Bimini from Miami: the ferry reality and the flight option

Last reviewed: November 7, 2026. Sources for this page are listed in its fact sheet.

Short answer first. The search that brought you here rests on a wrong address. No scheduled passenger ferry sails from PortMiami to Bimini. The Balearia Caribbean fast ferry sails from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, about 30 miles north, and crosses to North Bimini in about 2 hours. Your second route is newer than most guides know: since February 14, 2026, American Airlines flies nonstop from MIA to South Bimini (BIM) in 50 minutes, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, the first US nonstop service Bimini has had. Ferry with a Fort Lauderdale start, or a 50 minute flight from the airport you'd use anyway. Those are the real choices, and this page prices the time on both.

A catamaran ferry underway. Stock photo, not the Balearia ship. Photo: Alexandra May, Pexels.

The ferry: Fort Lauderdale to North Bimini in about 2 hours

Balearia Caribbean runs the crossing from Terminal 21 at Port Everglades, 2021 Eller Drive, Fort Lauderdale. The crossing takes about 2 hours. Check-in starts 3 hours before departure and the terminal doors close 1 hour before, per the operator's terms, so a 9:00 a.m. sailing means a 6:00 a.m. check-in start and an 8:00 a.m. hard door. In the fall 2026 pattern from the operator's booking calendar, Bimini sailings run on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, out at 9:00 a.m. and back at 6:00 p.m. in the winter pattern; November 2026 dates on the calendar run 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27 and 29. Sailing days change by season, and the calendar is the ruling source on the week you travel. Read it, not this page's snapshot.

Getting to the ship from Miami is its own leg. By car it's about 30 miles, 30 to 45 minutes in normal traffic, plus port parking. Without a car, the route from our existing pages is Brightline from MiamiCentral to the Fort Lauderdale station, then about 3 miles, roughly 10 minutes by taxi or rideshare, to Port Everglades. The train doesn't stop at the port. Our port comparison covers Port Everglades parking and terminals if you're driving up and leaving the car.

Where the ferry lands: Resorts World Bimini, and a name that left

The ferry dock sits at Resorts World Bimini on North Bimini, a 750 acre resort that also hosts the island's cruise port, with calls from lines including Virgin Voyages, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Celebrity, Holland America and Norwegian per the resort. It is the default base for a ferry trip: the hotel, the beach club and the marina are the destination for most day and weekend visitors. One correction to older guides, including older pages in this market: the resort's hotel traded as a Hilton from 2015 and left that system in April 2025. The resort's own site now brands the property as Resorts World Bimini only. If a booking page still sells you a Hilton in Bimini, you're reading a stale listing. Book the resort under its current name and check the room details on its own site.

The flight: American nonstop, MIA to South Bimini, 50 minutes

The flight option changed on February 14, 2026, when American launched nonstop service from Miami International to South Bimini, billed by the Bahamas as the first ever US nonstop to the island. The pattern from the launch announcement: Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, MIA 10:05 a.m. to BIM 10:55 a.m., back BIM 11:40 a.m. to MIA 12:30 p.m., on an Embraer E-175. Fifty minutes in the air. Note the geography: the airport is on South Bimini and the resort and ferry dock are on North Bimini, joined by a short local transfer and ferry link between the islands, so the flight's door to door math includes that hop. Smaller carriers fill the other days: Tropic Ocean Airways runs daily seaplanes from Fort Lauderdale's Sheltair terminal to the North Bimini seaplane base, and Aztec Airways lists Fort Lauderdale to Bimini flights on Thursdays and Sundays in current listings. Schedules on the small carriers move often. Confirm on the carrier's own page before you build a connection on one.

Documents: the sea route and the air route are different

Bimini is the Bahamas, so this is international travel 50 miles from Miami. For the flight, US citizens need a passport book; a passport card isn't valid for air travel. For the ferry, Balearia's own rule governs boarding: the operator requires a valid passport for every passenger including children, and accepts the passport book and the passport card for the sea route, with no birth certificate option. Read that again if you're traveling with kids. The ferry's document line is the operator's, and it's stricter than the general closed loop cruise pattern many families expect. The US State Department's Bahamas page at travel.state.gov carries the current entry rules, and it's the page to check in the week you travel, because entry and declaration rules change outside anyone's guide.

Ferry or flight, by trip shape

A long weekend at the resort: the flight, if your days match its Monday, Wednesday and Saturday pattern; the ferry if they don't. A day trip: the ferry is the honest day product, out in the morning and back at 6:00 p.m., with the early Fort Lauderdale start priced in. The flight's midday pattern makes a same day return tight against the island transfer. No passport book, passport card only: the ferry, under the operator's rule above. Seasick in small boats: a 2 hour fast ferry in open water is still a boat. Take the 50 minute flight. Our Bimini ferry day trip page covers the day trip version in detail, and the cruise hub covers the third way to see Bimini, on a cruise call.

Frequently asked questions

Why do so many sites say the ferry leaves from Miami?
Because Miami is the market and Fort Lauderdale is the port, and sloppy pages merge them. The terminal address is the tell: 2021 Eller Drive is Fort Lauderdale.

Can I visit Bimini without a passport?
Under the rules checked for this page, no. The flight needs a passport book, and the ferry operator requires a passport for every passenger including children, book or card.

Is Bimini a day trip or a weekend?
Both work. The ferry day is long and starts early. The weekend version, either route, is the relaxed one, and Miami Beach hotels on Expedia cover the night before if your start is early.

Keep planning

Next steps: the Bimini ferry day trip, the PortMiami or Port Everglades comparison, the Fort Lauderdale Brightline day trip, and Miami cruises and water tours on Viator.