Getting to Bimini

Four ways in

Start with the ferry, because one company runs it and its calendar decides the rest of your plan. Baleària Caribbean sails from Port Everglades Terminal 21 in Fort Lauderdale to Fisherman's Village at Bimini Bay, on North Bimini. Sailing days, departure times, fares, how long the crossing takes and the booking itself are all on the operator's route page. Its calendar has gaps, so open it for your date before you book anything else.

Fisherman's Village sits on Bimini Bay, North Bimini, beside Resorts World Bimini, with Bailey Town about 1.1 miles away and Alice Town about 1.6 miles to the south. Our ferry guide covers the terminal, the parking garage beside it, the landing, and which of the names on the booking sites are resellers.

If you're starting in Miami, the Miami page covers getting to Terminal 21 from there, and why the phrase "Miami to Bimini ferry" lives on in search results.

Scheduled flights land at South Bimini Airport, code BIM (ICAO MYBS). The airport is on South Bimini and Alice Town is on North Bimini, so a flight ends with a short local ferry across the harbor entrance, from the South Bimini ferry dock to the government ferry dock in Alice Town, about a third of a mile of water. The airport is about 2.6 miles from Alice Town as the crow flies. From Miami, scheduled flights leave Miami International for South Bimini. Which airlines fly the route is for the flights page.

Seaplanes land on the water at the seaplane base on North Bimini, which has its own airport code, NSB. That puts you down on the same island as Alice Town.

Your own boat: the nearest Florida shore is about 50 miles from Alice Town, 45 nautical miles, and the run is across the Gulf Stream. The crossing and the paperwork each get a page of their own, so this page stops at the distance.

• The Bimini ferry

  Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale to Bimini Bay: the terminal, the landing, and where the days and fares are published.

• Flights and seaplanes

  The airlines that fly to South Bimini, the seaplane to North Bimini, and the boat ride from the airport to Alice Town.

• By private boat

  The crossing in your own boat: the distance, the Gulf Stream, where to tie up and the ports of entry.

• A day trip

  A day in Bimini by ferry or by air: who sells them and what to check before you book.

How far Bimini is from Florida

It depends on which piece of Florida and which piece of Bimini you measure between.

The nearest piece of Florida to Alice Town is the ocean beach at Miami Beach, about 52 miles away (83 km), or 45 nautical miles. That's the figure this site rounds to "about 50 miles". From downtown Miami it's about 56 miles across the water, and from Fort Lauderdale about 59.

The ferry's run is its own number. It goes from Terminal 21 at Port Everglades, beside Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, to Fisherman's Village, north of Alice Town: about 57 miles, or 50 nautical miles, as the crow flies.

By road, Terminal 21 is about 26 miles from downtown Miami, about 32 from Miami International, and about six from Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International, the airport next door. Brightline stops in Fort Lauderdale on its run between Miami and Orlando, and its station there is about five miles from the terminal by road, which leaves a taxi or a rideshare for the last leg.

If you fly, Miami International to South Bimini Airport is about 64 miles in a straight line.

Those are distances, and distance is the part that holds still. How long the crossing takes is on the operator's route page, and how long a flight takes is the airline's to publish.

Distances are computed from OpenStreetMap data, © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Passports and travel documents

Two governments check your documents on this trip: the United States on the way back, and The Bahamas on the way in.

Coming back into the United States by sea, which is how a ferry passenger or a boater returns, U.S. Customs and Border Protection accepts any one of these from a U.S. citizen:

• a U.S. passport
• a Passport Card
• an Enhanced Driver's License
• a Trusted Traveler Program card (NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST)
• a U.S. military ID, when traveling on official orders
• a U.S. Merchant Mariner document, when traveling on official maritime business
• a Form I-872 American Indian Card or, when available, an Enhanced Tribal Card

That is CBP's land-and-sea list, on its Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative page, and it's the one that applies to the ferry. CBP's closed-loop cruise exception, a birth certificate plus a photo ID, is written for cruise ships that begin and end at the same U.S. port. Ferry passengers pack from the list above.

Children travel lighter by sea. CBP says U.S. and Canadian citizen children under 16, or under 19 if traveling with a school, religious or other youth group, need only a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship, and the birth certificate can be the original, a photocopy or a certified copy.

By air the list is shorter: a valid U.S. passport, or a Trusted Traveler card, a military ID on orders or a Merchant Mariner document. Children present their own passport. If any leg of your trip is a flight, pack the passport.

The Bahamas sets its own entry rules through its Department of Immigration. This page states the U.S. side, which we read at the source; for the Bahamian side, ask the carrier you book with what it checks at boarding.

Questions and answers

How far is Bimini from Miami?

About 56 miles across the water from downtown Miami, and about 50 miles (45 nautical miles) from the nearest Florida shore, which is the ocean beach at Miami Beach. By road, the ferry terminal at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale is about 26 miles from downtown Miami.

Is there a ferry from Miami to Bimini?

The Bimini ferry leaves from Port Everglades Terminal 21 in Fort Lauderdale, about 26 miles by road from downtown Miami, and Baleària Caribbean runs it. The Miami page covers getting to the terminal from Miami and why the phrase "Miami to Bimini ferry" persists.

Do you need a passport to go to Bimini?

Coming back into the United States by sea, CBP accepts a U.S. passport, a Passport Card, an Enhanced Driver's License or a Trusted Traveler Program card from a U.S. citizen, and a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship from a U.S. or Canadian citizen child under 16. By air it's a passport, children included. The Bahamas' entry rules are its Department of Immigration's; ask the carrier you book with what it checks at boarding. On the U.S. side, a passport is on both of CBP's lists, so pack one.

Where does the ferry land in Bimini?

At Fisherman's Village on Bimini Bay, North Bimini, beside Resorts World Bimini. Bailey Town is about 1.1 miles away, and Alice Town is about 1.6 miles to the south.

Which airport does Bimini have?

South Bimini Airport, code BIM (ICAO MYBS), on South Bimini. A short local ferry crosses the harbor entrance from the South Bimini ferry dock to Alice Town on North Bimini. Seaplanes use the seaplane base on North Bimini, code NSB.

Can you take your own boat to Bimini?

Yes. From Alice Town the nearest Florida shore is about 50 miles, 45 nautical miles, across the Gulf Stream. The crossing and the paperwork each get a page of their own on this site.