Eleuthera vs. Exumas: Which Bahamas Destination to Visit

Eleuthera vs Exumas: a firsthand comparison of swimming pigs, beaches, cost, & where to stay on the Bahamas’ most laid-back islands.

Somewhere around day four, my dad in the passenger seat and the rest of the family trailing behind in two more rental cars, he leaned over and asked, half jokingly “are we there yet?” That’s Eleuthera: a 110-mile-long island where setting off in search of a particular beach is rarely straightforward, but the reward is always worth it.

Compare that to a few years earlier, when I’d spent a week on Staniel Cay with friends and never once got in a car. We covered the entire island by golf cart in about the time it took my family to reach one beach in Eleuthera.

Two trips, both in the Bahamas’ Out Islands, both technically “swimming pig” destinations – and almost nothing else about them was the same.

Travelers comparing destinations in the Bahamas often want to know which island is better – Eleuthera and the Exumas – and I get why. They show up on the same lists, get lumped into the same “off-the-beaten-path Bahamas” conversation, and both promise that laid-back, unpolished feel that’s getting harder to find in the Caribbean.

But they’re not really competing for the same trip. One rewards patience and a rental car. The other rewards showing up and doing almost nothing at all.

Here’s what I learned taking both trips – one with a group of ten, one with friends – so you can figure out which island actually fits the vacation you’re trying to take.

Quick Look: Eleuthera vs. Exumas

Getting There

Neither island is a quick trip if you’re not flying out of Florida, so build a travel day into your itinerary either way rather than planning anything for the day you land.

I flew into North Eleuthera Airport (ELH) from San Diego, which meant a connection through Miami on the way there and a stop in Charlotte on the way home. It wasn’t a brutal travel day, but it also wasn’t a quick one – between the connection, the wait for baggage, and the drive from the airport down to Palmetto Point, plan to lose most of a day just getting settled in.

Staniel Cay works similarly, though the routing looks a little different depending on where you’re flying from. If you’re coming from the East Coast, you can fly straight into Staniel Cay’s airport (TYM) from Fort Lauderdale, or connect through Nassau. From the West Coast, expect a layover in Charlotte and Nassau before the short 30-minute flight into the Exumas with Flamingo Air – a small charter-style hop that’s part of the fun, since you get a bird’s-eye view of the cays on the way in.

Getting Around

This is probably the biggest practical difference between the two: you need a rental car on Eleuthera. It’s 110 miles long with no public transportation, and unless you’re planning to stay at one resort for your entire trip and never leave the property, a car isn’t optional.

Car rentals on Eleuthera don’t work the way you’d expect either. There’s no Hertz or Enterprise counter waiting for you. We booked our cars through email and WhatsApp, which is how a lot of things get arranged on the island. It works, but go in expecting a more casual, personal process than you’re used to.

Staniel Cay flips this completely. At under 2 square miles, a golf cart (around $60–70/day) gets you anywhere on the island in about five minutes, and most things are walkable anyway.

Read more: The Ultimate Staniel Cay Travel Guide

Where To Stay

Eleuthera

We stayed in Palmetto Point, which is Central Eleuthera, and used it as our base to explore all the way from the northern tip down to Lighthouse Beach at the southern tip.

A tip if you’re planning your own trip: power outages happen fairly often on Eleuthera, and we experienced one ourselves. This is exactly why I push staying at one of the nicer hotels over renting a private house if you can swing it – the good ones have backup generators, so you’re not left in the dark (literally) waiting for the power to come back on.

La Bougainvillea: I booked this for my parents for a few days before the rest of our family arrived and they absolutely loved it. It’s set on 50 acres of private pink sand beach near Governor’s Harbour, with a pool, on-site restaurant, and a quiet, secluded feel that made it easy for them to relax without needing to drive everywhere. The location, accessibility, and reviews made it an easy choice, and it delivered.

The Cove Eleuthera: If you want a more upscale, resort-style stay, The Cove is one of the best on the island. It sits on two private coves near Gregory Town, with an infinity pool, spa, and a beautiful setting on the calmer Caribbean side of the island.

If you’re traveling with a larger group like we were, a vacation rental can still make sense – just confirm a generator is included and fully fueled before each new guest arrives. We had some issues with the house we rented, so I won’t recommend it here, but there are a plethora of options on VRBO.

Exumas

EMBRACE Resort: This is where I stayed on Staniel Cay, and it’s a great fit for everyone from solo travelers to full families, with seven villa styles ranging from one-bedroom units to a three-bedroom villa with a full kitchen. It’s also right next to the airport, so travel days are painless.

Staniel Cay Yacht Club: The other popular option on the island, with bungalows, a marina, and the most bustling restaurant on Staniel Cay.

Beaches & Natural Attractions

Eleuthera rewards you for driving around. On our trip we made it from the northern tip all the way down to Lighthouse Beach in the south, plus a boat trip along the northern coast. Some highlights:

• Lighthouse Beach: dramatic cliffs and pink sand at the very southern tip
• Glass Window Bridge: the famous spot where the deep blue Atlantic meets the calm, turquoise Exuma Sound
• French Leave Beach: an easy, mile-long pink sand beach near Governor’s Harbour
• Ten Bay Beach: calm, shallow water, great for a relaxed beach day

Exuma’s beaches, by comparison, are compact and easy. Staniel Cay alone has five beaches (South Beach, Ocean Beach, Public Beach, Pirate Trap Beach, and Ho Tai Cay Beach), all reachable by golf cart or on foot.

Read more: The 10 Best Things To Do In Aruba

Swimming With Pigs: Spanish Wells vs. Big Major Cay

Most people don’t realize Eleuthera has its own swimming pigs at Spanish Wells – and having done both, I’d say it’s a comparable experience to the original Pig Beach on Big Major Cay near Staniel Cay.

Our swimming pigs tour on Eleuthera was booked the same way as our car rental – over email and WhatsApp. It cost about $1,200 for the entire boat for four hours, plus tip. That price is for the entire boat, not per person, which makes it a much better value for a group, but it’s a tough one to justify if there are only two of you.

If you’re staying in the Exuma Cays instead, the Staniel Cay side is more built out for tourism, with established tour operators like 3N’s Exuma Vacations running set departures and per-person pricing, which is a better fit if you’re traveling as a couple or smaller group.

If swimming with pigs is your main reason for the trip, choose the Exumas. Big Major Cay is the original Pig Beach, and the logistics are simply easier – set tours, per-person pricing, and a short golf cart or boat ride rather than arranging a private charter over WhatsApp.

Read more: How to Swim With Pigs in the Bahamas

Snorkeling & Water Activities

This is where the two islands really split for me. If water activities are a priority for your trip, the Exumas win.

Eleuthera is stunning to look at and the drive from north to south is some of the best scenery I’ve seen in the Bahamas – but the snorkeling itself was underwhelming. I kept expecting a spot to blow me away and it never quite did.

However, if you love swimming with turtles, it was one of the best places I’ve snorkeled with them. To be fair, they do feed the turtles on boat tours, which is why they are so friendly and plentiful here. I’m not a fan of feeding sea life, but it’s just the reality of the situation.

Staniel Cay, on the other hand, delivers on the water. Between the swimming pigs, swimming with nurse sharks at Compass Cay, and snorkeling spots like Thunderball Grotto, the Exumas are built for exactly this kind of trip.

So if you’re choosing based on what you want to do in the water, go with the Exuma Cays. If you’re choosing based on remote beaches, dramatic scenery, and the kind of trip where you explore by car and find your own spots, Eleuthera is the better fit.

What It Actually Costs

Let’s be honest: neither of these is a budget destination.

On Eleuthera, groceries alone ran us close to $1,200 for 7 days for our group of 10 (not including alcohol or restaurant meals). Everything is imported, so expect double what you’d pay at home for basics.

On Staniel Cay, budget around $150–200 per day per person, with accommodations being the biggest expense. There are no ATMs on the island either, so bring cash – some places charge a 5% fee for card payments, and not everywhere accepts credit cards.

Is Eleuthera or Exumas Better for Seniors or Travelers With Mobility Issues?

I went into Eleuthera expecting it to be an easy trip for my parents, and it wasn’t.

Eleuthera is quiet, safe, and slow-paced, which sounds ideal on paper. But the island simply isn’t built with accessibility in mind. Terrain is uneven in a lot of places, curb cuts and railings are rare, and even the small airports can involve stairs with no handrail and no jetway – you’re walking straight onto the tarmac. Add in that rental cars are older, locally-owned vehicles rather than anything from a major rental chain, and it adds up to a trip that takes real physical effort to get around.

Staniel Cay has an advantage here simply because of its size. At under 2 square miles, there’s no long-distance driving involved, and golf carts can get you door-to-door almost everywhere, which cuts down on a lot of the walking and uneven terrain that made Eleuthera difficult for my parents. That said, it’s still a small, remote Out Island – its airport is just as tiny as Eleuthera’s, so don’t expect a jetway or smooth boarding there either, and don’t expect ramps, elevators, or paved paths everywhere. Boats are often part of getting to beaches or excursions like the swimming pigs, too.

If your parents or travel companions are generally mobile and just want a quiet, unhurried place to relax, Eleuthera can still work well – especially if you choose a hotel like La Bougainvillea where the beach, pool, and restaurant are all close together. But if anyone in your group has more serious mobility limitations, Staniel Cay’s compact, golf-cart-friendly layout is the easier one to navigate.

My parents still talk about their few days at La Bougainvillea, and they both agree Eleuthera is one of the most beautiful places they’ve visited. It wasn’t until we moved to a house with stairs down to the beach, took a few boat tours, and walked around Spanish Wells that the mobility issues actually showed up.

Pick a great hotel and treat Eleuthera like a relaxing vacation rather than an explore-every-corner trip, and it can still work for less mobile travelers. Staniel Cay is just the more forgiving island if that’s not the plan.

Read more: The Safest Caribbean Islands (+ Where to Stay)

Which One Should You Choose?

Both trips ended the same way – sunburned, a little sad to leave, already talking about coming back. Though if I’m honest, my family probably won’t make it back to Eleuthera anytime soon, not because we didn’t love it, but because there are too many other islands on the list. Staniel Cay is different. Given the chance, I’d go back.

If you’re planning a couples trip or a girlfriends getaway and want an easy, high-impact few days – beautiful beaches, swimming pigs, nurse sharks, great snorkeling, and minimal logistics – Staniel Cay is hard to beat.

Eleuthera Vs exumas FAQ

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