Alice Town Bimini Where the Island’s Story Actually Begins

Alice Town sprawls along the western shore of North Bimini, a narrow strip of colorful wooden buildings and waterfront docks that has been the island’s heart since 1848. The King’s Highway runs its length, lined with bars where Hemingway drank, restaurants serving conch every way imaginable, and dive operators preparing for a day on the Gulf Stream. This is where Bimini’s story actually begins — not at a resort or a beach club, but in a settlement built by wreckers and fishermen that grew into one of the Atlantic’s most legendary sport fishing capitals.

Alice Town serves as the capital and main settlement of the Bimini district, sitting on North Bimini at coordinates 25.7264° N, 79.2981° W. The settlement’s protected harbor has sheltered vessels for more than 150 years, and today it remains the primary boating hub for the Bimini chain. Multiple marinas along the waterfront offer fuel, slips, and services for visiting yachts, including customs and immigration clearance for vessels arriving from the United States. The crossing from Florida takes three to four hours by private yacht, putting Alice Town’s docks within easy range of South Florida boaters.

Hemingway’s Bimini: The Writer Who Put Alice Town on the Map

Ernest Hemingway arrived in Bimini in 1935 and based himself at the Blue Marlin Hotel, later known as the Compleat Angler, on King’s Highway in Alice Town. He stayed through 1937, working on To Have and Have Not and gathering material for Islands in the Stream while spending most of his time aboard his boat Pilar pursuing blue marlin and tuna in the Gulf Stream just offshore. His presence attracted other famous visitors and established Bimini’s reputation as a world-class big game fishing destination.

Beyond fishing, Hemingway became a local legend for setting up a boxing ring and challenging islanders to sparring matches. The original Compleat Angler Hotel was destroyed by fire in 2006, but his legacy lives on in photographs, memorabilia, and the fishing culture that still defines Alice Town. Walking through the settlement today, you’ll find conversations still revolving around tides, weather, and offshore catches — the same rhythm Hemingway knew.

Hemingway’s Bimini isn’t a single site you visit — it’s a thread that runs through the whole town. The bars he drank at, the docks he fished from, the waters he wrote about are all still here, woven into the everyday life of Alice Town. For anyone interested in how a writer’s presence can shape an island’s identity for generations, this is the place to feel it.

King’s Highway and the Waterfront: The Heart of Island Life

The King’s Highway runs the length of Alice Town, a single narrow road lined with bars, restaurants, gift shops, and dive operators. A parallel route called Queen’s Highway runs along the opposite shore, creating a loop that allows exploration of both the protected harbor side and the open Atlantic beaches. The architecture is distinctly Bahamian: colorful wooden buildings with tin roofs, decorated with fishing memorabilia, nautical flags, and hand-painted signs.

Waterfront bars include historic watering holes where Hemingway drank and modern beach bars serving Goombay Smashes and cold Kalik beer. Restaurants such as The Big Game Club, The Anchor, and Stuart’s Conch Stand offer fresh local seafood — conch prepared every way imaginable, fresh grouper, and lobster in season. Golf carts are the preferred transportation, weaving between pedestrians and the occasional car, and you can rent one easily to explore both the King’s and Queen’s Highway loop.

The waterfront itself has sheltered vessels for more than 150 years. The original settlers arrived in 1848, establishing a community that grew wealthy from wrecking — salvaging cargo from ships that ran aground on the coral reefs — fishing, and rum-running to Florida during Prohibition. Today the harbor accommodates modern marinas for large sport fishing yachts alongside docks for local fishing boats, and the contrast between old and new is part of what makes Alice Town feel authentic.

The Bimini Big Game Club and Fishing Heritage

The Bimini Big Game Club, founded in 1936 by Nassau entrepreneur Neville Stuart, anchors Alice Town’s fishing heritage. It began as a formal dining establishment before evolving into the center of Bimini’s sport fishing culture. Today the resort and marina remains a legendary fishing lodge where charter boats prepare before sunrise and return with big catches by late afternoon. It offers fresh local seafood, Bahamian flavors, waterfront dining, diving excursions, snorkeling adventures, and offshore fishing charters.

Alice Town sits at the edge of some of the most productive game fishing waters in the Atlantic, with the Gulf Stream within three miles of the harbor. Blue marlin fishing peaks from May through September; wahoo and tuna are most abundant from November through March. For flats fishermen, the clear shallows of North and South Bimini offer excellent bonefishing, with the season peaking from October through June. Bimini’s shallow flats rank among the world’s most respected bonefishing destinations, attracting fly fishermen who travel thousands of miles to chase bonefish in crystal-clear flats guided by quiet poling techniques.

The Big Game Club remains an island classic, and its position on the Alice Town waterfront makes it an easy base for exploring the rest of the settlement on foot or by golf cart. Even if you’re not staying there, the bar and restaurant are open to visitors, and the docks are worth a walk to see the day’s catches coming in.

Getting to Alice Town: Air, Ferry, and Private Boat

Alice Town is reached via a short ferry ride from South Bimini Airport, where flights arrive from Florida and Nassau. The high-speed Balearia ferry from Fort Lauderdale docks at Resorts World Bimini, from which Alice Town is a short taxi or golf cart ride. By private yacht, marinas along the Alice Town waterfront offer slips, fuel, and customs clearance for vessels arriving from the United States. American Airlines now offers nonstop service from Miami to South Bimini in under an hour, making this one of the quickest international beach vacations in North America.

Making the Most of Your Time in Alice Town

Alice Town is compact enough to explore in a half-day if you’re on a tight schedule, but a full day lets you experience the waterfront bars, a meal at the Big Game Club, and a walk along both King’s and Queen’s Highway. If you’re arriving by ferry from Fort Lauderdale, you’ll have a solid four to five hours before the return crossing — enough for a walk along King’s Highway, lunch, and a drink at a waterfront bar. If you’re staying overnight, the evening hours along the waterfront are the most atmospheric, with fishing boats returning and the bars filling up.

The King’s Highway loop is about three miles total if you do both the harbor and Atlantic sides, which takes about an hour by golf cart with stops. Radio Beach on the Atlantic side offers swimming and a break from the waterfront bar scene. If you have more time, boat trips to Bimini Road for snorkeling depart from Alice Town’s marinas.

Before You Go to Alice Town

How far is Alice Town from Miami?

About 50 miles — roughly three hours by private boat or under an hour by air from Miami to South Bimini, plus a short ferry to North Bimini. The Balearia ferry from Fort Lauderdale takes about two hours.

Can I visit the Compleat Angler where Hemingway stayed?

The original hotel was destroyed by fire in 2006. Hemingway’s legacy lives on in photographs, memorabilia displayed in local bars and restaurants, and the fishing culture that still defines Alice Town — but there’s no preserved building to tour.

Do I need a car in Alice Town?

No. Golf carts are the preferred transportation, and you can rent one near the ferry dock or along King’s Highway. The compact center is walkable, and a cart lets you cover the full King’s Highway/Queen’s Highway loop easily.

What’s the best time of year to visit?

For fishing, blue marlin peaks May–September, wahoo and tuna November–March, and bonefishing October–June. For general visiting, November through April offers milder weather and fewer crowds, though the water is warm year-round.

Is Alice Town family-friendly?

Yes — the waterfront walk, golf cart exploration, and beach access at Radio Beach work well for families. The bars are casual and welcoming during the day. Evening bar scenes can get lively during tournament weeks, but the daytime atmosphere is relaxed and inclusive.

Where Alice Town Fits Into Your Bimini Trip

Alice Town isn’t a single attraction you check off a list — it’s the setting that gives every other part of Bimini context. The fishing charters, the Hemingway legacy, the waterfront bars, the golf cart loops all start here. Understanding Alice Town’s story — from wrecking and rum-running to Hemingway and world-class sport fishing — changes how you experience everything else on the island. If you want to understand Bimini beyond the resort pool and the beach club, start on King’s Highway. That’s where the island’s story actually begins.

For more on Bimini’s underwater mysteries and the sites that complement a visit to Alice Town, see our guide to the mysteries of underwater ruins in Bimini’s waters.

References

Sail Abacos. “Alice Town.” 2024. ↗

Sail Abacos. “Alice Town Bimini.” 2024. ↗

Caribbean Journal. “The Flight That Changed the Island.” July 2026. ↗

Planning a longer Bahamas trip? Our comprehensive island-hopping guide covers routes from Alice Town to other cays, and our budget-friendly Bahamas tips help you plan a trip that fits your family’s style. If you’re traveling with kids, our family-focused Bahamas guide offers practical advice for making the most of stops like Alice Town with children in tow.