The Charter
Private Plane Miami to Pig Island
A charter is not a ticket. You are not buying a seat next to strangers, you are booking the aircraft. That one difference decides everything else about the day: who is on board, what hour it leaves, and which strip it uses at the far end.
Pig Island is the name everyone uses for Big Major Cay, an uninhabited island in the middle of the Exuma chain with no runway on it and no pier. The wheels come down on Staniel Cay next door and the last ten minutes of the journey are made by boat.
That is not a workaround. It is the shortest way anyone reaches the pigs, and a chartered aircraft is what lets you use it instead of routing through Nassau first.
Everything between the two ends is ours: the departure point in Miami, the aircraft and the crew, the customs stop on the way, both border filings and the travel documents the Bahamas wants before you leave Florida. Your party brings passports and a bag, and turns up shortly before the boarding time rather than hours ahead of it.
It is one of the longer crossings we fly out of the city and one of several small plane routes from Miami. The same aircraft also flies on to the rest of the Bahamas.
Plan Your Pig Island Charter
How It Works
How a Private Plane to Pig Island from Miami Actually Works
Six things change the moment the aircraft belongs to one party for the day, and none of them are about the aircraft itself.
Plan Your Pig Island CharterThe Manifest
The passenger list is written by you and nobody adds to it
A charter carries the people you name and no one else. There is no seat map to be assigned around, no stranger in the row behind, and no reason to arrive early to secure anything.
It also means the party can change up to the day before: a name added, a name dropped, a child who turns out to be coming after all. We refile and the flight is the same flight.
The Clock
The departure time is a decision rather than a listing
Scheduled service leaves when it leaves. A charter leaves when you want it to, inside daylight and inside what the crew is legally allowed to fly.
On a run this far down the chain that is what makes a single day work at all: leave early enough and the boat out to the island happens before the middle of the day rather than after it. If the morning slips, the aircraft waits, because it has nowhere else to be.
The Terminal
You walk out of a private terminal, not through an airport
Both ends of this route are general aviation. In Florida you park, walk to the aircraft and go, with the outbound filing already done from the departure point. Staniel Cay is a strip beside a settlement rather than an airport, so there is no terminal to cross, no queue to join, and nothing for your party to carry further than the door.
The Boat
The last ten minutes are arranged with the flight, not found on arrival
Big Major Cay has nowhere to put wheels down, so the final leg is over water either way. What a charter changes is who is waiting: the skiff is booked against your landing time rather than shared with whoever else turned up, and it stays with your party for the afternoon.
Tell us the shape of the day when you send the dates and the boat is part of what comes back.
The Return
The way home belongs to you in the same way the way out does
A return leg on a scheduled service is the hour somebody else published. On a charter it is the hour you name on the morning, and it can move again while you are still on the water.
That is what turns a crossing into a day rather than a schedule to work backwards from: the swim can run long, the boat can come back late, and the aircraft is still on the strip.
The Weather
Weather is the one thing a charter does not make more flexible
Everything else on this page bends. Weather does not, and we would rather move a day than fly it badly. You hear from us as early as we know, and the flight is rebooked rather than flown. Because the aircraft was held for your party and nobody else, moving it is a conversation and not a queue for the next available seat.
Departure Points
Departure Points for a Private Plane Charter from Miami to Pig Island
The aircraft is booked for your party alone, so the departure point is yours to pick rather than something a timetable decides. These are the four we fly from around Miami. Select one to see exactly where it sits.
Miami Executive
Miami Executive Airport, TMB, Kendall
Kendall-Tamiami in the south west of the county, a general aviation field where the distance from the car to the aircraft is measured in steps. Nobody is waiting on a boarding call, because the only people on the flight are the ones who booked it. It is the shortest drive from the south and west of Miami-Dade.
Opa-locka Executive
Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, OPF
The executive airport north west of the city, where your group waits in a private terminal and walks out when it is ready. Most island days leave from here, and the same building clears the return into the United States. There is no check-in queue, so the morning is built around your day.
Miami International
Miami International Airport, MIA
A pickup rather than a base, for a party already off an airline flight that wants the island leg from the same airport. Arranged per flight and confirmed with the operator before it is quoted. It is the one departure point that costs you time, because a commercial field runs to its own order.
Fort Lauderdale Executive
Fort Lauderdale Executive, FXE
Fort Lauderdale Executive, chosen when the group is north of Miami and the drive south would eat the hour the flight saves. The return clears in its own building there, so a day need not end where it began. The aircraft positions to meet you.
How to Charter
How to Book Before Flying Private Plane from Miami to Pig Island
Chartering an aircraft is not booking a seat. There are four steps, and only the first one is yours.
Plan Your Pig Island Charter- 01
Contact Us
Write to us on WhatsApp or by email. Send your dates, how many guests, where you are coming from and where you want to travel. Tell us the hour you would like to leave. On this route the boat at the far end is set against that hour, so name it early.
- 02
Get Aircraft and Prices Back
We check what is free on your date and send the aircraft that fit your party. Seats, baggage and flight time for each one. You are pricing the whole airframe rather than a headcount, so a smaller group costs the same as a full one.
- 03
Confirm and Pay
You pick the aircraft, and we set the pickup point and the landing site. Then everything around the flight. Catering on board, the skiff waiting when you land, ground transport if the day carries on ashore. Flowers if the day is a special one. You approve it, you pay, and your boarding time, departure point and everything included come back.
- 04
Just Arrive 30 Minutes Before Departure
You will have no terminal and no queue. Just be there 30 minutes before. Then you take off, land at the strip next door, and enjoy the day.
On the Island
Where a Private Plane Charter to Pig Island from Miami Puts You Down
The aircraft stops rolling at Staniel Cay, a short run of open water from the beach, and from that moment nothing about the day is published anywhere. There is no return departure to work backwards from and no group to keep together, so what follows is a menu rather than an itinerary.
These are the things parties on this route ask for, roughly in the order they ask for them.
Plan Your Pig Island CharterWhere the Wheels Stop Is Your Decision
Staniel CayNothing lands on Big Major Cay. The island is uninhabited, there is no strip on it and no pier, so every party that reaches the pigs arrives over water. The question is only where the flying part ends, and on a charter that is your call rather than an airline's.
Staniel Cay is the answer almost everyone picks, because the strip sits minutes of open water from the beach. A scheduled traveller does not get to choose it: the timetable routes through Nassau and the rest of the journey is somebody else's boat. Your aircraft goes to the strip you name, and the day starts where you wanted it to.
From there the afternoon is yours until you say otherwise. Nobody is holding a return time over your party.
The Boat Is Booked With the Aircraft
The Last Ten Minutes
The final stretch is short and it is the part most days go wrong on, because a boat found on arrival leaves when it is full rather than when you are ready. We set it against your landing time instead, and it stays with your party for as long as the afternoon runs.
That is the whole difference a charter makes at this end: the two vehicles in the day are held by the same booking, so a late flight does not strand you at a dock and a long swim does not cost you the ride back. Ask for a golf cart at the same time if the day carries on ashore.
Compass Cay on the Same Afternoon
Twenty Minutes North
Compass Cay lies a short run north and it is the second thing almost every party asks about. The nurse sharks there gather at the marina dock in water shallow enough to stand in. Whether it fits is a question about the clock, and on a charter the clock is yours.
A group tied to a published return works backwards from it all day and leaves out the second stop to be safe. Yours does not: you add it in the morning if the water looks right, or drop it and stay where you are.
Thunderball Grotto Runs on the Tide
Slack Water
The cave from the Bond film sits between Staniel Cay and Big Major Cay, and the entrance is only comfortable around slack water. That is a fixed thing in a day where almost nothing else is. Which is exactly why the flexible hour matters.
Tell us at the enquiry that the grotto is on the list and the departure is set so your party is on the water at the right part of the tide, rather than arriving to find the current running. A scheduled arrival cannot be moved to suit the sea. Yours can.
Bitter Guana Cay Is a Detour, Not a Tour
The Iguanas
A protected colony of Bahamian rock iguanas lives on the beach at Bitter Guana Cay, a little further down the chain, and they come out onto the sand in the open. It is the stop that gets dropped from a fixed itinerary because it costs another half hour each way.
On a private day it is simply another line on the boat's list, and the aircraft waits. The same is true of the sunken aircraft in the shallows further north, which is a snorkel rather than a dive and is on the way if the day carries on.
Pipe Creek When the Water Drops
Bare Sand
Pipe Creek is the run of cays and channels north of Staniel Cay, and at low water the sandbars come up out of the shallows and you can walk on them. They are a tide, not a place, which makes them the clearest argument on this page for a departure hour you choose.
A day built around them starts when the water says so. Ask for it as a sandbar picnic and it comes back arranged, with the boat and the flight set to the same clock rather than to each other's convenience.
What Comes With You
Weighed, Not Counted
When the aircraft carries one party, what goes in the back is a conversation about weight rather than a rule about bag counts. That is a practical difference on this route more than a philosophical one.
Snorkel gear, a cooler for the boat, cameras and a dry bag, a case of something for the house: all of it travels, within the payload for the aircraft on the day.
Because nobody else is on board, the trade is between your own passengers and your own load, and you decide where it falls. The baggage guidance sets out how that works. Anything larger than luggage is a different service on the same strip, and that is island logistics rather than a charter with extra bags.
Carrying On Down the Chain
Same Day, Domestic
The island is often one stop rather than the whole trip, and clearing into the country on the way in is what makes that simple: once your party is through the desk, every leg after it is domestic. An aircraft that belongs to you for the day can string those legs together in any order you like.
Staniel Cay and the Exumas, Nassau, Harbour Island, Andros and Grand Bahama all take the same type, and none of them require going back to a hub first.
That is the shape of an island hopping day or a longer Bahamas day; a single island and back is a Pig Island getaway day trip. The full list is on the Bahamas destinations page.
Ready When You Are
Ready to Book a Private Plane Charter to Pig Island from Miami?
Send the date and the number of guests. You get the aircraft that are free, what each one costs and the hour it can leave, and nothing is held until you say so.
Add-Ons
Private Plane to Pig Island Add-Ons
Tell us which of these you want when you send your dates and they come back priced with the aircraft.
In Detail
Private Plane Charter Miami to Pig Island: One Party, One Aircraft, Ten Minutes of Water
Everything above is the day. What follows is the detail behind it: who is on board, who handles the paperwork on the way in, why the aircraft goes straight into the middle of the Exuma chain instead of round it by way of Nassau, and how late the hour can still move on a flight to the Bahamas.
Private Plane Miami to Pig Island: Flying Low Over the Reef and the Flats
Room enough and a window each on a Pig Island private plane
The crossing is not dead time between two airports. The cabin is yours for it, so what is below is part of the day rather than something to sit through. It lies about 259 statute miles from downtown Miami, roughly 225 nautical and almost none of that is over land. Which port depends on the aircraft, the weather and the hour you want to be on the water, and it is decided with the quote rather than fixed on a page: Andros or North Eleuthera are the usual examples, and both are minutes on the ground rather than a connection. The skiff from the strip out to the beach is booked against your landing rather than filled with whoever else is waiting, which is the difference between a boat that leaves when you are ready and one that leaves when it is full. The cabin belongs to your party and nobody else, so the crossing is yours to spend as you like. what travels with you is arranged before you board.
Private Plane to Pig Island from Miami: You Decide the Departure Time
Your hour, your names and a private plane to Pig Island
Nobody hands you a timetable on a charter. The day is built around the hour you name. You name the hour you want to lift off, the hour you want to be standing on Pig Island and which water in the city suits your morning. The aircraft belongs to your party for the day, so all three are your decision rather than a departure somebody else set, and a change the week before is a message to us. Half an hour before the lift-off is the whole of the check-in. Your party walks from the car to the aircraft, the bags go on in front of you, and the list for that flight carries your names and nobody else's. Nothing about the morning waits on a stranger. A weekend where eight people who all want to be together actually are, on the way out and on the way back, instead of split across two departures out of Nassau. And the crossing is a reason in itself. The windows are deep and the aircraft crosses low, so there is room for everybody to sit and watch the water change instead of taking turns at one of them.
Private Plane Charter from Miami to Pig Island: The Crew Files Both Borders, You Carry a Passport
Passports are all your party carries on a Pig Island crossing
A private plane from Miami to Pig Island crosses an international border twice in a day. Entry into the Bahamas asks for a declaration filed from Florida, clearance at a port of entry on arrival and a US return filed before you leave, which is what sets where you may land coming home. Passports for everyone, children included, per the travel documents guidance. What may travel sits in the baggage guidance. That same filing sets where you land coming home: a return from the islands clears at None, so a day that began on the water finishes on a ramp and a departure moved by weather runs under the weather and delays policy. If the party changes before the flight, the crew refiles. A name added, a name dropped: that is a message to us rather than a problem for you.
Flying Private Plane from Miami to Pig Island: Milestone Days and Bahamas Weekends
A day trip, a weekend or something to celebrate on Pig Island
A private private plane from Miami to Pig Island is booked when the day is worth marking: a birthday, a proposal, a graduation, a weekend away with the people who matter. The flight is short enough that the occasion, not the travelling, is what the day is about. That is what a private plane from Miami to Pig Island is for. A weekend where eight people who all want to be together actually are, on the way out and on the way back, instead of split across two departures out of Nassau. An anniversary where the catering on board is part of the surprise rather than an afterthought. Some parties fly over for the day and are home the same evening. Others stay on and book the return for the day they want. Both are the same charter, and the whole group travels together on one booking. If there is something to celebrate, say so when you book: catering, a private chef, premium beverages and flowers travel with you. Everything is in place before you board in Miami.
Questions
Private Plane Miami to Pig Island: Questions Answered
What does chartering a private plane to Pig Island actually include?
The aircraft and the crew for your party, the customs stop on the way in, both border filings, the boat from the strip out to the beach, and the ground arrangements you ask for at either end.
You are booking the airframe rather than seats on it, so the price covers the flight whether four people travel or eight. Catering, a golf cart on Staniel Cay and onward transport are added when you ask for them and come back priced with the aircraft.
Can we choose our own departure time?
Yes, within daylight, within what the crew is allowed to fly and within the hours the customs desk keeps. That is the main thing a charter buys you on this route.
The hour is set when you confirm and can still be moved afterwards if your day changes, because the aircraft is not going anywhere else and there are no other passengers to inconvenience. Name the hour you actually want rather than the one you think is on offer, because the boat at the far end is set against it.
Is anyone else on the private plane?
No. A charter carries the people you name and nobody else. There is no seat assignment, no other party sharing the cabin, and no risk of the flight leaving without part of your group because a connection did not hold. The same applies to the skiff out to the beach: it is booked for your party rather than filled with whoever else is waiting at the dock.
Does the plane land on Pig Island itself?
No, and nothing does. Big Major Cay is uninhabited and has no runway and no pier, so every visitor arrives over water. A private plane puts your party down at Staniel Cay next door and the last stretch is a short boat ride, arranged with the flight. If you would rather the aircraft itself finished the journey, that is a seaplane and a different page.
Do we have to connect through Nassau to reach Pig Island?
No. That is what scheduled travel to the Exumas usually requires, and it is the step a private charter removes. Your aircraft flies from Miami, clears into the country on the way, and continues straight to the strip beside the island. Once you are cleared in, an onward leg to another cay is domestic and does not send you back to a hub first.
Do I need a passport for Pig Island?
Yes, for every passenger including children. The Bahamas is a different country and a private aircraft does not change that. We take the passport details once at the enquiry and file for both sides before departure. The travel documents page lists what each passenger hands over and by when.
How early do we need to be at the airport?
About thirty minutes. There is no terminal to cross and no queue to join at either end, because both ends of this route are general aviation. You park, walk to the aircraft and go. The outbound border filing is already done from our side before you arrive, so there is nothing to hand in and nothing to print.
Can we change the passenger list after booking?
Yes, up to the day before in most cases. A name added or dropped means we refile the manifest, and the flight is otherwise unchanged. Tell us as early as you can, because the paperwork is what needs the notice, not the aircraft.
Can we see Compass Cay and Thunderball Grotto on the same day?
Usually yes, and that is a question about the boat rather than the aircraft. Because the return leg is your hour and not a published one, the afternoon can hold two or three stops instead of one. Send the whole shape of the day at the enquiry and it comes back as one itinerary with the boat time built around your landing.
Can we fly on to another island the same day?
Often yes. Once the aircraft is yours it can carry on down the chain rather than return to a hub first, and the small strips at Norman's Cay, Black Point and Farmer's Cay take the same type. Send the whole itinerary at the enquiry and it comes back as one day rather than three separate flights.
What if the weather turns on the day?
The day moves. Weather is the one thing a charter does not make flexible, and we would rather move a flight than fly it badly.
You are told as early as we know, and the aircraft is rebooked to a date that works for your party. Because the aircraft was held for you and nobody else, moving it is a conversation rather than a queue for the next available seat.
Is a private charter cheaper than scheduled flights for a group?
It depends on the size of the party and what the day is worth to you. The aircraft costs the same whether it is full or not, so the cost per person falls as the group grows, and a party of six or eight is where the comparison usually turns.
What does not show up in a fare comparison is the half day you get back by not routing through Nassau. Send the date and the headcount and you get real numbers rather than an estimate.
How do we start?
Send the date, the number of guests, where you are leaving from and the hour you would like. You get back the aircraft that are free, what each one costs, the boarding time and what is included, and nothing is held until you say so.
If the day has anything else in it, a boat held for the afternoon or a table booked somewhere, say so at the same time and it comes back priced alongside the aircraft.
Can I bring a pet on a private plane charter?
Yes, pets travel in the cabin with you. The one thing we ask is that you tell us at the enquiry, with the type of animal and its weight, so the seating and the load plan are right from the start.
Next Step
Ready to Book a Private Plane to Pig Island from Miami?
Send the date, the number of guests and the hour you would like to leave. You get the aircraft that are free, what each one costs and what is included, before anything is booked.
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