small plane and I immediately noticed it didn’t have the turbines I remembered seeing online. Our captain told us there were about 6 other sunken planes all around the islands so be mindful that your tour could take you to any one of them if you are not specific. Nevertheless, it was an eerie sight to see a plane sunken underwater and consumed by sea life. Corals grew out of the hull and a few schools of fish seemed to call it home. After a couple of laps of inspection you’ll be ready for the next adventure, but its well worth a quick stop to see a plane sunken underwater.

Fall in love with Thunderball Grotto

Thunderball Grotto was at the top of my Bucket List of Bahamas things to do. It looked stunning online and was even more magical in person.

As we pulled up to the grotto, it kinda looked like the other islands we passed, aside from a giant “No Jumping” sign posted out front. The Grotto has holes in the roof that people used to jump through, but after some serious injuries, the sign was installed. Our tour guide showed us the proper entrance, a small natural cut through the wall with an underwater rope “handlebar” to guide you in. It was cold and dark inside; the suns rays pierced through the holes in the roof down into the clear water. Colorful schools of fish swarmed around in the waters below, a couple of bats fluttered in the darkness above. Our captain threw food to the fish from the “couch,” a slab of smooth rock in the cave that can easily seat a small family.

There were even more entrances under water; light poured in from small tunnels on all sides of the grotto. One giant hole glowed a deep blue hue and felt like you were peering into an aquarium. Opposite of that large hole were smaller tunnels that looked just like Ariel’s grotto. The sun sparkled bright white through the tunnel as I swam up through it, recreating that iconic ‘Part of your World’ scene from “The Little Mermaid.” Thunderball Grotto should be at the top of every Mermaid’s bucket list! I already want to go back!

Enjoy your Mermaid-Approved Bahamas Boat Tour

I hope you enjoyed this list of the best places to visit on your Bahamas Boat Tour! These were all the stops I made in my one-day private boat tour with Staniel Cay Adventures, but the Captain told me there are still many more beautiful places to visit next time! I loved swimming with all the wild life, from pigs & sharks, to schools of tropical fish and even bats- we had so many epic experiences! We didn’t make it out to the mermaid piano statue because the waters were too choppy for that boat ride, but we’ll be sure to add it to our list for next time! Let me know what’s on your Bahamas Bucket List, or if you’ve already visited, let me know your favorite place to swim!