Thunderball Grotto – This Awe-Inspiring Adventure Comes in a Small Package
Diving into blue waters overflowing with sea life within a shimmering subterranean dome. This is The Golden Grottoā¦ better known today as Thunderball Grotto.
Swimming pigs, a beautiful island inhabited by cantankerous iguana, an impossibly picturesque old-school regatta complete with traditionally handmade sloops, a delightfully diminutive āresortā in the middle of it all…
Somehow, Iāve featured all these unique experiences, found in and around Staniel Cay in The Exumas, without ever touching on perhaps the most famous experience of all.
Just west of Staniel Cay is an unassuming rock surrounded by crystal clear water.
The rock is topped with mangy patches of green. Here and there frigate bird nests cling to its sidesātheir bleach-white droppings streaking the greying limestone. The western side of the rock slumps haphazardly into the water.
Bottom line: to the casual boater passing through, nothing about this little rock would scream āSTOP HERE! IāM AMAZING!ā Especially not when you factor in all the aforementioned amazing experiences on offer in the area.
But theyād be missing so much!
Closer inspection of the rock reveals one end of it looks like swiss cheese below the waterlineāholes at varying depths pockmark the submerged walls. The first brave soul to swim through those holes found something special: a magnificent inner cathedral with a skylight at its apex.
The āfloorā of the cave is a calm pool lit from beneath by light streaming through the entry holes. And this floor is also alive with brilliantly colored coral reefs and fish, like yellow-tail snappers, angel fish, sergeant majors and the like.
Itās no wonder then that this incredible location has been a sought-after stage for films like 1983ās Never Say Never Again, 1984ās Splash, 2005ās Into the Blue, and the movie that changed the Golden Grotto forever: 1965ās Thunderball.
Awe-inspiring. Surreal. Magical. Fantastic.
I first experienced Thunderball Grotto back in 2013 on a visit to the then work-in-progress Embrace Resort (it has now since opened, so read our review) and since then Iāve been trying to adequately apply words to the wonders found within that outwardly unassuming rock.
āItās a huge, gorgeous cave! And itās filled with fish!ā
In a 17-foot Boston Whaler skimming across the turquoise waters west of Staniel Cay two years after my initial trip, I was making the case for a return visit to my 4-year old son: Trinidad.
āIs it dark?ā Confusion, skepticism, and maybe a little fear played across his face.
āNo, itās not dark. Thereās a skylight.ā
āBut itās a cave, right? Are there bats? Is it scary?ā
āNo, no, itās not scary at all. Itās amazing! Youāll seeā¦ā
Now it was my wife’s turn to look at me skeptically.
āAre you sure Trinidad should be doing this? Heās four.ā
I looked over at my son who was beside himself with joy (while simultaneously trying to be very serious) since Iād let him take the wheel of our boat. I have a strong belief that kids can do so much more than we give them credit for (or opportunity to accomplish).
āI know, I know. Trust me, itāll be great!ā
How many times have these been famous last words?
Itās whatās inside that counts
Dropping anchor near the entrance, I grabbed my GoPro, encouraged Trinidad to jump overboard, and in we wentā¦ We probably spent half-an-hour in there marveling at fish, swimming near the other exits, and idly chatting with some of the other temporary cave dwellers. Sometimes we were alone. Sometimes adventurers dropped through the skylights. Here’s just a glimpse.
Magic.
It just goes to show that when traveling you shouldnāt take small, unassuming destinations for grantedā¦ And that goes double for small travelers. These are the moments that mean the most.
Book a stay at the Embrace Exuma Resort and get everything you need for this adventure: an authentic home base, a boat rental for sea explorations, and a golf cart for your time “on the hard.”
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