Example 7 day charter itinerary Exumas
Arrival and departure at the beautiful Albany Marina just 15 minutes from Nassau International Airport.
Day 1 – New Providence Island
All guests arrive into Nassau, New Providence Island.
The Captain and a crew member from Lady Joy will meet you at the airport with transportation and will accompany everyone to Lady Joy, docked at Albany Marina, just 15 minutes from the airport.
Once on the boat, you can enjoy the excellent facilities that this luxury resort has to offer, such as fine dining, beautiful beach and a wonderful family pool with slides and a children’s water playground. Lady Joy would then depart late that evening for an overnight run to Allens Cay and our first stop in the Exumas.
Dinner onboard and time to experience the chef’s fine culinary skills.
Day 2 – Allens Cays and Highbourne Cay
Wake up to the beautiful clear blue water of the Exumas! With all of our water toys at your disposal, enjoy a morning of relaxing in the sun, swimming, seabobing and/or have a try go on our flyboard.
After breakfast, a short tender ride will have you ashore to see the famous “and legally protected” Allen’s Cay Iguanas. This is one of the few places that you are likely to see these jurasic looking “but friendly creatures”. They are familiar with people coming to see them and will happily accept fruit or vegetable snacks. Beware however, that the iguanas struggle to see the difference between a piece of apple and a finger. It’s best to feed them from the end of a stick!
Back to Lady Joy for some water sports fun and lunch onboard. During lunch Lady Joy will relocate to Highborne Cay, just a few short miles away.
Another short tender ride will have you ashore in the lovely Highbourne Cay Marina where there are often nurse sharks hanging around near the fish cleaning station. If you fancy taking a walk over to the East side of the Island you will discover one of the finest beaches in the Exumas “and there are many great beaches” with 3 miles of soft white sand. Enjoy a drink at the Xuma’s restaurant before heading back to Lady Joy to relax, enjoy a swim from the boat, or perhaps try out your skills on the flyboard.
Day 3 – Norman’s Cay & Shroud Cay
After an early morning relocation, Lady Joy will anchor at south end of Norman’s Cay. Weather permitting, take the tender to Norman’s Pond for a morning of tender based snorkeling, swimming and seabobing in the natural lagoon of Norman’s Pond. This super sheltered lagoon is in the middle of Norman’s Cay, which was used in the 70’s and 80’s as a drug smuggling base. There is a sunken aircraft that can be seen semi submerged at the south end of the Island and this is also a great snorkeling location.
Head back to Lady Joy to relax after an active morning and enjoy one (or more) of the chief stew’s speciality cocktails. During lunch Lady Joy will relocate again to Shroud Cay for an afternoon of relaxing and/or water sports. Explore the mangrove channels on this unique island on a paddleboard or relax on one of the many pristine sheltered beaches. Watch the sun go down from your own patch of paradise before heading back to your yacht for the evening. Back onboard enjoy another fine culinary creation for dinner followed by some drinks under the stars, relaxing in the Jacuzzi or perhaps a bit of Karaoke!
During the evening Lady Joy will relocate to Pipe Cay which is about a 2½ hour cruise.
Day 4 – Pipe Cay & Compass Cay
Today the crew will set up a base on the beach at Pipe Cay where you can enjoy a beautiful sheltered little bay with great snorkeling, swimming, seabobing and relaxing. Take a tender ride to Rachel’s Bubble Bath at the north end of Compass Cay where you can swim in a natural lagoon surrounded by rocks and that is flushed by the ocean waves at high tide. More adventurous guests might like to jump in to the lagoon from the rocks at the side.
There will also be a tender ride to visit the famous Compass Cay Marina which is like a natural aquarium. Nurse sharks, eagle rays and an array of different fish & turtles frequent the marina where they know they are likely to find food. Swim with the sharks and at high tide you can pet them as they chill out on the dock. This place is truly one of the wonders of the Exumas and a truly unique place!
When you return, enjoy a freshly prepared beach picnic and an afternoon of relaxing and/or water sports, either from the shore or onboard Lady Joy.
Day 5 – Big Majors Spot & Staniel Cay
After breakfast, take a stunning tender ride through the islands from Pipe Cay to Big Majors Spot, home of the famous swimming pigs. During the tender ride you will be able to explore the many channels between the islands, take a stroll on the exposed sandbars at low tide or simply sit back and enjoy the stunning scenery and crystal-clear turquoise waters. At the end of the cruise you will visit the swimming pigs of Big Majors Spot. The crew will have some tasty snacks for you to feed the pigs, who love to swim out to the boats for a tasty reward!
Return to Lady Joy for lunch before a stroll ashore to Staniel Cay and a trip to the Thunderball Cave. If you feel brave, climb up to the top of the rock and jump through the hole, James Bond style, into the lagoon below.
During or after dinner Lady Joy will relocate to Hawksbill Cay which is about 2½ hours to the north.
Day 6 – Hawksbill Cay
Spend the last full day practicing your newfound Flyboard skills, wakeboarding, jetskiing and relaxing. A delicious barbecue lunch will be served on the beach of this uninhabited island.
After lunch, spend the afternoon relaxing onboard Lady Joy taking in the serene beauty of your surroundings. All of the water sports equipment will be at your disposal for the whole day, so make sure you don’t miss anything.
Spend the evening at anchor before departing in the early hours to head back to Albany Marina.
Day 7 – Albany Marina
Breakfast onboard and some time to explore the resort, if you didn’t get a chance to do so at the beginning of the trip. Then it’s time to say goodbye to new-found friends, until next time!
This is just a sample itinerary, but we will tailor your vacation to suit your requests and preferences. If you have any specific destinations that you wish to visit then let us know and we will try to build an itinerary for you.
Lady Joy specializes in custom vacations in and around the Exumas during the winter months. However, she is also available for Caribbean locations upon request.
During the Summer Lady Joy is also available for charter in the Western Mediterranean.
