Short answer: Bimini, in the Bahamas, is the closest.
It’s about 50 miles due east of Miami and the closest point in the Bahamas to the mainland US.
Grand Bahama’s West End is about 64 miles off Palm Beach, and Cuba is roughly 90 miles south of Key West.
After that the miles pile up fast: about 525 to Montego Bay in Jamaica, about 1,000 to Puerto Rico and about 1,530 to Grenada, all measured from Miami.
I rewrote this page in October 2026.
The old version had Barbados a few hundred miles too close and Grenada a few hundred miles too far, called Haiti the closest Caribbean island to Florida (it’s not, by roughly 600 miles), and gave Cuba’s size in miles instead of square miles.
It also opened with a cruise story and a pirate tale I couldn’t stand behind.
So I measured every distance again and cut whatever I couldn’t check.
The 10+ Closest Caribbean Islands to FL by Plane or Boat
Here are 10 islands you can reach from Florida, nearest first.
Each distance is a straight line from Miami to the town shown with each island, worked out from the coordinates Wikipedia lists for each place.
So it’s the shortest trip you could possibly make, not a flight path or a shipping route.
The two time columns are my rough estimates, and you should treat them that way.
For a flight I took the distance at 500 mph and added 30 minutes for the climb and the descent (plus taxiing).
Why 500?
An Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737 cruises at about 450 knots, which is roughly 518 mph.
For a boat I used a steady 20 knots, about 23 mph, over the same straight line.
| Island (measured to) | Miles from Miami | Flight, my estimate | Boat at 20 knots, my estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bimini (Alice Town) | 56 mi (90 km) | 30 min | 2 h 30 min |
| Grand Bahama (Freeport) | 106 mi (171 km) | 45 min | 4 h 45 min |
| Abaco (Marsh Harbour) | 201 mi (324 km) | 1 h | 8 h 45 min |
| Cuba (Havana) | 227 mi (366 km) | 1 h | 10 h |
| Eleuthera (Governor’s Harbour) | 250 mi (402 km) | 1 h | 10 h 45 min |
| Grand Cayman (George Town) | 454 mi (731 km) | 1 h 30 min | 19 h 45 min |
| Jamaica (Montego Bay) | 525 mi (846 km) | 1 h 30 min | 22 h 45 min |
| Turks and Caicos (Providenciales) | 572 mi (921 km) | 1 h 45 min | 24 h 45 min |
| Puerto Rico (San Juan) | 1,037 mi (1,669 km) | 2 h 30 min | 45 h |
| Grenada (St. George’s) | 1,530 mi (2,462 km) | 3 h 30 min | 66 h 30 min |
Those flight times assume a nonstop.
Add a layover and your day gets long, especially for the bottom of the table.
And here are the other islands this page talks about, measured the same way:
| Island (measured to) | Miles from Miami | Flight, my estimate | Boat at 20 knots, my estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Providence (Nassau) | 185 mi (297 km) | 45 min | 8 h |
| Haiti (Cap-Haïtien) | 657 mi (1,057 km) | 1 h 45 min | 28 h 30 min |
| Haiti (Port-au-Prince) | 708 mi (1,140 km) | 2 h | 30 h 45 min |
| Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo) | 828 mi (1,332 km) | 2 h 15 min | 36 h |
| Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) | 906 mi (1,459 km) | 2 h 15 min | 39 h 30 min |
| Sint Maarten (Philipsburg) | 1,221 mi (1,965 km) | 3 h | 53 h |
| St. Vincent (Kingstown) | 1,509 mi (2,428 km) | 3 h 30 min | 65 h 30 min |
| Barbados (Bridgetown) | 1,598 mi (2,571 km) | 3 h 45 min | 69 h 30 min |
| Trinidad (Port of Spain) | 1,606 mi (2,585 km) | 3 h 45 min | 69 h 45 min |
Want a pair of places I didn’t list?
Try our distance between cities tool.
Geographical Proximity of Caribbean Islands to Florida
Here’s something you might not expect.
The three closest islands on that list, all of them in the Bahamas, aren’t in the Caribbean Sea at all.
The Bahamas sit in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Lucayan Archipelago, which they share with the Turks and Caicos Islands.
But the Bahamas still count as part of the wider Caribbean region, and the country is a full member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The West Indies (a term that’s often used interchangeably with “Caribbean”) come in three groups.
There’s the Lucayan Archipelago.
There are the Greater Antilles, the big islands: Cuba and Hispaniola, plus Jamaica and Puerto Rico, with the Cayman Islands counted in too.
And there are the Lesser Antilles, a long arc that starts at the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico and swings down toward South America.
Honestly, that’s the whole map in one paragraph.
For a separate list that also takes in Florida’s own islands, see our guide to islands close to Florida, or more pages on Florida’s islands and how close the Caribbean is.
The Bahamas
The Bahamas has some 700 islands and about 2,400 cays (only 30 of them are inhabited), and it’s the obvious answer to “closest island.”
Bimini is its westernmost district, a chain of islands about 50 miles due east of Miami.
By my measure, it’s 56 miles from Miami to Alice Town, the center of Bimini’s tourist trade.
Its largest islands are North Bimini, South Bimini and East Bimini, and North Bimini is about 7 mi long but only about 700 ft wide.
Getting there is easy.
You can fly in, since Bimini’s airports take international flights from the US.
Or you can ride Baleària’s high-speed ferry from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.
Grand Bahama comes next.
Its westernmost town, West End, is 64 miles east of Palm Beach, and Freeport is about 67 miles off the Palm Beach coast.
Freeport has its own Baleària ferry link to Port Everglades too.
Then come the Abaco Islands in the north of the country, about 193 miles east of Miami.
Eleuthera is farther: a long, thin island about 50 miles east of Nassau, the capital, on New Providence.
Nassau itself is 185 miles from Miami by my measure.
The State Department’s current advisory for the Bahamas, issued July 28, 2026, is Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution, because of crime.
For more, see whether there’s a lot to do in the Bahamas.
🗼 I Wrote a Book About My Japan Travel Catastrophes!
Before I landed in Tokyo, I thought I was the “Final Boss” of international travel. Spoiler alert: I WASN’T. 😅
🚅 I boarded the wrong Shinkansen and ended up in THE WRONG CITY. I confused locals with my “expert” bowing that was more awkward than accurate. I accidentally stumbled into a high-stakes Kendo practice thinking it was a tourist show. Sound like something you’d do?
“Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to Japan” is your shortcut to avoiding ALL my cringe-worthy mistakes. ✨ Inside, you’ll find practical, LIFE-SAVING tips on etiquette, transport, money, and hidden gems that will save you time, money, and a whole lot of confusion.
Cuba
Cuba is the “90 miles from Florida” island.
The Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West says Cuba is roughly 90 miles south.
At the narrowest point the Straits of Florida are 93 miles wide between Key West and the Cuban shore, and Havana is about 106 miles from Key West.
Its main island is the largest in the Caribbean, about 780 miles long.
The whole country covers 42,426 square miles, about 8% smaller than Pennsylvania (46,055 square miles in all).
Now the part to read before anything gets booked.
Federal law requires anyone subject to US jurisdiction to get a license for travel-related transactions in Cuba, and transactions related solely to tourist travel aren’t licensable.
So a plain beach vacation isn’t something you can just book from Miami.
Check the current rules first.
The State Department’s advisory for Cuba is Level 2, citing crime and unreliable electrical power.
From Miami, Havana is 227 miles in a straight line.
Cayman Islands
The Caymans are a British Overseas Territory of three islands (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) south of Cuba, about 430 miles south of Miami.
By my measure, it’s 454 miles from Miami to George Town, the capital, on Grand Cayman.
Grand Cayman is the most populous of the three.
Cayman Brac takes its name from the Bluff, a limestone outcrop that rises to 141 ft above sea level at the eastern end (“brac” is a Gaelic name for a bluff).
And Little Cayman’s Booby Pond Nature Reserve has the largest red-footed booby population in the Caribbean.
The advisory here is Level 1: exercise normal precautions.
More: what not to miss in Grand Cayman.
Jamaica
Distance from Florida
Jamaica lies about 90 miles (145 km) south of Cuba.
Montego Bay is 525 miles from Miami by my measure, and Kingston (the capital since 1872) is 581.
Travel Options
If you’re going, you’ll almost certainly fly.
Jamaica has three international airports: Norman Manley in Kingston, Ian Fleming in Boscobel, and Sir Donald Sangster in Montego Bay, the largest and busiest.
My estimate for a nonstop from Miami to Montego Bay is about 1 hour 30 minutes.
The advisory for Jamaica is Level 2, for crime and health risks, and some areas carry more risk.
Turks and Caicos Islands
Another British Overseas Territory, the Turks and Caicos lie southeast of Mayaguana, in the Bahamas chain, and about 99 miles north of Hispaniola.
Providenciales (“Provo”) is where most visitors end up.
It’s home to a majority of the territory’s people, it’s the most tourist-oriented and developed island, and its resorts are mostly on Grace Bay, 5 mi long.
Provo is 572 miles from Miami by my measure.
Cockburn Town, the capital, is on Grand Turk, about 647 miles east-southeast of Miami.
Level 2 advisory, for crime.
More: is there a lot to do on Turks and Caicos.
Haiti and Dominican Republic
The two countries share Hispaniola, the second-largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba.
Haiti has the western part and the Dominican Republic the eastern part, which is the bigger share.
Neither one is close to Florida in the “50 miles” sense.
Cap-Haïtien, on Haiti’s north coast, is 657 miles from Miami, and Port-au-Prince is 708.
Santo Domingo is 828 miles away and Punta Cana 906.
And Haiti comes with a hard warning.
The State Department’s advisory is Level 4: Do Not Travel.
It cites crime and kidnapping.
Terrorism too, and unrest, and limited health care.
Haiti’s great landmark, the Citadelle Laferrière, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, but that advisory is where I’d draw the line.
The Dominican Republic’s advisory is Level 2, for crime.
If it’s on your list, see what to do in the Dominican Republic and things to do in Santo Domingo.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, organized as a commonwealth, about 1,000 miles southeast of Miami.
San Juan is 1,037 miles by my measure.
It’s the smallest of the Greater Antilles.
Its big nature stop is El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest System, within 25 mi (40 km) east of Old San Juan.
More: what not to miss in Puerto Rico.
🗼 I Wrote a Book About My Japan Travel Catastrophes!
Before I landed in Tokyo, I thought I was the “Final Boss” of international travel. Spoiler alert: I WASN’T. 😅
🚅 I boarded the wrong Shinkansen and ended up in THE WRONG CITY. I confused locals with my “expert” bowing that was more awkward than accurate. I accidentally stumbled into a high-stakes Kendo practice thinking it was a tourist show. Sound like something you’d do?
“Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to Japan” is your shortcut to avoiding ALL my cringe-worthy mistakes. ✨ Inside, you’ll find practical, LIFE-SAVING tips on etiquette, transport, money, and hidden gems that will save you time, money, and a whole lot of confusion.
Lesser Antilles
Down here, you’re no longer “close to Florida” in any useful sense.
By my measure from Miami, Sint Maarten (Philipsburg) is 1,221 miles away and St. Vincent (Kingstown) 1,509.
Grenada (St. George’s) is 1,530, Barbados (Bridgetown) 1,598 and Trinidad (Port of Spain) 1,606.
Grenada is known as the “Island of Spice” for its nutmeg and mace.
See where Grenada is, plus our pages on Barbados and on whether Trinidad and Tobago is worth visiting.
The advisories down here vary a lot.
Barbados is Level 1 and Grenada Level 2 (crime).
Trinidad and Tobago is Level 3: Reconsider Travel, citing crime and health, plus terrorism.
A Caribbean Island Just a Stone’s Throw Away from Florida
Back to Bimini, since it’s probably the island you came here for.
About 2,361 people live there (2022 census).
Ernest Hemingway lived on Bimini from 1935 to 1937, staying at the Compleat Angler Hotel.
He came for the fishing in the Gulf Stream.
A 500-pound Atlantic blue marlin caught off Bimini supposedly inspired The Old Man and the Sea and Islands in the Stream.
During Prohibition, Bimini was a favorite haven and supply point for rum-runners.
Some claim the term “the real McCoy” was applied to the rum William McCoy supplied; he used Bimini to move whiskey into the US.
(It’s a claim, not settled history.)
Sadly, the Compleat Angler burned down on January 13, 2006.
The photographs and Hemingway memorabilia on its walls were lost, and the fire killed the owner, Julian Brown.
Two more bits of trivia.
The final scene of the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs was shot in Alice Town.
And just off North Bimini lies the Bimini Road, an underwater rock formation that books and articles have made far more regular than it really is.
FAQs (Flights, Airports & Quick Transportation Tips)
What Caribbean island is 90 miles off the coast of Florida?
Cuba.
The marker at Key West’s Southernmost Point Buoy puts it roughly 90 miles south, and the Straits of Florida are 93 miles wide at their narrowest.
Its main island is the largest in the Caribbean, and the whole country covers 42,426 square miles.
How far away is Cuba from the tip of Florida?
About 93 miles from Key West to the nearest Cuban shore, and about 106 miles from Key West to Havana.
Key West itself is about 130 miles from Miami, so it’s actually closer to Havana than to Miami.
What part of Florida is like the Caribbean?
My pick is Dry Tortugas National Park, about 68 miles west of Key West.
It protects Fort Jefferson plus the Dry Tortugas islands, and its coral reefs are the least disturbed of the Florida Keys reefs.
You can only get there by seaplane or boat.
Curious whether Florida counts as Caribbean at all?
See is Florida part of the Caribbean.
Which is closer to Florida, the Bahamas or Bermuda?
The Bahamas, by a mile.
Well, by about 980 miles.
Bermuda is 1,036 miles from Miami by my measure, way out in the Atlantic.
Its nearest land is North Carolina, about 643 miles away.
What is the best time of year to visit the Caribbean?
Before you pick dates, check the calendar.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, when tropical storms are most likely to form.
December to May falls outside that season.
And if you’d rather skip the passport question, here are the Caribbean islands you can visit without a passport.
Related read: The Caribbean Travel Guide — Instant PDF + Kindle download. Secure checkout by Stripe
