Day Trip to the Bahamas From Miami: Ferry, Seaplane & Costs

A day trip to the Bahamas from Miami is possible, but it doesn’t start in Miami. Every same-day option I could confirm leaves from Fort Lauderdale: the Baleària Caribbean fast ferry from Port Everglades, or a Tropic Ocean Airways seaplane from the Sheltair terminal at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Bimini, about 85 kilometers (roughly 53 miles) east of Fort Lauderdale across the Gulf Stream, is the quickest island to reach, and Baleària also runs same-day ferry trips to Freeport on Grand Bahama on selected days. There is no regular passenger ferry from PortMiami to the Bahamas.

So the real planning question is how early you’re willing to get up, and which you’d rather spend: two hours on a boat or 25 minutes in a small plane. I checked each operator’s own site in October 2026 for departure times, prices and the passport rules, because those are what decide whether this works as a day trip.

Your options compared

Times, prices and document rules from Baleària Caribbean’s route pages and help center and from Tropic Ocean Airways’ Bahamas in a Day page, checked October 17, 2026. Baleària’s pages show several different starting fares: $180 on its general routes page, $235 on the individual route pages, and separate $250 and $199 Daytrip offers. They aren’t the same product, so check the final round-trip price, sailing times and cancellation terms for your exact date. Sailing days change by season.

The first thing to know: you leave from Fort Lauderdale

Searches for a Miami to Bahamas ferry are common, but there’s no regular passenger ferry from PortMiami to the Bahamas; PortMiami is for cruise ships. The Baleària Caribbean ferry uses Terminal 21 at Port Everglades, 2021 Eller Drive in Fort Lauderdale, and the seaplane flies from the Sheltair terminal at 1050 Lee Wagener Boulevard on the edge of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. From most of Miami, that’s an I-95 drive north of about 30 to 60 minutes, and the ferry wants you checked in well before 8 a.m. I’d aim to leave Miami around 5:30 to 5:45 a.m., depending on where you’re staying, and check live traffic before setting off. Port traffic and security add time, so build in a buffer rather than planning to arrive at the door-closing time.

If you’re staying in Miami Beach or downtown and don’t want to drive, several tour sellers run bus and ferry packages with hotel pickups as early as 5 a.m. and a return around 9 p.m. That’s a 15-hour day for roughly 6 hours on the island, by the seller’s own count, and you’re on the bus company’s clock at both ends. I’d only choose it if parking and driving in the dark are what worry you most. If you’re already sleeping near the cruise port for a different trip, my guide to hotels near the Miami cruise port covers that side of the bay.

The ferry: Baleària Caribbean to Bimini

Baleària Caribbean runs the high-speed ferry Jaume II from Port Everglades to Bimini in about 2 hours. For Fort Lauderdale departures, its help center says check-in opens at 6 a.m., the terminal doors close at 8 a.m., the ferry sails at 9 a.m., and it strongly suggests arriving between 6:15 and 6:45 a.m. Take the door time seriously: you’re clearing an international departure, not boarding a water taxi.

The fare to look for is the Daytrip. Baleària’s dedicated Bimini Daytrip page lists departures every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from $250 per passenger, with up to 8 hours on the island and a free Resorts World Bimini day pass, which it describes as a limited-time offer; a separate offer page lists the same pass with Wednesday, Friday and Sunday departures, so check the calendar for your date. There’s also a $199 Daytrip special advertised for Wednesdays. The terms matter on all of them: ferry-only, no cancellations, and changes cost a fee. The ferry lands at the Resorts World Bimini end of North Bimini, so that included day pass is the easiest way to spend the day without hunting for a taxi. Baleària says you return the same evening but doesn’t print the return time, and third-party sellers list an early-evening departure from Bimini with arrival back in Fort Lauderdale around 8 to 8:30 p.m., so check the exact return on your booking before you plan dinner.

Parking at the port is simple once you know where to go. Port Everglades says Terminal 21 is served by the Palm Parking Garage, which charges a $25 daily maximum, takes no reservations or prepayment, and has a 7-foot clearance, so a tall van or a roof box may not fit. The clock starts when you pull the ticket.

The seaplane: Tropic Ocean Airways’ Bahamas in a Day

If two hours each way on a boat sounds like the worst part of the day, the seaplane fixes it. Tropic Ocean Airways’ Bahamas in a Day package flies from the Sheltair terminal at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 8:30 a.m., lands in Bimini about 25 minutes later, gives you roughly 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the island, and leaves Bimini at 5:30 p.m. The listed price is $439 per person through November 22, 2026, against a regular $550, and it includes free parking, a private lounge, 30 pounds of luggage, access to Resorts World Bimini and its pools, and transport from the North Seaplane Base.

Two details to plan around. The aircraft seats eight passengers, so availability is limited. And the infant rule needs a phone call: the Bahamas in a Day page says children under 24 months need a booked seat, while Tropic Ocean Airways’ general FAQ allows one lap child under 24 months per ticketed adult and says infants still need a passport. Confirm which applies before you book. Time on the island is similar to the ferry Daytrip; what the seaplane buys you is about three fewer hours in transit. It leaves Bimini at 5:30 p.m. and should get you back to Fort Lauderdale around 6 p.m., before customs and the drive home. Ferry return times vary, so check your booking before making evening plans. I’d pick it for a first visit or a birthday, and the ferry for a budget trip or a group.

What a day in Bimini actually looks like

Bimini is small, quiet and very close to Florida, which is exactly why it works for a day. Both the ferry and the seaplane bring you to North Bimini, and both packages lean on Resorts World Bimini, the resort at the north end of the island with pools and a beach club. Alice Town, the island’s main settlement with its shops, bars and the older waterfront, is at the southern end of North Bimini, so getting there means a taxi or a rented golf cart rather than a walk. Baleària advertises up to 8 hours on the island, although your actual time ashore depends on your sailing and return times. Either way, I’d pick one: a resort beach day, or an afternoon exploring Alice Town. Trying to do both can mean spending too much of your island time in transit.

Two practical notes. The Bahamian dollar is pegged one to one with the U.S. dollar, and U.S. cash is accepted widely, so you don’t need to exchange money for a day. And the crossing is open ocean across the Gulf Stream; Baleària describes its Grand Bahama crossing time as “weather permitting,” and the same water sits between Florida and Bimini, so if anyone in your group gets seasick, the seaplane or a calm-weather day matters more than the fare.

Passports and customs

This is where day trips go wrong at the terminal. The U.S. State Department says U.S. citizens need a passport valid for their stay, with two blank pages, and no visa for stays of a month or less; it also notes that cruise passengers can use a document that complies with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. Baleària’s help center says U.S. citizens on its daytrips can use a valid passport book or passport card, and that birth certificates are not accepted, but its Bimini route page says a valid passport is required for all travelers. Tropic Ocean Airways says U.S. citizens need a valid passport book, and that international flights can’t be boarded with a passport card. My advice is simple: bring the passport book. It satisfies every option in this guide.

Coming home, you clear U.S. Customs and Border Protection when you arrive back in Fort Lauderdale. Nassau and Freeport airports have U.S. preclearance, where you clear customs before boarding the flight home, but Bimini isn’t on that list, so expect a customs line at the end of a long day.

Can you day trip to Nassau or Freeport instead?

Freeport works as a same-day ferry trip on selected days. Baleària’s Freeport Daytrip page lists departures every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, about 3 hours each way, up to 7 hours on the island and fares from $250, with the same no-cancellation terms. It doesn’t print the sailing times, so check them on your booking. I’d still choose Bimini for a first day trip, because Freeport means about six hours at sea for a shorter day ashore, but Freeport makes sense if your free day is a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. Nassau is on New Providence, much farther southeast, and isn’t on this Fort Lauderdale ferry route, so it’s a flight, not a ferry day. Flying there and back in one day is possible on paper, but airfare, airport time and the cost of getting around Nassau make it a very different trip from Bimini.

Which option fits your day

• Lowest cost: Baleària’s $199 Wednesday Daytrip special to Bimini, or the standard Daytrip from $250, both with the Resorts World Bimini day pass. Less convenient: the 6 a.m. check-in, the 2-hour crossing each way and no cancellations.
• Least time in transit: Tropic Ocean Airways’ seaplane, about 25 minutes each way, with the scheduled return leaving Bimini at 5:30 p.m. Allow extra time for customs and the drive home. Less convenient: $439 per person and only eight seats per flight.
• No driving: A bus and ferry package from your Miami hotel. Less convenient: pickups as early as 5 a.m., back around 9 p.m., and fixed timing at both ends.
• Grand Bahama: Baleària’s Freeport Daytrip on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from $250. Less convenient: about 3 hours at sea each way. Nassau means flying, so I’d plan it as its own trip.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. For Bimini, the Baleària Caribbean ferry leaves Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale at 9 a.m. for a crossing of about 2 hours, and Tropic Ocean Airways’ Bahamas in a Day seaplane leaves Fort Lauderdale at 8:30 a.m. for a 25-minute flight and returns from Bimini at 5:30 p.m. Baleària also runs a Freeport Daytrip on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, about 3 hours each way. All of these start in Fort Lauderdale, about 30 to 60 minutes’ drive from Miami.

There’s no regular passenger ferry from PortMiami. The Bahamas ferry operated by Baleària Caribbean leaves from Terminal 21 at Port Everglades, 2021 Eller Drive in Fort Lauderdale. Some tour sellers bus passengers from Miami and Miami Beach hotels to the ferry.

Baleària Caribbean’s Bimini Daytrip starts at $250 per passenger, and a $199 Daytrip special is advertised for Wednesdays; both include a Resorts World Bimini day pass and allow no cancellations. Tropic Ocean Airways lists its Bahamas in a Day seaplane trip at $439 per person through November 22, 2026. Parking at Port Everglades’ Palm Parking Garage adds up to $25 a day.

About 2 hours, according to Baleària Caribbean. Check-in opens at 6 a.m., terminal doors close at 8 a.m. and the ferry departs at 9 a.m. The Grand Bahama crossing takes about 3 hours.

Bring a passport book. Baleària Caribbean’s help center accepts a valid U.S. passport book or passport card for U.S. citizens on its daytrips and does not accept birth certificates, but its Bimini route page says a valid passport is required. Tropic Ocean Airways requires a passport book for its seaplane trips and doesn’t accept passport cards.

Port Everglades says the Palm Parking Garage serves Terminal 21. It charges a $25 daily maximum, takes no reservations or prepayment, and has a 7-foot clearance.

Nassau is a flight, not a ferry day, because it’s much farther southeast than Bimini and isn’t on the Fort Lauderdale ferry route. If you want another same-day ferry option, Baleària runs a Freeport Daytrip to Grand Bahama on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, about 3 hours each way with up to 7 hours on the island.