Miami to the Bahamas — Jet and Yacht, Set Up in One Call
Direct answer
A Miami-to-Bahamas weekend works because the geography is unusually friendly: 45 minutes by jet from KMIA to Nassau (MYNN), customs clears in fifteen, and the yacht is waiting at Lyford Cay or Atlantis Marina. The office runs both legs on a single thread — aircraft, ground, customs, captain — so the guest touches the connection once. Best months are November to early June; high summer works but afternoon thunderstorms shift the schedule. Most popular setup is a 35–50m motor yacht for three nights in the Exumas.
Miami and the Bahamas are 180 nautical miles apart, which is either a three-hour run on a fast motor yacht or a forty-five minute hop on a light jet. The right answer for a guest who wants to be on the water in the Exumas by Saturday lunch is the second — and then a yacht waiting at MYNN. Done right, the guest leaves Brickell at 09:00 on a Saturday and is in the swim at Norman's Cay before 13:00. The office handles the connection so the guest moves once.
The route, end to end
- 09:00 — car from the South Beach or Brickell address.
- 09:30 — board at Signature Aviation or Atlantic Aviation, KMIA or KOPF.
- 09:45 — wheels up.
- 10:30 (EST) — landing MYNN, customs and immigration on the FBO side.
- 10:50 — car to Lyford Cay or Atlantis Marina.
- 11:30 — alongside, boarding the yacht, captain briefing on deck.
- 12:00 — slip lines, heading south for Highbourne or Allen's Cay.
The whole sequence is a single thread on WhatsApp between the office, the captain, the FBO and the driver. If the jet slips by 30 minutes, the chef pushes lunch by 30 minutes. If customs is slow, the driver is already on the kerb.
Aircraft for this hop
For the Miami–Nassau leg, you do not need a long-range jet — this is a short, low-altitude hop. The aircraft we use most often:
- Embraer Phenom 300E — light, fast for the segment, four to seven passengers.
- Pilatus PC-24 — same seat count, more cabin, suitable for a family with two children.
- Citation XLS / Latitude for groups of eight; rarely anything larger needed.
For guests starting in New York, the Challenger 350 does KTEB to MYNN comfortably with a hop down through Miami for re-fuel only if needed. From Europe, the Gulfstream G650ER flies London or Zurich to MYNN non-stop.
The customs detail no one mentions
Bahamian customs at MYNN is faster on the FBO side than on the commercial side — usually fifteen minutes for a small private group. But there are two practical points:
- Passport names on the manifest must match the names on the yacht crew list. If they don't, customs flags it and you sit. The office cross-checks this 48 hours out.
- For families with under-18s, a single parent travelling without the other should carry a notarised consent letter. Bahamian customs occasionally asks; it is faster to have it.
Weekend itineraries that actually work
Three nights, Nassau out and back
Fly in Friday morning, board, run south overnight to Highbourne, two days in the Exumas Land and Sea Park, Sunday lunch alongside, jet home Sunday afternoon. The minimum version. Suitable for couples.
Four nights, Exumas core
Thursday in, Friday at Norman's, Saturday at Staniel (Thunderball Grotto, Pig Beach early), Sunday Compass Cay, Monday up. The most-booked weekend in the office calendar.
Six nights, north to south
Adds Eleuthera and the Pink Sands; jet in Wednesday, jet out the following Tuesday. The version for guests with time.
Why this works as a quiet decision
The Miami–Bahamas pairing is the easiest example we have of what the office does daily: combine a jet, a yacht and a short ground sequence so the guest does not manage the connection. The cost of the FBO side and the customs side is rounded into the booking, not surfaced as line items. See charter for how the wider service works, or send a note via WhatsApp to +41 79 285 79 79 — reply within the hour, 09–23 CET.
People also ask
Frequently asked
- How long is the flight from Miami to Nassau by private jet?
- Roughly 45 minutes airborne. With FBO boarding at KMIA and customs at MYNN on the private side, door-to-yacht is usually about three hours including the car at both ends.
- What private jet is best for a Miami to Bahamas trip?
- An Embraer Phenom 300E or a Pilatus PC-24 for couples and small families; a Citation XLS or Latitude for groups of eight. You do not need a long-range jet for this short hop.
- Where do you board the yacht arriving in Nassau by private jet?
- Lyford Cay Marina or Atlantis Marina are the two most common starting points. The office sequences customs at MYNN, the car transfer, and the yacht boarding so the guest moves once.
- Can a family with children fly Miami to the Bahamas by private jet?
- Yes — and it is a common booking. Carry a notarised consent letter if a single parent is travelling without the other; Bahamian customs occasionally requests it. Children under 12 do not need their own seat in most light jets.
The Office
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