Flights from Miami to Compass Cay

Compass Cay is just under 220 nautical miles southeast of Miami, halfway down the Exuma Cays. A seaplane is about an hour and twenty minutes in the air; for the other aircraft the time comes back with the quote, together with the entry stop the route needs on the way in.

What really sets the length of the day is the border on both sides and how long you want at the marina. On a day trip most parties spend the middle of the day on the water, not in the air.

It depends on how close you want to land and what you carry. A seaplane sets down in the protected harbour beside the marina and you step off.

A small plane lands on the runway at Staniel Cay eight miles south and handles more weight and rougher water, with a boat of ten to twenty-five minutes for the rest. A helicopter sets down nearby, and where is agreed with the operator first. We quote the options side by side.

Yes, every passenger needs one, children included. The Bahamas is another country, and a private aircraft does not change that. We take the passport details once when you enquire and file the manifest for both sides before departure.

The travel documents page lists what each passenger sends and by when, including the cases that need more notice. Nothing else has to be printed or carried.

Not a plane on wheels. The cay has no usable runway: the sand flats behind the marina were once used as a strip, and no current source says they still are.

The nearest runway is Staniel Cay Airport, 3,031 feet of asphalt eight miles south, and a boat runs north from there in ten to twenty-five minutes. A seaplane is the one aircraft that lands at the marina itself, on the water, when the sea allows it.

Not in the Exuma Cays: neither Compass Cay nor Staniel Cay has a customs desk. Every aircraft lands first at a Bahamian airport of entry, such as George Town on Great Exuma, clears there and flies the last leg after.

The stop is planned into the route and the filings are ours, so for your party it is a short pause with passports in hand, not a second trip.

Yes. On a charter the aircraft waits for you, so the return is set by you and not by a timetable. Out early, the nurse sharks at the marina, a boat to the pigs at Big Major Cay and back in the evening, with both borders handled.

It is a full day, so many parties stay a night or two in the Exumas instead; tell us when you enquire and the return is planned for that day.

It is a question of weight, not of the number of bags, and it differs by aircraft. Floats carry less than wheels, and a helicopter less again.

Say what is coming when you enquire, including snorkel gear, rods, cameras and anything with a battery, and the answer comes back with the quote rather than at the aircraft. If the load decides it, the aircraft is chosen around what you bring, not the other way round.

Families do it every day. Nurse sharks are slow bottom feeders that are docile around people, and the ones at the marina have been fed and named by the staff for years. They are still wild animals, so the marina's own rules count, above all staying out of the water at feeding time.

Anyone who would rather stay dry sees them just as well from the dock. On a charter there is no terminal and no queue, which is what makes a long day work with small children.

Yes. Once you have cleared into the Bahamas, every leg after it is domestic. The same aircraft can carry on to Staniel Cay, Great Exuma, Nassau, Andros or Harbour Island, as long as the next island has a place for it to land.

Tell us the shape of the whole trip when you enquire and it is quoted as one booking. Where the next stop only has water to land on, that leg switches to a seaplane.

Every aircraft handles weather differently. A seaplane needs calm enough water to land in the harbour, and on a rough morning the Staniel Cay runway can be the plan instead.

If conditions are below what is safe, the crew moves or cancels the flight and the weather and delays policy says what that means for your booking. That call is always the crew's, and a delay of an hour or two often solves it.

No, and it is not meant to be. There is no scheduled flight from Miami to Compass Cay at all, and reaching Staniel Cay on scheduled seats usually means a connection and a lost day. A charter buys you the aircraft: your departure, your return, your party only, and the entry stop handled for you.

We send the price for the whole aircraft, so you can split it across your party and compare fairly. Tell us what matters most, the time at the marina, the landing point or the budget, and we suggest the aircraft that fits it best.

Yes, pets travel in the cabin with you. The one thing we ask is that you tell us at the enquiry, with the type of animal and its weight, so the seating and the load plan are right from the start.