Bimini

Bimini is the westernmost district of the Bahamas, a slim chain of three coral islands — North, South, and East Bimini — perched on the edge of the Great Bahama Bank just 50 miles east of Miami Beach. The islands are tiny, barely 7 miles long and only 200 yards across at their narrowest, yet they sit on one of the most dramatic stretches of seabed in the Atlantic. Shallow, 20-to-30-foot flats wrap the islands to the north, south, and east, while to the west the bottom falls away from 80–100 feet into the Gulf Stream, where the water runs over 6,000 feet deep. That deep-water current sweeps marine life right up to the shoreline and has earned Bimini its enduring nickname: the "Deep Sea Fishing Capital of the World."

For such a small place, Bimini carries an outsized legend. It was Ernest Hemingway's fishing retreat in the 1930s — the seasons he spent here fed To Have and Have Not and Islands in the Stream — and during American Prohibition it was a rum-runner's haven, the supply point some credit with the phrase "the real McCoy." Layered on top is a thick seam of myth: Juan Ponce de León's Fountain of Youth is said to lie in the pools of South Bimini, and the submerged Bimini Stones offshore are claimed by some to be a road to the Lost City of Atlantis.

Today Bimini remains slow, quiet, and friendly, with a population a little over 1,600 who'll happily pull up a chair for conversation. It is not a classic beach resort — there are only a handful of small beaches — but a place defined by water: the fishing, the diving, the sharks, and the lively yacht-set party scene that washes over from nearby Florida.

Bimini is tropical and pleasant year-round, but its tourist calendar runs opposite to most of the Bahamas. The prime window is April through July, when the seas turn calm and anglers and divers arrive in force — wealthy Floridians make the short crossing in their yachts and the harbour scene gets genuinely lively. Summer days are hot with afternoon thunder showers; winters are a touch cooler, warm but windy, with an ocean breeze and the occasional cool mid-winter snap.

The rainy season runs July to October, bringing occasional rainfall and the rare hurricane, so plan around it if you want the steadiest weather. Divers should note one specialised season: the great hammerhead encounters off Bimini run roughly December to March, making winter the draw for shark enthusiasts even though it's the off-peak for fishing.

Distances here are short and the pace is gentle — you won't need a car. North Bimini, the populated hub, is laced by just two small paved roads running the length of the 7-mile island. The main artery is Kings Highway, where most shops, hotels, and restaurants cluster; the quieter Queen's Highway traces the east coast and leads to the beaches. A bicycle or a golf cart is all you need to cover the island.

Getting between the islands is just as simple. A small ferry links North and South Bimini, running frequently, taking about 5 minutes, and costing $2 each way. If you fly in — United Airlines serves the airstrip on South Bimini — a "taxi" to the ferry costs about $5 total for both legs and lands you on North Bimini within minutes.

Bimini also connects to the wider Bahamas and the U.S. by sea: a ferry runs from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and mail boats sail from Nassau. As of January 2020, the M/V Captain Emmett (Munson Shipping) carried passengers between Nassau and Bimini for $96 one-way.

• Bimini — the district's only settled core, anchored by Alice Town on North Bimini (the islands' "downtown" along Kings Highway), with the airstrip and quieter Port Royale community on South Bimini; base yourself here for fishing, diving, and the harbour nightlife.

Bimini's dining scene is famously lopsided — bars outnumber restaurants roughly two to one, and a large liquor store holds prime real estate on the harbour. What food there is leans hard on the sea, above all conch, the Bahamian staple. The standout spot is Stuart's Conch Stand in Bailey Town, where you eat on a deck over the Bimini lagoon with stingrays and water birds gliding below.

For the rest, options are casual and local: CJ's Deli in Alice Town is cheap and quick; Captain Bob's Restaurant on Kings Highway (next to the Royal Bank) does breakfast and lunch and takes Visa/MasterCard; Edith's Pizza in Bailey Town serves pizza and dinner plates (cash only); and the dining room at Bimini Big Game Resort & Marina is claimed to be the best on the island. Over on South Bimini, the Bimini Beach Club Restaurant is praised for its view and surprisingly good sushi, while Smalls Takeout is a simple, affordable burger shack a short walk from the Sands marina. Note that several spots are cash-only, so carry some.

Bimini's culture is steeped in two things: Hemingway and legend. The island wears its literary past on its sleeve — though the original Hemingway museum and the Compleat Angler Hotel where he stayed were destroyed by fire in 2006. Today the small Bimini Museum, in Alice Town at the southern end of Kings Highway, keeps a well-regarded collection of artifacts and exhibits on the island's history, and the Dolphin House Museum on Queens Highway in Alice Town offers a quirky, hand-built tribute to the islands' dolphins and whales.

Threaded through local lore are the mystical legends that draw the curious: the Fountain of Youth in South Bimini's shallow pools, and the offshore Bimini Stones long claimed to be a road to Atlantis. The social heart of the islands, meanwhile, is its bars — Big John's in Alice Town has taken over as the crowded gathering spot, and the unmissable End of the World Bar, its walls and ceiling papered with business cards and undergarments, is a Bimini institution (order the Goombay Smasher).

• Swim with hammerheads and bull sharks — Neil Watson's Bimini Scuba Center, at Big Game Marina, runs highly recommended shark dives in one of the only places on earth where great hammerhead sightings are virtually guaranteed (season roughly December–March; tour about $300). Not scuba-certified? Descend into the shark cage at the marina to meet the resident bull sharks ($60 for 20 minutes).
• Big-game and deep-sea fishing — the activity that built Bimini's fame, with a storied past of record catches lining the island's walls in black-and-white photographs; bonefishing on the flats is a quieter alternative.
• Dive the wreck of the SS Sapona — a concrete-hulled ship that ran aground in a 1926 hurricane and now sits as one of the area's most popular snorkel and scuba sites among many local shipwrecks.
• Walk the Bimini Nature Trail — an interpretive trail through protected dry forest on South Bimini, with signs on local flora and fauna, giant hermit crabs, and — if you're very lucky — the endemic Bimini boa, a large, harmless snake found nowhere else on Earth. The trail links to the secluded Shell Beach.

Safety note: Bimini is a shark hotspot. Never swim at Big Game Marina, home to bull sharks that have bitten people competing for fish scraps, and avoid swimming at marinas generally unless you have local advice. Shark encounters outside marinas and feeding situations are very rare — but stay aware in the water.