Highbourne Cay marina: dock, slips, rates and what is on the cay

Highbourne Cay is a private, H-shaped island of about 500 acres at the northern end of the Exuma chain, and its marina is the usual first stop for boats coming across from Nassau⁸. The island sits 35 miles southeast of New Providence⁵. The marina is a place to moor and refuel, and it also offers a well-stocked store, showers and laundry for overnighting sailing guests¹.

Who owns Highbourne Cay, and can you go ashore?

The cay is privately owned. The Association of Bahamas Marinas says the island “welcomes yachtsmen and guests” to its marina and cottages⁵, and the owners’ own page describes a handful of villas with two, three or four bedrooms among the island’s 500 acres⁸. There is also a restaurant on the cay, run by professional chefs⁸. A residential development is under way, with a limited collection of luxury homes and parcel lots offered for purchase⁸.

For a boater this means you come as a marina guest or a day visitor, not as a drop-in on public land. The marina is not a Port of Entry⁵, so clear into the Bahamas somewhere else before you arrive.

Dock and slips

The marina features 750 ft of face dock for yachts up to 180 ft (8 ft draft) and 16 back-in slips for boats of up to 75 ft¹. Power is listed at 30, 50 and 100 amp, and fuel is available on site⁵. The owners strongly recommend reserving ahead of arrival⁸.

How much is a slip at Highbourne Cay?

The marina lists its 2026 back-in slip rates by season¹.

Season	Dates	Back-in slips
Low season	1 Sep to 16 Nov	$4.501
High season	17 Nov to 31 Aug	$5.501

Ask what the listed rate covers when you request landing approval. Rates change, so get the current figure from the marina.

Landing approval and VHF

Call VHF channel 16 or 71, or phone (242) 427-1003, for landing approval¹. Highbourne monitors VHF channels 16 and 71¹. The marina office also lists (242) 427-5000, (242) 813-1001 and a WhatsApp line on (242) 427-1003⁸. Visitors arriving in a dinghy are told to call in on channel 71 and are welcomed at the Dinghy Dock⁵. For other calls, see the VHF channels guide.

Getting here from Nassau

Boaters coming from Nassau can plan the passage with the guide to Nassau to the Exumas by boat. The crossing involves open water even though much of it is on the Bahama Bank, and one cruising couple filmed in February 2026 left Nassau by 10:00 so as not to reach Highbourne after dark⁷. They anchored right off the beach, close to the pass, rather than taking a dock⁷.

Store, provisions and services

The marina has a grocery store stocking both dry goods and fresh produce, and the produce arrives weekly¹. The store also sells bait¹. Day visitors stop in to buy fuel, water and ice and to shop for groceries and basic supplies at the Highbourne Store⁵. Showers and laundry are available for overnighting sailing guests, and high-speed wireless internet is among the marina’s listed services¹.

All vessels placing special or large provision orders should contact the Highbourne Marina office directly by phone¹. For stocking up elsewhere on the chain, see fuel, water and provisioning in the Exumas.

What is there to do ashore?

The marina lists eight beaches within walking distance⁵. Offshore, sport divers found a 16th-century shipwreck off Highbourne Cay in 1965⁶. The ship was about 19 metres long with a beam of 5 to 5.5 metres, and it is one of the oldest European wrecks in the Americas to have been scientifically excavated⁶. The Institute of Nautical Archaeology surveyed it in 1983, and Texas A&M graduate students excavated it again in 2013⁶.

Where it sits

The marina point sits at 24.71 N, 76.823 W³. The park’s north-east corner is at 24°35′30″ N⁴, so Highbourne is north of the park. If your route continues into the park, read the park rules first. The rest of the places in the Exumas are listed on the cluster page.

The closest airstrip is at Norman’s Cay, 8 miles from the marina¹. Read more about that island on the Norman’s Cay page.