Abacos Yacht Charter Itinerary: 7 Days from Marsh Harbour

The Abacos are made for a week on a yacht. The Sea of Abaco, the long stretch of sheltered, shallow water between Great Abaco and its barrier cays, keeps most passages short and calm, and the villages, beaches and reefs that make a yacht charter in the Abacos, Bahamas so rewarding are rarely more than an hour or two apart. This route is a round trip from Marsh Harbour. Most legs are a few nautical miles; the exceptions are the run north to Green Turtle Cay, about 25 nautical miles from Marsh Harbour, and the cruise back south.

Marsh Harbour’s international airport has flights from South Florida and Nassau, so you can fly in on the day you board. The best time for this route is from December to May; the Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Marsh Harbour to Hope Town (about 4 nautical miles)
• Day 2: Hope Town and the Elbow Reef Lighthouse
• Day 3: Elbow Cay’s ocean beaches and Tahiti Beach
• Day 4: Man-O-War Cay, the Fowl Cays and Great Guana Cay
• Day 5: Around Whale Cay to Green Turtle Cay and Manjack Cay
• Day 6: South through the Sea of Abaco to Tilloo Cay and the Pelican Cays
• Day 7: Little Harbour and back to Marsh Harbour (about 20 nautical miles)

Day 1: Marsh Harbour to Hope Town

Board in Marsh Harbour, the main town of the Abacos and the easiest place to provision. Once everyone is settled, cross the Sea of Abaco to Elbow Cay, about 4 nautical miles away, and anchor off Hope Town for your first sunset. The harbour entrance is shallow, so larger yachts usually stay outside and use the tender.

Day 2: Hope Town and the Elbow Reef Lighthouse

Spend the morning in Hope Town, a village of pastel cottages, picket fences and narrow lanes founded by Loyalists after the American Revolution. Above the harbour stands the red-and-white Elbow Reef Lighthouse, which dates from the 1860s and is one of the last lighthouses in the world still lit with kerosene and turned by a hand-wound mechanism. Climb to the top for the view across the cays, then have lunch at one of the waterside restaurants.

Day 3: Elbow Cay’s ocean beaches and Tahiti Beach

The other side of Elbow Cay faces the Atlantic. Take the tender or walk across to the ocean beaches, where rock arches and small caves line the shore. In the afternoon, head to Tahiti Beach at the southern tip of the cay and time your visit for mid to low tide, when a long sandbar rises out of the water. The ocean side can have surf and currents, so swim where the crew suggests.

Day 4: Man-O-War Cay, the Fowl Cays and Great Guana Cay

A short hop north brings you to Man-O-War Cay, where boats have been built for generations and the Albury name is still found on the boatyards. It is also the only island in the Bahamas where alcohol is not sold, so keep the sundowners for the yacht. Next, snorkel the reefs of the Fowl Cays, protected by the Bahamas National Trust, then anchor off Great Guana Cay, whose ocean beach runs for miles and has a reef close to shore.

Day 5: Around Whale Cay to Green Turtle Cay and Manjack Cay

North of Great Guana Cay, the inside route is too shallow for most yachts, so the passage to Green Turtle Cay goes out into the Atlantic for a few miles around Whale Cay. In big easterly swells this stretch can be dangerous, a condition known locally as a rage, so the captain picks a calm morning. In New Plymouth, the Loyalist village on Green Turtle Cay, see the Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden and order a Goombay Smash in the village where it was first mixed. Then take the tender to the quiet beaches of Manjack Cay, just to the north.

Day 6: South through the Sea of Abaco to Tilloo Cay and the Pelican Cays

Today is the longest cruise of the week, back around Whale Cay and south past Marsh Harbour. Stop for lunch at anchor off Tilloo Cay, then spend the afternoon in the Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park, a no-take marine park with coral reefs and moorings for visiting boats, so nobody drops anchor on the coral. If you would rather keep the cruising short, the crew can swap this day for a slower one in the central Abacos.

Day 7: Little Harbour and back to Marsh Harbour

Start with Little Harbour, a sheltered bay at the edge of the ocean where the sculptor Randolph Johnston built a bronze foundry in the 1950s. His family still casts sculptures there with the lost-wax method, and their work fills the gallery next door. Then cruise back north to Marsh Harbour, about 20 nautical miles away, to disembark.

Planning notes

• Shallow water: much of the Sea of Abaco is only a few metres deep, so catamarans and shallow-draft motor yachts reach the most anchorages. Larger yachts anchor in deeper water and use their tenders, and the captain times some passages with the tide.
• Weather: from December to March, cold fronts can bring a few days of strong northerly wind. The crew moves to a sheltered anchorage and changes the order of stops, and the trip to Green Turtle Cay waits for a calm day.
• Arriving by yacht: if your yacht comes over from Florida, the captain clears customs and immigration at a port of entry in the Abacos, such as Marsh Harbour. Every guest needs a valid passport.
• After Hurricane Dorian: the Abacos have been rebuilding since the hurricane of September 2019, and most marinas and restaurants have reopened. We check what is open for your dates when we plan the route.

Yachts for an Abacos charter

The crewed yachts we list in the Bahamas are based in Nassau, the Exumas or South Florida. These are some of them; tell us your dates and we will confirm which can cruise the Abacos.

• WAVE 60, an 18.4-metre sailing catamaran launched in 2024, from €17,975 a week.
• COLETTE 64, a 20-metre motor catamaran for 8 guests, from US$4,714 a day.
• PEDDLER, a 26-metre motor yacht with a 1.3-metre draft, from US$69,000 a week.
• AZIMUT 118 GRANDE, a 36-metre motor yacht for 11 guests, from US$150,000 a week.

Rates exclude APA, Bahamian VAT and charter fees and were correct at the time of writing; each yacht’s page shows its current prices. A yacht that starts its charter away from its base may add a delivery fee, which we show in the quote. See all yachts for the Abacos, read about what to do and eat in the Abacos, or send us your dates.