Adventures in Boating: Florida to the Bahamas by Boat

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism has a media campaign that features singer/songwriter Lenny Kravitz gliding across the crystal-clear waters of the Bahamas in a motor cruiser. His song “Fly Away” (which was inspired by the Bahamas, by the way) is the soundtrack. If that’s not enough to make you hop in your boat and head to the Bahamas, I don’t know what is.

The closest Bahamian island is only about 50 miles from the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area. With a little planning, you could fly away (by boat) for a weekend trip or a two-week adventure. Many boaters doing the Great Loop or cruising the ICW add in a side trip to the Bahamas. South Florida boaters have the convenience of sailing off to the Bahamas from their private boat dock rentals whenever they please.

Speed, weather and the size of your boat all play a part in how long it will take. Center consoles and offshore sportfishing boats are great choices for a boat trip from Florida to the Bahamas. This trip has also been done on jet skis and paddleboards, but let’s not go getting too crazy just yet.

It’s a fairly quick cruise (you can be in Bimini in around 2.5 hours), but Atlantic weather and Gulf Stream current (think of the Gulf Stream like a swift-moving river in the middle of the ocean) can play major parts in speed, comfort and sanity levels. A 2.5-hour trip can quickly turn into a 5-hour ordeal if the weather decides to act up.

Florida to the Bahamas by Boat

Photo: Pixabay

So, how exactly do you start your trip to the Bahamas from Florida by boat? If your boat dock rental is on the ICW or an inland canal, you’ll need to get to an inlet to the Atlantic. Inlets in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area include Port Everglades, Haulover and the Port of Miami. The first thing you’ll need to consider is bridge clearance.

Haulover Inlet (Photo: Wikimedia)

• Port Everglades, near Fort Lauderdale, is a great spot for departing Florida en route to the Bahamas. There’s parking for trailers, or you can sail your boat there from your private boat slip rental in Hollywood Beach, Pompano Beach or Fort Lauderdale.
  
  
• Haulover Inlet, north of Bal Harbour, is another popular point of departure, but it has a 32-foot fixed bridge. No problem in a cruiser or center console, but a sailboat or sportfish with high masts and flybridges will need to do some measuring beforehand. The inlet is part of a 99-acre park on a shoal between the Atlantic and Biscayne Bay. You can park your trailer here as well.
  
  
• Government Cut is a manmade shipping channel between Miami Beach and Fisher Island. It allows better access to the Port of Miami. Leaving out of Miami can be a problem if you have a catamaran or sailboat with a high mast that can’t be lowered. There are fixed bridges that are 32 and 55 feet high in Biscayne Bay.
  
  

Port Everglades (Photo: Wikimedia)

If your private boat dock for rent is located far south of Miami and Biscayne Bay, you’ll have no problem. Simply head out into the open ocean.

When entering the Bahamas by private boat, there are guidelines and regulations to follow, such as entry fees, vessel registration documents and more. Passports are required for U.S. citizens entering the Bahamas by boat. You’ll go through Customs and Immigration at the port as you enter the Bahamas. Likewise, you’ll go through U.S. Customs to re-enter the United States.

Discovering the Islands of the Bahamas by Boat

Photo: Pixabay

Once you’re in the islands, you can stay on your boat in marinas or anchor out in protected coves. Another option is to rent a house with a private boat slip. This makes it easy to sail off to other islands for day trips.  Lots of boaters take bikes with them for land use. Let’s take a quick look at some of the Islands of the Bahamas.

Bimini

Photo: Unsplash

Being the closest to Florida, Bimini is a great island to start out with. It’s famous for big game fishing – tuna, mahi-mahi, swordfish and wahoo - and was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway. Made up of North and South Bimini, the island’s history dates to the 1500s with Ponce de Leon.

Bimini attractions include the 1859 Great Isaac Lighthouse, the Ocean Cay Lighthouse at Ocean Cay – MSC Marine Reserve, the Dolphin House Museum and Bimini Road, an underwater 1,500-foot pathway of stones that many believe to lead to the Lost City of Atlantis. There are two bronze busts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr statues (his 1968 visit had an impact on the people of the island), one at Bimini Craft Center in Alice Town and one at The Healing Hole, a freshwater spring located in the mangroves of Bonefish Creek.

The Abacos

The Abacos, located in the northern Bahamas, is a 120-mile long island chain made up of Great Abaco and Little Abaco as well as several smaller islands such as Walker’s Cay, Green Turtle Cay and Moore’s Island. Underwater caves, coral reefs and Bahama parrots are some of the main sights in the Abacos.  

There are four National Parks: Pelican Cays Land & Sea Park, Abaco Wild Horse Preserve, Man-O-War Cay and Great Iguana Cay. Other attractions include Treasure Cay Blue Hole, the Man-O-War Heritage Museum, the 1864 Elbow Cay Lighthouse in Hope Town, the 1836 Hole in the Wall Lighthouse in South Abaco and the soft sand beaches of Cherokee Sound or Hope Town Beach.

Andros

Photo: Pixabay

Known as the Bonefishing Capital of the World, Andros is the largest island in the Bahamas. Eco-travelers will love the secluded beaches, native wildlife, freshwater lakes and blue holes filled with fish. You can kayak through mangroves and go fishing, snorkeling and swimming. Andros has the third largest fringing reef in the world. It’s 190 miles long and drops 6,000 feet into the Tongue of the Ocean.

Five national parks include Blue Holes National Park, the Crab Replenishment Reserve, North Marine Park, South Marine Park and West Side National Park. Be sure to visit Central Park, China Point and Goat Cay to snorkel among elkhorn coral and colorful blue tangs and triggerfish. For a bit of culture, check out local restaurants and bars for live music.

Eleuthera

Photo: Pixabay

Located to the south of the Abacos, Eleuthera offers New England architecture, pink beaches and pineapple plantations. Go diving at Sapphire Blue Hole or snorkeling among turtles and tropical fish at Ocean Hole. Divers can see the wheels and boiler plates of the Train Wreck barge that sank in 1865. Other activities include jet skiing, parasailing, kayaking or visiting the sea turtles at Edwin’s Turtle Lake Marine Reserve.

Harbour Island

The pink sand beaches of Harbour Island lie just northwest of Eleuthera. Devil’s Backbone reef has stingrays, turtles, elkhorn coral, brain coral and other marine life. Visit the 1797 Loyalist Cottage and pastel houses in Dunmore Town. This tranquil island has been called the Best Island in the Caribbean by Travel and Leisure magazine.

Exumas

Photo: Pixabay

A favorite of the rich and famous, the Exumas are made up of 365 cays and islands (hey, one for every day of the year). The largest is Great Exuma, which is 37 miles long and joined to Little Exuma by a bridge. Staniel Cay and its Thunderball Grotto cave was the site for a scene in the James Bond film Thunderball.

The Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park is a protected area created for the preservation of land and sea creatures such as the endangered Bahamian rock iguana, stromatolites algae and the hutia, a rare rodent not found anywhere else. One of the most popular (and certainly most unique) Bahamian attractions is Pig Beach on Big Major Cay. It’s uninhabited by humans but boasts a colony of feral pigs that love to swim out to boats and get treats.

Inagua

Photo: Pixabay

Inagua is the southernmost island of the Bahamas. It’s made up of Great Inagua and Little Inagua. Great Inagua is 20 miles long and about 55 miles wide, with Inagua National Park covering nearly half of it.

The island chain is home to more than 80,000 West Indian flamingos. In addition to the flamingos, birdwatchers will want to keep an eye out for the Bahama parrot, native hummingbirds and pelicans. Green turtles and hawksbill turtles nest and lay eggs among the mangroves and tidal creeks at Union Creek Reserve on Great Inagua.

Attractions include three national parks, the 1800s Great Inagua Lighthouse and the Morton Salt Factory, which is the second largest salt manufacturing facility in North America. Apparently, the sun, wind and ocean environment of a dry climate make the perfect recipe for salt production.

Long Island

Along with boating, diving and bonefishing, Long Island is known for cliffs, caves, coral reefs and secluded coves. Located east of Great Exuma, the island is about 80 miles long and four miles wide. Dean’s Blue Hole is the second deepest in the world, after the Great Blue Hole in Belize. Attractions include straw and crafts markets, the 1800s Twin Churches in the capital of Clarence Town, St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church and Hamilton’s Cave with its 50-foot-wide passages, 10-foot ceilings and cave drawings. Visit Sandy Cay to feed iguanas and see starfish and dolphins.

New Providence Island

Photo: Pixabay

New Providence Island is home to Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. It has a more urban, though still tropical, vibe with its nightlife, crafts markets and city streets. You can take a horse-drawn carriage ride or book sightseeing and snorkeling excursions to spots like Rose Island and the Dolphin Encounter experience at Blue Lagoon Island. Be sure to check out the pink Paradise Island Resort with its famous tower, aquarium and water slides. For more flamingos, visit the Ardastra Gardens, Zoo and Conservation Centre.

Whether you’re cruising the ICW, taking on the Great Loop or have a private boat slip rental in Florida, cruising to the Bahamas is not that far out of reach. Have you been to the Bahamas by boat? Let us know about your adventures!