The Abacos Charter Guide: Day 3, Manjack Cay

My view of Green Turtle Cay early Friday morning.

Friday I woke up to this view from my cabin (left). After getting ready and eating some breakfast we set sail for Manjack. The sail took about 40 minutes. It was a beautiful sunny, cloudless day. While we sailed I read about the island.

Exiting the trail to the beach

We anchored in a cove with a handful of other boats. From what I could see there were only about four houses on the island. There were no restaurants or gift shops in sight. Immediately after arriving at the dinghy dock we spotted a sea ray. It was very friendly and circled around us in the shallow water.

We checked out a few of the many trails the island had to offer. Beautiful small hand painted signs guided us to the beach on the other side of the island. I was glad I wore flip flops due to the fact the trails lead through the woods. The ground was very dry and stepping on small sticks, branches and dried leaves would have hurt bare feet. We arrived at a breathtaking beach which we had completely to ourselves.

There were a few boats on moorings in the distance and a house or two could be seen tucked away, but we were the only people on the beach. After applying some sun block I grabbed my snorkel and mask and hit the water. Chest deep water was a little chilly so we mostly snorkeled in waist deep water. Sand dollars, schools of fish, jelly fish and hermit crabs could be seen all over. I would definitely recommend traveling with a snorkel and mask (It was also great for Nipper’s).After spending the day snorkeling, walking on the beach and exploring other trails we headed back to the boat.

This was the first meal we had aboard the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 519. The table in the salon opened up to comfortably seat the five of us (I think we could’ve fit seven). We cooked in the galley and used the grill on the stern rail. After dinner we played Uno and talked about our plan for Saturday.

Manjack is definitely a must do. Though there are no restaurants or stores, it was an awesome experience to have the beach to ourselves. I would recommend bringing bug spray. Once the sun started to go down the mosquitoes came out. It’s not an issue if you are on the boat but it might be an issue while exploring trails.

The trails are not on google maps or shown anywhere online. The trails also do not start in the same spot, though many cross paths which are indicated by the painted signs. Before arriving I had read about the Art Trail. We found it right before we left but did not have time to check it out. If you are interested it is located at the beach with the tiny tiki bar.

If you are looking at the tiki bar it in on the beach to the right, right where the woods start. There are carvings in tree trunks which indicate the start. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments on our Facebook post. Below are more pictures from Manjack.

Stay tuned for Great Guana which will be the focus of our next post!

For information on our charter fleet in the Abacos click here!

For information on the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 519 click here!