Explore South Florida with Your Outback Yacht
South Florida offers abundant opportunities to explore with your Outback Yacht, no matter what your preference. From quiet, secluded anchorages and secret fishing spots, to glittering dockside restaurants and marinas that attract the “rich and famous” set, to the numerous party sandbars and quirky Florida Keys, your Outback Yacht is the perfect platform for exploring all South Florida has to offer.
Whether you’re out for the day, a long weekend, a week, or longer, there’s plenty to explore. Here are just a few suggestions.
Day Trips on Your Outback
Your Outback Yacht is perfect for a laid-back day trip to escape, relax, and unwind, and South Florida offers endless possibilities. South Florida’s numerous popular sandbars as well as State and National Parks make it easy to cruise for a day.
Sandbars
- Haulover Sandbar, located in North Miami at Haulover Cut, is exposed at low tide and surrounded by shallows 2-3 feet deep. It’s a perfect place for a swim, playing in the water with the kids, or partying with the bikinis-and-beer crowd. A highlight is the floating “food trucks” that will deliver meals to your Outback by kayak.
- Peanut Island is the top day boating destination in Palm Beach County, and offers just about anything you could ever want for a great day on the water. In addition to a great anchorage at the sandbar, there’s a dock, designated swimming and snorkeling areas, picnic areas and footpaths leading to a small museum.
- Boca Lake is known for huge gatherings of boats, big raft-ups, and people looking for a place to party on the water. Although the sandbar is knee-deep at low tide, more experienced boaters opt to anchor toward the north end of the lake, a bit further offshore, for a bit more protection from inexperienced boaters and an easy escape as more boats to gather throughout the day.
Parks
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park features one of the Top 10 beaches in the US, and a delightful anchorage at No Name Harbor. There’s no fee to anchor unless you’re planning to stay overnight. Take the day to drop anchor, wander the beach, climb the lighthouse, and enjoy an ice-cold beverage at the Boater’s Grill at the head of the bay.
Biscayne National Park is within sight of downtown Miami, but offers the peace and tranquility of shallow waters, small mangrove islands, and coral reefs to explore. Snorkel, SCUBA dive, walk the trails, or just relax on deck. There’s no fee to use the park, and there are dozens of mooring balls throughout the park available for up to four hours, at no charge, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Within Biscayne National Park are two all-time Florida day boating favorites, Boca Chita and Elliot Key. Boca Chita is the most-visited island within the park, and is famous for its historic lighthouse, as well as camping and picnic grounds. Drop anchor or tie up at the cleated bulkhead. Elliot Key is the largest island within the park and offers a paradise for those who want to swim, picnic, camp, snorkel, or observe local wildlife. There are 36 dock slips, in addition to the anchorage, and a one-mile loop trail if you’d like to stretch your legs.
Long Weekend Trips on your Outback
Within just a few hours of Miami or Fort Lauderdale are two ideal destinations for a long weekend getaway on your Outback Yacht – the Florida Keys and Bimini.
The Florida Keys
Stretching over 100 miles south and west of Miami, the Florida Keys have attracted renegades, pirates, fishermen, divers, and celebrities of all kinds for hundreds of years. Each island has its own distinct personality and offers unique possibilities to everyone aboard your Outback.
Starting with Key Largo, just a short 18 miles from Miami, explore John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, noted for the only living coral reef in the United States, and a vast diversity of marine life.
Just a half hour south, you’ll find Islamorada, a 20-mile chain of small islands called the Sports Fishing Capital of the World because of its proximity to the rich waters of the Gulf Stream.
Marathon Key, the heart of the Florida Keys, was settled by New Englanders in the early 19th Century, and is most known for the Seven Mile Bridge, an engineering marvel that connects the city of Marathon to Little Duck Key. There are a number of restaurants ranging from the funky to the divine that are well worth the trip ashore.
If you’re looking for a bit more seclusion, check out Bahia Honda Key on the west end of the Seven Mile Bridge. It features an immaculate 500-acre State Park of the same name.
And the jewel in the crown of the Florida Keys is Key West, the southernmost of the inhabited keys in the chain. Known for breathtaking sunsets and a nightly cannon salute, Key West is also loaded with character, charm, and quirkiness. There are historic bars (actually the highest percentage of bars per capita in the U.S.), the Hemmingway House museum, and the Little White House, President Truman’s retreat.
Bimini
Within a half-day’s cruise of Fort Lauderdale on your Outback, you’ll be in Bimini, a tiny, 10-square mile slice of the Bahamas just under 60 miles away. Be sure you plan your arrival during daylight hours, as there are no lighted navigational aids to guide you in. If you leave after an early breakfast, you’ll be in Bimini in time to enjoy a fresh local conch salad for lunch!
Bimini offers possibilities for both relaxing and exploring as the spirit moves you. There’s a large(ish) marina, the Bimini Big Game Resort and Marina, if you’d like to secure your Outback at the dock, kick off your shoes and hang out by a freshwater pool with a good book and a cold beverage.
Or you can anchor in one of several spots: on the north end of the island, just off the beach; off Gun Cay in Honeymoon Harbor; or off Alice Town, on the south end of the island near the Big Game Resort.
The island is only 7 miles long and an average of 700 yards wide, so getting around isn’t a problem at all, especially if you rent a golf cart or a bicycle from one of the resorts. During your exploration, there’s plenty to check out.
Alice Town, the main village, is charming. Highlights include restaurants, craft markets, funky bars, and a small museum featuring artifacts and stories of Bimini’s peculiar history. Mosey through the village at your own pace, or book a walking tour with one of the local guides who will help you understand Bimini’s colorful past.
Just a bit down the road from Alice Town is the beginning of the Bimini nature trail. It’s a leisurely walk that will show you the unique plants and animals of Bimini in their natural setting.
But the real beauty of Bimini is best experienced on the water. Break out the dive gear or mask and snorkel, and explore the Sapona shipwreck. Drift along the mysterious underwater Atlantis Road. Visit the Bimini Biological Field Station’s “Shark Lab” to learn about sharks and their role in the marine ecosystem from the safest distance possible.
Use your kayak or dinghy to explore the bonefish flats. Or just grab a towel and stroll the beach, wade the shallows, or take a swim.
If you fancy lunch or dinner ashore, you won’t have to wander very far. The island is dotted with lots of local cafes and bars that feature authentic Bahamian food. But if you’re looking for night life, Bimini may not be fore you. It’s definitely not Key West or South Beach! The most exciting way to pass the evening is to sit on deck with a cold one and watch the boats go by as the sun goes down.
A Week or More on Your Outback
If you’re lucky enough to have more than just a few days to spend cruising on your Outback, you can plan several longer itineraries to take full advantage of the possibilities in South Florida.
The Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas
Extend your Florida Keys long weekend, and head 70 miles further west to the Dry Tortugas, a collection of seven small islands that make up Dry Tortugas National Park. An entrance fee of $10 per person is good for a seven-day visit, and there’s plenty to see and do.
The Dry Tortugas offers some of the best snorkeling and diving in Florida, with living coral reefs just steps from the shoreline. Historic Fort Jefferson, built in the 1840s, is the largest coastal fort in the United States, and you can either walk through it on your own or hire a guide to learn its fascinating history.
Visitors come from all over the world for the spectacular bird watching, and the Dry Tortugas are the nesting grounds for several migratory species. Every year over 100,000 sooty terns nest on Bush Key. And animal lovers will not be disappointed. Sightings of sea turtles, sting rays, and dolphins, as well as a rich diversity of fish species are sure to entertain divers and snorkelers alike.
The Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Okeechobee
One of the most fascinating cruises you can plot for your Outback is a “mini-loop” of the Florida Peninsula. The Okeechobee Waterway stretches 134.3 nautical miles from its the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (at St. Lucie Inlet) near Stuart on Florida’s east coast across the peninsula to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near Punta Rassa on Florida’s west coast just over 75 miles south of the entrance to Tampa Bay.
Your Outback has the optimal height and draft to make this transit, and the route involves 5 locks and 25 bridges, making it an interesting navigational challenge for captain and guests alike. Along the way, you and your guests will experience vastly different ecosystems, with a breathtaking diversity of animal and bird life. You’ll surrender the dolphins and manatee of the Atlantic costal waterways and cruise alongside alligators in their natural habitat.
You can overnight in Clewiston, which has the most tourist amenities along the route, as well as in Moore Haven or Belle Glade, where you can find a variety of day hikes, small shops, and local museums. La Belle is a small, country town with a historic town hall, a bookstore and a honey stand surrounded by fields of citrus.
You can find out more about these suggested South Florida cruising itineraries by browsing the web.
Better yet, call or stop by and visit us at Outback Yachts. We’d be delighted to help you brainstorm the perfect itinerary to fit you, your Outback, and your guests. We’re boaters ourselves, and it’s what we do!
Regardless of how you spend your time out back, we’re sure you’ll have the time of your life.
