Hi friends! This past week I was on the Carnival Mardi Gras cruise and the first stop was Nassau, Bahamas! When I remembered that the Bahamas is where you can swim with pigs, I knew I had to book that as an excursion. In this post I’m going to share my Nassau Bahamas Swimming With The Pigs Experience as well as how I booked this experience!
Booking “Da Pig Beach” Experience
I ended up booking this excursion through Viator which is a website I used when traveling around Europe last year to book experiences in different cities! It’s highly rated and connects you with local vendors all around the globe.
I Googled “Swimming With the Pigs” experiences in the Bahamas, and this one was highly rated, picked us up directly from the Cruise Port, was only about 4 hours long (compared to all day) and was more affordable than some of the other experiences like this! I knew this one was the one to go with.
For full transparency, the total cost was about $400 for two people, but honestly, with all we got out of the experience, it was 100% worth it! This experience had great reviews and even though it’s not Exuma (the true pig island), I liked it more because they care for the pigs so well and it’s safer to be around them!
Viator is great because you can cancel your reservation up to 24 hours in advance. This was a selling point for me in case anything happened that made it so we couldn’t go on this excursion!
Swimming With the Pigs (at Da Pig Beach) Review
Getting to the Island
Rose Island is about a 25 minute boat ride from Nassau, Bahamas and is known for its stunning beaches and island view! We got lucky as cruise guests, because we got to take a speed boat to pick up the other guests instead of the bus. That took about 10-15 minutes and then it was another 20-25 minutes to get to the island itself. If you get motion sick, be sure to bring some medicine or a patch!
Swimming With the Pigs
We arrived at the island around 10:45am, and the pig encounter started at about 11:20am! This turned out to be the perfect amount of time to get some water, use the bathroom, and hang out in the ocean before the experience started.
Before the pigs come, they will line you up in the ocean about chest deep and give you a cup of apples to feed the pigs! To keep you safe, they give you a long skewer to put the apples on so your fingers don’t get too close to their mouths.
The pigs are very sweet and you are able to give them all the belly rubs they could ever want! The swimming portion lasted about 15 minutes, and then you can hang out on the beach with the pigs, take photos with the pigs, and/or pet the pigs for another 20-30 minutes!
Lunch / Food
After our encounter, they have a nice open air restaurant that serves drinks, cocktails, and lunch! If you book the pig encounter with Viator, a meal voucher for lunch is included for every person in your party.
The food was handmade and served buffet style in the main area, and you could choose to sit inside, or out on the patio! The food was DELICIOUS and didn’t leave me feeling heavy at all which made the rest of the experience great.
Kayaking in the Ocean
Da Pig Beach also has about 5 kayaks that you can use before or after your experience. My partner was really excited to do this, so we waited about 20 minutes after we ate, and then hopped in two kayaks! You have to either wear a life jacket, or have one strapped in the back of your boat while out on the water.
To me, this made the experience even more enjoyable because the water was SO CLEAR. We could just paddle around the area and experience the ocean. I loved this almost as much as the pig encounter itself!
FAQ’s
Will I Be Able to Contact Them Day Of?
Yes! Dawsome, the owner, is the main point of contact and messaged us a day or two beforehand in order to make sure we chose our pickup location, and to give us his direct number in case you end up running late day of.
Is There a Shower?
Yes! They have an outdoor freshwater shower that you can rinse off in before heading back to Nassau or your hotel/resort.
Are There Drinks & Food?
Yes! As I mentioned above, you get a free lunch included in your trip as well as any water from the bar. Cocktails and drinks do cost extra, but that is to be expected anywhere.
Was it Crowded?
NOPE! I truly think that is why I enjoyed this experience so much. The owner says they only allow about 65 people per day, and I would say that our group only had about 15-20 people total. It never felt crowded at all!
Do They Have a Bathroom?
Yes! Above the beach they have seating, the restaurant, and then the bathroom is right up behind it.
Are There Places to Sit?
Yes! They have a nice seating area with umbrellas and loungers for people to use.
Is There Anything I Need to Bring?
Beach Towels: To dry off after the experience!
Sunglasses: It gets pretty bright out!
A Change of Clothes: I personally dislike staying in a wet bathing suit, so I brought a change of clothes too.
Sunscreen: Since you’re in and out of the water, it’s good to bring extra sunscreen so you can reapply!
Should I Bring Money to Tip?
Absolutely! The bar tender and women who served lunch both had tip jars out. Tipping any of the workers is only something that will benefit them.
What Does Swimming With the Pigs in the Bahamas Cost?
As I mentioned above, the cost for this particular experience was $400! There were a couple that were cheer, but they didn’t pick up from the cruise port. A few were full-day tours as well with some other animal experiences! So it really depends on what you’re looking for.
I hope you all enjoyed this post! I truly had been waiting to do something like this since I was a kid and it exceeded every expectation I had. It was 100% worth every penny and I would do it again in a heartbeat! If you have any other questions about the experience, feel free to leave a comment below!
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