6 caves · down to 60 m (197 ft)
Cave diving on Abaco
- Caves6
- Max depth60 m (197 ft)
Why come here
Under the pine forest of South Abaco lie the Crystal Caves: Dan's, Ralph's and Nancy's Cave, extremely decorated with crystal pools, translucent stalagmites and helictites. They lie in a protected conservation area and, according to Brian Kakuk, are off limits to divers: anyone who tries to dive them risks arrest. This page is therefore information only. Above water you can swim at Sawmill Sink, and Marsh Harbour is the base for the rest of the island.
On a rest day
- Elbow Reef Lighthouse: Take the ferry to Hope Town and climb the 101 steps of the candy-striped lighthouse, described as the last kerosene-burning, hand-cranked lighthouse in the world.
- Abaco National Park: A large pine forest in South Abaco that protects the Bahama parrot, which unlike most parrots nests in underground cavities.
- New Plymouth (Green Turtle Cay): A village of old New England-style houses, a museum with paintings by Alton Lowe and the Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden with 24 busts, reached by ferry from Treasure Cay.
All 6 caves
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dan's Cave (Crystal Caves of Abaco)⛔ Closed to diversPermission neededSidemount · Full cave | 60 m (197 ft) | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Fangorn Forest (Dan's Cave)⛔ Closed to diversPermission neededSidemount · Full cave | 60 m (197 ft) | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Glass Factory (Ralph's Cave)⛔ Closed to diversPermission neededSidemount · Full cave | 48 m (157 ft) | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Nancy's Cave⛔ Closed to diversPermission neededNot known yet · Full cave | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Ralph's Cave⛔ Closed to diversPermission neededSidemount · Full cave | – | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Sawmill Sink⛔ Closed to diversPermission neededNot known yet · Full cave | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.
Where to stay
Find a place near Marsh Harbour, Treasure Cay
Villages that work well as a base for the caves in this region. Find a place for your team:
- Marsh HarbourBooking.com ↗
- Treasure CayBooking.com ↗
The links to Booking.com are affiliate links: if you book through one, DiveTripPlanner earns a small commission. You pay the same.
Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers
Emergencies
- 911 or 919; ambulance also +1 242 323 2586; BASRA sea rescue +1 242 325 8864 / 727 4888 / 359 4888; air ambulance AAS Life-flight +1 242 377 1606. Hyperbaric chamber: Bahamas Hyperbaric Centre, Western Road, Lyford Cay, Nassau (New Providence) — +1 242 362 5765 or +1 242 422 2434 (government list; a business directory lists 24-hour emergency service). In 2006 the centre stopped accepting DAN America insurance — check your cover. Call DAN America first: +1-919-684-9111.
Access and rules
- Protection and rules: Dan's, Ralph's and Nancy's Cave lie in the South Abaco Blue Holes Conservation Area — 34,000 acres of government pine forest, 'conservation forest' since 2015, protecting >19 km of caves. According to Brian Kakuk (Bahamas Caves Research Foundation, November 2026) the caves are off limits to divers, and anyone who tries to dive them risks arrest. All blue holes and caves fall under the Antiquities, Monuments and Museum Corporation (AMMC): research needs a Bahamian research permit plus AMMC approval. Never touch bones or fossils.
Water and season
- Water: very clear, 19–22 °C (Scuba Diving) to 24 °C (InDepth). Fresh water over salt water: the halocline blurs your view and in the rainy season can sit right over the crystal pools.
- Hurricane Dorian: made landfall on Great Abaco as a Category 5 on 1 September 2019; most of Marsh Harbour was severely damaged.
Safety
- Accidents: blue holes and caves are overhead environments. On Abaco three divers without cavern or cave certification drowned in Big Boil Blue Hole in April 1994, on Grand Bahama two divers without cave certification drowned in a blue hole in May 1994, and in January 2003 two divers went missing in King Kong's Cavern on Andros. Go only with cave training and a local guide.
Rest day
- Rest day: swim at Sawmill Sink (wooden steps and platform; logging-era rails and saw blades around it), or a reef dive: Abaco's reefs have many shallow reef caverns and tunnels, such as Coral Caverns (15–18 m), The Catacombs (12 m), Maxi-Caves and The Cathedral (18 m); most sites are at 18 m or less (Out Islands of the Bahamas).
Good to know
- Getting around: Marsh Harbour International Airport. Local ferries: G&L Ferries from Marsh Harbour to Hope Town, Guana Cay and Man-O-War Cay; Green Turtle Cay ferry from Treasure Cay (+1 242 475 3841). Pinder's Ferry Crown Haven (Little Abaco) ↔ McLean's Town (Grand Bahama): from Crown Haven 7:00 and 14:30, from McLean's Town 8:30 and 16:00 (+1 242 822 8026 / +1 242 353 3062; Abaco Sun, July 2026).
News
News articles that mention one of the caves in this region, collected automatically and not checked by us.
Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines.
Searched automatically, last on 13 Nov 2026.
No provider in Abaco yet
The caves here are listed as information only: we don't know a dive centre, guide or club yet that takes visitors, so you can't plan a trip here yet. Do you know one, or are you one? Let us know.