Bell Island and Little Hall's Pond Cay: who owns them and what the park rules mean

Bell Island is one of the private islands of the Exumas, and it sits inside the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park. People look it up because of who controls it, and because a second private island, Little Hall’s Pond Cay, turns up in the same stories. This page covers both and explains what the park’s rules mean for a boat passing near them. For the full list of well-known owners, see Exuma private islands and the people tied to them.

Who owns Bell Island?

Bell Island was bought for $100 million in 2009 and has long been controlled by the Aga Khan¹. The island has a heliport and two large homes amid extensive landscaping¹, and three large guest cottages were renovated at a cost of $8 million¹. The island has a surface of 349 acres¹.

The paperwork is more layered than the headline. A title search for CBC found that Bell Island is legally owned by Island of Discovery Ltd., a Bahamas-registered company set up only two months before it bought the island from Exuma Bell Island Ltd. in March 2009 for $100 million US⁷. Officials connected to the Aga Khan declined to comment, citing a policy of not discussing His Highness’s private affairs⁷. Aga Khan IV served as Imam from 1957 to 2025, so read “controlled by the Aga Khan” as the situation described in sources written before his death, not as a current statement⁹.

Bell Island is a private island¹. Treat the island itself as private property and plan your stops elsewhere. The places guide lists the cays that visitors do stop at.

Bell Island, Big Bell Island and Little Bell

The island is sometimes called Big Bell Island. Do not confuse it with nearby Little Bell, also known as Cambridge Cay¹. Cambridge Cay has its own page: the Cambridge Cay guide. Cambridge Cay lies about 1.5 nautical miles from Bell Island⁸, so check which cay a waypoint or anchorage note means before you steer for it.

Can you anchor near Bell Island?

The anchorage on the eastern side of Bell Island gives good protection from most wind directions⁸. In strong easterlies, nearby Cambridge Cay is the better choice⁸. Watch for coral heads around the island, and keep a lookout on the bow⁸. The shore stays off limits, because access to the land can be restricted on a private island⁸.

From that anchorage the Aquarium snorkel site off O’Brien’s Cay is a short dinghy ride. The dinghy run is about 1.2 nautical miles from Bell Island and about 2.3 from Cambridge Cay^6,8. The site has its own page: the Aquarium at O’Brien’s Cay. If you plan a longer loop through this part of the park, the anchorages by wind guide helps you pick a spot for the forecast.

Is Bell Island inside Exuma Park?

Yes. Bell Island is a private island inside the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park¹. The island’s coordinates, 24.306°N 76.558°W¹, fall between the four corner coordinates the Bahamas National Trust publishes for the park². The Trust says the park was established in 1958².

Because the island sits in the park, the park rules apply to the water around it. The Trust’s rules include these³:

Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park is a NO TAKE ZONE: no fishing, conching, shelling or lobstering – nothing living or dead may be removed from within the boundaries of Exuma Park³.

Anchoring is not permitted in the mooring fields, on coral reefs and certain other designated areas within Exuma Park³.

All vessels, dinghies and jet skis included, must run at idle speed in any mooring field or anchorage³. Trash disposal is not available in the park, so take out everything you bring in³. The park office answers on VHF channel 09 when you call “Exuma Park”². Read the full park rules, the no-take zone guide and the fee guide before you go.

What was the Bell Island dredging dispute?

The island’s best-documented clash with the park came in 2010. The sea bottom at Conch Cut, inside the park, was dredged so that the owner’s yacht could dock at the island¹. Senator Jerome Fitzgerald claimed that 13 acres of sea-bottom habitat had been destroyed¹. The Bahamas National Trust, which manages the park, defended the dredging¹. For how the park came to exist and what it protects, see the park history page.

Why do Canadian news stories mention Bell Island?

Many search results about the island are Canadian political stories. Canada’s Ethics Commissioner examined Justin Trudeau’s vacations on Bell Island and found that they could reasonably be seen to have been given to influence him as prime minister¹. The island was widely known as the tropical retreat of the Aga Khan, a longtime Trudeau family friend⁷. None of this changes anything for a visiting boat: the island is private and the water around it is park water.

Little Hall’s Pond Cay and Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp bought Little Hall’s Pond Cay for $3.6 million after spotting it while shooting Pirates of the Caribbean⁴. It is a 45-acre island with pure white sand and clear blue water, and it is not open to the public⁴. Depp also owns the small neighbouring island Osprey Bird Rock⁴.

Because the island is closed to the public, keep boats and dinghies off its beaches.

Other well-known owners in the Exumas

A number of well-known people own islands or residences in the Exumas, including the Aga Khan and Johnny Depp⁵. A few smaller cays remain partially or wholly privately owned⁵. The private islands page sets out what is documented about each name, and the Pipe Creek guide covers a stretch of cays where some entries are by invitation only.