Bimini Bahamas Cruise Port

You’ve just booked your Bahamas cruise and notice a port you aren’t familiar with, Bimini. Don’t panic, I’ve been to Bimini, and also have booked numerous clients for port days there. I’m here to help you navigate this port so you can have a worry free vacation and get the most out of your stop in Bimini Bahamas.

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Where is Bimini?

Bimini is a small Bahamian island that is located 55 miles from Miami. It has been visited by Florida residents for years, but over the last few years has become a cruise port.

Currently, there aren’t many cruises that visit this island paradise, and that’s EXACTLY why you should go soon! The port hasn’t been overly commercialized yet. It’s not overrun with the “typical” cruise port shops and experiences.

I find Nassau to be a bit over-commercialized, which can be disappointing sometimes. Bimini is not like that (yet). Just like visiting Exuma, you will get true, authentic Bahamas when you visit Bimini.

Because the island is new to hosting cruises, there are some kinks that still need to work out. They don’t have it all figured out yet, and to me, that’s ok. Just be aware before you go, that there might be some hiccups.

The internet is slow, the tour guides are new, it takes some time to work it all out. The amount of cruise passengers exceeds the number of permanent residents on this tiny island. So go to Bimini, but go with grace and patience.

Cruise Excursions offered in Bimini

Since this is a very tiny island, and since the cruise I was on was only like the 3rd time it had been visited, I opted for a cruise-sponsored excursion. I often book independently but in this case, I’m glad I booked with the cruise line because everything was a bit chaotic once onshore. In fact, we actually booked 2 excursions this day, one to snorkel with sharks, and then beach 360 for the rest of the afternoon.

If you don’t want to book an excursion, there is a small beach right at the end of the ship’s pier that you can walk to and swim. There were stingrays and turtles right there. Easy peasy, and FREE.

The water around Bimini is GORGEOUS, so all of the ship-sponsored activities involve the water or beach in some way.

Snorkeling with Reef Sharks -This is the excursion we did, and I loved every single second of it! This 3-hour excursion offers the opportunity to swim with reef sharks. Read all about this epic day in this post: How to Swim with Reef Sharks in Bimini.

Beach 360 – this package was offered by the cruise ship. There is a tram that takes you to the resort, where you will find food, drinks, chairs, umbrellas, pools, and an incredible beach. We actually did this after the shark excursion so that we were guaranteed some beach time.

Now, after having done it, I would recommend just going to Radio Beach or the beach near the ship for free after the sharks. But if you aren’t doing sharks or another excursion, then Beach 360 would be an amazing day.

SS Sapona- This is a shipwreck from 1926 that ran aground during a hurricane. You can take a boat for about 20 minutes and snorkel around the site. I think this would be awesome and will do it the next time we are back in Bimini for sure.

There are also fishing packages, stingray excursions, conch diving, jet-skiing, and kayaking excursions to choose from.

How to get around on Bimini

You could rent a golf cart and tour the tiny island on your own. If you do this, be sure to check out some of the great beaches on Bimini. Public beaches include Radio Beach, Blister Beach, and Spookhill. You can also get a taxi from the pier to the beaches. We paid $5 USD for everywhere we wanted to go (per person).

If you book a private tour, or a “non-beach” tour you will get off the cruise ship and walk to the end of the pier. After exiting the pier area, you’ll cross the street to a grassy area near the beach. This is where the tour operators will be waiting with signs to pick you up.

The beach tours are offered a tram that runs from the pier to Beach 360. It makes stops along the way at the Hilton and the beach. This tram runs continuously throughout the day. We weren’t able to hop on the tram from the port without a ticket that specified we had the proper excursions, but we were able to get on it at the end of the day to ride back to the cruise ship.

You can also hire a taxi to take you anywhere you need to go. It’s $5 per person.

Be sure and visit Dolphin House while in Bimini. This one of a kind house is built from sea glass, shells, sea fans, and other natural artifacts. The owner and creator of Dolphin House is Mr. Ashley Saunders who is a poet, historian, and author. You can tour the museum and quest quarters at Dolphin House while visiting Bimini.

It was fun to visit Bimini and I think you will love it too! You just need to go there with the right expectations. It’s small, it is new to cruising, and it’s not overly developed. If you are looking for Margaritaville and Diamonds International you will be disappointed.

Bimini Quick Facts

Currency: Bahamian Dollar, but USD and Credit Cards are accepted.
Language: English (with a Bahamian twist)
Driving: You’ll drive on the same side of the road as the US, but roads are narrow and driving is a bit hectic. You’ve been warned.