Bimini Day Charters from Miami
A private yacht from Miami to the Bahamas and back in a day. Eight hours, from $8,000. Broker-led since 1992.
Reviewed by Adrian Sneed, Charter Broker at Sneed Tropical Yacht Charters — a family brokerage arranging Bahamas charters since 1992. Rates, taxes and fees checked August 2026.
A private yacht from Miami to Bimini and back inside one day. Eight hours only — the crossing is roughly 48 to 55 nautical miles each way, so shorter bookings do not work. From $8,000, on boats of 53 to 80 feet — nothing smaller, because the Gulf Stream is no place for a small boat. Everyone aboard needs a valid passport, and the yacht clears Bahamian customs and immigration on arrival. Because the day starts and finishes in Florida, Bahamian VAT and the cruising fee do not apply — a US tax of 7% applies instead. Not every yacht is all-inclusive, so fuel, catering and dockage may sit outside the rate.
This is the shortest way to stand on a Bahamian beach and sleep in Florida the same night. It is also the day charter with the most moving parts, because you are crossing an international border and the Gulf Stream in the same morning. Both are entirely routine on the right boat, in the right weather, with a captain who does it regularly — and neither is something to improvise.
How the day actually runs
Eight hours, and a large part of it is running. That is not a complaint, it is the maths, and it is the reason we do not sell this as a four or six hour charter.
You board in Miami early — earlier than people expect, because the sea state is usually best in the morning and the day only gets shorter from there. The crossing takes two to three hours depending on the yacht — nearer two on a fast motor yacht, nearer three on a slower one. You clear in on arrival, which takes half an hour to an hour. That leaves the middle of the day at Bimini: a beach, a swim, lunch ashore or aboard, the sandbar if the tide is right. Then you turn around with enough margin to be back in Miami in daylight.
What that buys you is a genuine change of country for a day. What it does not buy you is a long, lazy afternoon — if that is what you want, the honest answer is an overnight in Bimini rather than a day trip, and we will tell you so.
A day in Bimini, stop by stop
This is the shape of the day we book most often. The times move with the yacht, the sea state and how long you want to stay in the water, so treat it as the plan rather than the timetable — your captain will adjust it in front of you.
- Early morning
Depart Miami
Board and go. Early is deliberate: the sea state across the Stream is usually at its best in the morning, and every hour you leave later is an hour off the far end of the day.
- Late morning
Arrive in Bimini and clear in
Two to three hours across, depending on the yacht, then thirty to sixty minutes to clear Bahamian customs and immigration. Your captain handles the paperwork; you need to be there with your passport.
- Midday
Radio Beach
The beach at Alice Town on North Bimini, and the first place most groups get in the water. Shallow, sheltered and a short walk from the harbour.
- Lunch
Ebbie’s
Lunch ashore. Conch, cold drinks, and the part of the day where it stops feeling like a boat trip and starts feeling like you went somewhere.
- Early afternoon
Snorkel the S.S. Sapona
The concrete-hulled wreck standing in shallow water south of Bimini — grounded there since a hurricane in the 1920s and now the island’s best-known snorkel. You can see the whole of it without diving.
- Mid afternoon
Gun Cay
South of Bimini, and the last swim of the day: nurse sharks and rays in clear, shallow water, habituated and entirely unbothered by people.
- Late afternoon
Depart Bimini
Turn for home with enough margin to be back in daylight. The captain builds that margin in rather than trimming it — the return leg is not the place to be optimistic.
- Evening
Back in Miami
Alongside, and the captain reports the arrival to US Customs and Border Protection. Do not book anything tight for the evening.
Everything here is weather-dependent and swappable. If the Stream is lively, the crossing takes priority and the stops compress; if it is flat, there is usually time for one more swim than the plan allows.
The crossing, and the Gulf Stream
Miami to Bimini is about 48 to 55 nautical miles depending on where you leave from and where you arrive. Between the two runs the Gulf Stream, which sets north at roughly two to four knots. A captain steers south of Bimini to compensate; a boat that steers straight at it arrives well north of where it meant to.
The Stream is also why the weather question is not really about rain. When wind blows against a north-setting current — a northerly, in other words — the sea gets short, steep and unpleasant fast. A twelve-knot northerly across the Stream is a worse day than a twenty-knot easterly. This is the single most useful thing to understand about booking this trip, and it is why a good captain will move your date rather than run it.
What size boat, and why it decides your day
On most charters the size of the yacht is a question of space and budget. On this one it is a question of how the crossing feels, and occasionally of whether it happens at all.
We list boats from 53 to 80 feet for this trip, and we will not put you on anything smaller than 53. That floor is deliberate. The Gulf Stream can get up, and a boat under about fifty feet in a lively sea does not give you a brisk ride — it gives you a couple of hours of being thrown around on the way out, and the same on the way home, with a few hours of trying to enjoy a beach in between. Nobody has a good day on that boat. So it is not offered.
Above the floor, the rule is simple: the bigger the boat, the less the weather gets a say. An eighty-footer carries its way through a sea that would have a fifty-three-footer slowing down and picking its line. The same forecast that turns a smaller boat’s day into an endurance test is, on a larger one, a slightly bumpy hour and then breakfast.
That is the real reason the price range on this trip is as wide as it is. You are not only buying more room and more crew when you go up in size — you are buying a better chance that the day runs as planned, and a considerably better chance that you enjoy the parts either side of the beach.
And when it is genuinely rough, the captain calls it off. That decision sits with them, it is made on the morning rather than the week before, and it is not negotiable — which is exactly what you want from the person driving. A bigger boat widens the window in which the day still goes ahead; it does not remove the window. If your dates cannot move, tell us at the enquiry stage, because it changes which end of the fleet we shortlist.
Passports, clearing in, and getting home
This is a foreign country, and a day trip does not change that.
Everyone needs a valid passport
Every person aboard, including children. An expired passport is not a passport — check the dates now rather than at the dock, because there is no way to make this work without one.
The yacht clears into the Bahamas at Bimini
Clearance is handled on arrival at one of the recognised points — the Bimini Big Game Club, the Government Dock at Alice Town, or Brown’s Marina. It typically takes thirty to sixty minutes and involves the routine questions about where you came from and what is aboard. Your captain handles the paperwork; you need to be present with your passport.
Returning to the United States
The captain reports the vessel’s arrival back to US Customs and Border Protection. The usual route is CBP ROAM, the free app that lets pleasure boats report entry from a phone and returns an admissibility decision; in some circumstances CBP still requires a face-to-face inspection at a port of entry. Again, the crew runs this — but it is why the return leg has time built into it.
What a Bimini day charter costs
From $8,000 for the eight hours. The spread above that comes down to the yacht: size, speed, crew and how much fuel the crossing takes. Our fleet for this trip runs from 53 to 80 feet, and where you sit in that range changes the ride as much as the room — see what size boat above. Speed genuinely matters here in a way it does not on a Nassau day charter — a faster boat buys you time on the beach rather than time on the water.
As with all our day charters, not every yacht is all-inclusive. On some, fuel for a hundred-mile round trip, catering and any dockage in Bimini are inside the number. On others they are billed on top, and fuel for this particular trip is not a small line. We tell you which is which, in writing, before you choose — comparing two Bimini quotes without knowing whether fuel is in them is comparing nothing at all.
The tax is US, not Bahamian
This catches people out, and in your favour. Because a Bimini day charter departs from and returns to Florida, it is not taxed as a Bahamian charter: the 10% Bahamian VAT and the 4% cruising fee that apply to a week in the islands do not apply here. What applies instead is a US tax of 7%.
On an $8,000 day that is a real difference — and it is worth checking against any quote you are comparing, because a boat quoting you Bahamian VAT on a charter that begins and ends in Florida is quoting you something that should not be there. Crew gratuity is customary, discretionary, and sits outside the rate either way.
When the day moves
More often than for a Nassau day charter, and you should book expecting it. A front through Florida with wind out of the north turns the Stream into a washing machine, and no reputable captain crosses it with guests aboard for the sake of a booking. A larger boat widens the window in which the day still runs, but it does not remove it — on a genuinely rough morning the charter is called off whatever you are on. Build a spare day into your trip if you can, and tell us at the enquiry stage if your dates are immovable — it changes which yachts we shortlist, and occasionally it changes our advice about whether to do this at all that week.
If the crossing is off, the same yacht can usually still give you a good day in Biscayne Bay and the Florida reefs instead. Not the same trip, but not a wasted one.
Swipe to see both brokers
Offices in Palm Beach Gardens, San Juan and Barcelona. 3,000+ vessels in the network, 40 to 300+ feet.
Tell us your date and your group size
Tell us the week, the island group and how many are aboard. Your broker comes back with yachts that are actually free — not a catalogue — and replies within 24 hours.
Bimini day charter FAQs
Can you really do Miami to Bimini and back in one day?
Yes, on a fast motor yacht, and it is an eight-hour charter — not four or six. The crossing is about 48 to 55 nautical miles each way and takes two to three hours in each direction depending on the yacht, plus thirty to sixty minutes to clear Bahamian customs on arrival. That leaves the middle of the day at Bimini.
How much does a Bimini day charter from Miami cost?
From $8,000 for the eight hours. Above that it depends on the yacht’s size, speed and crew, and on how much fuel the round trip takes. Not every yacht is all-inclusive — on some, fuel, catering and dockage are billed separately, and on a hundred-mile round trip the fuel line is not small. We confirm what each rate covers in writing.
Do we pay Bahamian VAT on a Bimini day charter from Miami?
No. Because the charter departs from and returns to Florida, it is not taxed as a Bahamian charter — the 10% Bahamian VAT and the 4% cruising fee that apply to a week in the islands do not apply. A US tax of 7% applies instead. If a quote you are comparing shows Bahamian VAT on a day trip that begins and ends in Florida, ask about it.
Do we need passports for a Bimini day trip?
Yes. Every person aboard needs a valid, unexpired passport, children included. There is no way around it — you are entering the Bahamas, even for an afternoon.
Where do you clear customs in Bimini?
At one of the recognised clearance points on arrival: the Bimini Big Game Club, the Government Dock at Alice Town, or Brown’s Marina. It usually takes thirty to sixty minutes. Your captain handles the paperwork, but you need to be there with your passport.
What happens when we come back into the United States?
The captain reports the vessel’s arrival to US Customs and Border Protection, normally through CBP ROAM, the free app that lets pleasure boats report entry and receive an admissibility decision. In some cases CBP requires an in-person inspection at a port of entry instead. Time for this is built into the return leg.
What size boat will we be on, and does it matter?
It matters more here than on almost any other charter. We list boats from 53 to 80 feet for this trip and will not put guests on anything smaller than 53 feet, because the Gulf Stream can get up and a small boat in a lively sea means hours of being thrown around at both ends of the day. Above that floor the rule is simple: the bigger the boat, the less the weather affects it. Going up in size buys a better ride and a better chance the day runs as planned, not just more room.
What if the weather is bad?
The trip moves. The Gulf Stream sets north at two to four knots, and when the wind blows from the north against it the sea becomes short and steep very quickly — a twelve-knot northerly is a worse crossing than a twenty-knot easterly. No responsible captain crosses with guests in those conditions. Build a spare day into your trip if you can, and tell us at enquiry if your dates cannot move.
Can we book fewer than eight hours?
No. The crossing alone accounts for four to six hours of running, so a shorter booking would mean arriving and immediately turning around. If you want a shorter day on the water, a day charter from Nassau or in Biscayne Bay makes more sense.
Why book the crossing through Sneed
A family brokerage that has been arranging charters since the year it opened.
Founded in 1992 by Hansel Sneed, broking charters since 1991. Meet the team.
What happens after you enquire
Four things, in this order.
- One dedicated broker. You deal with the same person from first enquiry through to disembarkation, not a call centre or a rotating queue.
- A reply within 24 hours. A broker reads every enquiry personally and comes back with a shortlist, or an honest answer if your dates are tight.
- No obligation at enquiry. We shortlist and quote against your dates before you commit to anything. If nothing fits, we say so.
Planning more than a day? See Bahamas yacht charters, or a day charter from Nassau if you would rather fly across than cross by sea.
Send your dates
Tell us the week, how many are aboard and whether your dates can move, and your broker comes back with the yachts that are actually free — and what they will cost with APA included. Get your shortlist.