Question Nassau to Bimini transfer options

[andrethediver]

Is there any sane way to get from Nassau to Bimini these days that does not involve flying or ferry through Ft. Lauderdale (speed boats or seaplanes)? We will be staying on Nassau for a few days and looks like local diving leaves more to be desired (we've done shark chumming dives) looking for other options. Tiger Beach off Grand Bahama may not happen in January due to Covid restrictions.

 

[SSmithNY]

I was just investigating the same thing - yes, there are direct flights on Western Air. Other tiny regional airlines that may or may not (I got lazy and didn't dig once I found the one): Flamingo Air, Southern Air Charter, Pineapple Air and Bahamas Air.

 

[Dan]

Tiger Beach off Grand Bahama may not happen in January due to Covid restrictions.

Tiger Beach trip has been happening since October. I was there 2 weeks ago. Incredible trip on M/Y Dolphin Dream from West Palm Beach.

Trip Report - Tiger Beach October 2021

Summary This is a liveaboard diving trip (23-29 October, 2021) to Tiger Beach, Bahamas, with M/Y Dolphin Dream. The itinerary, as shown in Table 1, includes 5 days of shark diving, 1st diving day is without bait. We did a total of 13 dives. Figure 1 shows the M/Y Dolphin Dream ~80 mile (130...

scubaboard.com

 

[andrethediver]

I was referring to day boats from Grand Bahama West End, not LOB operations.

 

[Dan]

Got it. Thanks for clarifying it.

Here’s a comment by @jonhall for such day-boat trip from Grand Bahama West End that I thought it may be useful to know.

Last time I stayed in Grand Bahama, the 2 dive ops I inquired about Tiger Beach didn't do the trip - not cost efficient to take their boats around the island to get there. I did find one op that, according to their website, makes the trip with a minimum of 4 divers (max 6) but it is $400+ not including the drive or taxi ride to the west end, which they indicate to be ~$100.

 

[andrethediver]

Thanks for sharing. I contacted one of the bigger ops offering trips in west end and they aren’t planning on going anytime soon due to COVID related regulations on the island. I can see how taking a boat from Freeport would get expensive in a hurry.

 

[andrethediver]

Any information on Reef Oasis dive club in Grand Bahama?

 

[living4experiences]

The only way to island hop that I know about is small aircraft. There are no large commercial jets for inter-island travel, plus when you travel inter-island, you have to have a negative antigen test no more than 5 days before arrival. The small air carriers have strict luggage guidelines, so no 50-pound bags are allowed.

Try www.epicdiving.com. They do day trips from Grand Bahama. I don't know of their reputation, but I've recently inquired about their trips and they have availability in March & April 2022.

Neal Watson's out of Bimini has specific dates for Tiger Beach that they move their boat from Bimini to Grand Bahama.

 

[andrethediver]

Thanks all. Western Air was a solid recommendation as well as Neal Watson. Now, Tiger sharks or Hammerheads post Galapagos - that is my choice. Similar price.