Bimini Expenses

[veedubtek]

Someone asked what to expect. This is pretty much what we spent (minus the conch shack and the bar on north bimini). This does not include fuel for the tow vehicle, as that's going to vary based on where you're located.

$2100 - Bimini Sands condo for 5 nights
$350 - Food and drink for the week (we brought everything, and we ate good. 9 cases of shandy, multiple cases of lady drinks and mixers. Eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns every morning. Artisan brats. Steaks. We ate good.
$150 - hotel room saturday night in lauderdale
$235 - Bahia Mar sunday night in lauderdale
$40 - slip @ bahia mar
$700 - boat fuel from beginning til end. $300/tank in Bimini this year.
$100 Golf cart rental on north bimini
$5/day for ice
$175 for a boat of 4 to clear customs in bimini ($150 min., add $25/person over 3)

2 couples, we spent a grand total of almost exactly $4000. We never ate out except a conch salad once to try it.

 

[kthrash]

I spent $600 round trip on fuel for my truck.. 950 miles each way..

 

[BoaterGuy]

From MD I spent around $760 on truck gas round trip, getting between 9-11 MPG last year. We spent ~$4700 on everything (including truck and boat gas) but excluding food/alcohol and misc activities on the island.

We had 5 people.

 

[BigN8]

Damn! $1000/day for that trip.........

 

[zedxmike]

We spent just under $3000 for everything for 2 of us. Well worth every dollar.

 

[Huskerjetboat]

$200 a day per person doesn't seem outrageous for such a nice trip.

 

[ArmyChief]

Just under $4000 for us. We live only 2.5 hours from Ft. Lauderdale and I used my hotel points for BahiaMar.

I would think $750-1000 a day is a good estimate

 

[robert843]

I was about 3000 for all. That's two adults and a 7 year old. I expected more I had originally guessed about 4500 but had also planned to eat out most nights and we only ate out twice both at the petite conch onsite and both meals were less then 40

 

[tim h]

It's a little more affordable if two families share a condo...
That's typically what we have done in the past.

 

[JROD]

Team, if it was easy and cheap there would not be any room for us in Bimini. ;-) Epic, awesome trip! To me worth every dollar & then some! Just wished we stayed longer. ;-)

 

[Bruce]

We stayed 6 extra days. The additional cost was less than $400 per day for our family of four excluding a couple of meals that we chose to eat out. That breaks down to approximately $50 a day in fuel, $50 a day for groceries we brought from the U.S., $40 a day for the slip and the remainder for the condo.

I should caveat this with the facts that staying longer meant that we were coming home alone and that we needed to time our return for good weather. We could have needed to return earlier or stay longer waiting for good water condtions.

We originally planned to return on the 20th. I was unable to extend our original reservation due to difficulty getting Bimini Sands to respond. So I rented another condo directly from the owner that was available until the 17th. We had near perfect water forecast for the 17th with the seas building afterward. So I decided to return on the 17th instead of looking for additional lodging.

 

[Englewoodcowboy]

We have been watching closely, crunching numbers etc and it keeps coming out to around 1K per person for a group of 4. We have already began saving etc. and I am buying parts for my winter projects on the boat. As soon as you guys settle on a date we will be reserving our rooms etc. Of all things my dad is looking forward to the pot luck. He cooks a mean brisket! We also talked about making this an annual trip and also reminessed about our trips to the keys we used to take and may end up planning a trip for that the following year... will have to see how the Bimini run works out.

 

[Speedling]

Awesome guys! We are really debating bringing our older two kids. They will be 6 and 4 at time of crossing. Obviously if weather isn't perfect that will put them into the ferry and cost rises a bit. I am saving about $4000 due to the 1300 mile drive from Chicagoland. Trying to split a condo to reduce cost but both couples interested backed out due to pregnancy.
I hope to fish a little and have a meal from that but we will probably eat out at night. Now I gotta decision to make on those kids because no one seems to be jumping up to take them for a week.
I got some upgrading to do first anyways!

 

[Bruce]

@Speedling, eating out at night will significantly increase your cost and control your evening activities. We are out three times during our 12 day stay this year. We ate out for one dinner and one lunch during the 2014 trip.

I would bring your kids, especially if you only plan to come once. Emma and Gavin were 7 and 4 last year. They enjoyed the trip. It was a great learning and growth experience for them. They did well in the rough water and have been in rougher water. I would be more concerned about having alternate plans for adults who have back issues or are scared of rough water.

Here are some menus that I took pictures of during the trip.

Small's Deli is north of Bimini Sands beside Booze and Screws. It is take out only about a third of a mile north of the Bimini Sands office. You would have to walk or golf cart to it but it is the most economical take out option.

Bimini Twist, Island Sushi and Mackey's are at the Bimini Beach Club at the south end of South Bimini. You can take a bus or golf cart to them.

The Petite Conch is at Bimini Sands and is open until 9 PM. I believe pricing is higher than Mackey's. I wish I had taken a picture of their menu.