Canada to Border-Town Miami & Bimini by Train
 

Happy New Year 2018 from Bimini, the Bahamas!

I love taking sleeper train trips and combining the ride with a bit of adventure. So this year, I did something that's been on the back of my mind for some time. Combining the train to Miami with a ferry to Bimini. For some years, the ferries that used to run stopped going. Other years, the dates that the ferry did run didn't work with my available travel time or I had too much to do in Canada to afford the time for such a getaway around Xmas. This year was the first time a seemingly stable company, FRS-Caribbean, was regularly making the trek across and the travel times actually seemed plausible.

So, this is what I did/will do:

Dec 21 Montreal-Poughkeepsie Amtrak (night at Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel)
Dec 22 Poughkeepsie-DC Amtrak
*Christmas with parents in No. Va.*
Dec 29 DC- Miami Amtrak
Dec 31 Miami-Bimini FRS Caribbean
3 nights Sea Crest Hotel & Marina
Jan 3 Bimini-Miami FRS Caribbean
Then Amtrak back to NYP, see friends & family there and then home.

I think I fell in love with Bimini at first sight--simply gorgeous. The turquoise water, the colourful homes & narrow streets, the singing or cheerful, sometimes cackling laughter of Biminites as they share jokes while working at the unpretentious conch shacks and crafts market. Bimini may only be 50 nautical miles from the glitz and glassy skyline of Miami that looks like it could be out of some dark futuristic Blade Runneresque movie, yet it many ways the narrow island feels light years away. And let's not mention my total glee to have escaped the presently Arctic (-25C and vicinity) temperatures of Montreal--I mean, I swam yesterday, January 1, in the ocean! It's supposed to get cooler on Thursday here, so I was lucky, but glad to have gotten the brief escape that I did. A great way to start 2018.

*Details on Bimini and thoughts on Miami to come!*

Glad you are enjoying it even though things aren't quite as warm down here as usual.

How was the Amtrak sleeper?

Sounds like a fantastic trip. I hope you are still in Bimini as it would be a real shock to come back to the temperature in the north now.

emalloy--Thank you. I am still in Bimini, due to getting caught in the weather system a bit differently; the storm system here made the waters too choppy between Bimini and Miami for the ferry to cross on Wednesday. I tried getting out via plane to Newark yesterday but plane wasn't running for reasons I think we're all aware of. There are worse places to get stranded though. I discovered South Bimini yesterday by bicycle, which was gorgeous and more upscale than the north island where I'm staying. The ferry should cross to Miami this evening.

Thursdaysd - I took the Silver Star south, my first time ever on that train. It follows a similar route as the Silver Meteor from NY to Florida but with a somewhat different path in the Carolinas and a diversion to Tampa. I enjoyed seeing downtown Raleigh for the first time ever, which was lit up beautifully at night. My first time also seeing Tampa, I thought the area beside the train (seen through the window) called Ybor City looked charming with red brick streets and a pedestrian friendly look. I might like to explore the neighbourhood sometime. The trip is always worth it to me when my eyes are exposed to something new.

However, the Silver Star now has no dining car, so lacks the social element I so appreciate taking long-distance Amtrak trains. Plus, one is eating food from the cafe car, which is the same as what you'd get on the Northeast Regional, so the food is not as good and not complimentary. I still had enjoyable conversations with the Haitian sleeping car attendant. I would do it again if it were similarly $300 less expensive than the Silver Meteor as it was this holiday season.

Thanks, bummer about the restaurant car! I usually take the Carolinian to DC, boarding with my own food, lol, as the schedule for the Silver Star is not as good, but would consider taking it south. Glad you appreciated the Raleigh skyline, downtown has been gentrifying and building like crazy.

Good luck getting home.

I'm off to Miami and Key West Next month and was sorely tempted by your report to switch our 3 nights in Key West to 2 nights Bimini but the ferry plus taxes for 2 came to $438 (ferry ticket sounded ok ... the taxes on top not so much lol)

sassy _cat--I really fell for Bimini. If you've never been, I hope you do go one day.

Another fabulous trip.

Compare Bimini this week to Nantucket.

We too are an island with beautiful beaches.

We too have no ferries owing to weather.. I hope to leave at noon on the first to run in three days. It will not be comfortable.

No snow but hurricane-force gusts on Thursday, and serious coastal flooding.

Water mains and sewer trunk lines freezing and breaking. Frozen pipes in my house.

Low tonight 5 F, though that's warm for the northeast right now.

On the whole, you made the right choice.

Again

Ackislander-- I hope things work/worked out for you getting off of Martha's Vineyard. Right now, I'm in Miami, checking out the Coconut Grove neighbourhood. It's raining at present, so I'm taking a pit stop at a Starbucks while I write you this. I'm happy for this one final day in the warmer weather before heading north tomorrow. Vizcaya was stunning, worth my one day in Miami on its own; luckily it wasn't raining for that visit this morning.More on that when I get more of a break.

All the best, Daniel

*Miami, Pre- and Post-BiminI

Pre-BiminI December 30th Evening-- The Silver Star train arrived on time, which gave me a few hours to explore prior to going to bed to catch the 9 o'clock ferry the 31st. I was staying just north of the Miami River at River Park Hotel & Suites and I was struck by how much Miami seemed to have changed in the ten years since I was there last. There appeared to have been a lot of construction of glassy skyscrapers, sometimes with interesting geometries and colours going on, which gave Miami a futuristic science fiction video game-like appearance. I decided to walk to the Bayside Marketplace and was amazed how little thought was given to safe pedestrian movement in this part of the city.

Post-Bimini-- I stayed at Aloft Brickell after Bimini and I appreciated that there were plenty of restaurants within easy walking distance of the hotel, as well as the presence of Brickell Metrorail stop one block away, which allowed me to get out and explore Vizcaya and the Coconut Grove neighbourhood quite easily using a day pass ($5.65).

I was expecting Vizcaya to be nice, but the estate is truly stunning, with the structure known as "the Barge" in front of the building being particularly fetching and unique with its statuary and lazing iguanas. The designs of the rooms are truly quite the sight to behold, often Venetian-inspired and quite over-the-top.Vizcaya, farm equipment magnate Deering's winter home, and designed largely by Chalfin, is quite the example of early 20th century haute European-inspired culture/excess but was a highlight of my visit to the Miami, unquestionably!

I had been curious about, so was glad to finally see the neighbourhood Coconut Grove, which seemed to me a pedestrian-friendly area with red-brick sidewalks and some appealing-looking cafes, restaurants and other commercial establishments. Possibly of the Miami area neighbourhoods I've seen (including South Beach (although it's been awhile since I was there last)),the one that appealed to me the most.

*Details on Bimini to come*

I've started the Bimini part of the trip in the "Caribbean" forum. Here's the link: https://www.fodors.com/community/car...again-1646128/. I was wondering if anyone would make a comment about me referring to Miami as a border town. I find often people referring to US neighbours think of only Canada and Mexico, with towns like Laredo TX and Plattsburgh NY being border towns, places somehow influenced by the nearby nations. Miami I perceive in similar terms, especially after such a trip as I just did!

Thursdaysd-- Since you asked about the train, I wanted to add that I took the Silver Meteor north. On this NY to Florida route, the dining car is still there and I was surprised to see a new model of dining car, very attractive. I felt also that Amtrak was upping its game on that long-distance dining car, with some interesting, new menu items that were not there before, such as risotto for supper and a tortilla-egg-tomatillo sauce option for breakfast. I used to not get the herb-roasted chicken supper option in the past as I found it too dry; this time my New Zealander dining companions got it and it looked moist with a nice sauce--they said they really enjoyed it.

Also and not to give people the wrong idea about Amtrak as trains can be quite late, but I wanted to mention that this year ALL my trains were on-time and six different trains were associated with this trip!

Sounds like a great trip! Hope you enjoyed!

Welcome back home Daniel! My DW and I have a couple of Amtrak trips coming up in the next 5 months. Let's hope that the new menu items go nationwide instead of just on a couple of trains.
Last Sunday, Amtrak changed the discount system and the refund/evoucher system. I'm glad that I bought the Amtrak tickets earlier. The senior discount is now 10% and only for those over 65. I'm over 65 but DW is not.
The old senior discount was 15% and over 62.
Next month we take the Coast Starlight from Klamath Falls overnight to Sacramento. We have a good breakfast in SAC and then rent a car (earning AGR points) to drive down to see DS,DIL and the grandkids. The next day we drive to Yuma to a geocaching Mega Event. There are a couple of smaller events in the area including one in Los Algodones so we can attend our first event outside the US.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2f5dbfee3f.jpg
blaire25-- Thank you! Most definitely enjoyed! tomfuller--Funny, your comment reminded me that I almost feel like I'm "home" in a way in the Amtrak roomette, even if that's not what you meant. Definitely a place where I relax/decompress :). Oh--since Fodor's now offers it, I thought I'd try a photo. Here's me in bliss enjoying my first moments in Bimini.