879Snorkel the SS Sapona, meet reef sharks and stingrays, and be back for the ferry. The 4-Stop Snorkeling Adventure supplies the gear, the guide and the boat; you bring a towel and the courage to jump in.
Three kinds of outing fill a day here: guided boat trips to the reefs and wrecks, a land tour through Alice Town, or a self-guided day on the beaches with a golf cart. The boat trip suits anyone who wants sharks, stingrays and the SS Sapona in one go. The land tour suits history fans and photographers. Pick by whether you would rather be in the water or on it.
Check that each traveler's passport has at least six months of validity left before you book, and confirm any required Bahamian entry visa for non-US citizens on the Bahamian immigration website ahead of the sailing date.
Rated 4.5 by recent guests, this three-hour trip packs four stops: reef sharks, stingrays, a sunken plane and the Sapona wreck.
The cheapest crossing on this site, with about six hours of free time on the island and a full bar and duty-free shop aboard.
Hotel pickup included from Miami and around five hours on the island, with the ferry arriving about 11 am and returning by about 8 pm.
The boat is yours alone for three hours, with a photographer on board and a custom itinerary you set with the captain.
The water tours put you in the sea at four different spots in a single morning: a sunken plane wreck, the concrete hull of the SS Sapona, a bay full of southern stingrays, and a shark arena where Caribbean reef sharks gather on the sound of the boat's engine.
Gear, guide and bottled water come with the ticket, so you show up with a swimsuit and a towel.
The land version covers Alice Town at a slower pace: the Compleat Angler Hotel where Hemingway wrote, the End of the World Bar, the Straw Market, a conch harvesting demonstration and an island lunch. Both run a few hours, leaving the rest of your island time free.
Green marks the lowest price. Each price says whether it is per person or per group.
Amazing tour!!! Four snorkel spots, all wonderful.
If you only do one thing in Bimini, make it this. Our favorite summer adventure yet. Swimming with sharks was the best snorkel stop, and feeding stingrays was incredible ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So much fun at every snorkel stop and feeding the stingrays. Guides gave us plenty of time at each spot, friendly and super helpful.
The whole trip was wonderful, saw all the marine life, guides were very nice. AAA PLUS
The excursion was sensational, everything promised was fully delivered. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable.
Loved our snorkel trip with 700 Adventures. Nice, fast boat, accommodating and kind crew. Janae's knowledge along the way was great. A perfect day in Bimini.
Everything was incredible, guides very personable. They were informative about each location's history and made sure we had a safe, enjoyable experience.
Swimming with reef sharks and feeding stingrays was the best part of the trip.
Many were surprised how much time the guides gave at every stop, and how bright the water looked.
Several reviewers wished someone had confirmed their pickup time and meeting point a day ahead.
Match the tour date to your ferry or seaplane arrival. The fast ferry sails Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays most weeks, so a boat excursion works best on one of those days.
Pick the 3-hour 4-stop snorkeling adventure for sharks, stingrays and the SS Sapona, the 2.5-hour island tour with lunch, or the private boat adventure with a photographer. Each lists what is included.
Pay online and the confirmation and operator messages arrive by email. Read them closely, because the meeting point varies: the 4-stop snorkeling adventure meets at the Piano lounge behind the Resorts World check-in desk.
Expect about an hour for vessel clearance and immigration at the ferry dock before you can walk to your meeting point. Ferry arrivals land around 11 am, so a morning slot really means an early afternoon on the water.
Check-in for the return ferry closes one hour before the vessel departs, and check-in opens two hours ahead. Plan your tour to end with that buffer in mind.
Book a morning boat excursion and it wraps up by about 1 pm, leaving the whole afternoon for the beach. The multi-stop tour lasts around 3 hours, which fits comfortably inside the 5 to 6 free hours a day-trip ferry allows, as long as you allow an hour to check in for the return sailing.
US dollars are accepted everywhere, so there is no need to exchange money. Card acceptance is inconsistent, though, and some beach bars and taxi drivers prefer cash. Carry some dollars for gratuities and small vendors.
Gratuities are not included in any of the tour prices. In Bimini it is customary to tip dive guides and boat crew 15 to 20 percent of the trip cost, in cash. Bring it along rather than assuming it is settled by card.
The island tours can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund. Rough seas sometimes force captains to reroute offshore trips, and a morning booking gives the calmest water before afternoon winds pick up.
Every excursion on this page allows free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund. Captains cancel or reroute Sapona trips when seas turn rough, and snorkel boats simply run to sheltered reefs instead. Either way, your booking is protected.
A valid passport or passport card is required for every passenger, including children. Travelers must also hold authorization to re-enter the United States, such as an ESTA. Provide passport details when booking, since a ferry operator's incorrect data costs the booking.
The 4-stop snorkeling adventure is not suitable for non-swimmers or anyone with back problems, mobility impairments, or heart conditions. The private boat adventure excludes babies under 1 year and people over 95. Ferry day trips do not take pregnant travelers.
Boat excursions supply complete snorkeling gear, masks, fins, and flotation vests, plus bottled water and guided site access. No separate marine park fee or access tag is charged to tour participants. Bring your own swimwear, towel, and reef-safe sunscreen.
The 4-stop snorkeling adventure meets at the Resorts World hotel Piano lounge, in the seating area behind the check-in desk. Other snorkeling boats commonly leave from Kayak Beach at the end of the cruise pier or from marinas around Alice Town. Pick-up and drop-off come included with the guided tours.
The Bahamas protects sharks by law as a national shark sanctuary. Guests on shark excursions keep hands against their chest, wear fins continuously, and never chase or touch a shark. Guides monitor every swim and will watch from the surface with hesitant swimmers.
Southern stingrays gather in the shallow water at Honeymoon Harbour and swim over to arriving boats within minutes. Shuffle your feet as you walk in the water, because rays bury themselves in the sand. Never step on or grab one, as they carry barbs.
One boat, three wildlife stops and an evening ferry: an excursion day in Bimini runs on tight timing. The long travel day either pays off or it doesn't, and the difference is the schedule you book.
Book the morning boat: shared excursions wrap up by 1 pm and leave the afternoon free.
Be back at the ferry terminal a full hour before the return sailing, when doors close.
Carry US cash, because cards are unreliable off the resort.
The arithmetic is blunt. A ferry day trip turns into 15 to 17 hours door to door, and only 4 to 6 of them happen on the island. Check-in opens up to three hours before the ferry sails, the crossing takes two, and clearing in on arrival eats another hour before you reach the sand.
It is worth it when you have an open day and are happy with an early start and a long travel day. The island is small enough that one good boat trip plus an afternoon on a beach fills it.
A Florida vacation of three or four days has no room for a 15-hour detour, and an agenda with two water tours in one day leaves no time for the island itself.
If the transit puts you off, flying shortens it. A seaplane crosses in about 25 minutes, skips the ferry terminal crowds, and lands you with around 8 hours on the island, which is why the Bimini Bahamas by Seaplane - Day Trip suits travelers who want more island time than the ferry allows.
One more thing to know before you go: the island is compact, and its commercial strips are modest and weathered, so this is a beach-and-water day. Bring the swimwear and leave the shopping expectations in Florida.
Honeymoon Harbour is the stop people talk about for years. Southern stingrays gather in the shallows because fishermen cleaned their catch there for more than twenty years, and the rays now turn up within minutes of an anchor dropping.
You kneel in shin-deep water with squid and they glide right past your hands. Shuffle your feet and never step down on one, since they bury in the sand.
Twenty minutes by boat south, the SS Sapona rises from just 15 feet of water: a concrete hull built when steel ran short during World War I, wrecked by a hurricane in 1926 while serving as a Prohibition rum warehouse. Nurse sharks and the occasional barracuda hang around the ribs.
Then Triangle Rocks, where resident Caribbean reef sharks arrive at the sound of an idling engine. They have been fed and studied there since 1990, and they leave calm swimmers alone.
The Bimini: 4-Stop Snorkeling Adventure strings all of it together in three hours, the Sapona, a sunken plane, Stingray Island and Shark Arena, with gear, guide and bottled water aboard.
| Shared snorkel boat | Private charter | Land tour with lunch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stops | Wreck, sunken plane, Stingray Island, Shark Arena | You choose the stops and the timing | Compleat Angler, Straw Market, conch stand |
| Wildlife in the water | Reef sharks, stingrays, nurse sharks | Stingrays, dolphins, sharks, wreck snorkeling | None |
| Duration | 3 hours | 3 hours, your call on each stop | 2.5 hours |
| Gear | Snorkel kit and bottled water included | Snorkel kit, fishing supplies, refreshments | Nothing needed |
| Ferry fit | Morning departures end by early afternoon | You set the departure time | Fits any slot, no water time |
Winter changes the deal. Cold fronts sweep down from December through March, and northerly winds pile steep waves against the northward current. May through August bring the flattest seas of the year, with waves usually under two feet and water warm enough to swim in a rash guard.
August is the peak month for tour crowds, delivering the warmest 30°C water and flat calm seas alongside afternoon tropical showers.
Tap a month to read it.
June: 5 out of 5 for water temperature. 29°C (85°F)
Tap a month to read it.
June brings quiet crowds, flat calm seas, and warm 29°C water, though brief summer rain showers become frequent.
Tap a month to read it.
December is a quiet month on the tours, with cooler 26°C water, crisp breezes, and slightly rougher seas.
Tap a month to read it.
March brings moderate crowds, dry sunny weather, and warming 25°C water alongside occasional windy spells.
Tap a month to read it.
Read the calendar against your plans. July and August give the glassiest anchorages but also the biggest crowds, when ferry seats sell out weeks ahead. November through March brings 3 to 5 windy days a month, and the open-water anchorage at the Sapona turns uncomfortable in the swell.
Winter has its own draw, though: great hammerheads patrol the area from November or December through April, peaking between January and March, so a hammerhead dive or snorkel is a cold-water season trip.
Summer brings heat, humidity and rain on roughly one day in two, so plan the beach hours early and the pool hours late.
Shared boat or private charter comes down to water confidence and who is aboard. The shared 4-stop snorkeling tour suits confident swimmers; it is not for non-swimmers, and people with back, heart or mobility limits are excluded.
The private charter excludes babies under 1 and anyone over 95, and it is a poor match for anyone prone to seasickness on open water.
| Check | Why it matters | Our pick |
|---|---|---|
| Swimming ability | Shared wildlife boats turn non-swimmers away | The 4-stop adventure requires confident swimmers |
| Mobility and health | Back, heart and mobility issues rule some boats out | All three are excluded on the shared tour |
| Group size | Mass boats pack, private charters do not | Shared and guided, smaller than cruise excursions |
| Schedule | The tour must end hours before the return ferry | Three hours, bookable in the morning |
| Gear | Kit should come with the boat | Masks, fins, vests and bottled water included |
The Bimini: Private Boat Adventure with Photographer hands you the wheel: you set the departure time and the length of each stop, with lunch, drinks and a photographer available as add-ons, which is why groups split the cost.
If nobody in your party wants to swim, the Bimini: Island Tour with Lunch covers the conch stand, the Compleat Angler and the Straw Market in 2.5 hours.
Around five hours on Bimini is the floor for a boat tour that misses nothing.
That 5 to 6 hours is the free-time window the ferry itself allows between arrival and departure; clearing in can eat an hour of it before you even step off, which is where the low end of the range comes from. A three-hour boat inside a five-hour window leaves little spare.
Book a morning departure and the day works. A boat out at the start of the morning wraps by 1 pm or midday, leaving the afternoon for the beach and the conch stands. The return terminal check-in closes one hour before departure and late check-in is not permitted, so the cutoff is real.
Morning slots also buy you the best water. The offshore window runs from first light until about 11 am, before afternoon winds stir the surface chop and drop the visibility at the wreck.
The 4-Stop Snorkeling Adventure runs three hours, which fits comfortably around a ferry arriving around 11 am and departing in the evening, as long as you clear in briskly and get straight to the meeting point.
There is no Miami ferry. Every sailing leaves Terminal 21 at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, roughly a 45-minute drive north for anyone starting in Miami. The two-hour crossing cuts straight through the Gulf Stream, and when the north wind pushes against the northward current the waves turn steep and jarring.
If you get seasick, book a seat mid-ship on a lower deck, where the motion is smallest, and take medication 30 to 60 minutes before boarding, because pills that arrive after the nausea arrive too late.
Keep your eyes on the horizon, stay off screens, and keep the pre-boarding meal plain: toast and crackers, no fried food. The steadiest crossing months run from May through August; December through February produce the roughest water of the year.
The return sailing leaves Bimini at 7 pm in summer and 6 pm from mid-September, reaching Fort Lauderdale two hours later.
The ferry lands at Fisherman's Village on Bimini Bay, beside the resort complex. Maritime authorities need at least an hour to clear the vessel before anyone disembarks, and immigration and customs inside the terminal add more time, though paperwork in hand keeps that part under an hour.
Once out, the island does the rest for you. Free open-air trams loop between the dock, Fisherman's Village, the casino and the beach club, and taxis wait at the end of the pier. A public beach sits right beside the dock if you want to swim before anything else.
Check your meeting point before you sail. Snorkeling boats gather at Kayak Beach at the end of the cruise pier or at the marinas in Alice Town, and the 4-stop snorkeling tour assembles at the Piano lounge, in the seating area behind the check-in desk at the resort hotel.
Do not try walking from the pier to the Big Game Club or the northern resorts; it is over two miles along an exposed road in heavy humidity. Golf carts sell out fast on days when cruise ships call, so reserve one ahead if you want wheels.
The boat handles the water gear. Masks, snorkels, fins and flotation vests come with every wildlife charter, along with bottled water, and some crews trail a floating rope so hesitant swimmers have a handhold against the current near the wreck.
You handle the rest. Swimwear, a towel, a hat and sunglasses for the ride, and reef-safe sunscreen: the Bahamas bans sunscreens containing oxybenzone, octinoxate and octocrylene, so read the label before you pack.
Carry bottled water ashore, because the island heat dehydrates fast, and a waterproof camera earns its space on days with sharks and rays.
Feet and hands matter at the Sapona. The barnacles, rusted rebar and rough concrete cut exposed skin, so closed-toe water shoes with thick soles and heavy gloves are the minimum for anyone walking the hull.
The exterior ladders to the top deck are aging and unstable, and the rope ladder has deteriorated badly, so keep to the lower sections.
From December through April, pack a wetsuit or neoprene vest. Charters supply no thermal protection, and the water sits in the mid-70s when fronts pass through.
Birth certificates and state IDs fail at the terminal. Every passenger, infants included, needs a valid passport or passport card, and it should hold at least six months of validity. On top of that, US re-entry authorization such as an ESTA is required to come back through immigration.
Nationality decides the rest. Citizens of the USA, EU, UK and Switzerland need no Bahamian visa. Other nationalities may need one, and the Bahamas does not issue same-day visas, so the application needs 7 to 10 business days.
A US visa or Canadian permit does not waive the requirement for citizens of countries on the Bahamian list, so check before paying for anything.
Bahamian customs ends trips at the border. Marijuana is illegal even with a prescription, firearms and ammunition are strictly illegal in any amount, and fresh food, plants and pets are prohibited without a permit. Leave all of it in Florida.
US cash is the working money off the resort. Dollars are accepted everywhere, so there is nothing to exchange, but card acceptance is inconsistent and can change day to day at the same shop.
Beach bars, conch stands, taxi drivers and golf cart rentals all run on cash, and paying cash at the cart stands avoids heavy card surcharges.
Keep small bills for the short taxi rides into town and for tips. Boat crew and dive guides are customarily tipped about a fifth of the trip cost, and resort restaurants often add a service charge to the bill automatically, so read the receipt before adding more.
A valid driver's license is required for a golf cart rental, with your home license valid for up to three months. Cart rental stands usually want a credit card to secure the booking and cash to pay.
Departure taxes are folded into ferry fares when you travel by commercial carrier, so the ticket price is the whole price for the crossing itself.
Captains decide with their own eyes. There is no published wind or wave cutoff for the Sapona; crews cancel or reroute for heavy chop, big swells, thunderstorms or storm threats, and light rain stops nobody.
Winter brings most of the scrubbed days, with 3 to 5 windy days a month, while summer days are calm almost without exception.
| If this happens | What happens then |
|---|---|
| Rough seas shut down the Sapona anchorage | Captains reroute the snorkel boats to sheltered reef sites instead |
| Weather cancels the ferry crossing | Operators generally refund you or rebook another sailing |
| A tour is cancelled by the operator | One operator's policy grants an alternative date or a full refund |
| You miss the return ferry | No refund and no date change under the ferry operator's terms |
| Passport details were wrong at booking | No refund is given for missing or false information |
A washout on the water is not a wasted day. Rent a cart, run Radio Beach and the conch stands, tour the Dolphin House Museum or the Bimini Museum, and swim at the Big Game Club's pool.
One small change when the wind blows hard: it grounds the fishing fleet, and island menus sometimes run short of fresh local catch.
The one rule to take seriously is the clock. A missed return ferry has no refund and no date change.
The boat is back by early afternoon, and North Bimini can be driven end to end in under 20 minutes by golf cart, so the hours still stretch a long way.
Radio Beach anchors the drive: a free public beach with casual bars and conch salad stands, reached by a short cart ride from the pier.
No resort pass is needed for any of it. Every sandy beach on Bimini is public and free by law, a fact many day-trippers never learn because the resort day passes are sold so visibly aboard the ferry. There is even a swimmable public beach directly beside the arrival dock.
The Bimini Big Game Club welcomes day visitors for lunch and a swim in the pool without a package, and the Dolphin House Museum, built from shells, tiles and recycled materials, plus the Straw Market fill an easy hour or two.
Conch stands such as the ones around Alice Town and Radio Beach serve the island's classic quick lunch.
Reserve the cart early, because rental fleets are small and they sell out rapidly when cruise ships call. Book your boat tour for the morning and the island is yours for the afternoon.
If you only do one thing in Bimini, make it this. Our favorite summer adventure yet. Swimming with sharks was the best snorkel stop, and feeding stingrays was incredible ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Worth it for travelers with an open day, an early alarm and a taste for open water. Book a morning boat, carry cash, and be back at the terminal a full hour before the sailing. A three-day Florida trip should keep its days in Florida.
The seaplane is the escape hatch when the ferry math feels too heavy: eight island hours instead of five, and a 25-minute flight instead of the terminal.
The questions people ask before booking a boat tour, a wildlife swim or a guided island outing on Bimini.
2026Yes. Caribbean reef sharks gather predictably at Triangle Rocks, a site just south of the island, where researchers have been feeding and studying them since 1990. The 4-Stop Snorkeling Adventure includes a shark stop, and many visitors swim at the surface while the crew watches from the boat.
Reef sharks around Bimini are used to tour boats and focus on food containers rather than calm swimmers. Crews give a safety briefing before anyone enters the water, enforce no-touch rules, and some boats run a floating surface rope so hesitant swimmers have a handhold. Nervous guests can stay on deck and watch from above.
No, and it is against the law to harass them. The Bahamas is a protected national shark sanctuary, so tour operators enforce non-contact rules: hands held to your chest, fins on, minimal splashing, and no chasing or reaching toward a shark. Keeping a respectful distance is part of every briefing.
Honeymoon Harbour off Gun Cay is the stingray spot. Fishermen cleaned their catch there for over twenty years, and the southern stingrays learned to associate arriving boats with food, often showing up within minutes of an anchor dropping.
The beach is reachable only by boat, so it needs a guided tour. Shuffle your feet when walking, because rays bury themselves in the sand.
Swimming pigs are a speciality of other Exuma cays rather than Bimini's waters. If pigs top your list, look at tours that combine Bimini with further stops, or plan a separate day. Bimini's own wildlife line-up centers on reef sharks, stingrays and spotted dolphins.
Yes. Wild Atlantic spotted dolphins live in the waters off Bimini year-round, and dedicated swim excursions run mainly from May through September or October, when the seas are calmest. The Private Boat Adventure with Photographer lets you build a dolphin stop into your own three-hour itinerary.
Plan for at least 5 hours between ferry arrival and departure. A multi-stop snorkeling tour runs about 3 hours, and ferry check-in closes an hour before the return sailing, which fits the standard 5 to 6 hours of free time on the island.
Morning slots between 8:00 and 10 am give the calmest seas and the clearest water before afternoon winds stir up surface chop. A morning tour also wraps up by around 1 pm, leaving the rest of the afternoon for the beach.
Yes. Tours supply masks, snorkels, fins and flotation vests, plus bottled water and a guide, and there is no separate marine park fee for tour guests. Bring your own swimwear, towel and reef-safe sunscreen. Regular sunscreen containing oxybenzone, octinoxate or octocrylene cannot legally be brought into the Bahamas.
Captains reroute open-water trips to the SS Sapona to sheltered reef areas when the swell makes anchoring unsafe, and outright cancellations bring an alternative date or a full refund.
On land, rent a golf cart instead: Radio Beach, the Dolphin House Museum, the Bimini Museum and conch salad stands in Alice Town all make a solid plan B.
It works for travelers with an open day who are happy with an early start, since check-in, the two-hour crossing and customs can stretch the trip to 15 or more hours door to door for 4 to 6 hours on the island.
One boat excursion in the morning plus a beach afternoon fits the window well. If you want several tours at a slower pace, an overnight stay suits you better.
You need a valid passport or passport card, plus US re-entry authorization such as an ESTA if you are not a US citizen.
Birth certificates, state IDs and naturalization documents are not accepted, and you clear US Customs and Immigration both ways. Give yourself the 4 to 6 weeks of booking lead time that peak-season sailings need.
Sailing from Miami? See the crossing times, port transfer and how the ferry schedule fits your island tours.
Starting from Fort Lauderdale? Compare boat packages and check-in times so your morning excursion connects.
Wondering if one day in the Bahamas is enough? See how Bimini stacks up against other same-day options.
This 4-stop snorkeling adventure wraps up by early afternoon, and you can cancel up to 24 hours ahead for a full refund.
