{
  "destination": "bahamas",
  "name": "Bahamas",
  "question": "Can you snorkel and dive from a charter boat in the Bahamas, and how warm is the sea?",
  "answer": "Yes: the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the best-documented park we found, charges a charter boat from BSD 27.27 a day for a mooring plus 10% VAT and a per-person charge, its BSD 14 dive fee is collected by dive operators, and it takes no mooring reservations. The sea averages 23.3 °C in February and 29.4 °C in August (NOAA, 1991–2020 mean at our reference point); by our rule of thumb April to December are the months at 24 °C or more, when a swimsuit or rash vest is enough, while February calls for a 3 mm full wetsuit.",
  "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/snorkel-dive/bahamas/",
  "markdown_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/snorkel-dive/bahamas.md",
  "destination_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/bahamas/",
  "best_time_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/best-time/bahamas/",
  "fishing_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/fishing/bahamas/",
  "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/snorkel-dive/bahamas.json",
  "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=bahamas&pos=api",
  "checked": "2026-10-28",
  "sea_temperature": {
    "unit": "celsius",
    "source": "NOAA OISST v2.1 long-term monthly mean",
    "period": "1991–2020",
    "reference_point": {
      "place": "Sea of Abaco off Marsh Harbour",
      "lat": 26.625,
      "lon": -77.125
    },
    "note": "NOAA OISST v2.1 long-term mean, 1991–2020, one 1/4° sea cell per destination. It is the sea surface; shallow bays can be warmer and water at depth cooler.",
    "warm_water_threshold_c": 24,
    "months": [
      {
        "month": 1,
        "name": "January",
        "sea_c": 23.6,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 2,
        "name": "February",
        "sea_c": 23.3,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 3,
        "name": "March",
        "sea_c": 23.5,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 4,
        "name": "April",
        "sea_c": 24.5,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 5,
        "name": "May",
        "sea_c": 26,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 6,
        "name": "June",
        "sea_c": 27.7,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 7,
        "name": "July",
        "sea_c": 28.9,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "swimsuit or rash vest"
      },
      {
        "month": 8,
        "name": "August",
        "sea_c": 29.4,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "swimsuit or rash vest"
      },
      {
        "month": 9,
        "name": "September",
        "sea_c": 29,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "swimsuit or rash vest"
      },
      {
        "month": 10,
        "name": "October",
        "sea_c": 27.7,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 11,
        "name": "November",
        "sea_c": 25.8,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 12,
        "name": "December",
        "sea_c": 24.6,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm shorty"
      }
    ],
    "derived": "warm_water and wetsuit_rule_of_thumb are our rules applied to the NOAA mean; sea_c is NOAA's, rounded to 0.1."
  },
  "wetsuit_rule": "Our rule of thumb for snorkelling, applied to the monthly mean: 28 °C or more: swimsuit or rash vest; 26–28 °C: rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty; 24–26 °C: 3 mm shorty; 21–24 °C: 3 mm full wetsuit; 18–21 °C: 5 mm full wetsuit; below 18 °C: 7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving. Divers lose heat faster and meet cooler water at depth: go one band thicker. People feel cold differently; this is a guide, not a source's advice.",
  "sites": [
    {
      "name": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park",
      "kind": "marine park",
      "where": "Exuma Cays (Warderick Wells is the park headquarters)",
      "facts": [
        {
          "text": "The park takes no reservations: pick up a mooring first, then pay. Warderick Wells moorings (North, Emerald Rock, Pirates Lair) are assigned by calling VHF 09 in advance; the others are first come, first served.",
          "status": "official",
          "sources": [
            {
              "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
              "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
              "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
              "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
              "checked": "2026-10-28",
              "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
              "tier": "official"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "text": "A dive fee of BSD 14 per person is collected by the dive tour operator.",
          "status": "official",
          "sources": [
            {
              "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
              "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
              "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
              "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
              "checked": "2026-10-28",
              "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
              "tier": "official"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "fees": [
    {
      "item": "ECLSP mooring, charter vessel, per day, up to 39'11\"",
      "amount": "BSD 27.27 + 10% VAT",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
          "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
          "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
          "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "item": "ECLSP mooring, charter vessel, per day, 40'–49'11\"",
      "amount": "BSD 36.36 + 10% VAT",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
          "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
          "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
          "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "item": "ECLSP mooring, charter vessel, per day, 50'–59'11\"",
      "amount": "BSD 45.45 + 10% VAT",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
          "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
          "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
          "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "item": "ECLSP anchoring, any vessel under 90 ft, per day",
      "amount": "BSD 0.45 per foot + 10% VAT",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
          "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
          "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
          "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "item": "ECLSP charter guests, per person per day (mooring or anchoring)",
      "amount": "BSD 14.00 on the page text; BSD 12.73 in the checkout listings",
      "status": "official",
      "note": "The page gives both figures; we show the conflict rather than pick one.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
          "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
          "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
          "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "item": "ECLSP dive fee",
      "amount": "BSD 14 per person, collected by the dive operator",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
          "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
          "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
          "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "mooring_and_anchoring": [
    {
      "text": "Exuma Park: moorings cannot be reserved and prepaying does not guarantee one; Warderick Wells moorings are assigned on VHF 09.",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
          "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
          "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
          "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "diving": [
    {
      "text": "Exuma Park: the BSD 14 dive fee is collected by the dive tour operator.",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
          "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
          "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
          "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "Whether visitors may dive in the park without a dive operator: not verified.",
      "status": "not_verified",
      "sources": []
    }
  ],
  "visibility": {
    "text": "We found no official or survey source for underwater visibility, so we give no figure. Ask the local dive centre on the day.",
    "status": "not_verified",
    "sources": []
  },
  "not_verified": [
    "Whether the Exuma park is a no-take area (the fee page does not say; our fishing dataset could not confirm it either).",
    "Snorkel and dive sites and rules in the Abacos, where our charter route and sea-temperature point are.",
    "Other Bahamas National Trust marine parks.",
    "Underwater visibility."
  ],
  "source_counts": {
    "official": 2,
    "secondary": 0
  },
  "status_legend": {
    "official": "Read in an official text: government, park authority, ministry or official tourism board.",
    "secondary": "From a newspaper, NGO, guide or tour operator; not official.",
    "not_verified": "We could not confirm it. We leave it open rather than guess."
  },
  "caveat": "Park rules change and some are seasonal. Check with the park, the charter base or a local dive centre. The answer, wetsuit column and warm-water flag are our wording and rules applied to labelled facts and NOAA means.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "dive_bs_eclsp",
      "name": "Bahamas National Trust",
      "title": "Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) fees",
      "url": "https://bnt.bs/?p=13873",
      "checked": "2026-10-28",
      "note": "Fee page of the Bahamas National Trust, the statutory body that manages the national parks. Prices in Bahamian dollars (BSD), before the 10% VAT added at checkout since 1 January 2022. The page says \"$14.00 per person per day\" for charter vessels while its checkout listings show BSD 12.73 per additional person.",
      "tier": "official"
    },
    {
      "id": "noaa_oisst_ltm",
      "name": "NOAA PSL (NOAA/NCEI OISST v2.1)",
      "title": "NOAA High-resolution Blended Analysis: OISST v2.1 long-term mean monthly sea surface temperature, 1991–2020 (sst.mon.ltm.1991-2020.nc)",
      "url": "https://psl.noaa.gov/thredds/catalog/Datasets/noaa.oisst.v2.highres/catalog.html",
      "checked": "2026-10-28",
      "note": "NOAA's published 1/4° monthly climatology (climo_period 1991/01/01–2020/12/31; every month of every cell we use rests on 30 years). Read on 28 Oct 2026 through PSL's THREDDS point service by scripts/fetch-sst.mjs; we chose one sea cell per destination and rounded to 0.1 °C. Satellite-and-in-situ analysis of the sea surface, not a beach or depth reading.",
      "tier": "official"
    }
  ],
  "attribution": "Cite \"Catamaran Index\" with a link to the canonical_url of the page the figure comes from, and name the original source listed with it.",
  "affiliate_note": "book_url links go through /go/samboat, an affiliate link: Catamaran Index may earn a commission on bookings, at no extra cost to the traveller. It never changes the data."
}