Despite this, most of the tourists I talked with were not aware of any safety precautions they should take when interacting with the pigs. And the things I saw tourists do for the sake of a selfie photo were cringeworthy. It’s amazing there are not already more serious stories circling about serious injuries at Pig Island… but it’s only a matter of time. I’m not sure why The Bahamas was never on my radar. Probably because I’m Australian and had my fair share of spectacular beaches and islands. Would it really interest me, or would I just be as blasé as one gets visiting Europe and seeing endless churches? Pirate Beach on Staniel Cay is incredible! Pigs can have upwards of twenty piglets each year, and they can start having babies when they’re just a year and a half old. Without killing the pigs (or giving the piglets away to locals for food), there would be no way to maintain the small population of pigs on the various islands. The pigs can suffer from severe sunburn and skin cancer. The original Pig Beach is on Pig Island which is actually called Big Major Cay. It’s an uninhabited island next door to Staniel Cay, the gateway to the Exuma Cays.

The three-month old business sees both locals and tourists swimming, walking and feeding over 10 of the four-legged mammals on a tour on one of Antigua and Barbuda’s most popular beaches, Runaway. Although I have not been to Nassau, I found the Exuma Islands spectacularly beautiful and relaxed so would choose having a vacation here instead.Compass Cay Marina has one of the rare totally protected harbors in the Exumas. It’s a haven for boats, particularly big yachts. Keep an eye out as Michael Jordan was near here only a few days before us. With 3N’s Swimming with Pigs tour you get a premium service with extra stops compared to most other tours.While we did not experience any other tour operator, from our observations we felt we were on one of the best tours due to small group sizes, more comfortable boats, and premium service. Thunderball Grotto is located just off Staniel Cay and is named after the James Bond movie, Thunderball, which was filmed here. Splash and Into the Blue also had scenes filmed here. Pipe Creek Sandbar Stunning sandbar

But there is only one REAL Pig Beach and that is on Big Major Cay, which is right next door to Staniel Cay. Best way to see the Swimming Pigs in the BahamasThere is an option to join a swimming with pig tour on a speed boat from Nassau.A few important things to note:

There are so many wonderful places to travel and summer vacation activities to participate in without exploiting animals. Instead of visiting pig island, how about one of these vegan-friendly travel destinations? Consider a trip to NYC, San Francisco, Sacramento, Seattle, London, Chile, or Paris, which all have vibrant vegan scenes! Or you could book a getaway to an all vegan resort like The Stanford Inn By The Seain Northern California or one of the other many vegan hotels and resorts around the world! Vegan-Friendly Travel Destinations If you are doing the Swimming with Pigs tour with 3N’s Exuma Vacations, you will end with lunch at the Flying Pig Café located in the Embrace Resort on Staniel Cay. As instructed, we kept our distance from the iguanas as we said G’day, snapped photos, and took in the beauty of their pristine environment.Like anyone, too much sun is not good. Pigs can get skin cancer and other illnesses and likely suffer for a long time without treatment.” It’s a fluke business I would say. I can’t actually explain it, it just kind of come as a whirlwind. It wasn’t planned at all, but I am so happy, I couldn’t be more grateful for the support that we have had,” Winter declared. Before going on this swimming with pigs tour on Pig Beach, Kalyra was adamant she was not swimming with the pigs as they are filthy – despite my protests that they were actually very clean animals.