The Bahamas & Exumas
| Región | Atlántico occidental, al sureste de Florida, cientos de islas sobre bancos someros |
|---|---|
| Escala | de Nassau a Highbourne Cay unas 35 millas náuticas, de Highbourne a Staniel Cay unas 40, de Fort Lauderdale a Nassau unas 180 |
| Temporada | de diciembre a abril, con la temporada de huracanes del Atlántico del 1 de junio al 30 de noviembre |
| Calado | buena parte del banco de las Exumas tiene unos 1,8 m, así que los yates de calado profundo van por el lado del Exuma Sound y entran por los pasos |
| Los pasos | corrientes de marea de 2 a 4 nudos, con el Dotham Cut de unos 120 pies de ancho, así que los tránsitos se planifican en torno a la repunta |
| Permiso de navegación desde el 1 de abril de 2026: USD 600 para 30 días, USD 2.000 para seis meses, USD 3.000 para doce meses en barcos de más de 100 pies | |
| Tasa de fondeo desde el 1 de abril de 2026: USD 200, USD 1.000 o USD 1.500 para barcos de más de 100 pies según el permiso de 30 días, de seis meses o de doce, pagadera solo si no se está en una marina | |
| Frequent Digital Cruising Card | USD 1.500 para barcos de más de 100 pies, válida dos años |
| Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park | solo boyas en los campos de boyas, prohibido fondear, prohibida cualquier clase de pesca |
| Boyas del parque | el campo norte de Warderick Wells admite barcos de hasta 150 pies a USD 50 la noche en 2026, pagados por la plataforma ParkPay |
| Recargo de charter en el parque | USD 14 adicionales por persona y día sobre las tasas de boya y de fondeo |
| Marina mayor | Albany, en New Providence, 71 amarres para barcos de hasta unos 250 pies |
| No Bahamian marina published a superyacht rate card in July 2026, including Albany, which quotes on application | |
| Trade benchmarks | about USD 2 to USD 3 per foot per day for larger vessels, USD 25 to USD 40 per foot per month in Nassau, and USD 9 to USD 10 per foot per day in premium resort sections at peak |
| A twelve month cruising permit, the matching anchorage fee and a two-year Frequent Digital Cruising Card together come to a few thousand US dollars, against EUR 5,437 for one August night at Porto Cervo | |
| Charter tax | 14 per cent, being 10 per cent VAT plus a 4 per cent Port Department fee, now collected by the Port Department as a single payment |
| A Foreign Charter Licence must be obtained from the Bahamas Port Department before arrival and is valid for one year | |
| There is no temporary admission clock of the EU kind, because a foreign yacht is admitted on a cruising permit rather than into a customs union | |
| AIS is mandatory for foreign vessels of 50 feet and over, introduced with the 2025 and 2026 amending legislation | |
| The amended fee schedule took effect on 1 April 2026 | |
| Nearest lift | Fort Lauderdale, about 180 nautical miles from Nassau |
Ciento veinte millas de cayos
La cadena de las Exumas se estira unas 120 millas al sureste desde Nassau y ese es el crucero. De Nassau a Highbourne Cay, en el extremo norte, hay 35 millas, de Highbourne a Staniel Cay otras 40, y de Staniel a Georgetown, abajo del todo, unas 60. Florida está cerca, con Fort Lauderdale a unas 180 millas de Nassau y Bimini a solo 50 millas de la costa de Florida. La cadena tiene un banco somero en su lado oeste y el profundo Exuma Sound en el lado este, y cuál de los dos usa un yate lo decide su calado.
Una semana es bajar de Nassau a Staniel Cay y volver, moviéndose de 20 a 40 millas al día y parando dos veces. Dos semanas llegan a Georgetown y a Long Island, en el extremo sur, o giran al norte hacia Eleuthera, Harbour Island y los Abacos, que es otro tipo de navegación, más suave. Los armadores que hacen esto bien reservan la repunta de marea en cada paso y no planifican hora fija de llegada a ningún sitio.
De Highbourne a Georgetown, cayo por cayo
Highbourne Cay, en lo alto de la cadena, tiene una marina pequeña, combustible y una playa, y es la primera parada habitual saliendo de Nassau. Norman's Cay, justo al sur, tiene en los bajos el pecio de un avión del narcotráfico sobre el que se bañan los invitados y un bar de playa en MacDuff's. Shroud Cay, dentro del parque nacional, tiene caños de manglar que un tender puede recorrer con la marea adecuada y que salen a una playa oceánica. Warderick Wells es la sede del parque, con un campo de boyas en un canal de agua tan clara que el barco parece flotar sobre nada.
Más al sur la cadena tiene más movimiento. Staniel Cay es el centro, con el Yacht Club, un muelle de combustible y una pista de aterrizaje, y las dos excursiones famosas a menos de una milla, la Thunderball Grotto y los cerdos nadadores de Big Major Cay. Por debajo de Staniel, Black Point, Little Farmer's y Cave Cay están más tranquilos, y el Elizabeth Harbour de Georgetown es una dársena grande y protegida con una comunidad de navegantes de toda la vida. Casi todos los fondeaderos de aquí están sobre arena blanca en tres a seis metros.
Dos metros de agua sobre el banco deciden más sobre un crucero por Bahamas que ningún presupuesto.
Calado, pasos y marinas
La profundidad es toda la cuestión. Buena parte del Great Bahama Bank tiene alrededor de 1,8 metros, lo que deja a un yate moderno de desplazamiento de 50 metros permanentemente del lado del Exuma Sound. Los pasos entre los cayos son las puertas entre los dos, y por ellos corren de 2 a 4 nudos de marea, con el Dotham Cut de unos 120 pies de ancho, así que los tránsitos se calculan para la repunta y se abandonan cuando una mar de fondo oceánica contraria hace romper el paso.
Las opciones de marina están concentradas. Albany, en el suroeste de New Providence, tiene 71 amarres y admite barcos de hasta unos 250 pies, y es la dirección de los yates grandes en Bahamas. Hurricane Hole, en Paradise Island, y el Nassau Yacht Haven cubren el resto de la capital, y Baha Mar y Atlantis tienen sus propias dársenas. Bajando por la cadena hay marinas pequeñas en Highbourne, en Staniel Cay y en algunos cayos privados, todas dimensionadas para barcos muy por debajo de la escala de superyate. Un yate de 50 metros en las Exumas está fondeado o en una boya del parque durante todo el crucero.
Frentes, alisios y los meses
De diciembre a abril es la temporada y el tiempo es casi siempre benigno. Los días van por los veinticinco grados, los alisios soplan del este y del sureste a 10 o 20 nudos, y el agua es clara y lo bastante templada como para bañarse sin pensarlo. La temporada de huracanes va oficialmente del 1 de junio al 30 de noviembre y saca del país a casi todos los yates grandes.
La variable es el frente frío de invierno. Los sistemas salen del continente norteamericano cada cinco o siete días de diciembre a marzo, hacen rolar el viento por el suroeste, el noroeste y el norte, y soplan de 20 a 30 nudos durante uno o dos días antes de volver a asentarse en los alisios. En una cadena de cayos bajos orientada de norte a sur, un frente significa cambiarse al otro lado de una isla, y los buenos fondeaderos de socaire se conocen y se llenan. Un frente que llega con mar de fondo oceánica puede hacer peligrosos los pasos, y ese es el único peligro real de esta zona de navegación.
Las fiestas americanas y la playa de los cerdos
La temporada de Bahamas la marcan las fiestas americanas más que ninguna regata. Navidad y Nochevieja, la semana del Presidents Day en febrero y las semanas de spring break de marzo y abril son los puntos de presión, y el sitio en las marinas de Nassau en esas fechas se reserva con mucha antelación. El resto del invierno está asombrosamente tranquilo para lo que se estila en el Mediterráneo, y un yate puede tener un fondeadero de las Exumas para él solo un martes de enero.
Hay dos excepciones. Staniel Cay y la playa de los cerdos de Big Major las trabajan barcos de excursión y vuelos turísticos en hidroavión desde Nassau durante toda la temporada, y a media mañana puede haber decenas de embarcaciones pequeñas en el fondeadero, así que a los invitados conviene llevarlos a las siete de la mañana. Georgetown se llena con la flota de crucero a partir de febrero.
Nassau, y las pistas de la cadena
El acceso es el más fácil de todos los destinos de esta lista. Lynden Pindling International, en Nassau, tiene servicio directo desde casi todo el este de Estados Unidos, desde Londres y desde Canadá, más manejo completo de jets privados, y está a 20 minutos de Albany o de las marinas de Paradise Island. Exuma International, en Georgetown, admite jets y tiene servicio directo desde Florida. Staniel Cay, Norman's Cay, Black Point y varios cayos privados tienen pistas para aviación ligera y turbohélices chárter.
Esa red de pistas es lo que hace práctico un crucero de dos semanas por las Exumas, porque un invitado puede subir o bajar del barco a mitad de la cadena sin un día de reposicionamiento. Los operadores de hidroaviones y de chárter ligero de Nassau y de Fort Lauderdale lo hacen a diario. La otra vía de entrada es el propio barco, porque de Fort Lauderdale a Nassau es una travesía nocturna y muchos armadores estadounidenses sencillamente traen el yate cruzando.
En tierra, y lo poco que hay
Hay muy poco en tierra y de eso se trata en este sitio. El Staniel Cay Yacht Club es un bar, un restaurante y un muelle de combustible con casitas de colores detrás, y es el centro social de las Exumas centrales. Big Major, Compass Cay y la Thunderball Grotto son excursiones de medio día en tender y son lo que recuerdan casi todos los invitados.
Nassau es donde está la vida en tierra, y es otro país. Albany, Baha Mar y Atlantis tienen resorts, golf, spas y restaurantes de nivel internacional, y la capital tiene el comercio, el aprovisionamiento y los hospitales. Los Abacos y Harbour Island, en Eleuthera, están entre los dos extremos, y Dunmore Town, en Harbour Island, ofrece un puñado de restaurantes de verdad buenos y arena rosa. A los invitados que quieran vida nocturna hay que avisarles antes de que reserven de que las Exumas no tienen ninguna.
El régimen de tasas de 2026 y el parque
La estructura de tasas cambió el 1 de abril de 2026 con la modificación del reglamento aduanero y los armadores deberían presupuestarla bien. Para un barco de más de 100 pies, un permiso temporal de navegación cuesta USD 600 para 30 días, USD 2.000 para seis meses o USD 3.000 para doce meses, con una o dos reentradas gratuitas en los permisos más largos. A los barcos que no están en una marina se les aplica una tasa de fondeo aparte, de USD 200, USD 1.000 o USD 1.500 para esas mismas tres duraciones. Una Frequent Digital Cruising Card cuesta USD 1.500 para un barco de más de 100 pies y vale dos años.
El Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park tiene su propio régimen, y es una zona de veda total en la que no se puede llevar nada vivo ni muerto. Fondear está prohibido en los campos de boyas, las boyas se reservan y se pagan por la plataforma ParkPay, el campo norte de Warderick Wells admite barcos de hasta 150 pies, y la tarifa de boya de 2026 son USD 50 por noche con USD 14 adicionales por persona y día en los barcos de charter. El apoyo técnico en Bahamas es escaso fuera de Nassau, así que los repuestos llegan de Florida por carga aérea y cualquier cosa importante es un viaje de vuelta a Fort Lauderdale.
El inconveniente sincero
Bahamas castiga al barco equivocado. Un yate de calado profundo queda excluido de casi todos los fondeaderos por los que este destino es famoso, y sus invitados acaban en tenders para lo bueno mientras el barco nodriza se queda en el Sound o en lo alto de la cadena. Incluso un barco somero está trabajando con las tablas de marea todo el crucero. En las Exumas no hay ninguna marina que admita un yate grande, no hay combustible en cantidad útil fuera de Nassau y de Staniel Cay, y no hay ninguna ayuda técnica.
El segundo apunte es que la experiencia en tierra es casi inexistente y las excursiones famosas están llenas. Los cerdos nadadores son un destino de barco de excursión con cola, y las grutas solo funcionan con la marea adecuada. Aprovisionarse al nivel que espera un yate grande significa cargar en Nassau o traer la mercancía desde Florida. Y la temporada es corta y el régimen de tasas va al alza, así que el armador que compare esto con un verano mediterráneo debería tener claro que está comprando agua y vacío y muy poco más.
The fees are published, the berth is not
The regulatory side of a Bahamas season is the easy part to price because the government prints it. What is not printed is the berth. Albany, which is the address for a large yacht in the country with 71 slips taking to about 250 feet, refers to rates without displaying them and quotes on application, and no Bahamian marina had a public superyacht rate card in July 2026. The workable benchmarks are per foot and they come from trade reporting rather than a tariff. Dockage for larger vessels runs about USD 2 to USD 3 per foot per day, monthly superyacht dockage in Nassau runs about USD 25 to USD 40 per foot per month at standard facilities, and the resort marinas publish tiered daily rates with premium sections reaching USD 9 to USD 10 per foot per day in peak season. On the resort figure a 164 foot yacht is roughly USD 1,475 to USD 1,640 a day. Those daily and monthly benchmarks do not reconcile with each other, so no single all-in month is stated here.
The fee side does reconcile and it is startlingly cheap by Mediterranean standards. A twelve month cruising permit for a vessel over 100 feet is USD 3,000, the matching anchorage fee is USD 1,500 where the boat is not in a marina, and the Frequent Digital Cruising Card is USD 1,500 for two years, so the entire regulatory cost of a year in the country runs to a few thousand dollars against EUR 5,437 for one August night at Porto Cervo. Inside the Exuma park the mooring is USD 50 a night at the Warderick Wells north field, which takes vessels to 150 feet, with an extra USD 14 per person per day on charter vessels. What is expensive in the Bahamas is not the country but the absence of one. There is no fuel in useful quantity outside Nassau and Staniel Cay and no technical capability outside Nassau, so spares come from Florida by air freight and the budget line that grows is freight and repositioning rather than berth. The nearest yard that can lift a hull of this size is at Fort Lauderdale, about 180 nautical miles from Nassau.
Whether a foreign flag may charter in Bahamian waters
The Bahamas is one of the few grounds on this list where a foreign-flagged yacht may charter outright, and the rule is stated rather than implied. A non-Bahamian owner must hold a Foreign Charter Licence, obtained from the Bahamas Port Department before arrival, valid for one year and applied for online through the government portal. The charter tax is 14 per cent, made up of 10 per cent VAT and a 4 per cent Port Department fee, and the Port Department is now authorised to collect the whole 14 per cent as a single payment, which removes the separate VAT filing with Inland Revenue that the original 2022 arrangement required. There is no equivalent of the EU's 18 month temporary admission clock, because a foreign yacht is admitted on a cruising permit rather than into a customs union, and the permit rather than the flag is what governs how long she may stay.
The regime moved through 2025 and 2026 and an owner working from an older briefing will get it wrong. The Port Authorities (Amendment) Act 2025, amended Customs Management Regulations in 2025 and 2026, the Boat Registration (Amendment) Act 2025 and the Environmental Health Services (Amendment) Act 2025 together introduced the new cruising, anchorage and fishing fees and mandated AIS for foreign vessels of 50 feet and over, with the amended fee schedule effective from 1 April 2026. The AIS requirement is the one with teeth, because it converts the question of where a yacht has been and whether she was in a marina or at anchor from an assertion into a record, and the anchorage fee is charged precisely on the boats that are not alongside. Inside the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park nothing living or dead may be removed, anchoring is prohibited in the mooring fields, and moorings are booked and paid through the ParkPay platform. Fishing without the correct permit and anchoring inside a mooring field are the two infringements a visiting yacht is most likely to commit without meaning to.
En tierra, accesos y reservas
| Getting there | Nassau's Lynden Pindling International is the gateway and takes anything, with business aviation handled by Odyssey Aviation and by Jet Nassau, the Bahamian operator that took over the former Jet Aviation FBO. For the Exumas, Exuma International at George Town has a 7,051 foot runway served by Odyssey Aviation and Strachan's Aviation. Staniel Cay, in the middle of the cays and beside the best of the cruising ground, has a small airstrip with genuine scheduled service: Makers Air runs up to six flights a day from Fort Lauderdale Executive in Cessna Grand Caravans and Staniel Air flies the same route daily. The constraint at Staniel is aircraft type rather than availability, which is why guests arriving by jet still route through Nassau or George Town. |
|---|---|
| Clearing in, and the AIS rule that catches people | Clearance paperwork goes in through Click2Clear before you arrive rather than on the dock, and Bahamas Customs publishes the list of ports of entry. The rule that catches visiting yachts is the electronics one: a foreign pleasure vessel above 50 feet must have AIS fitted, working and switched on at all times in Bahamian waters, and the published penalty is USD 1,000. A yacht that habitually runs dark for privacy has to change that habit at the boundary. Note that the published wording sits on the 50 foot mark itself in different ways depending on the source, so a yacht measuring exactly 50 feet should confirm at clearance rather than assume. |
| What the permits cost, and what actually changed in 2026 | The July 2025 reform abolished short cruising permits and made every temporary permit a twelve month one. The 1 April 2026 amendment did not cut prices; it re-created the 30 day and six month tiers that had been removed. For a yacht over 100 feet the 30 day permit is USD 600, six months is USD 2,000 and twelve months is USD 3,000; in the 50 to 100 foot band the same three are USD 350, USD 750 and USD 1,000. Crucially the longer permits carry free re-entries the short ones do not: the six month permit includes one, the twelve month permit two. A fishing permit is USD 300 over 50 feet and USD 100 under, a tender permit for a tender over 25 feet is USD 500, and a USD 30 head tax applies per additional non-Bahamian guest beyond the first three. The twelve month permit, the Frequent Digital Cruising Card, the fishing and tender permits, the head tax and the AIS fine were all set on 1 July 2025 and are unchanged. |
| Whether the Frequent Digital Cruising Card is worth it, with the arithmetic | The card buys two years of unlimited entry for USD 8,000 over 100 feet and USD 2,500 in the 50 to 100 foot band, and it is widely recommended without anyone doing the sum. Do the sum. Over 100 feet, three crossings a season on 30 day permits is USD 1,800 a season and USD 3,600 across two years, well under half the card. Three crossings a season on twelve month permits is USD 3,000 a year, or USD 6,000 over two years, because the twelve month permit already covers two re-entries. Break-even against 30 day permits falls at roughly fourteen crossings in two years. The card is the right answer for a yacht genuinely shuttling to Florida most months, and poor value for almost everyone else. |
| The anchorage permit is a separate charge | Anchoring is licensed apart from cruising and it is the fee most often missed. The twelve month anchorage band has been USD 200, USD 350 and USD 1,500 by size since July 2025 and is unchanged; what April 2026 added were 30 day and six month tiers beneath it, running from about USD 50 to USD 200 and USD 150 to USD 1,000 respectively. A two year anchorage entitlement attaches to the Frequent Digital Cruising Card. None of it applies while the yacht is in a marina, so a boat that berths every night pays nothing under this head. |
| What the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park charges, and why you cannot book it | The park is run by the Bahamas National Trust and charges daily, in Bahamian dollars and before tax. Private vessel moorings are BSD 109.09 a night in the 70 to 89 foot band, BSD 136.36 from 90 to 119 feet and BSD 172.73 from 120 to 150 feet. Anchoring instead is BSD 0.45 per foot under 90 feet and BSD 0.91 per foot at 90 feet and over. Charter vessels pay an extra BSD 12.73 per person per day. Every one of those figures is net: since 1 January 2022 all marine and park fees carry 10 per cent Bahamian VAT applied at checkout, so the 120 to 150 foot mooring actually costs BSD 190.00 and anchoring at 90 feet and over is BSD 1.001 a foot. The operational point matters more than the money: the park does not accept reservations at all. You must secure a mooring physically and pay afterwards through the ParkPay app, and paying in advance buys nothing. |
| How you actually reserve a berth | Staniel Cay Yacht Club is the practical centre of the cays. It holds 18 slips carrying up to 12 feet of draft even at low water, plus 21 moorings, and takes bookings by email to [email protected] or by telephone on 242 355 2024 and 954 833 2100, working VHF 16, with the fuel dock open 08:00 to 17:00 daily. Albany, on the south side of New Providence, is the large-yacht address with 71 slips taking hulls to 250 feet; you complete a slip reservation request and the Harbour Master's office comes back, on [email protected] or 242 676 6020. Albany takes 100 per cent of the fees at booking, imposes a three night minimum on any reservation touching a peak date and five nights over the festive period, and refunds in full only on 72 hours notice off-peak or 30 days in peak, less a USD 100 processing fee. |
| What it costs alongside, including the fees under the headline | Albany publishes a full 2026 rate sheet and it repays reading. Dockage is USD 9.50 a foot from 22 November to 30 April, USD 6.50 from 1 May to 21 November and USD 12.00 at peak, which covers Thanksgiving weekend, 20 December to 5 January and Easter weekend. On top of that sits a 12 per cent resort services fee, then 10 per cent VAT on the dockage, the resort services fee and the amenity fee together. A transient guest also pays an amenity access fee of USD 3,100, USD 2,650 or USD 4,100 by season simply to use the resort. Electricity is USD 0.80 a kilowatt hour and water USD 0.34 a gallon for non-members. Read the small print too: USD 15 a night of the dockage rate is a gratuity to marina staff, and crew do not get access to Albany's amenities at all, only to the recreation centre. Staniel Cay by contrast publishes USD 3.85 to USD 7.45 a foot over 100 feet and USD 2.75 to USD 6.35 under, by season, moorings from USD 48.40 to USD 99.00, electricity at USD 1.20 a kilowatt hour and water at USD 0.40 a gallon. For the rest of the market, an Explorer Chartbooks survey dated January 2023 put Nassau Yacht Haven at USD 2.50 a foot a day, Bay Street Marina at USD 4, Lyford Cay Club at USD 6.50 and Highbourne Cay at USD 2.75 to USD 3.50, all before VAT. |
| Fuel, and what is honestly known about it | Fuel in the cays is dearer than in Nassau because every gallon arrives by barge, and range planning here is a real constraint rather than a formality. What is not available is a reliable current price: no marina in Nassau or the Exumas publishes a dockside diesel rate, and the Waterway Guide fuel report for the Bahamas currently carries a single facility, Grand Bahama Yacht Club at Freeport, at USD 7.060 a gallon including tax as at 31 July 2026. Treat any Exuma figure quoted to you in advance as an estimate. Fuel is available at Staniel Cay and Highbourne Cay among others, and Waterway Guide's Exumas directory also lists Black Point, Cave Cay, Compass Cay, Emerald Bay, George Town, Little Farmers Cay and Warderick Wells. Sampson Cay is not an option and has not been one since its marina closed in September 2013 and the cay went private. |
| Where to eat, and after dark | This is not a restaurant destination and pretending otherwise misleads. At Staniel Cay the Sea Level Dining Room at the Yacht Club is the room everyone ends up in, running a four course prix fixe across two seatings at six and eight, with a same-day dinner reservation required. The Captain's Lounge, open since 1956, is the club's original dining room and the informal alternative rather than merely a bar: breakfast, casual lunch and dinner, no reservation needed. Big Dog's Restaurant and Bar on the same cay does the Bahamian side, with dishes such as oxtail with peas and rice and chicken souse. Beyond that the evening is the boat, and owners who expect a town should be based in Nassau. |
| Dates to plan around | The National Family Island Regatta races Bahamian wooden sloops in Elizabeth Harbour at George Town every April; the 70th consecutive edition ran 21 to 25 April 2026, in four classes from the 28 foot A-Class down to the 12 foot E-Class. It is the best week of the year to see the country's own sailing culture rather than the visiting fleet. Against that, the Atlantic hurricane season runs June to November and most insurance and most owners treat the Bahamas as a December to May cruising ground. |
Lo que cuentan armadores y tripulaciones
The marinas said the July 2025 fees were costing them bookings, by name and in advance
Peter Maury, president of the Association of Bahamas Marinas, said in June 2025 that marinas were calling him to report charters cancelling 2026 reservations because of the fees due on 1 July, and that several boats were cancelling for Abaco and Bimini because the position was so confusing and the additional fees so unclear.
Peter Maury, Association of Bahamas Marinas, reported by The Tribune, June 2025By mid-winter the northern marinas said it had happened
Operators in Bimini and Abaco described the new fees and regulations as absolutely strangling the winter season, with one saying they would be satisfied to settle at 50 per cent of the previous year's business. Reports from the same period describe widespread cancellations from long-time repeat visitors and a sharp drop in forward bookings during what is normally the peak.
Bimini and Abaco marina operators, reported by The Tribune, December 2025The objection worked, which tells an owner the rules here are still moving
After a review taken to prime ministerial level the government amended the schedule with effect from 1 April 2026, restoring the 30 day and six month cruising and anchorage tiers that July 2025 had abolished. The twelve month permit, the cruising card and the ancillary fees were left where they were.
Megayacht News and The Triton, April 2026Cruising guides put the workable draft at about six feet, not at what the chart says
Waterway Guide reports that most coral heads in the Exumas stand only three to four feet above the bottom, so vessels drawing up to about six feet pass over them without trouble even at low water. Above that, tide dictates movements, with a range around three and a half feet and more on springs.
Waterway GuideThe park tells you outright that planning ahead will not help
The Bahamas National Trust states that the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park does not accept reservations, that a visitor must secure a mooring before making any payment, and that paying in advance does not constitute a booking. Roughly 115 balls are spread across eight mooring fields at four cays, and vessels of 90 feet and over generally pay by the foot to anchor instead.
Bahamas National Trust
Lo bueno y lo que conviene vigilar
Puntos fuertes
- The clearest water and the widest choice of anchorages in the western AtlanticThe Exuma chain runs roughly 120 miles of cays over white sand, and it is normal to find a 150 foot motor yacht and a 30 foot sailing boat sharing an anchorage, because the ground is broad rather than concentrated in a few harbours.
- It is close to Florida in a way no other Caribbean ground isNassau is an overnight run from south Florida rather than a passage, so a yacht can be used for long weekends out of Fort Lauderdale for half the year. That single fact is why so much of the American fleet bases here.
- The park is genuinely protected, not nominallyThe Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park has been a no-take reserve for decades and it shows in the fish and the coral. Even with VAT, anchoring at BSD 1.001 a foot for a yacht of 90 feet and over is a fraction of a berth anywhere else.
- Two marinas publish a full tariff, which is rare in this regionAlbany's 2026 sheet gives dockage per foot by season plus every ancillary fee, and Staniel Cay publishes dockage, moorings, power and water. An owner can cost a season at either from public information, which is more than St Barths or most of the Caribbean allows.
- The longer permits carry free re-entriesThe twelve month permit at USD 3,000 over 100 feet covers two re-entries and the six month permit one, which is what makes them good value against repeated 30 day permits at USD 600 each. It is the detail that decides which permit to buy and it is rarely mentioned.
A tener en cuenta
- Draft rules the whole cruising groundWaterway Guide puts most coral heads at three to four feet above the bottom, so vessels drawing up to about six feet pass over them even at low water. Above that draft the direct routes stop being available and the tide starts dictating the day. This is the biggest constraint on specifying a boat for the Bahamas and it is rarely stated plainly.
- Nobody publishes what fuel costsNo Nassau or Exuma marina posts a dockside diesel price, and the only current published Bahamian figure is USD 7.06 a gallon at Freeport as at 31 July 2026. On a large motor yacht that uncertainty is thousands of dollars a fill, and it has to be settled by asking rather than by planning.
- The headline berth rate is not the billAlbany's USD 9.50 a foot in season becomes USD 9.50 plus a 12 per cent resort services fee plus 10 per cent VAT on both, plus a seasonal amenity access fee of USD 2,650 to USD 4,100 for a transient guest. The published number understates the real cost of a week by a wide margin, and crew are excluded from the amenities being charged for.
- You cannot book the park, and that is policyThe Bahamas National Trust states plainly that the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park does not accept reservations and that payment in advance holds nothing. With roughly 115 balls across eight mooring fields serving the whole visiting fleet, a large yacht in season is competing for them on arrival.
- The cost of entry has moved twice in nine monthsJuly 2025 abolished short permits, April 2026 brought them back, and the industry objection in between was loud enough to force a review at prime ministerial level. The twelve month figures have held throughout, but an owner planning several seasons cannot yet treat this line as settled.
- Half the year is closedHurricane season runs June to November and most policies restrict the yacht's position through it. The Bahamas is a December to May ground, which makes the six month permit better value than the twelve month one for most owners despite the re-entry allowance.
Para quién es: El armador con un yate de poco calado o con un buen programa de tenders que quiere fondeaderos vacíos y luminosos a una tarde de Florida y no necesita nada en tierra.