The Exumas are three hundred and sixty five cays running a hundred and thirty miles south east from New Providence, most of them uninhabited, with a national park in the middle of the chain that has been protected since 1958. It is the best cruising ground in the Bahamas and the one where the published price ladder runs furthest, from a small bareboat to a crewed motor yacht costing eleven times as much.
The published ladder
Read on 11 September 2026, The Moorings prices a seven day Exumas charter for two from 4,529 USD at the bareboat end and 49,919 at the crewed end. Between them it prints a skippered charter package at 14,559 to 18,199 and a crewed charter at 22,619 to 49,919, and it charges 345 a night to add a skipper to a bareboat. Additional costs for two people start at around 1,300 on top of whichever rung you take.
Which Exuma boat charter rung suits which crew
Bareboat here asks more of a skipper than the British Virgin Islands does: the banks are shallow, the cuts between cays run fast on the tide, and most anchorages are open to the west when a winter front comes through. A skipper at 345 a night adds 2,415 to a week and buys local knowledge of exactly those three problems, which is the best value upgrade in the Bahamas. The crewed boats from 22,619 are a different product, with a cook and a much larger yacht.
Where the week goes
South from Nassau across the Yellow Bank to Allans Cay, then Norman's, Warderick Wells in the middle of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, Staniel Cay for the Thunderball grotto and Big Major with its pigs, Compass Cay and Black Point, finishing at Georgetown on Great Exuma. That is a hundred and thirty miles one way, so a week either runs one way with a flight home from Georgetown or turns around at Staniel Cay.
The Exumas against the Abacos
The Moorings prices the Abacos from 5,579 USD for the same seven days and two people, a thousand more than the Exumas, but its Abacos range stops at 24,179 against 49,919 in the Exumas. The Abacos Sea is enclosed and forgiving, which is why the entry price is higher and the ground suits a first Bahamas week. The Exumas are more open, more remote and carry the large crewed yachts, which is why the range runs twice as far.
Questions people ask about exuma yacht charter
How much is an Exuma yacht charter?
The Moorings prices a seven day Exumas charter for two from 4,529 USD bareboat, 14,559 for its skippered package and 22,619 crewed, up to 49,919 at the top, read on 11 September 2026.
Do you need a skipper in the Exumas?
Not legally, but the shallow banks, the tidal cuts and anchorages open to the west in a winter front make it harder than the BVI. The Moorings adds a skipper to a bareboat at 345 USD a night, which is 2,415 over a week.
How long does the Exuma chain take to sail?
A hundred and thirty miles from Nassau to Georgetown, so a week runs it one way with a flight home from Great Exuma, or turns around at Staniel Cay in the middle of the chain.