Staniel & Allen Cay, Major Spot & Thunderball Grotto

Staniel Cay lies in the center of the Exumas. While less than a square mile and home to about 100 people, Staniel Cay has a 3,000-foot airstrip, a few stores, including a straw market offering crafts, hats and handbags, a marina, and restaurants.  Some of the best snorkeling is had at “Thunderball Grotto”, a hollowed-out island where the James Bond movies “Thunderball” and “Never Say Never Again” were filmed, along with the movie “Splash”. Snorklers can swim it at slack tide to see a variety of fish with the aid of light that streams through the top via rain eroded openings. The area is also home to bone fishing flats, snug anchorages and protected bays. Yachts will find lovely anchorages off uninhabited, deserted islands around Staniel Cay.

The swimming pigs greet visiting yachts

For local “wildlife” enjoy watching the swimming pigs that surround boats at “Major Spot”, north of Thunderball Grotto. About 4 miles beyond Major Spot are shallow waters that are home to tame nurse sharks.  Allen Cay is home to a rare and endangered species of iguanas that are not found anywhere else in the world. In fact, iguanas are the only inhabitants of Allen’s Cay.

Allen Cay iguanas

"Beautiful clear waters go for miles and miles. This was a great charter spot for the children. They were in the water all day, snorkeling, swimming, playing on the beach. We felt we had the world to ourselves."
--The S Family