Cheap and fast: how to get from Florida to the Bahamas by ferry

A woman spent just $200 round trip on a solo day trip by ferry from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Bimini, a small chain of islands in the Bahamas, about 80 miles east of Miami, reports Insider.

Photo: IStock

She bought a two hour ferry ride from the Balearia Carribean. Her round-trip ferry ride from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini cost just over $200 thanks to a spring break promotion. Prices are usually around $225.

Prices can vary by time of year and airline, but a 45-minute flight from South Florida to Bimini typically costs $50-$60 more than a ferry.

On the subject: The airline offers passengers to pay $40 and fly without a neighbor

“Flying would be faster, but I had never been on a ferry from Miami to the Bahamas before, despite living in Florida for almost six years. I wanted to experience it,” said India Amos.

First she went to Port Everglades for a landing.

Landing

Amos left Miami and took almost 40 minutes to drive to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale from Dade City. The ship was scheduled to leave at 9:00 am, and the information she received from Balearia said that the passengers should arrive two hours early.

Around 7:00 am, Amos pulled into the Palm Parking Garage, which is right next to the terminal that Balearia regularly uses. Parking for the day was $15, which was fine with Amos because she planned to return in the evening.

She printed out her boarding pass and only had a small backpack, so check-in was easy, she says.

She showed her passport, went through security and the ticket counter, and was ready to board. “I was given a wristband that confirmed that I was a passenger on a day trip, that I would get off at the first stop on the ship before the ship headed to Freeport,” Amos said. .

An hour later the gates opened and people were able to get on board. As soon as boarding began, Amos realized that she was surrounded by people who had traveled on this ferry before.

Ferry ride

Passengers did not have allocated seats on the ferry, so seats were on a first-come, first-served basis.

“I always feel confident about choosing a seat on a ship or plane any day, so I was one of the last to board. Luckily, the ferry wasn’t crowded on Wednesday, so I was still able to get a window seat by myself,” she says.

People around Amos commented on this trip and compared it to others, which made her think that she was with people who made this trip regularly.

“The ferry left on time, and I received coffee and snacks only 40 minutes later. I can only imagine how long this would have taken if the ship had been full,” Amos said.

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The trip turned out to be more difficult than she expected.

“When I was 18, I sailed across the Irish Sea to Dublin from Wales and thought everything was fine. Now, a decade later, I can confidently say that I am not immune to seasickness,” says Amos.

“I'm not sure if the sea was rougher than usual, but I definitely felt the rocking of each wave as we sailed to our stop in Bimini. Going out on deck to look at the waves helped a little,” she said.

The trip took almost exactly two hours, and the ferry docked in Bimini Harbor at 11:00. When passengers disembarked at Bimini, preference was given to passengers traveling for one day.

“When we reached our stop in North Bimini, the ship's crew announced to day trip passengers to disembark first. I showed the bracelet that I received back in Fort Lauderdale to go out,” Amos said.

Five minutes later she was already on the dock. A few minutes later, a river bus came up and picked up the passengers to take them to the island.

“Because we were the first ones off the boat, we didn't have to wait to get on board,” she says.

Amos was only going to be in the Bahamas for one day, so she appreciated how Balearia was keen to make the most of her time on the island.

“The area of ​​the island I was in is really geared towards tourists,” she said.

time on the island

When she first stepped off the boat, her group was immediately driven to the entrance of the Hilton Hotel at Resorts World Bimini. As they exited the shuttle, they were greeted by half a dozen people who tried to convince them to spend $60 on golf cart rentals. This is one of the most common ways tourists explore the island during the day.

“Even though I was here to relax, I didn't want to just spend time at the hotel. So, before heading to the Hilton, I decided to explore the island on foot,” says Amos.

The further south she went, the fewer tourists she met.

“The weather was warm and pleasant, and I saw a lot of shops that I would have missed if I had driven past on a golf cart. Locals and visitors have stopped me more than a dozen times asking if I wanted to go for a ride, so I guess it's unusual to walk the length of the island,” she says.

She eventually made it to Radio Beach, which was completely empty.

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Even though Amos was alone, she felt incredibly safe and enjoyed her time alone. After spending some time on a secluded beach, she returned to the Hilton.

When Amos was planning her trip a few days before arriving in North Bimini, she found out that it was possible to get a Bimini Beach Club day pass for $39. Already on the island, Amos learned that she could get a day pass to the Hilton's outdoor pool for about $15. Since she had only a few hours left on the island after lunch, she chose this option.

“The pool was clean, stylish and almost empty, as was the beach,” says Amos.

Road back

When it was finally time to leave, there was a slight hitch: the ferry was returning from Freeport and was delayed. Balearia reported this to Hilton, and the hotel allowed Amos and other passengers to wait in the lobby until their shuttle arrived.

“Instead of boarding from 18:00 to 20.00:19.00 pm, we arrived on the ferry a little after XNUMX:XNUMX pm. The landing felt a little rushed, but we still set off in time to get back to Florida,” says Amos. “Coming back was the most stressful part of my trip.”

After a long day of walking and traveling, Amos was ready to get back to Miami as quickly as possible. However, when the ferry docked just after 22 p.m., passengers were told they needed to wait another half hour for all luggage to be removed from the ship before disembarking.

“The ferry had two levels of seating and I was on the top, so we had to wait for the passengers below to disembark before we could do it,” she says. “As soon as we got off the ferry, passengers with their checked luggage collected their bags and we cleared customs and immigration before I returned to my car.”

Amos says she will definitely return to the Bahamas, but probably not for a day trip.

“Based on my short time on the island, I think North Bimini is a great destination for resort lovers or solo travelers looking for peace and quiet. I definitely want to go back to the Bahamas and visit another island, but I don’t think I’ll be taking a day trip again anytime soon,” she said.

She noted that Balearia and Hilton made the stay as comfortable and joyful as possible, but it was a long day.

“I'm glad I got a piece of Bimini, but next time I would like to spend a little more time on the islands,” Amos concluded.

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