Who knew paradise was so close to us! We have lived most of our life in South Florida and had never visited Bimini. On February, to celebrate Valentine’s Day we boarded a ferry from Port of Miami and headed to the Bahamas.
Our journey started at 9 AM when we boarded the fast ferry. Just two hours later we arrived at the island. Immigration lines to get off the ship took a little while but nothing major. Bahamian authorities were very polite and tried to make the process faster. You DO need a passport to go, we get that question A LOT. Because of the proximity many people think you do not. Pic below, sleeping on the ferry!
The first thing you need to know: When you arrive your hotel room will not be ready, so have your beach clothes handy. Arrival it’s around 12 noon and the room will be given to you at around 4 PM. Most people run to the hotel to try and get the room, don’t do it, concentrate your efforts in trying to rent a golf cart they go by fast.
Golf carts are the best way to get around the island. Bimini is really small and within 20 minutes you go from the north to the south side. The prices go from $60-$75 for 24 hours, haggle with the people in charge for a good price.
Most people decide to stay within the hotel area (Picture above) instead we decided to go explore the beaches around the island and it was the best decision we could have made. The beaches are very secluded, you feel that you’re there all by yourself. The Sand is completely white and the water crystal clear.
A very cool place to visit is the dolphin house. It’s a hostel still being built by a Bahamian men who claims he was swimming in the deep blue waters when dolphins approached him and spoke to him. Since then he has used any recycle materials he finds to put together a structure that honors those beautiful creatures. On our YouTube video we will give you a full tour of the property.
Something else you need to know; sometimes they over book the hotel and they have to accommodate guest at nearby villas.
All of the villas are privately owned, and the owners allow the hotel to use them. Now some of the apartments are not in good condition. Our first villa had severe damage to the roof inside the bathroom, we requested a change and they were very kind to place us in another villa that was truly amazing.
Prepare your pockets, food is really expensive. Pretty much nothing under $20. Hamburgers, chicken sandwich and Caesar salads are all between $20 and $30. We also found that the nice restaurant by the beach “Luna” (Pictured below) was almost always out of options. If you do end up in a villa, it will probably have a small kitchen, buy groceries in town and cook your own food it will be much better.
The prices for this type of vacation vary depending on the amount of days. They go from around $400 per couple and up, that includes round trip on the fast ferry and Hilton Hotel accommodations. The villas themselves are available through AirB&B and Homeaway. You can rent the villa directly from the owner and then just buy the ferry ticket round trip! Some homes come with the golf cart included.
Visit the shipwreck, eat with the locals, sunbathe with your bareback on the white sandy beach, let your hair loose as you drive around in your golf cart, launch at the pool, dance the night away at the disco, go shopping at a neighborhood store and make conversation with a local. Like they say, “It is better in the Bahamas”.
Check out our Instagram account at @Ric.saj and our YouTube channel (link on the homepage) for more adventures from Bimini.
Bye for now, until we write again!
