Question 1

Bimini on Your Own

Accepted Answer

A simple Bimini day is a morning at the beach club and an afternoon in Alice Town for its small museums and bars. The island is narrow and flat, and a golf cart or a bicycle is all you need to get around it. Alice Town: The Bimini Museum, at the southern end of the King's Highway, has artifacts and exhibits on the island's history. The Dolphin House Museum is on the Queen's Highway. Getting there: Alice Town is on the same island as the pier; ask at the pier how to get there and back before you set off. Do not swim at the marina: Never swim at Big Game Marina, where bull sharks gather for fish scraps. Water sports: Water-sports rental in the Bahamas is poorly regulated, so check equipment carefully and watch for jet skis when you swim. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.

Question 2

Getting Around Bimini

Accepted Answer

North Bimini has two roads that run most of its length: the King's Highway, with most of the shops, hotels and restaurants, and the Queen's Highway. A golf cart or a bicycle is enough for anywhere on the island. A small ferry crosses frequently between North and South Bimini in about five minutes. South Bimini has the airport, the nature trail and the Bimini Biological Field Station, known as the Shark Lab. Traffic in the Bahamas drives on the left, but most vehicles are left-hand drive, imported from the United States.

Question 3

Food & Drink

Accepted Answer

Bahamian food centers on the sea: conch, fish, lobster and crab, alongside rice, peas and pigeon peas. Expect simple island cooking in Alice Town, where bars outnumber restaurants about two to one. Common seasonings include hot pepper, lime, tomato, onion, garlic, allspice and coconut. Rum drinks are popular across the islands. Guava duff, a dessert, is made for Independence Day on 10 July. Fish and grits is a dish the Bahamas shares with the American South.

Question 4

Tipping in the Bahamas

Accepted Answer

In the Bahamas, a service charge of 15 percent is usually added to the bill, and any extra tip is up to you. Check the bill before you add anything. The Bahamian dollar is pegged one to one with the US dollar. US dollars are accepted at par, so you do not need to change money.

Question 5

Culture & Customs

Accepted Answer

Bimini's culture is built on the sea: deep-sea fishing brought Hemingway and generations of American anglers, and divers come for the wrecks and the sharks. It is a small, quiet community with a long history of visitors from Florida. The first inhabitants were the Lucayans, and the name Bimini is said to mean "two islands" in their language. Martin Luther King Jr. visited in 1964 and worked on his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech on the island. The final scene of the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs was shot in Alice Town. Junkanoo, the Bahamas' masquerade festival, is said to date back to the 1700s.

Question 6

Hemingway, Rum Runners, and the Gulf Stream

Accepted Answer

Bimini's history follows its closeness to Florida. Legends of the Fountain of Youth, rum-running in the 1920s, Hemingway in the 1930s and the casino resort of the 2010s all came from that short crossing. The Lucayans and a legend: The Lucayans were the first people here. Juan Ponce de León's search for the Fountain of Youth became tied to Bimini, and a small well with a plaque on South Bimini marks the story. Rum-running: During US Prohibition in the 1920s, Bimini was a haven and supply point for rum-runners shipping liquor to the United States. Seaplanes from 1917: Chalk's International Airlines flew seaplanes between Miami and the Bahamas from 1917, and islanders used the flights to shop in Florida. Hemingway, 1935 to 1937: Ernest Hemingway lived on Bimini, stayed at the Compleat Angler Hotel, worked on To Have and Have Not, and fished the Gulf Stream aboard his boat Pilar. The island later became the setting for Islands in the Stream. Visitors and exiles: Martin Luther King Jr. visited in 1964, and the US congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. lived on Bimini from 1967 to 1969. The Bimini Road, 1968: Divers found a line of large stone blocks off North Bimini in 1968. Geologists who have studied it conclude it is natural beachrock, not a built road. A landmark lost: The Compleat Angler Hotel, with its Hemingway photographs, burned down on 13 January 2006. The resort era: The Resorts World Bimini casino opened in June 2013, the resort's pier now receives cruise ships, and in 2019 Virgin Voyages announced its Beach Club, developed with the resort. To learn more ashore: The Bimini Museum, in Alice Town at the southern end of the King's Highway, holds artifacts and exhibits on the island's past.

Question 7

For Families

Accepted Answer

Families with young children can spend the day at the beach club, and older children can add a short nature walk or a museum. Sharks are part of life around Bimini, so set clear water rules before anyone swims. Younger children: Pick one spot on the beach and stay there, with shade, water and sun protection. School age: The Bimini Nature Trail on South Bimini runs through a protected dry forest with signs about the plants and animals; look for giant hermit crabs and, with luck, the Bimini boa, a harmless snake found nowhere else. Teenagers: The wreck of the SS Sapona, which ran aground in a hurricane in 1926, still sits half out of the water and is a snorkeling and diving site reached by boat. Water rules: Do not swim at dusk or at night, when shark risk is higher, and never swim at Big Game Marina.

Question 8

Beaches

Accepted Answer

Bimini has several small beaches, but it is a fishing and diving island more than a beach island. On North Bimini, the beaches lie along the Queen's Highway side. Shell Beach on South Bimini is a quieter beach that connects to the Bimini Nature Trail. Shark attacks outside marinas and feeding areas are very rare, but a mask or goggles let you see what is in the water around you. Watch for jet skis, which do not always respect swimming areas marked by buoys.

The Beach Club at Bimini, Bahamas

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What Cruise Travelers Should Know