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Great Exuma
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Beaches of Stocking Island
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Beaches of Stocking Island

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Beaches of Stocking Island
4.5

Top ways to experience Beaches of Stocking Island and nearby attractions

The area
Best nearby
Restaurants
29 within 3 miles
Chat 'N' Chill®
1,794
121 ft$$ - $$$ • American • Caribbean • Bar
St. Francis Resort and Restaurant
41
0.3 mi$$ - $$$ • Caribbean • Bar • Pub
The Snappy Turtle Bar & Grill
18
0.3 mi$$ - $$$ • American • Caribbean • Seafood
The Beacon at Kahari Resort
20
0.3 mi$$$$ • American • Seafood
The Lookout
6
0.3 mi$$ - $$$ • American
Driftwood Cafe
339
1.2 mi$$ - $$$ • American • Cafe • Vegetarian Friendly
Blu on the Water Restaurant & Bar
149
1.3 mi$$ - $$$ • Caribbean • Seafood • Bahamian
Restaurant Peace & Plenty Resort
118
1.2 mi$$ - $$$ • Bar • Vegetarian Friendly
Island Boy Cafe
48
1.3 mi$$ - $$$ • American • Caribbean • Bar
Karijava Coffee House
16
1.2 miQuick Bites • Cafe
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Attractions
9 within 6 miles
Jolly Hall Beach
102
2 miBeaches
Elvis Water Taxi
196
1.1 miFerries
Odyssey Picnics
19
1.6 miBeaches
Straw Market
29
1.2 miFlea & Street Markets
Exuma Markets
65
1.3 miFarmers Markets
Hooper's Bay Beach
84
Beaches
St. Andrew's Anglican Church
16
1.6 miChurches & Cathedrals
Rolle Town Tombs
46
Cemeteries
Exuma Fitness
1.3 miSports Camps & Clinics
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
809 reviews
Excellent
602
Very good
142
Average
53
Poor
8
Terrible
4
mining
toronto70 contributions
Peace and Plenty Beach Bar
Feb 2020
Great place to hang out and enjoy the beach, talk to Beachchair Greg (and island institution) laugh with friends and enjoy a burger or veggie burger. This place is a hoot. Great bar staff, great burgers, one of the best beaches, paddleboards, games and great conversations. It is a real step up from the Chat n Chill. Beachchair Greg does a great job keeping all the guests happy and the bar well stocked. It wouldn't be the same without him. We recommend to all our renters that they visit this bar and chat with all the staff who give them a local flavor for the beauty that is the Bahamas.
Written March 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Clare W
Fort Myers, FL34 contributions
Hike up to Stocking Island Monument
Feb 2022 • Friends
A beautiful hike on Stocking Island. We started at Peace and Plenty beach resort and walked all along the Kahari resort beach to the path that takes you up to the lookout and then down to the beach on the Atlantic side (see map in photos). You can also get to the Atlantic side from Chat ‘n Chill by wading across the narrowest part of the channel at low tide and following the path over. Go left along the beach (a good 20 mins or so) until you see the white bouy in the trees (see photo) that marks the path up to the monument. Amazing 360 views. On the way back we had fun in the huge waves.
Written February 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Carrie V
Katy, TX10 contributions
Lots of stingrays
Jun 2021
Fun day seeing stingrays ! We took the water taxi - Elvis, we called him and he had someone watching for us on the road and helped us park. After he dropped us off on Stocking Island - we knew on the hour he would come back to pick us up. Thanks for a good day!
Written June 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
deborah w
Lockport, NY61 contributions
An afternoon in paradise
Jan 2020
I can't believe I actually took the water taxi across to Stocking Island from Exuma but I'm so glad I did. It was a wonderful afternoon just being a beach bum. Did I mention the stingrays? They literally were swimming around my feet looking for food. The young man at the conch salad shack (hola Ronaldo) gave me some conch scraps and showed me how to feed them. What an experience! Don't expect gourmet dining. Just burgers,ribs fries and salad and plenty of cocktails but it was just fine and added to my beach bum fantasy.
Written February 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
craig m
2 contributions
Amazing views and hikes
Feb 2020 • Friends
Many trails trails traverse Stocking leading to breathtaking views, private beaches, diverse sea life and Exuma blue water. Pending on the wind and tide you can explore tidal pools, body surf or lazily float the day away. We truly enjoyed all the unique animals from watch a snail make a heart shape trail in the sand, a baby octopus hiding in a crevice, to many starfish and sand dollars. We watched some large stingrays migrate from the harbor to the ocean while wading in the shallow water. Make sure to bring lots of water and snacks because you will probably stay out there longer than you planned.
Enjoy
Written February 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Travelbug118
New Orleans, LA94 contributions
Yet another gorgeous beach
Jan 2020
We headed to Stocking Island because of Chat N Chill. The beach was beautiful, per usual. We played with the stingrays, ate great food and tasty drinks. We paid $15 round trip to get here.
Written January 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
seabrookspace
Charleston, SC44 contributions
Well you would have to know about this from a local!
Jan 2020 • Friends
My friend who is Bahamian was determined to show us ALL of Exuma in one afternoon. Well once we took the boat from the hotel over to Stocking Island we didn’t want to leave. Lovely shallow water beach with a view to die for. The beach attendant/bar tender was so nice and attentive. While we didn’t eat the food smelled delightful. What a lovely day. I’m in love with Exuma!
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
oregon52
Oregon85 contributions
Caribbean Marine Research Center on Lee Stocking Island
Dec 2012 • Friends
This former NOAA research center, also called the Perry Institute, appears to have been abandoned as of December 2012. We tried hailing them from our boat on VHF radio, hoping to get a tour. No response, so we landed on the dock and walked about the island. There was no sign of life or recent habitation. One skiff was in the water, tied to the dock, but it was half full of water and the gunwales were heavily abraded from rubbing against the dock. Ashore, fish pens were empty. We strolled around the island, which has several nice beaches, for a couple of hours, but never saw anyone.
I tried to find information about the closure of this facility on the Perry Institute website, but there was no information newer than 2010. Does anyone know what happened?
Written December 31, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
shannon g
Atlanta, GA12 contributions
How much $ from Sandals to Gov't dock?
Apr 2017
What's the best way & cost to get from Sandals over to the gov't dock where the water taxi picks up? Taxi? I hear taxi is expensive?!
Written April 30, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
verhoev4
Baltimore, MD276 contributions
Amazing and a lot more than a beach
Aug 2019
Spent 1 day at Stocking Island with a family of 4 (two older teenagers). This place is amazing. It’s a lot more than just a beach… it’s a whole experience and requires a full day.

We took a water taxi from George Town to Stocking Island. When got to the dock, Elvis’ water taxi was not there so we went with another guy (Gavin I think). It’s $15 per person for a round trip. We asked Gavin to pick us up at 5 pm at Chat-n-Chill in order to get to the grocery store before it closed at 6 pm. He did not arrive so Elvis called him on our behalf. He finally made it by 5:40 pm and we barely made it to the store lol. No big deal, just know that everything runs on island time and you need to be flexible. The nice thing about Gavin is he will drop and pick up people at other beaches like Hamburger beach or Sand Dollar beach, which is what caused the delay. All the water taxis stop around 6 pm.

Gavin dropped us off at Chat-n-Chill on Stocking Island by about 11 am. What a place. It has a bit of a party vibe with loud music and drinks flowing. There is a tree shaded area with lots of tables. When we got there the conch shack next to Chat-n-Chill was still open. While it’s open, tons of sting rays come in for feeding. They are super friendly. They literally swim all around you, and you can pet them as they go buy. We grabbed some left-over conch and fed them ourselves. A lot of fun. Once the conch runs out, the conch shack closes and most of the rays leave. Every once in a while, you’ll see a couple rays still pass through. The conch shack closed by 12:30 the day we were there so try to get there before noon and order your conch salad immediately as they run out.

We tried the food at Chat-n-Chill. It was decent and pretty basic. It’s busy and really warm inside. There’s also a small gift shop there (horribly expensive 45$ t-shirts).

My favorite part of the day was a short hike over to the Atlantic side of Stocking Island. Facing Chat-n-Chill, go left and follow the beach. You’ll first walk around a small circular cove where some boats are anchored. Then you’ll reach a small section where you need to wade across a small channel. It was waist deep for us, but depends on tides (totally clear and safe water). Once you cross, there is a small path over the dunes to the Atlantic side. The hike is really short... 5-10 min.

As you come over the dunes, the view on the Atlantic side is stunning. In fact, there is a small path that leads to a wooden bench on a hilltop up and to the left. Take the time to go up. Probably the best view of our entire trip. On one side you’ll see the harbor and all the little coves of Stocking Island. On the other side you’ll see an amazing view of the Atlantic.

We spent at least an hour swimming and walking down the beach on the Atlantic side. We think we saw a shadow of a small shark swimming along the reef.

Next, we headed back to Chat-n-Chill and just swam and relaxed in the shallow area. While we were swimming, a small light brown (lemon?) shark cruised through the shallows, which was neat to see. Also, while we were waiting for our water taxi back to George Town, we saw a small black tip shark swimming near the deeper area on the right. Overall, it was a great day and highly recommend Stocking Island.

Here’s how we would rate the beaches we visited in Great Exuma (have reviews on each):
1. Coco Plum
2. Stocking Island
3. Tropic of Cancer
4. Hooper’s Bay
5. Forbes Hill

Did not make it to Jolly Hall but hear that’s also nice.
Written August 18, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Beaches of Stocking Island (Great Exuma) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Frequently Asked Questions about Beaches of Stocking Island