High Cay is a unique private island paradise located off the Southeast Coast of San Salvador, Bahamas, one of the archipelago’s most pristine and undiscovered members of the Family Islands. Far from the hustle and bustle of Nassau, High Cay is an island blessed with natural beauty and diverse topography, ranging from its three exquisite white powdery sand beaches, to its towering white cliffs that soar 114 feet above sea level and offer breathtaking vistas of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean seas.
On August 3rd, 1492, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria left the port of Palos de Frontera, Spain on a quest to reach the lucrative lands of China and India. Christopher Columbus believed he could journey across the Atlantic Ocean to reach the far East and establish a faster trading route that would bring him esteem and fortune. Before dawn, early on October 12th, after a long and arduous ocean crossing, and at risk of mutiny from the crew, the trio of ships spotted “a white head of sand” gleaming in the moonlight at a distance. That “head of sand” was the tall, white, majestic cliffs of High Cay. It was the Europeans’ first glimpse of the “New World.” They dropped anchor and disembarked in San Salvador, Bahamas at sunrise. While the events that subsequently unfolded with the Spaniards’ arrival in the Caribbean have become a tragic part of our story, there is no doubt that High Cay is a landmark that has shaped human history.
We soon expect to be offering guided hikes of High Cay with our specially trained tour guides that will tell you all about the nature and history of High Cay, where you will see what Columbus and his crew first saw on their maiden voyage to the New World.
High Cay is located approximately half a mile off the south east coast of San Salvador, Bahamas. It is accessible by boat via San Salvador or seaplane charter. San Salvador International Airport welcomes a daily BahamasAir flight from Nassau. There are also weekly BahamasAir flights from Miami, Paris, and Montreal, Canada. Boat transportation between High Cay and our dock in San Salvador is included in the package for all of our excursions. Please contact us if you have questions about arriving at High Cay via air.