Prickly Pear Island

Prickly Pear is actually made up of 2 main cays, namely the Eastern and the Western cay. They get along just fine though! The western cay is a narrow, completely uninhabited (by humans anyway) island, about 0.75 miles long. It has a rugged landscape, with rocky coral reefs. It makes navigating a boat quite difficult!

East cay however, is about 1 mile long, 0.25 miles wide with a beautiful white sandy shoreline, salt ponds and lots of nature to enjoy. The southern side of the cay has the more rugged version, as it’s mostly coral reef, but definitely worth the time to explore. Fun fact, along this rocky coast line, you will be able to see plenty of nesting seabirds, like red-billed tropicbirds, brown pelicans, brown boobies, laughing gulls and more!

Back to the beachy side, there are plenty of lounge chairs with umbrellas for you to relax under, but as it can sometimes get a little windy, be sure to walk with plenty of sunscreen! Your skin will thank you for it later! Don’t forget to watch out for the “in house/ on beach” entertainment! Prickly Pear wouldn’t be complete without the friendly Sugarbirds, or officially called “Bananaquits”. These sweet little black and yellow birds go absolutely crazy for anything sweet, so pour some sugar on your hand, and these little clowns will land right on your fingers, eating the sugar with their hummingbird-like tongues!

Of course, no adventure is complete without a good cocktail and a meal, and luckily Prickly Pear has an amazing bar and restaurant right on the beach! Order before your stomach starts to growl, as it’s a “deserted island without electricity” kind of situation! The food is awesome and freshly brought in daily from the mainland, but does take a little preparation time!

While you wait for your order, make sure to take out your snorkel gear and take a peep at the underwater wonders that surround Prickly Pear beaches… You will be sure to marvel at the beautiful parrot fish, wild stingrays, lobsters, angelfish and many more fish you’ll have to see to believe!