Bimini is forty eight miles east of Miami and is the closest piece of the Bahamas to the United States, which is the whole reason anyone thinks about a boat there. What there is not, in any quantity, is a boat to rent on Bimini itself. Search for one and what comes back is Florida, because the market here is a crossing rather than a local fleet.
What the search actually returns
Read on 11 September 2026, a Bimini search on Sailo returns 444 boats at an average of 5,493 USD a day, from 400 to 59,000, and the listings themselves are in Miami: a 37 foot Monterry cruiser for twelve at 395 for two hours, a 26 foot Sea Ray for eleven at 244 for two hours, a 30 foot Sea Ray Amberjack for twelve at 350 for two hours. None of them is on Bimini and none of them is priced for a crossing. This is worth knowing before you plan a booking around it.
What a crossing involves
Forty eight miles of open water across the Gulf Stream, which runs north at two to three knots and turns steep and dangerous whenever the wind has any north in it. The crossing is done in two to three hours in a fast boat in settled conditions and is not attempted at all in a north wind. It also leaves the United States, so it needs passports, a Bahamian cruising permit and customs clearance at Alice Town, and a rental boat needs its owner's written permission to go.
The practical alternatives
Most people who get to Bimini on a boat do it on a scheduled fast ferry from Fort Lauderdale, on a private charter sold as a crossing rather than a rental, or on their own boat. If the aim is a day on Bahamian water rather than Bimini specifically, the day market at Nassau is far larger: Sailo lists 161 boats there at an average of 4,326 USD a day. If the aim is a week, The Moorings prices an Abacos charter for two from 5,579.
Questions people ask about boat rental bimini
Can you rent a boat on Bimini?
Barely. A Bimini search on Sailo returns 444 boats at an average of 5,493 USD a day and the listings are in Miami, not on the island, read on 11 September 2026.
Can you take a Florida rental to Bimini?
Only with the owner's written permission, and most contracts refuse it. The trip leaves the country, so it also needs passports, a Bahamian cruising permit and customs clearance at Alice Town.
How long is the crossing?
Forty eight miles, two to three hours in a fast boat in settled weather. The Gulf Stream runs north across the route at two to three knots and the sea state turns dangerous in any wind with north in it.
What is the alternative for a Bahamas day?
Nassau, where Sailo lists 161 boats averaging 4,326 USD a day. For a week on the water, The Moorings prices an Abacos charter for two from 5,579.