Memorial Day Weekend is Here!!!

After finishing up a busy winter season here at the Bimini Sands Resort & Marina, we're now gearing up for the official start of Bimini's busy summer boating season, and we couldn't be more excited about it!

All year round, Bimini Sands offers the best facilities and amenities on the island. Our marina is the most sheltered marina on the island, and our floating docks make docking as simple as can be. We've got 3 restaurants and 2 bars on our properties, including the Beach Club Restaurant and Mackey's Sand Bar. Our condos offer luxurious lodging with the best views of Bimini's legendary beaches and dazzling waters. And Bimini Sands also has the quickest access to Bimini's fishing and diving destinations.

But that's just the start...

Starting this weekend, our Recreation & Activities team will be offering weekly Shark Encounters, Snorkeling Trips, Kid's Club activities, Sunset Island Tours, Free Family Movies on the Beach, Banana Boat Rides, and much, much more! We've even got the Bimini Stompers, Bimini's premiere Junkanoo ensemble, performing right on our property every week!

Make sure to check out our website often to book your room, dockage, or space on our exciting activities... We look forward to seeing you soon!

Shark Free Marinas & Baby Sharks on National Geographic

In January of 2009, Bimini Sands became the first official Shark Free Marina in the Bahamas. In an effort to help keep the oceans clean and fish stocks thriving, we're asking that our guests strictly practice "Catch & Release" with all sharks hooked around Bimini. Our Recreation & Activities Directors, Grant & Katie, are actually former shark researchers and are always willing to discuss the importance of sharks to the Bahamas, and the oceans as a whole.

Now, after just a few short months, the Shark Free Marinas Initiative is steadily gaining momentum!

More and more marinas around the Bahamas are signing on every week, and the initiative is even spilling over to other countries around the globe.

Check our the new Shark Free Marinas website here, and click the video below for more info on this important effort.




And in other Shark News, Bimini Sands was recently listed at the end of an exciting episode of the National Geographic Channel's hit show "In the Womb." The crew from Nat Geo came to Bimini last year to work with Bimini's famous lemon shark population, and like many other production companies, they chose Bimini Sands Resort & Marina for their accomodations. Click here for more info on the show.

Actress January Jones is Scared FOR Sharks

Ocean conservation group Oceana is starting to roll-out a new series of public-service-announcements, both print and video, to highlight the plight of the world's sharks. And if you're looking for information on sharks, what better place to come than Bimini?

A few months back, the Bimini Sands Resort & Marina welcomed actress January Jones and Oceana to the island for work on their upcoming video PSA's. January came to Bimini to work with the Bimini Biological Field Station in the hopes of getting some more hands-on experience with sharks. Now she's taken what she learned here, and is helping get that information to the public.

Check out the latest news from January Jones' work with Ocean here.

And check out the photo (above) of January Jones discussing sharks with Bimini Sands' Recreation directors Katie and Grant.

Broadcasting From Bimini Sands

Bimini Sands has hosted numerous film teams and production crews over the years, and most recently we welcomed the Bahamas' own ZNS Network for two days of live broadcasting from the resort.

In addition to broadcasting their regular evening news show, ZNS interviewed Bimini Sands owner Frank Cooney, facilities manager Emil Potier, and office manager Viveca Lubin.

The ZNS team and their viewers were also treated to a special visit from the Bimini Stompers, Bimini's homecoming Junkanoo ensemble. Check out the ZNS website for more info: http://www.znsbahamas.com/

Bimini Sands & Coastal Awareness Month

April is Coastal Awareness Month in the Bahamas. Every year during April, the Ministry of Tourism helps organize events and clean-up campaigns around the islands, in addition to making an extra effort to educate both locals and visitors about the importance of the Bahamian environment. This year, the team from Bimini Sands was asked to help out.


During the first week of April, a team from the Bimini Sands Recreation & Activity Center teamed up with the SharkLab to give a series of presentations and lectures at all three of the schools on North Bimini. First was the Holy Name Catholic School, followed by two separate presentations at the Bimini All Ages School, and finally the Gateway Christian Academy.

The goal of these presentations was not only to provide information to the students, but also to motivate them to join us in the Beach Clean-Up on April 4. And it seemed to have worked. Both North and South Bimini had great turn-outs for the Beach Clean-Up, and after a few hours of hard work we were able to remove several hundred pounds of trash and debris from Bimini's western beaches.

So far, Coastal Awareness Month has been a great success, and we've still got 3 weeks left to go!

Bimini Nature Trail on ESPN2

The Bimini Nature Trail was recently featured on ESPN2's hit show "George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing." Check out the clip above.

For more information about the show, check out http://www.georgepoveromo.com/

And for more exciting videos featuring the Bimini Sands Resort & Marina, check out our page on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/BiminiSands

Beach Clean Up - April 4, 2009

April is Coastal Awareness month, and next Saturday Bimini is organizing an island-wide Beach Clean Up. A crew from Bimini Sands is helping organize the effort on South Bimini, while groups from various churches, schools, local businesses and others tackle the beaches on North Bimini. While there have been other clean-up efforts organized around Bimini in the past, this looks to be the biggest one yet!

Do you ever wonder what happens to that soda can that blows off your boat? Have you ever wondered what happens to your fishing line when its left tangled in the bottom? Or have you ever considered where the helium ballons let go at birthday parties end up?

Not surprisingly, they don't just disappear.

Soda cans can take up to 200 years to break down, and fishing line lasts much longer at upwards of 600 years. If no one picks it up, it stays there to pollute the ocean and destroy sea life for decades and decades. And those balloons let go into the sky?... Most of them land in the ocean where they often kill birds and turtles who mistakenly eat them, or they wash up on beaches miles away from where they were released.

The theme of this years Coastal Awareness Month is "I Care...Do You?" It's a question we should all ask ourselves not just this month, but all year. If we want the oceans to remain healthy, and the beaches to remain clean, we have to put some work into it. Bimini Sands is joining the effort next Saturday, and if you're around the island, feel free to join us for this important campaign.

"A Night of Laughter"

Last night, Sunday March 22, the Bimini Beach Club hosted a fantastic fund-raising comedy event to benefit Bimini's 1st Annual Homecoming celebration. Performers from around the Bahamas treated the capacity crowd to a night of laughter and helped make the fundraiser a success.


The Bimini Beach Club was packed with Biminites and tourists enjoying hilarious and entertaining performances from David Wallace (standing center in photo above), Wil Stubbs, Mavis Ellis-Saunders, and students from Bimini's Holy Name Catholic School.

The proceeds from last nights comedy show will go towards making Bimini's 1st Annual Homecoming an exciting new addition to the island's schedule of events. Make sure you're on Bimini April 10-11, 2009. Better yet, book your room or slip with Bimini Sands today!

Filming with Bimini Sands

As more and more people learn about all of the things that Bimini has to offer, more and more production teams are choosing Bimini Sands as their resort of choice during their time on the islands. Over the last several months, Bimini Sands has hosted an increasing number of video production teams and been featured in various film shoots.

Our most recent television appearance was on George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing on ESPN2. George has made many visits to Bimini Sands over the years, drawn by our comfortable accommodations, fantastic amenities, and the quickest access to Bimini's legendary fishing grounds.

Earlier this month, we hosted the ocean conservation organization Oceana while they filmed a public-service-announcement with celebrity spokesperson January Jones. January has teamed up with Oceana to help educate the public on the plight of the world's sharks. Click here to see January talking about her visit to Bimini in People magazine. All images from the shoot are being held until the PSA is released, so check back to the Bimini Sands Blog for upcoming info on this exciting and educational video.

And most recently, Bimini Sands just bid farewell to the crew from the Sci-Fi Channel's hit show Destination Truth. Host Joshua Gates and his team spent 4 days on Bimini interviewing locals and investigating the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. Click here for more information about Destination Truth, and stay tuned to the Bimini Sands Blog for more information about when Bimini's episode with air.

Valentine's Day Special

Enjoy Valentine's Weekend at Bimini Sands in the Bahamas. Special package includes romantic dinner for two on Valentine's night, Sunset Island Boat Tour and complimentary breakfast each morning.

Package is just $199 per couple per night with a two night minimum stay. For more information, please call (242) 347-3500 or email katie@biminisands.com


Offer valid from 2/12/09 to 2/16/09. Package based on limited availability and cannot be combined with any other offer. Rates based on double occupancy with minimum two night stay. Airfare, taxes, gratuities and ground transportation not included. Kids under 12 stay free with paying parent.

In the event of bad weather, Nature Trail Tour will be substituted for Sunset Island Boat Tour.

Bimini's Manatee is Heading Home

Vacation time has finally come to an end for a large manatee that has spent the last several weeks around Bimini. First spotted back in November, this large male has been quite a spectacular site for people to see. Unfortunately, Bimini is not considered suitable habitat for manatees, so a decision was made to return this gentle sea cow back home.

Together a team from the Bahamas Department of Marine Resources, US Fish & Wildlife, the Miami SeaQuarium, the US Coast Guard, U.S. Geological Survey & the Dolphin Communication Project developed a plan to capture the manatee and return it to Florida for further evaluation.

Once in Florida, the team will be able to genetically test the manatee to determine exactly where it came from, and as long as it’s healthy, return it home.

Crew from Bimini Sands, Bimini Undersea, the Sharklab and even a passing fishing boat also joined the effort to safely capture and transport the manatee last Saturday. In fact, the manatee was found and captured right off the beach in front of Bimini Sands.

Further updates can be found on the Dolphin Communication Project website by clicking here.

Bimini Marine Protected Area Declared

A few years back, Bimini was proposed as the highest-priority site in all of the Bahamas for a Marine Protected Area, and last night a team of esteemed dignitaries from Nassau visited North Bimini to declare that the MPA had officially been designated.

By establishing Bimini's MPA, the government of the Bahamas has taken a bold and highly encouraging step towards building a sustainable future for the islands of Bimini, and well beyond. As the only marine nursery habitat on the western Great Bahama Bank, Bimini's mangrove nurseries replenish thousands of square miles of the ocean. By securing this MPA, Bimini's marine ecosystem will forever have a foundation to grow from.

The benefits from Bimini's MPA should be widespread and long-lasting, hopefully including a sustained sport-fishing and eco-tourism industry, as well as sustenance for local Biminites and habitat for a wealth of native wildlife.

Check back to the Bimini Sands Blog for more developing information about this exciting news...

Bimini Sands is now a "Shark Free Marina"

Bimini Sands is excited to announce that we are officially the first marina in the Bahamas to join the Shark Free Marinas Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to educate the public about the importance of sharks in our marine eco-systems and promote 'Catch & Release' practices to our guests.

We feel that the harvesting of sharks for photo images or souvenir jaws is not in the best interests of the Bahamian people or Bahamian tourism. By asking vessels not to arrive at our facilities with sharks, we hope to encourage responsible sport fishing, thereby ensuring a lasting and healthy population of sharks in Bahamian waters for future generations and contributing to the overall health of the Caribbean.

The decision to support this initiative is not based on sensationalistic media reports, but rather the best available science that proves that sharks play a critical role in balancing the health of the ocean and, in fact, pose very little threat to people.

Bimini Sands asks for your support in ensuring that the waters of the Bahamas stay healthy, clean & teeming with fish for generations to come.

For more information about the Shark Free Marinas Initiative, contact Grant Johnson at grant@biminisands.com or Patric Douglas at sharkcrew@gmail.com

Bimini Sands Featured on Upcoming ESPN2 Show!

The Bimini Sands Resort & Marina will be featured on an upcoming episode of ESPN2's hit show, George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing.

George and his crew have visited Bimini many times, drawn by the fantastic fishing and excellent accomodations. When talking about Bimini Sands, George recently noted, "Bimini Sands Resort & Marina is the place to be when visiting Bimini. The facility has everything from upscale accomodations to eco-tours."

The upcoming episode will feature George and contest winner from Idaho, whose prize was an exciting fishing trip with George Poveromo and a stay at Bimini Sands.

The show is set to air at 7:30 am (EST) on February 8, 2009 with a repeat showing at 6:30 am (EST) on Valentine's Day.

Be sure to watch, and for more info about the show Click Here!

Happy New Year !!!

Happy New Year from the Bimini Sands Resort!

We've got a great holiday schedule lined up for this week including a free family movie by the pool, snorkeling trips, fantastic food and drink specials, and the best fireworks show on Bimini!

It all starts Wednesday night at the Bimini Beach Club on South Bimini.

The Beach Club is offering a terrific dinner special, as well as tons of fun for the whole family to enjoy. We'll have Live Entertainment all night, a bonfire on the beach, champagne & beer specials, party favors, and of course, the amazing fireworks show.

Thursday night we'll be showing a free family movie poolside on our 12 ft movie screen, don't miss it!

And Saturday, we'll be heading out on the water for one of our exciting snorkeling excursions!

To get a taste of what to expect on New Year's Eve, check out the video below to see our 4th of July fireworks display... And have a great 2009!

Happy New Year!!!

Manatee In Bimini

For over a week now, a large manatee has been seen slowly patrolling the shallow waters around Bimini. First sighted near Radio Beach on North Bimini, the manatee has been making regular swims up into the Alice Town harbour, hanging out under the docks and creating quite a sight for both locals and visitors.

While manatees are not found in large populations in the Bahamas, there are some islands that report regular sightings of these gentle marine mammals. By most people's accounts, the last time a manatee was seen in Bimini was over a decade ago.

A team of workers from the Miami Seaquarium is already on site, trying to assess the health of the manatee and determine if it should be relocated to Florida. So far, the manatee looks healthy and is behaving fine.

For more information on manatees, click here.

13th Annual Cacique Award Finalists

We are honored to announce that the Bimini Sands has been named as a finalist in this years 13th annual Cacique Awards.

The Cacique Awards are presented by the Ministry of Tourism each year to recognize those who "are exemplary in their field of work as it relates to tourism." This year, the Bimini Sands Recreation & Activity Center has been named one of the top finalists in the "Sustainable Tourism" category for their work developing the Bimini Nature Trail and other eco-tourism opportunities around Bimini.

For more information on this years Cacique Awards finalists, click here.

The award ceremony will take place on January 30, 2009, so check back soon to the Bimini Sands Blog for more information on this exciting news!!!

ESPN2 at Bimini Sands

George Poveromo, from ESPN2's hit show "George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing" recently made another trip to the Bimini Sands Resort & Marina to film for an upcoming episode.

George and his crew have made several trips to Bimini in that past, drawn by the legendary fishing and fantastic accommodations. George Poveromo recently noted that, "Bimini Sands Resort & Marina is the place to be when visiting Bimini. The facility has everything from upscale accommodations to eco-tours."

During his last visit, George stayed with us while filming his "Bimini Shootout" episode. Stay tuned to the Bimini Sands website, and George Poveromo's website (www.georgepoveromo.com) for more information on the upcoming Bimini show.

Bimini Guide Book Now Online - Free

The VantagePoint Guide to Bimini, which has been popular with visitors, has been put online by its author. You can view the entire book for free - just visit the site below.

Bimini Guide

It's a great resource on Bimini.

Shark Feeding

Check out our Shark Adventure on YouTube. For more information, please contact the Activities Center at Bimini Sands (242) 347-3500. Just ask for Grant or Katie.

New Year's Getaway Special

Come celebrate New Year's at Bimini Sands. We are offering special New Year's packages starting at just $95/night. Ring in the New Year on the island of Bimini.

For more infomation, click here.

Hope to see you soon!

Just a Random Shot Down by the Beach

A nice Grady White boat coming in the inlet and doing a "wave jumping".

Photos - Labor Day Weekend 2007

Click here for more photos!

Mackey's Sand Bar

Labor Day every year at Bimini Sands is one big party. The resort and marina are booked full and everyone gets in their last blast of the summer. To see the full gallery, click on the link below. Enjoy the pics!

Click here for more photos!

Bimini Nature Trail Grand Opening

Over the past year we have been hard at work developing Bimini's first nature trail. The Bimini Nature Trail allows you to see and view the plants and wildlife of Bimini in their natural environment, a side most visitors never see. The Bimini Boa and other animals are available for handling on our guided tours. This is a one of a kind experience that the whole family can enjoy.

For more details about the Bimini Nature Trail and it s grand opening, please visit the new Bimini Sands Recreation and Activities Department. For more information before your arrival, please call and ask for either of our Activities Directors (Grant and Katie). Or you can email them at katie@biminisands.com

Formula Boats Video Shoot On Bimini

Every year the folks from Formula Boats come over and stay at Bimini Sands when they shoot videos of their new boats. Lot's of great boats and beautiful models (not a bad weekend to visit Bimini Sands...).

Formula Boats Website

Old Website Photo Galleries Still Online

Since we launched the new site, a number of visitors have asked about the photo galleries we had posted on the old site. Don't worry, they're not gone. You can fine them here: www.biminisands.com/gallery

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World Famous Bimini Shark Lab

Believe it or not, South Bimini is home to a world famous marine research lab, the Bimini Biological Field Station. Here on the island the organization is known simply as the Shark Lab (and its researchers are sometimes called "sharkies"). As you can guess from the nicknames, the lab focuses on the marine ecology of Bimini with an emphasis on shark research. The lab welcomes visitors and is just a short stroll away from Bimini Sands. Their website is here: Bimini Biological Field Station - BBFS.

Our Activities Directors, Grant and Katie, used to work at the Shark Lab and are always happy to discuss the ecological aspects of Bimini. Not to mention their extensive time on the island makes them the ultimate "insider guides" - so if you have questions about where to go, what to do - just ask Katie or Grant. You can email either one direct at:

katie@biminisands.com

Photos - Formula Boats (and models)

More photos from the Formula Boats 2007 photo shoot. And a special thanks to all the Formula folks, they're always one of the most enjoyable groups we host. See you all next year.

click here for the photos

Diving the Sapona ("the concrete ship")

The wreck of the Sapona is a popular snorkeling and diving spot for visitors to Bimini. It's also one of the de facto social gathering spots to anchor. It's located just a few miles south of the resort and is easy to get to. Normally you can expect to find a few other boats anchored nearby. The wreck has been in place since the 1920's!

Below is a video from YouTube

Just Another Lousy Day in Paradise

Click on photo to enlarge

View from our beach. Snapped this shot over labor Day Weekend and it was one of the few photos without a boat in the it! The water really is this pretty. Enjoy.