How long does a swimming-pigs trip from Nassau take? Half day, full day or under three hours
4 min read
The answer in brief
Block out half a day. Four of the five trips below are listed at four hours or less, plus check-in time. The one that gives you the most time on land for a four-hour slot is the Rose Island water taxi: a 30-minute ferry each way and three hours on the island, from €80.75 and rated 4.4 from 669 reviews. If you only have a morning, the express option of the beach-club catamaran is listed from 2.5 hours. If you want the whole day on a boat, the catamaran is 5 hours 30.
Five trips, by the clock
| Tour | Listed duration | What the clock is made of | From | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Island water taxi | 4 hours | 30 minutes by ferry each way, 3 hours on Rose Island | €80.75 | 4.4 (669) |
| Pigs and snorkel with lunch and beach club | 2.5 to 4 hours | an express version or a longer leisure version, same beach | €127.02 | 4.5 (519) |
| Powerboat with private beach club | 4 hours | snorkel stop, turtle stop, then 2 hours at the club | €107.96 | 4.5 (1,544) |
| 3 islands with snorkel, pigs and turtles | 4 hours | 1 hour snorkelling, 2 hours on Rose Island, short stops | €104.38 | 4.3 (3,646) |
| Catamaran with snorkel, pig beach and lunch | 5 hours 30 | 3 hours of stops, 2 hours 30 of sailing | €126.96 | 4.8 (1,095) |
The duration on the page is not your morning
Add the check-in. The water-taxi listing gives two departures, 9:30am and 11:30am, with check-in half an hour before each, so the earlier slot gets you back to Señor Frog’s at about 1:30pm and the later one at about 3:30pm. The other listings tell you to check availability for starting times, which means the hour printed is a duration, not a promise about when you are back at the hotel.
Add the journey to the start as well. The powerboat trip boards on Paradise Island, the catamaran on East Bay Street, the water taxi on Woodes Rogers Walk. A four-hour trip from a downtown hotel can easily become five hours once you count both ends.
How much of it is pigs
Less than the titles suggest. The catamaran’s itinerary shows it clearly: of 5 hours 30, about 2 hours 30 is the boat moving between stops, and the Rose Island visit is one hour, with half an hour of sightseeing and a half-hour lunch stop elsewhere on the route. Time with the animals is a slice of that hour.
Reviewers say the same from the other side. One writes that interaction time with the pigs is only a few minutes; another counted two feedings in a morning; the water-taxi page’s own review summary notes that some travellers wanted more time with the pigs. The long days are long because of the beach, the snorkelling and the crossing, not because of the pigs.
Choosing by the hours you have
Under three hours, or a cruise stop with a firm all-aboard time: take the express version of the beach-club catamaran and confirm the return time in writing, then see what fits a cruise day in Nassau. If four hours do fit, the water-taxi listing says its pickup booth serves cruise passengers and other guests alike.
A morning with the afternoon free: the water taxi or the powerboat trip, both four hours. The first gives more beach, the second more stops.
A whole day with nothing else planned: the catamaran, because its extra 90 minutes buy two half-hour snorkel stops and a lunch stop of its own. Check which pig stop you will actually get; its listing says the island can change on the day.
Our recommendation
For most visitors the Rose Island water taxi is the sensible length: four hours, three of them ashore, two departure times, and the lowest fare of the five. Pick the express version of the beach-club trip only when the clock decides for you, and the catamaran when the sea is the point of the day.
