A cay in the Exumas from the air, mangroves and a small boat at anchor in clear turquoise shallows

Bahamas

Yacht charter in the Bahamas

Sandbars, shallow water and empty cays, south from Nassau.

The Exumas from Nassau

A Bahamas charter usually starts in Nassau and heads southeast to the Exumas, a chain of cays along the edge of shallow, very clear water. Empty beaches, sandbars at low tide and water clear enough to see the bottom at anchor.

The water is the point, and also the constraint. Much of it is only a few metres deep, so a yacht's draft decides which anchorages it can use. I look at that first, then at the guests and the pace.

When to go

December to February: Cooler and breezy, with a cold front every week or two. Christmas books early.
March to May: Warmer, calmer and more settled.
June to November: Hurricane season. Early summer can still work; later on I suggest elsewhere.

Winter northers

From December to March, cold fronts reach the Bahamas from North America. Ahead of each front the wind swings to the south and west. Behind it a strong northerly, the norther, blows for a day or two before easing back to the easterly trade wind.

A good captain plans around it, with a sheltered anchorage ready for those nights. The hurricane season runs from June to November, with the highest risk from August to October.

A curved white sandbar in pale turquoise shallows off Saddle Back Cay in the Exumas — Sandbar at Saddle Back Cay, Exumas.

Two ways to spend a week

Starting points, not fixed plans. The final route follows the people on board and the forecast.

Nassau to the northern Exumas
Clear creeks, mangroves and the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a marine reserve where nothing may be taken from the water.
Islands and harbours: Nassau · Allen's Cay · Highbourne Cay · Norman's Cay · Shroud Cay · Warderick Wells
Shroud Cay
Staniel Cay and the central Exumas
Further south and a little busier. Thunderball Grotto, the swimming pigs of Big Major Cay and long beaches with almost no one on them.
Islands and harbours: Compass Cay · Pipe Creek · Staniel Cay · Big Major Cay · Thunderball Grotto
In a week, both halves fit into one loop from Nassau.
Little Pipe Cay, Exumas