Inagua Island Bahamas Matthew Town
32
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Viking Ocean Cruises (32 Cruises)
Viking Octantis
18 Cruises
Frequently Asked Questions
At anchor, off Matthew Town. There is no terminal: launches land passengers on the shore. Only expedition ships and a few specialist cruises stop here.
It is the southernmost island of the archipelago, less than 100 km from the coast of Cuba. It lives far from everything and makes no apology for it.
Inagua National Park and its flamingos, by vehicle with Bahamas National Trust wardens; the 1870 lighthouse south of town; the Erickson museum in Matthew Town. People who land here are not coming to shop.
Inagua National Park, at the island's heart, protects the largest flamingo colony in the Caribbean: tens of thousands of birds feeding, displaying and nesting around Lake Windsor.
A rare alliance between industry and nature. The Morton company works one of North America's largest solar salt operations here, and its brackish ponds teem with brine shrimp and larvae the flamingos thrive on. The white mountains of salt are visible far out at sea.
A white tower 34 metres tall, standing south of Matthew Town since 1870. It is one of the last in the Bahamas still running on kerosene, with a mechanism the keeper still winds by hand. From the top the view gathers the village, the salt pans and the Windward Passage; on a clear day you can make out Cuba to the south.
By vehicle, with Bahamas National Trust wardens, along dirt tracks. Depending on the season, flamingo flocks are seen from a distance as pink clouds or close up, necks buried in the brine. The wardens' stories, built on decades of observation, are worth more than any printed guide.
No developed beach, no cocktail bar, no duty-free shops. Matthew Town holds about 900 residents, a grocery and a few salt-weathered wooden houses. The wind almost never drops: it discouraged the big resort schemes and kept the island as it is.
The Bahamian dollar, at par with the US dollar, and English. Bring cash: banking services are all but nonexistent on the island.
For families of birdwatchers, yes, and the experience stays with you. For everyone else, let us be clear: no activity designed for children, no organised swimming, and a full day given over to nature and wind.
