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Yacht Charter — Bahamas
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the Bahamas.
700 islands. The world's most vivid water.
Plan Your Charter
700 islands. The world's most vivid water.
Plan Your CharterThe Bahamas stretches 1,200 kilometres from within sight of Florida to the edge of the Caribbean — 700 islands, 2,400 cays and water of a colour and clarity that has no equal in the Atlantic world. The combination of shallow banks, protected sounds and consistent winter weather makes this the most beginner-friendly charter destination in the western hemisphere, while the outer islands and remote cays of the Exumas and Abacos reward experienced sailors with anchorages that feel genuinely undiscovered. A four-hour flight from London or a one-hour flight from Miami — the Bahamas is the easiest Caribbean charter to reach from both sides of the Atlantic.
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The Exuma Cays, Bahamas
The Bahamas Bank produces a turquoise unique in the world — shallow water over white sand ranging from palest jade to vivid electric blue within metres. No filter, no exaggeration. It simply looks like that.
Nassau is less than two hours from New York and four from London. No other Caribbean destination is this easy to reach — ideal for five-to-seven-day charters that still feel genuinely remote.
Swimming pigs at Big Major Cay, nurse sharks at Compass Cay, iguanas at Allan Cay, wild horses on Abaco. The Bahamas offers wildlife encounters accessible only by boat and unavailable anywhere else.
The protected sounds and shallow banks of the Exumas and Abacos offer some of the calmest, most beginner-friendly sailing in the Caribbean — short passages, flat water and anchorages of extraordinary beauty.
Warm, dry and consistently settled — the Bahamas in winter is as close to perfect sailing weather as exists anywhere. Christmas and New Year weeks book out far in advance; plan early.
Quieter, warmer and excellent value. The water reaches its clearest in late spring and anchorages that are busy in January are often entirely empty. A well-kept secret among experienced charterers.
The Atlantic hurricane season peaks in September. The northern Bahamas, including the Abacos, was severely affected by Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Charter is not recommended during this period.
Nassau is the capital, the main point of entry and the natural starting point for most Bahamas charters. The city has a history that reads like a Caribbean novel — piracy, colonial architecture, independence — and the waterfront of Nassau Harbour, with the pastel-coloured buildings of Bay Street and the old British Colonial hotel above the marina, is a genuinely attractive arrival. Paradise Island, connected to Nassau by bridge and home to the enormous Atlantis resort, provides everything from provisioning to entertainment for charter guests who want options ashore. The waters around New Providence — the Rose Island chain to the east, the flats to the west — offer good snorkelling and easy day sailing for those who want to ease into the Bahamas before heading further out into the archipelago.
The Exumas are the defining Bahamas experience — a chain of 365 cays stretching 160 kilometres southeast of Nassau through water of extraordinary colour and clarity. The Exuma Land and Sea Park, one of the first no-take marine reserves in the Atlantic world, covers the northern section of the chain and its coral reefs and fish populations reflect the decades of protection. Big Major Cay is home to the swimming pigs — semi-feral animals who swim out to visiting boats, now famous worldwide but still genuinely extraordinary to encounter by dinghy on a quiet morning. Compass Cay and its nurse sharks, Allan Cay and its iguanas, the cave beaches of Staniel Cay — the Exumas offer a different wildlife encounter at almost every anchorage. Emerald Rock, Thunderball Grotto, Pipe Creek — the names alone give a sense of what is here.
The Abacos, in the northern Bahamas, are the most organised and historically interesting charter ground in the archipelago. The Sea of Abaco — a protected sound between Great Abaco Island and a string of offshore cays — provides flat, calm sailing with short passages and excellent marina infrastructure throughout. The loyalist towns of Hope Town and New Plymouth, established by American loyalists after the Revolution, are among the most charming settlements in the Bahamas — pastel-painted clapboard houses, white picket fences and a pace of life that has not changed substantially in a century. Hope Town Harbour, with its candy-striped lighthouse, is one of the most photographed anchorages in the Bahamas. Man-O-War Cay builds traditional wooden boats; Green Turtle Cay has excellent restaurants and a small museum of loyalist history that rewards an afternoon ashore.
Beyond the Exumas and Abacos lie the Out Islands — Eleuthera, Harbour Island, Cat Island, Long Island, Rum Cay — a scattered arc of larger, quieter islands that see a fraction of the charter traffic of the more famous groups. Harbour Island, accessible from Eleuthera, has what many consider the finest pink-sand beach in the world and a collection of small hotels and restaurants that punch well above the island’s size. Eleuthera itself has a Glass Window Bridge — a narrow rock bridge where the deep blue of the Atlantic meets the turquoise of the Bahamian Sound in a colour contrast visible from the anchorage. Long Island has a cave system, Columbus Landfall monument and one of the finest dive sites in the Bahamas at Dean’s Blue Hole, the deepest known blue hole in the world at 202 metres. The Out Islands reward those willing to cover more miles between anchorages with a Bahamas that feels entirely untouched.
There is no blue like Bahamian blue. You see it in photographs and dismiss it as a filter. Then you arrive, and you realise it simply looks like that.Yachting Europe — Bahamas Charter
The Exuma Cays are the natural first choice — the passages are short and manageable, the anchorages are exceptional, the wildlife encounters are unique and the water colour is the most dramatic in the Bahamas. The Abacos suit those who prefer more marina infrastructure, protected sailing and organised small-town atmosphere. Nassau is the easiest starting point logistically but is best used as a base for heading out into the cays rather than as a destination in itself. Our brokers will recommend the right group for your experience level and available time.
Yes — the Bahamas is an independent nation and all arriving vessels must clear customs and immigration on entry. Nassau, Freeport and Marsh Harbour are the main ports of entry; the process is generally straightforward and your skipper will manage all formalities. US and EU citizens do not require a visa for stays of up to 90 days. If your itinerary crosses into US waters — for example, a Miami start or finish — US Customs and Border Protection clearance will also be required. Your Yachting Europe broker will advise on documentation requirements before departure.
Yes — and it is an increasingly popular combination. Nassau is 170 nautical miles from Miami, and a two-week charter might begin in Fort Lauderdale, cross to the Bahamas and spend the bulk of the time in the Exumas before returning via Nassau. Alternatively, flying into Nassau and ending in Turks and Caicos — a British Overseas Territory with exceptional diving and some of the finest beaches in the Atlantic — makes an outstanding extended itinerary. Our brokers will design the routing, manage all customs requirements and ensure the yacht is correctly provisioned for the crossing.
Tell us your dates, group size and preferences. Tell us your dates, group size and preferred island group. Our brokers know every anchorage in the Bahamas and will match you with the right yacht for your brief.
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