Bimini, Bahamas - One Dudes Perspective

Oh Bimini. So little with so much. That is the only way to describe it. Bimini has so much going for it, with so much draw to the island with beautiful beaches and great fishing. But the island just can't seem to pull it together and bring itself up to another level. I will tell you that if you have never been to Bimini, you should go and experience it. It may be a one and done for most people; but I have been there 4 times in the last few years. I have traveled to Bimini by private boat and by seaplane. And this June I will be making another stop in Bimini by cruise ship. I think that just about covers it all. After all these trips in the last few years I will tell you how I preferred getting there, where I preferred staying, what I preferred to do and what I preferred to eat. Here we go.

How Did I Prefer to Get There:

Seaplane was without a doubt the fastest and easiest way to arrive to Bimini. Flying out of Fort Lauderdale, the flight is less than 30 minutes from wheels up to pontoons down. The plane lands in a little calm bay right next to the only hotel in town, the Hilton. You can literally walk off the plane and walk over to the Hilton in less than 5 minutes. If you pack light enough, this is the way to go. When I made this trip it was about $1100 for me and my wife and this price included the plane ride over and 2 nights at the Hilton. Not too bad really. The flight was calm and easy going and I am not the best flyer in the world but I do it cause I like to travel. Plane seats 8 people plus 2 pilots and as I said, it could not be faster. We took off at like 9am in the morning and landed at 9:28. Checked into hotel, luckily allowed, buy 10am. On the beach by 11am. Flying in this way gives you 2 full days in the beautiful water and hot sun. I highly recommend this way or transport. See the pic below.

Private boat is the other way that I have been to Bimini. And I have done this 3 times. But the 3rd time will most likely be the last. And here is why. When you travel in your own boat or a friends in this case, you bring a lot of shit! Excuse my language, but overpacking is an understatement. Because you are traveling in your own vessel, like driving in your car somewhere, you don't think twice about bringing that extra bag, extra water, extra alcohol, extra extra...you get it. Having all of modern day comforts is great, but you have to get it all from the boat to your Airbnb or hotel. This requires a golf cart and many many trips. Especially if you are traveling with wives and kids. Which we did. Depending on where your boat slip is at the marina, which is filled with some of the most expensive boats you will ever see, you could be hiking 100 plus yards from boat to the golf cart. Marina provides little carts, but in 100 degree heat, it is a full out job. I'd say on our last trip we made 10 trips from boat to golf cart. From golf carts to Airbnb. I was beyond exhausted by the time we got to our rental. We brought cases of water, case of wine, liquor, food, snacks, luggage, and everything else my wife could think of. It is cool to have you boat there, don't get me wrong, because you can go fish or make a trip to the Sapona. What's the Sapona you ask? The SS Sapona is shipwreck near Bimini that you can only get to by boat. It ran aground in 1926 and is still there to this day. Check it out below.

It's not in great shape mind you, but still cool to look at. People snorkel around it and some even jump off of it. Not this cowboy though. Anyway, remember what I said about making 10 trips from the boat to the golf carts, from the golf carts to the rental. On departure day, you do the same thing in reverse. It can be a beating. The other negative of traveling by private boat is the time it takes you to get there. This depends on your boat of course. But if you have a heavy boat weighed down by two families and a ton of baggage; plan on at least 4-5 hours making the crossing. Makes for a long day. But I will say that when you hit that super blue water, it is quite a thrill.

As I said earlier, I will be visiting by cruise ship in June. So I will get another perspective still.

Where did I Prefer to Stay:

When traveling by seaplane, we stayed at the Hilton at Resorts World Bimini. Honestly, had a great stay here. Rooms were very nice. Staff very friendly and accommodating. Hotel has multiple food options. There is a casino. Swimming pool on bottom floor and one on the roof. Several bars to choose from. Live music at night in the lobby. They have a shuttle that runs you from the hotel to the beach club that they share with cruise ships. When there is no cruise ship at port, you are given access to the beach club from the hotel. When there is a cruise there, it is a no go. Cruise ship uses the property for its guests. It appears as though Virgin may own this property and perhaps leases it out o other cruise lines when they don't have a ship there. I am sure there is some sort of relationship between Virgin, Hilton and the other cruise lines. Anyway, this hotel is a nice home base. Walking distance to little shops that are open sporadically and there is even a market where you can pay high dollar for things like water and local beer. They also have normal convenient store type items. This is what I would call the biggest inconvenience of being in Bimini. It is an island in the middle of the Bahamas so there is no grocery store to get what you need. And if they do have it, you will be paying extra for it. The hotel has several restaurants as I said, but most are very expensive. Be prepared for that. But it also has a sports bar type set up in the casino area where you can get normal sports bar fare like burgers and wings and such. Reasonably priced by comparison. Overall, Hilton was a good choice for us on one of our trips by seaplane. But this was an adults only trip which made a difference. Hilton Bimini website has these offers available most of the time.

My other trips we rented an Airbnb or Vrbo. I will not go into great details about this, but I will say on all 3 occasions of doing this, we found issues with the rentals. One had broken kitchen appliances and the beds looked slept in. Had to have the cleaning company come out and reclean the property. One had a clogged AC unit that hadn't been maintained. Had to get wet dry vac from boat to suck out drain line. I will just say that it must be tough to get good help on the island and the maintenance of the properties I have stayed out have been a little below par. The last apartment we stayed out with the broken AC also had no blinds in the kitchen window so in the morning or anytime for that matter, people could see right into our kitchen while making coffee. We ended up breaking down a box and putting it in the window. The other thing I will say that is if you do rent an Airbnb, you must figure out how to get to the property. There is no transportation. So you really need to rent a golf cart. Or find a local to drive you over for a fee. We always rent golf carts when we go as there is no other way to really get around the island. The gold carts are $100 a day to rent pus gas. Not cheap. And they are the most beat up, worn out, trashy golf carts you will ever see. Hands down. The worst. Plan on that expense and try to book in advance. If it is a busy weekend or a holiday, they will be gone. There are a couple places to rent them.

Those are really your only options for staying in Bimini unless you sleep on your own private boat. Which some do. We came with 2 families and just preferred to be together in one house as we could not all fit on the boat to sleep. The rentals prices are all over the board depending on the time of year. During holidays, prices are crazy. Off season, much better reasonable prices. Keep that in mind if you plan your trip to this isolated island.

What Do You Do and Where Do You Eat:

Honestly go to the beach, pools, beach club if your at the hotel or cruise in your boat to go fishing and swimming. This is what most people are doing here. Basically chilling. As i said before, fishing in this area is big so you will see the boats go out in the morning and return in the afternoon like the march of the penguins. But here is a list of other places that you can cruise to on your golf cart for food or entertainment.

Radio Beach: Local beach outside of resort area. A lot of boats back into Radio Beach and just hang out. There is music being played. Not live. There is a guy cutting open coconuts and making drinks with them. You can get some fried foods from another stand. Buy some Kalik beer. Bring your umbrellas or chairs if you have. Otherwise a local will hit you up for like $10 a piece for ratty chairs and umbrellas. It is a different environment here. As I said, it is a local beach with a lot of locals hanging out. Very laid back. You can walk along the beach here and get to the point where you see the boats coming in and out. Big dinosaur like shells are in the water and big rocks too here. But the water is crisp and clear. It is a different experience.

Edith's Pizza: local pizza place. Most people know about if they have been to Bimini enough times. My buddy loves it. Me, not as much. But you can get a lobster pizza that he thinks it the best thing ever. For me, I question the cleanliness a little and it ain't cheap. You order through a little window and then eat at covered picnic tables. There is an outdoor restroom that is less than clean. But you are on the water. That's all I will say. You love it or hate it.

Stuart's: Stuarts is where you go to get ceviche. If you are a ceviche fan, Stuart's has lobster, shrimp and conch. But again. This is outdoors. It is a little shack on the water where you can have some made to order ceviche and a cold Kalik. My friends love it and eat it up. And I think Stuart's has a lot of fans. Depends on your expectations. There is probably no health inspector running around keeping an eye on these places. That's all I am saying. In front of Stuarts there is stand with everything fried. Lobster tails, conch fritters, etc.. again this is literally an open wooden shack with some women with pots of oil frying up seafood. They serve it with "pink sauce" and off you go. I don't want to be critical of these places because these people are working hard trying to feed their families and are out there making it happen. So be your own judge and when in Rome.....

Hilton: As I said before, Hilton has a lot of food options and it's open to anyone. So go check it out. There is usually a DJ playing various music in the lobby, grab a drink at the lobby bar, make your way to the casino and throw some money on the tables, or hit the roof pool and grab a drink at the roof top bar. The casino will have dancing sometimes as well. This is attached to the marina so you'll get a very diverse crowd in here from your multi million dollar boat owners to your weekend warriors that came over on Balearia. Balearia is a huge high speed ferry boat that travels from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini every day. They have packages as well with the Hilton hotel.

Bottom line, if you get a chance to come to Bimini, you should do it for the water and the beach. Can't beat either one. Food options are limited. A lot of people come by boat. Seaplane is a great option if its in your budget. Package it with the Hilton hotel. And be prepared to chill and drink a lot of Kalik beer. What could be better?