Posted on Wednesday, 04.15.2009 Cruising from Miami to the Bahamas - visit the Bahamas Visitors often like to visit surrounding areas while visiting Miami. Vacationers will hop into a car rental and head towards Orlando, rent a Harley Davidson and cruise to Key West or charter a boat used for cruising from Miami to the Bahamas. Some visitors may also get on a private or commercial plane to visit the Bahamas or reach other destinations more quickly. Chartering a boat to ride for cruising from Miami to the Bahamas is certainly a great experience. The first Bahamas Island is Bimini and is located 50 miles from the coast of Florida. Getting to Nassau will take approximately 7 hours on a quick power boat. It is required that you clear local Customs when you visit the Bahamas first island. Bahamian officials are friendly and will provide you with all the required forms. You will need to clear Customs when you visit the Bahamas whether you are a US resident or a non US resident. There are no exceptions. Even if you go to Bimini for one day after cruising from Miami to the Bahamas, you need to clear Customs.
Passengers are also expected to clear Customs with US authorities once they arrive back in Miami or Fort Lauderdale after they visit the Bahamas. There are notable differences in the requirements depending on whether you are a US resident or a non resident. - Residents may clear Customs over the phone. The captain of the boat will need to identify the passengers and US Custom officials will clear the boat and its US passengers. Some restrictions apply: Coming to the US
- Non residents will need to clear Customs the day of or after their arrival at the Customs office at the port of Miami.
Check with a Miami boat rental specialist who is up to date with the latest change of regulations. Check out the list of available Miami vacation rentals and Bahamas vacation rentals. | 
