GE Go EleutheraThe island, end to end
On the water

The pigs, the swings, the sandbars — and what they actually involve.

Eight things people get on a boat for here. Each one with the bit the brochure leaves out: how long the ride is, what age it works for, and what will go wrong.

Thatched umbrella and loungers on Pink Sands Beach, Harbour Island
Pink Sands Beach, Harbour Island.Oscar Flowers · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

The swimming pigs

Great with kids
Meeks Patch, a cay off Spanish Wells

A small uninhabited cay with a resident group of pigs that swim out to the boat. Shallow, clear, sandy — you stand in knee-deep water and they come to you. Most trips include the feed.

What nobody tells you They are large animals, they are food-motivated, and they will nip. Hold the food out flat on an open palm the way you would with a horse, and do not let a small child hold it at all — hand it to them yourself while the child watches from a step behind. Nobody selling this trip tells you that.
Ages
Any age that can be held in shallow water
Boat time
About an hour each way from most North Eleuthera marinas
Runs itSpanish Wells SeaVenturesExtreme Boat AdventuresCaptain Kid & SonEleuthera Outdoor Center

The ocean swings

Great with kids
The channels off Harbour Island

Swings set into the shallows on a sandbar, some of the most photographed water in the world. The bar comes up as the tide drops, so you are standing on sand in the middle of open water.

What nobody tells you They only work around low tide — at high water the bar is gone and the swings are chest deep or worse. This is entirely a tide question, which is why the tide chart on this site sits above the excursions.
Ages
Confident in water, or on an adult's lap
Boat time
Short — they sit in the channels between the islands
Runs itCaptain Kid & SonSpanish Wells SeaVentures

Sandbars and starfish

Great with kids
Between Harbour Island, Spanish Wells and the mainland

Sand flats that surface at low tide in the middle of turquoise water. Cushion starfish sit on the bottom, conch in the grass, rays gliding past. For a small child this is the best hour of the trip: warm, ankle deep, and full of things to find.

What nobody tells you Look, do not lift. A cushion starfish taken out of the water to be photographed can die from it — they breathe through the water. Local captains will tell you the same thing and the good ones say it first.
Ages
Any — it is ankle deep
Boat time
Usually combined with the pigs or the swings
Runs itMost charter operators include one

Sea turtles

Great with kids
Grass flats and creek mouths island-wide

Green turtles feed on the turtle-grass flats. Some captains have spots they can put you on almost reliably; nobody honest will promise you one.

What nobody tells you Do not chase, corner or touch them. A turtle that has to surface and cannot because people are above it is in real trouble. Watch from beside and slightly behind, and let it leave when it wants to.
Ages
Snorkelling age, or watching from the boat
Boat time
Varies — captains know where they are that week
Runs itSpanish Wells SeaVenturesEleuthera Outdoor Center

Stingrays

With an adult
Sand flats and the shallows around the bars

Southern stingrays cruise the flats and will come close where people feed them regularly.

What nobody tells you Shuffle your feet, never step down. A ray stings when it is trodden on, not when it is approached — and the shuffle is what stops you putting a foot on one buried in sand. Teach the children the shuffle before they get off the boat.
Ages
Old enough to stand still and listen
Boat time
Usually part of a sandbar stop
Runs itMost charter operators

Current Cut drift snorkel

Not for small children
The cut between Current Island and the mainland

One of the best drift snorkels in the Bahamas. The tide funnels through a narrow cut and carries you over reef, sharks, rays and schooling fish at walking pace or faster. The boat picks you up at the other end.

What nobody tells you This is a genuine current, which is the entire point of it and also the reason it is not a family stop. You cannot swim back against it. Go with a captain who runs it regularly and knows the tide state to do it on.
Ages
Strong swimmers and confident snorkellers only
Boat time
Short from Gregory Town or Current
Runs itBahamas Adventures (Surfer's Haven)Eleuthera Outdoor Center

Conch salad on the beach

Fine with kids
Made on the boat or on a sandbar

The captain dives the conch, cleans it on the transom and makes the salad in front of you with lime, onion, pepper and tomato. It is the single most Bahamian thing you will eat and it is better than anything you will get on a plate ashore.

What nobody tells you It is raw. Fine for most people and the tradition of the islands, but it is raw shellfish — the usual thinking applies for pregnancy, small children and anyone immune-compromised.
Ages
Any — though the raw conch is an adult taste
Boat time
Part of most full-day charters
Runs itAlmost every full-day charter

Lighthouse Beach by boat

By boat only
The very southern tip

Widely called the most spectacular beach in the Bahamas: three miles of sand, pink-streaked cliffs and the old skeleton lighthouse on the point.

What nobody tells you By road it is a serious undertaking — a rough track and then a walk of nearly three miles along sand to reach the point itself. With small children, go by boat or do not go. Every guide that shows you the photograph leaves the walk out.
Ages
Any by boat
Boat time
A long run — most of a day from the middle of the island
Runs itEleuthera Outdoor CenterCaptain Kid & Son

Private charters here are commonly published from around $890–$950 for a half day and $1,600–$1,850 for a full day for a group of up to eight, before tax. Shared trips cost far less per head. These move constantly — take them as the shape of the number and get a real quote. Checked 2026-09-10.

Coming with children

The list nobody else writes.

Every travel page about this island shows you the same photograph and none of them tell you which beach has shade, how long the boat ride actually is, or what will hurt a child. This is that list.

Serious Queen's Bath can kill you It is a set of tidal pools on open Atlantic rock. Swells arrive without warning even on calm days, the limestone is sharp and slippery, and there is no easy way out if you are swept. Go at low tide on a calm day, in shoes, or do not go. Never in a winter northerly, and never with a child near the outer edge.
Watch out The pigs bite Food-motivated animals the size of a large dog or bigger. Feed with a flat open palm; never let a small child hold the food. Watching from a step behind is the whole trick.
Watch out Shuffle, do not step Stingrays sting when trodden on. Shuffling your feet along the sand pushes them off rather than pinning them. Teach it before anybody gets off the boat.
Watch out The boat ride is the trip An hour each way to the pigs. With a four-year-old that is two hours of the day sitting still in sun and spray. Ask about shade and a toilet before you book, not after — many small boats have neither.
Watch out Sea urchins live in the rocks Not on the sand — in the tidal pools and rocky edges. Reef shoes solve it entirely and cost nothing. Bring them for everyone, not just the children.
Watch out Most beaches have no shade and no bathroom There is no concession stand, no lifeguard and often no building at all. Bring water, a shade of some kind, and expect to use the car. This is the actual Out Islands, which is why you came.
Watch out Lighthouse Beach is not a family walk A rough track and then nearly three miles of soft sand to the point. Spectacular, and completely wrong for small children on foot. Go by boat instead.
Watch out Golf carts on Harbour Island How everyone gets around, and children love it. They are also open, driven on the left, and shared with real traffic in Dunmore Town. Small children sit inboard, and nobody rides on a lap.
Watch out The sun is closer to overhead than you think You are at 25°N. Midday sun burns children in well under an hour, and the reflection off white sand and shallow water doubles it. Long sleeves in the water beat re-applying cream on a wet child.
Worth knowing Ten Bay is the one Warm, knee-deep water that runs hundreds of feet out at low tide, and casuarina shade in the morning. If you have a toddler and one beach day, this is it. Nothing else on the island is as forgiving.
Worth knowing Wind decides the day, not the forecast One coast is always flat. When the Atlantic is up the bank side is calm, and the other way round — this site computes which from live wind at the top of the front page. A beach that is dangerous on Tuesday is a paddling pool on Wednesday.
Worth knowing Sandbars are the best hour of any trip Ankle-deep warm water in the middle of open ocean, with starfish and conch to find. For a small child it beats every beach on the island. Look, do not lift — a starfish out of water can die from the photograph.

Nothing here is meant to put you off. It is a superb island for children — it is simply one with no lifeguards, no fences and very few signs, and that is worth knowing before you arrive rather than after.

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