Sailing the Bahamas
How much does it cost?
We spent all of April and May 2019 sailing the Bahamas. I have compiled a complete list of everything we have spent after 60 days. This year we checked in at Great Harbour Cay Marina and from there went to explore the outer islands in the Bahamas.
The islands we visited included:
Great Harbour Cay, Fish Market Cays, Hoffman’s Cay, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Compass Cay, Long Island, Conception Island, Crooked Island, Long Cay, Acklins Island, Great Inagua, Little Inagua, and last but not least Mayaguana.
I keep track of our expenses to give ourselves a good look at what we spend. This helps us understand where we can improve and save even more. I also hope that it can help other sailors or soon to be sailors by giving them an idea of what two months of expenses in the Bahamas could look like.
Below is a list of what it cost to sail the Bahamas.
Customs
We decided to sail non stop from Fort Lauderdale to the Berry Islands. We had heard that clearing customs on Great Harbor Cay was very simple so we decided to try it out. The marina has a great relationship with the customs officers who come from the airport. Once docked the dock master will call them over and they will clear you in right on your own boat. The price (as of April 2019) is $300 for boats over 35′. This includes your fishing and cruising permit as well as clearance for the Captain and two “crew members”. Additional passengers cost $20. Our boat included Billy, myself, Jetty, as well as Billy’s mom and sister.
Customs total: $320
*If you are interested in costs and requirements for bringing a dog to the Bahamas click HERE*
Groceries
Stocking up in Florida before we set sail.
We have cruised the Bahamas many times and are aware that groceries are more expensive and sometimes hard to come by in the Bahamas. For this reason, we loaded the boat with as many veggies and as much meat as we could. We recently added an Engel freezer to our boat which helps us store much more frozen food. The bulk shopping makes our initial grocery shop look very expensive but it keeps our costs down in the long run.
Florida
Publix (Canned, Frozen, Dry Goods): $437
Publix (Fresh Food): $337
Eleuthera
Hatchet Bay Grocery: $50
Governors Harbour Bakery: $12
Rock Sound Grocery: $238
Cat Island
General Store: $12
Long Island
Hill Side Supply $357
Crooked Island
Convenience Store: $32
Market: $61
Great Inagua
Morton’s Market: $175
Groceries Total: $1711
Restaurants
Friday Night Pizza at Great Harbour Cay Marina
We spent most of our time anchored and exploring secluded areas without any restaurants. This helped us drastically lower our restaurant bill from last year.
Great Harbour Cay
Great Harbour Cay Marina Pizza Night: $25
Eleuthera
Boaters Haven: $25
Surf Shack: $27
Coffee: $7
Frigates: $85
Wild Orchid: $93
Crooked Island
Gibson’s: $45
Mayaguana
Reggies: $32
Restaurants Total: $339
Fuel
We save on our fuel bill by sailing as much as possible!
Let’s be honest our engines are OLD. We try to use them as little as possible to save them for when we really need them. Strictly sailing is also much cheaper than burning diesel 😛 The fuel cost below includes the price of diesel for our boat and gasoline for our dinghy.
Florida
Sailfish Marina: $199
Eleuthera
Cape Eleuthera Marina: $150
Fuel Total: $349
Dockage
We prefer to anchor out.
We try to anchor our as much as possible. However, sometimes a night at the dock can make things like laundry and filling up with water much easier. If you prefer to spend your night securely tied to a dock then expect your overall costs to be MUCH higher.
Great Harbour Cay
Eleuthera
Dockage Total: $175
Water
Filling up with water at the Gov. dock on Long Island
This year was a bit of an eye-opener for us. Unlike the Abaco’s and the Exuma’s where you can find marinas everywhere the outer islands have very few and sometimes no marinas on an entire island. On the inhabited islands there is always a way to get fresh drinking water but it can take many trips back and forth on the dinghy with jerry cans to fill the tanks. We will be investing in a water maker soon.
Eleuthera
Cape Eleuthera Marina: $14
Long Island
Government Dock: $15
Great Inagua
Government Dock: $12
Water Total: $41
Laundry
Washing our smelly towels
While in the Islands we live in bathing suits so we have very few clothes that need to be washed. Towels, on the other hand, can start to reek from being constantly damp.
Eleuthera
Cape Eleuthera Marina: $11
Laundry Total: $11
Boat Parts
My favorite purchase from the marine store
It is smart to arrive in the Bahamas with all the spare parts you think you might need. They are more expensive and most of the time very difficult to get when you finally need them. You can usually find anything you would need in Nassau but in the outer islands, George Town or Long Island would probably be your best bet. We found the Marine store in Salt Pond, Long Island to be pretty well filled with spare parts, filters, and fishing supplies.
Long Island
Marina Store (Bilge pump, connectors, 12 v fan, misc.): $262
Parts Total: $262
Phone/Internet
Uploading Youtube videos via My Island Wifi
We were super lucky on this trip to team up with My Island Wifi. My Island Wifi is a hotspot service that enables you to hot spot up to ten of your own devices. The best part of it is that it is unlimited. We were able to upload multiple videos to Youtube, post on Instagram, and stream movies every night. You may also call and text using wifi enabled apps so keeping in touch with our family was a breeze. Last year we used a prepaid BTC plan which cost us $280. For this $280 we were able to use a total of 90 GB. This year with My Island Wifi we used over 500GB in the same amount of time. My Island Wifi is $75 a month with a one-time refundable deposit of $50 for the device and $10 for shipping.
Thank you My Island Wifi for partnering with us and allowing us to keep up with our work!
Other
Our tour guide Williams showing us the salt fields
We rented a car in Eleuthera to pick up our friend Jeff and to see as many sites as possible while he was with us. We also hired a guide in Great Inagua to tour and learn about the history of the Island.
Eleuthera
Rental Car: $100 (higher price because we have a dog)
Great Inagua
Tour Guide: $40 ($80 total we split with another couple)
Other Total: $140
Total Cost to Sail the Bahamas: $3,348
The numbers listed above are OUR costs of sailing the Bahamas. Your numbers can range drastically depending on where you go, what you like to eat, how much you sail, and how often you prefer to be at a marina. This year we sailed over 1000 miles and visited over 12 islands.
If I divide our total costs by our 60 days in the Bahamas we average about $56 a day for two people and a dog. In my opinion that is pretty dang good for being in such a beautiful place and constantly adventuring. An all-inclusive resort could easily rack up the same bill in just a few days. It is also totally possible to sail 60 days in the Bahamas much cheaper than we did.
Have you sailed the Bahamas and calculated your cost? Are your costs higher or lower? If you have yet to sail over but are interested, is this higher or lower than you expected? Comment below and let us know 🙂
Sierra
Not that your laundry bill is going to break the bank, but we started using large chamois towels instead of traditional. You’ll probably want to still use cotton towels for Jetty but we found the shammy to be awesome. They are small, easy to carry, dont need to be washed as often and when they do start to smell a little, I just swish them in the boat wash bucket and wring it out.
I love shammies! We have a few on the boat but you are right we should get more!
Thanks for the useful information. Just curious what kind of Sailboat you have.
We have a 1988 Crowther Spindrift Catamaran 🙂
This is perfect. I plan on doing something very similar but with a small trawler. Fuel cost will definitely go up for me but a water maker will be a great savings. Thanks a bunch for the videos and this cost info I’m sure that many of us followers really like to see.
I also track my sailing costs. I spent the last 3 winter seasons sailing different parts of the Bahamas, approx 90 days each year. As you said, any budget varies widely from person to person. I’m single, sailing solo, so I eat out a bit more than you guys, I also tend to stay in marinas about 50% and anchor out about 50%. One more difference, I tend to turn my engine on if I’m going less than 4 knots sailing. I’m in a 36 ft monohull sailboat.
Including all the same items, fuel, food, restaurants, car & golf cart rentals, inter island internet, entertainment, tours, excursions in the islands, Customs fees, Marina docking including extras for electr & water, parts & misc supplies purchased in the islands; I averaged $100 a day or $9000 per annual trip (90 days) starting & finishing in Fl.
Hey Guys, thought you might like to see the difference between now and what it was like in the 80’s. back then we had a 30 ft Columbia. we would prevision in west palm, food, fuel, beer, wine, etc. total around 800.00. we anchored always accept when we docked for fuel. we would carry 1200.00 cash with us.
clearing in cost then was around 75.00. we would stay four to five months and return with money left over. but in all fairness, i would captain charters for BYS out of Marsh Harbor. they paid back then 75.00 a day. i have to say considering the cost of living now verses the, it’s still pretty reasonable. you two be safe and enjoy.
Hey tnx for the great info!
Lisa and I are Jehovah’s Witnesses and are heading down to the Exuma area to help reach some of the out islands with our Bible educational work.
We spent the last two years up-fitting a salvage Cheoy Lee 38 sloop.
We just splashed last week and are in a marina in NC and hope to head down to Florida preparing to cross in December after we work a few months.
Hopefully, we can afford to stay down there for all of the NON-hurricane season.
When would you suggest we start heading back?
Tnx again for the easy-to-follow info!
Warm Christian Love
John & Lisa Shaw