Miami-Bimini

There is one ferry line connecting Miami (Fort Lauderdale) to Bimini, That's the ferry from Balearia Caribbean. We collected all possible info about this connection and wrote the best guide possible.

Many people want to travel from Miami to the Bahamas. Bimini is a small Bahamas Island quite far away from the other Bahamas. If you want to travel further on towards the Grand Bahamas or Nassau, you can't go by ferry from Bimini. You have to go by plane or you need to take the crossing from Miami (FL) to Freeport Grand Bahamas. This trip, however, is longer: 85 miles.

Map Miami Bimini Ferry

* When you zoom in on the map towards Bimini and look closely, you see that the ferry to South Bimini is not the same place as the ferry you'll be arriving on. Read more below about this South Bimini connection.

Everything about Miami (Fort Lauderdale) to Bimini

• You leave from Fort Lauderdale, while it's called the Miami ferry, it's technically from Fort Lauderdale, which is like 30 minutes away from Miami Center.
• All trips to the Bahamas from the US can be booked through the largest Ferry comparison website in the world. And is operated by Balearia Caribbean.
• The distance from the harbor (Miami) to the harbor (Bimini) is about 51 Miles.
• The Balearia ferries on this route sail up to 6 times per week. Currently, this ferry is sailing three times per week.
• The duration of this crossing is 2 hours. Remember that this can change based on the weather, season, and ships on the route.
• Want to book this connection? Book it at Directferries.com

If you need to navigate to the harbor, you can use these:

• Miami harbor address: Port Everglades: Cruise Terminal – Ft. Lauderdale – USA
• Bimini harbor address: Fisherman's Village – North Bimini – The Bahamas

This ferry used to be operated by FRS Caribbean but recently changed to Balearia Ferries.

Pricing for the crossover from the Miami-Bimini ferry

• The current minimal price for this ferry service starts at $180,- for a return trip.
• In our test bookings, we got a return trip for $295,-. See the screenshot of the sample booking. Quite close to the bottom price.
• The price of bringing a dog along is expensive. It's an additional $100,- per pet for a one-way trip.
• There is an extra charge (charge and taxes) of $70,- per person. This, however, is included in the $180 for a return trip.
• You'll have to pay extra to use the onboard Wi-Fi.

Personally, we think the fare for this trip is not that expensive (pets excluded) for what you'll be getting: A return trip to the Bahamas. Earlier, we said: “Unfortunately, prices have recently increased for this ferry.” However, we think the prices are still quite good: You can easily book tickets below.

Important: Select Fort Lauderdale – Bimini and not Miami – Bimini for ferries departing to Bimini.

Check-in and Arrival for the ferry to Bimini

The guidance from Balearia Caribbean is very clear on the Check-in time: It starts every day at 6:00 AM. They strongly advise you however to be there from 6:15 to 6:45. This is early as the ferry leaves every day at 9:00 AM. The Terminal doors close at 8:00 AM. So don't be late. They are strict at controlling these times, so do follow the guidelines!

Timetable

Shark Diving on South Bimini

Many tourists head for Bimini for Shark Diving, especially in South Bimini there are popular scuba centers (and a shark research center) to go dive for the great hammerhead. Whatever your plans are: If you want to reach south Bimini after your ferry arrival do the following:

1. Walk 25 minutes South towards the Bimini Ferry Stop, you can't miss it. Or even better: you can also rent a bike at Eclipse Rentals Bimini and then take the Bike on the Ferry towards South Bimini, this is possible! And on the South Island, the bike is the best way of transportation. With the bike, this is only 5 minutes.
2. Eventually: Take the ferry it costs up to $10 for a transfer, it's a small ferry. =)

The Ferry you'll be using

You'll be traveling with the Jaume II, which is a fast ferry built in Australia by the company Incat in 1996[1]Wikipedia: HSC Jaume II, famous for the many fast Catamaran ferries. On board, you'll find a Coffee Shop and a Gift Shop. It's not a very luxurious ferry but this one will get you to your destination fast. 

Alternative Routes

There are no real alternatives because this island is really secluded from the other Bahamas. From Fort Lauderdale, you can also leave towards Grand Bahama however this is only an alternative to the complete trip as you won't be visiting the same locations. 

• All ferries to the Bahamas
  
• Video driving down North Bimini Island (on a golf cart, good island impression).
• Official Website of the Bahamas

Frequently Asked Questions

There are a number of questions that are frequently asked for the crossing.