Where to Stay in Exuma — Best Hotels & Villas
Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Updated August 2026
Written in August 2026. Every property named here was checked against the operator’s own information this month, and the ones that have closed are named so you do not book a ghost.
The Exumas are the Bahamas most people have in their heads without knowing the name — three hundred and sixty-five cays strung out over a hundred and thirty miles of water so clear that astronauts have remarked on it. Great Exuma, at the southern end, is where the hotels are; George Town is the only town; and the famous swimming pigs are seventy miles north of it, which surprises almost everybody.
This is a small destination, and that is the honest starting point. There is one full-service resort spa on the island, no adults-only resort at all since Sandals Emerald Bay closed in August 2024, and about eight restaurants that are reliably open on any given evening. What there is instead is the finest water in the Caribbean, empty beaches, and a pace that suits a certain kind of traveller down to the ground.
Where you stay divides on one question: car or boat. Emerald Bay, George Town and Rokers Point are on the road and need a hire car for almost everything. Stocking Island, Staniel Cay and Fowl Cay are reached only by water, which is either half the pleasure or a daily complication depending on the traveller — and we say plainly below which is which.
Every property below is real and currently trading, checked against the operator’s own information this month. Where a category honestly has no answer in the Exumas — and adults-only and pet-friendly both do — we say so and point you to the island where the answer exists.
Luxury
Two kinds of luxury, and they could not be less alike: a villa resort you can drive to, and a private island you cannot.
Grand Isle Resort & Residences
The best hotel on Great Exuma and the only one with a full-service spa. Villas of one to four bedrooms with proper kitchens, an oceanfront infinity pool, a children’s pool, three restaurants and the SeaStar Spa, about ten to fifteen minutes from Exuma International on a paved road the whole way. The detail we would put above all others for an older traveller: every villa comes with its own golf cart. The property is large and spread out, and that cart is the difference between an easy week and a tiring one. Two honest notes: it is not all-inclusive and dining here is expensive — a casual lunch for two can pass a hundred and seventy dollars — and many villas are on two levels, so ask for a ground-floor villa if stairs are a consideration.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Fowl Cay Resort
Six villas on a private island in the Exuma Cays, genuinely all-inclusive down to the premium spirits, and each villa comes with its own powerboat with unlimited fuel and a golf cart. It is one of the great Caribbean hideaways and it is not for everybody. Getting there does not go through Great Exuma: you fly to Staniel Cay, usually direct from Fort Lauderdale Executive, and take a short boat transfer. And the whole idea of the place assumes you will drive your own small boat, which means dock steps and boat ladders every day. There is no spa. If those things suit you, nothing else in the Bahamas is quite like it.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Boutique
Exuma is a small-hotel destination by nature. These two are the pick of them, and both are lovely.
Augusta Bay Bahamas
Sixteen suites on the Queen’s Highway looking over Elizabeth Harbour, with a pool, a private beach and a good bar and restaurant — the highest-rated small hotel in George Town. Low-rise and compact, so there is much less walking than at Grand Isle, and continental breakfast is included. You will still want a car for dinner: George Town’s restaurants are strung along the highway rather than gathered in one place.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Paradise Bay Bahamas
Eleven cottages at Rokers Point, about fifteen or twenty minutes from the airport, on a beach guests routinely describe as one of the most beautiful they have seen. Small pool, one- and two-bedroom cottages, and the Cocoplum Bistro on the property — independently run, very small, and reservations are essential because it fills. A car is needed. This is the most consistently loved small hotel on the island and we understand why.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Budget & Value
Nothing in Exuma is cheap — everything arrives by boat — but these two are where the value is.
Hideaways at Palm Bay
Twenty-five studios, cottages and villas, many of them right on the sand, about ten minutes from the airport with a free shuttle into George Town — which makes it the best option on the island if you would rather not hire a car. Pool, private beach, free kayaks and paddleboards, and the Splash Beach Bar & Grill on site. Honestly stated: recent guests call it a little long in the tooth and the restaurant service slow. What you are buying is a beachfront cottage on flat ground at a fair price, and on that it delivers. Formerly Palm Bay Beach Club — same place, new name.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Exuma Palms Resort
Twelve rooms at Mount Thompson, barely two miles from Exuma International — the closest hotel to the airport by some way, which is worth having if you arrive late or leave early. A quiet, uncrowded beach is under a hundred yards away, there is a pool and the Blue Conch restaurant and bar, and the ocean-view rooms have private balconies. It is a good twenty minutes from George Town, so a car is essential.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Family-friendly
Exuma is not a water-slide destination and it is the better for it. Two genuine family answers, one comfortable and one deliberately rustic.
Grand Isle Resort & Residences
Multi-bedroom villas with full kitchens are exactly what a family of five or six needs on an island where restaurants are few and expensive. There is a children’s pool, a children’s programme, and a family package with reduced rates and complimentary children’s meals on longer stays. The golf cart that comes with each villa is as useful to a family as it is to a grandparent.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Saint Francis Resort & Marina
On Stocking Island across the harbour from George Town, reached only by a ten-minute water taxi — there are no roads. Deliberately simple: no pool, a restaurant and bar, and two miles of beach to yourselves. Children are genuinely welcome and there are set daily rates for them, with all-inclusive meal packages available. Please weigh the access honestly: every arrival and departure involves stepping in and out of a boat, and that is either part of the charm or a daily obstacle, depending on the traveller.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Adults-only
The honest answer for 2026 is none. Exuma’s only adults-only resort has closed, and what the booking filters return in its place are self-catering guesthouses, not resorts.
Sandals Emerald Bay has closed — and it is becoming a family resort
Sandals Emerald Bay closed on 15 August 2024 and is being redeveloped as Beaches Exuma, which is Sandals’ family brand — so the island’s one adults-only resort is not merely shut, it is being replaced by its opposite. Completion is talked about for the end of 2027. Until then there is no adults-only resort in the Exumas. Two very small guesthouses market themselves as adults-only and they are perfectly real, but they are apartments rather than hotels. If a child-free week is a firm requirement, the honest Bahamian answers are Sandals Royal Bahamian or Breezes in Nassau, or the Riu Palace and the Warwick on Paradise Island — all four covered in our Nassau and Paradise Island guides.
Browse adults-only resorts in Nassau ›Pet-friendly
Treat Exuma as a no-pets destination. We could not verify a single property here that reliably accepts dogs, and the online filters actively contradict one another.
No verified pet-friendly hotel in the Exumas
We looked carefully. One major travel site lists seven ‘pet-friendly’ properties on Great Exuma; a specialist pet-travel service says flatly that one of the same hotels does not allow dogs. Hideaways at Palm Bay states plainly on its own website that pets are not allowed. Where sources conflict like this we will not send you and a dog three thousand miles on a filter checkbox. If you must bring an animal to the Bahamas, Nassau is the workable island — at least eight hotels there accept dogs, including one that takes them up to about 130 pounds. And whichever island you choose, every dog and cat entering the country needs an import permit from the Department of Agriculture obtained in advance, plus a veterinary health certificate. Details in the practical notes below.
Browse pet-friendly Nassau hotels ›Beachfront
The beaches are the entire point of Exuma. These two put you on the sand with nothing in between.
Paradise Bay Bahamas
Private beach access, umbrellas set out, eleven cottages and almost nobody else on the sand. Guests return to this one year after year, and the single-storey cottages make it kind on the knees.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Hideaways at Palm Bay
Cottages sitting directly on their own beach a short drive from George Town, with free kayaks and paddleboards and a beach bar and grill on site. Flat, easy, unpretentious, and the free shuttle means you can manage without a car.
Book Me on Trip.com ›All-inclusive
A thin category since Sandals closed, and the booking filters are actively wrong about it — several still tag Grand Isle and Hideaways as all-inclusive, and one still lists the closed Sandals. Neither Grand Isle nor Hideaways is all-inclusive. These two genuinely are.
Fowl Cay Resort
The only fully inclusive luxury product in the Exumas: all food and drink in the villa and at Hill House, premium spirits, a private powerboat with unlimited fuel, a golf cart, snorkelling and fishing gear, kayaks, paddleboards and sailboats. Reached via Staniel Cay, not George Town.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Saint Francis Resort & Marina
All-inclusive meal packages on Stocking Island, with set daily rates for children, at a fraction of Fowl Cay’s cost. Rustic and cheerful rather than polished — there is no pool — and reached only by water taxi from George Town.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Spa & Pool
Since Sandals took its spa offline in 2024 there is exactly one full-service resort spa on Great Exuma. The second entry below is a genuine alternative but it involves a boat.
Grand Isle Resort & Residences — SeaStar Spa
The only true full-service resort spa on Great Exuma, and a good one — guests this year single out the therapists. An oceanfront infinity pool and a separate children’s pool, and several of the resort’s packages include a spa credit. If a spa week is what you want in the Exumas, this is the address, and effectively the only one.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Baymahni Resort
A newer, smaller resort on Stocking Island with two pools — a beach-club infinity pool with food and drink service and a quieter relaxation pool — a gym and three restaurants across just fifteen rooms. A complimentary water taxi runs every half hour from seven in the morning until ten at night from the Exuma Yacht Club, which is a ten- to fifteen-minute taxi from the airport. The boat is the whole question: easy for most people, a daily hurdle for some.
Book Me on Trip.com ›What You Need to Know Before You Book
Names on the booking sites that are no longer trading
Exuma has several ghosts. Sandals Emerald Bay closed on 15 August 2024 and is being rebuilt as Beaches Exuma, not expected before the end of 2027 — some filters still list it. Exuma Beach Resort closed for renovation around the turn of 2023 and we can find no evidence it reopened. Hotel Higgins Landing on Stocking Island and Coral Gardens at Hoopers Bay both appear in directories but have no bookable inventory and no recent reviews. And two familiar names have simply changed: Palm Bay Beach Club is now Hideaways at Palm Bay, and the old Club Peace & Plenty now trades simply as Peace & Plenty. Telephone before you pay for anything on this island.
Do you need a rental car? Almost certainly yes
Great Exuma is a long thin island and the hotels, beaches and restaurants are strung out over some forty miles of the Queen’s Highway. Nothing outside the middle of George Town is walkable. There are no international rental brands at the airport, only local agencies — expect around $350 a week — and hotel staff will arrange it if you ask. Taxis exist but local guides describe them as very expensive, so book through your hotel rather than hailing one. Remember that the Bahamas drives on the left while most rental cars here are left-hand-drive American imports, which is an odd combination for the first hour. The roads are two-lane, unlit at night, with potholes and free-roaming animals; do your driving in daylight where you can. Two ways to avoid a car altogether: stay at Hideaways at Palm Bay, which runs a free shuttle into George Town, or stay somewhere reached by boat — Saint Francis, Baymahni, Fowl Cay — where a car would be useless anyway.
Dining is genuinely limited — plan around it
Directories list seventy-odd restaurants on Great Exuma; the number that are reliably open on a given evening is nearer eight. The dependable rotation is Santanna’s at Williams Town, Chat ’N’ Chill on Stocking Island (boat access, and the conch salad is the reason people go), Shirley’s at the Fish Fry, the Sandpiper Cafe, Cocoplum Bistro at Rokers Point, Tropic Breeze and the Snappy Turtle. Several close one or two days a week, several close early, and small kitchens genuinely run out of food. Reserve — Cocoplum in particular is tiny. Groceries are thin and expensive, so a villa kitchen only helps if you provision on arrival day. Practically, plan on one restaurant per evening, booked ahead, reached by car in the dark. If that sounds wearing, take an all-inclusive or a villa with a kitchen.
The swimming pigs — and the honest version
The famous pigs are at Big Major Cay near Staniel Cay, which is a long way from George Town. Two things people get wrong. First, only the full-day tour reaches them: about eight hours in total, departing from Barraterre at the far north end of Great Exuma — roughly fifty-five minutes’ drive before you even board — then about an hour and a half each way on an open powerboat. Reckon on around $435 a head in a group. The half-day trip at about $199 visits different pigs at White Bay Cay, not the famous ones; the operators say so plainly and people still book it by mistake.
Second, and we would want a reader over fifty-five to hear this: operators reserve the right to refuse boarding to anyone who cannot swim or climb a boat ladder unassisted. Nine hours door to door, with an hour’s drive each way and three hours on an open boat in chop, is a demanding day in the sun. The pleasanter alternative is to stay on or near Staniel Cay, where Big Major Cay is minutes away by tender.
And an honest word about the animals. In 2017 seven to ten pigs died at Big Major Cay; necropsies found large quantities of sand in their stomachs, ingested while foraging for scraps thrown onto the beach, in a season when their fresh water had run short. The authorities responded with rules that permit swimming and photography but prohibit direct feeding, and a warden is posted. The pigs are large, fast and food-motivated, and scratches happen. Follow the operator’s rules, or simply do not feed them.
Getting there
Exuma International (GGT) has direct service from Miami with American, from Fort Lauderdale with Aztec and Bahamasair, seasonally from Atlanta with Delta and, newly this month, seasonally from Charlotte — confirm that last one is actually flying before you build a trip around it. Nassau has the most frequent service of all and makes a reliable connection. For Staniel Cay, Fowl Cay or Embrace Resort, do not route through George Town: fly Makers Air or Staniel Air from Fort Lauderdale Executive, or a small carrier from Nassau.
Money, entry and safety
The Bahamian dollar is pegged one-for-one to the US dollar and both circulate, so there is nothing to change; VAT is ten per cent. Americans, Canadians and Britons need no visa and a valid passport is the practical requirement by air. A Digital Arrival Card began a soft launch on 5 May 2026 on selected flights, running alongside the paper form. Exuma is one of the calmest places in the Caribbean and the Level 2 advisory concerns for the Bahamas are essentially urban ones; the real risks here are sunburn, dehydration and small boats. If you are bringing a dog — and we would not, to this island — you need an import permit from the Department of Agriculture obtained in advance, the animal must be over six months old, and a veterinary health certificate issued within ten days of travel must show current rabies cover.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sandals Emerald Bay still open?
No. Sandals Emerald Bay closed on 15 August 2024 and the property is being redeveloped as Beaches Exuma, which is Sandals' family brand rather than its adults-only one. Construction has been targeted at completion around the end of 2027, and we would treat that date as provisional. Some booking filters still list the resort, and one still tags it as an available all-inclusive. It is not bookable, and its closure is the reason the Exumas currently have no adults-only resort.
Where should I stay in Exuma?
It depends almost entirely on whether you want to drive or to be driven by boat. For comfort, a spa and a golf cart at your door, Grand Isle Resort at Emerald Bay. For a small hotel with a beautiful beach, Paradise Bay at Rokers Point or Augusta Bay in George Town. For value on the sand without hiring a car, Hideaways at Palm Bay, which runs a free shuttle into town. For something rustic and quiet across the water, Saint Francis or Baymahni on Stocking Island. And for a private island with your own boat, Fowl Cay — which you reach via Staniel Cay, not George Town.
Do I need to hire a car on Great Exuma?
In most cases yes. The island is long and thin and everything is spread along forty miles of the Queen's Highway; nothing outside central George Town is walkable, and taxis are expensive. Local agencies charge around $350 a week and your hotel will arrange it. Bear in mind the Bahamas drives on the left while most rental cars here are left-hand-drive American models. The two ways to avoid a car are to stay at Hideaways at Palm Bay, which shuttles guests into George Town free, or to stay at a boat-access property where a car would be no use anyway.
Where are the swimming pigs, and is the tour hard work?
The famous pigs are at Big Major Cay near Staniel Cay, a long way north of George Town. Only the full-day tour reaches them: about eight hours in all, starting with a fifty-five-minute drive to Barraterre and then roughly an hour and a half each way in an open powerboat, at around $435 a person. The half-day trip at about $199 visits different pigs at White Bay Cay — the operators say so, and people still book it expecting Big Major. It is a demanding day: operators can refuse boarding to anyone who cannot swim or climb a boat ladder unassisted. If the pigs are the reason for the trip, stay on or near Staniel Cay instead, where they are minutes away.
Is there an all-inclusive resort in the Exumas?
Two, and neither is what most people picture. Fowl Cay Resort is a six-villa private island, fully inclusive down to premium spirits and a powerboat per villa, reached via Staniel Cay. Saint Francis Resort on Stocking Island sells all-inclusive meal packages at a much lower price and is deliberately rustic, with no pool and water-taxi access only. Be careful with booking filters here: several wrongly tag Grand Isle Resort and Hideaways at Palm Bay as all-inclusive. Neither is.
How limited is the dining?
More limited than the listings suggest. Directories show seventy-odd restaurants; the number reliably open on any given evening is closer to eight. Santanna's, Chat 'N' Chill, Shirley's at the Fish Fry, the Sandpiper Cafe, Cocoplum Bistro, Tropic Breeze and the Snappy Turtle are the dependable rotation. Several close one or two days a week, several close early, and small kitchens run out of food, so reserve ahead — Cocoplum especially. Plan on one restaurant a night, booked in advance and reached by car.
Can I bring a dog to Exuma?
We would advise against it. We could not verify a single property in the Exumas that reliably accepts pets, and the online sources contradict each other — one major travel site lists seven pet-friendly properties, while a specialist pet-travel service says one of those same hotels does not take dogs, and Hideaways at Palm Bay states plainly on its own site that pets are not allowed. If you must travel with an animal, Nassau has at least eight genuinely pet-friendly hotels. In every case the Bahamas requires an import permit from the Department of Agriculture obtained in advance, the animal must be over six months old, and you need a veterinary health certificate issued within ten days of travel.
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