Bimini is made up of North and South Bimini and a scattering of smaller islets, composing the western portion of the Bahamas. These low-lying, narrow tropical idylls lie only 50 miles from south Florida, and exert a Siren-like pull on southern U.S. boaters and game fishermen. Most famously, Ernest Hemingway made Bimini his home for awhile, in search of inspiration and giant blue marlin. Decades later, day-trippers can visit the islands for lunch and be back in Fort Lauderdale for dinner, while those on a yacht can relax there for a leisurely weekend.
The relatively short distance between Fort Lauderdale and Bimini allows for a regular ferry service between the two. The Bimini SuperFast ship crosses the Bahamian Channel from Fort Lauderdale and Miami in around two hours, reaching speeds up to 40 knots, which makes it one of the fastest ferries in the Americas. The 800-foot-long former cruise ship can carry 1,800 passengers and includes on-board dining and casino. Balearia also maintains a fast ferry service from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Bahama, via Bimini, on the Pinar del Rio, which can carry 450 passengers. A daily service leaves Florida at 10 a.m. and returns at 8 p.m., with a crossing lasting 90 minutes.
Visit Bimini during summer and the marina slips are crammed full of private yachts from Florida, some as short as 20 feet. A full day’s sailing is required from Fort Lauderdale to the Biminis, so many yachts leave at dusk to arrive in daylight. While the Bimini islands are hard to miss, the main challenge is in navigating the Gulf Stream and the entrance to Bimini, where yachts must pass between a sand bar and a reef. Make sure charts are up to date and check the weather forecast before you depart. Visitors can rent charter yachts in Fort Lauderdale. Fun in the Sun charters, for example, rents monohull and catamaran bareboats. Once in Bimini, captains must pay an entry fee and purchase a cruising permit, as well as clear customs and immigration.
Those with more time to spare, and considerably more funds, might consider splashing out on a private charter from Fort Lauderdale. Usually, the Fort Lauderdale to Bimini crossing is just to whet the appetite for an extended cruise around the islands. Passengers can relax on the trip and look out for dolphin and flying fish, while the captain negotiates the Gulf Stream, which carries 32 billion gallons of water a second across the yacht’s path. Once in Bimini, the captain will hoist the quarantine flag and complete clearance procedures. Companies such as Yacht Charters in Miami run cruises to and around Bimini, in this case aboard a 61-foot Viking.
All U.S. visitors to Bimini require a valid passport and a return or outbound ticket. Bimini Sands Resort and Marina is the only resort on the islands with its own Customs and Immigration office, meaning private yachts docking there can clear in immediately. Otherwise, the nearest office is at Bimini international Airport, five minutes away. Those arriving on ferries clear customs and immigration near the point where the tenders from the ship disembark. Bear in mind that the formalities at both ends take a while, meaning that a day trip to Bimini typically gives you only two or three hours of island time.
