The Crossing
Small Plane Flights Miami to Long Island Bahamas
Long Island sits about 345 miles east of Miami and it has two paved runways, which is the whole reason this crossing is straightforward on wheels.
Stella Maris in the north and Deadman's Cay in the south each carry an asphalt strip of just under 4,000 feet, and a small charter plane lands on either one the same as it would at home. Stella Maris is an airport of entry, so the crossing clears in on the island itself rather than at a hub somewhere on the way.
The island itself is the fact that shapes the day: about eighty miles from end to end and rarely more than four miles across.
Which of the two fields you land on is therefore a real question rather than a detail, because the road between them runs the length of the island. It is settled at the enquiry, once we know where you are staying or where the boat is.
Everything between the two coasts is ours: the departure point in Miami, the aircraft and the crew, both border filings and the travel documents the Bahamas wants before you leave Florida. Your party brings passports and a bag.
A small plane charter Miami to Long Island Bahamas is one of the longer Bahamian crossings flown out of the city and one of several Small Plane routes from Miami. Where an island further down the chain has no strip at all, the same trip is flown by seaplane instead, which is a different aircraft and a different page.
Plan Your Long Island Charter
How It Works
How a Small Plane Charter Miami to Long Island Bahamas Actually Works
Long Island is a different country, so a day there is two border crossings in one afternoon. On this route both of them happen at an airport, so it stays simple. Nothing about the paperwork is yours except the passports.
The short version: you clear out of Florida, you land on the island, you clear in at the desk beside the apron and the day starts. Which field that is and where the clearance happens are settled at the enquiry, not by your party on the day.
Plan Your Long Island CharterThe Runways
Two paved runways on Long Island are what make this an ordinary landing
Stella Maris runs 13/31 and Deadman's Cay runs 09/27, both asphalt and both just under 4,000 feet, which is a long way more than a small plane needs. One serves the northern settlements and the other serves Clarence Town and the south. There is no approach over terrain at either and nothing to circle, so a landing here is an ordinary one.
The Border
Customs and immigration sit at both Long Island airports, not somewhere on the way
Both fields are ports of entry, which is the part that matters for a private flight. On islands without one an aircraft has to touch down at a port of entry first and carry on afterwards. Here it does not, whichever end you choose. The crew files the manifest before departure and the travel documents are checked in Florida rather than at the counter.
Leaving Miami
Leaving Miami is the quieter of the two borders
Outbound from Florida the filing is done for you and the aircraft departs from a general aviation ramp rather than a terminal. You arrive at the departure point close to the boarding time, not two hours before it.
Coming home is the step people forget: a return from the islands clears United States customs at a designated field and the crew plans the routing around that not around the shortest line.
Which End
Which end of Long Island you land on decides the drive, not the flight
The island is long enough that the two fields are more than an hour apart by car, so the runway is chosen from your address rather than from the map. Cape Santa Maria and the northern beaches sit near Stella Maris.
Dean's Blue Hole and the harbour at Clarence Town sit near Deadman's Cay. Tell us where you are going at the enquiry and the field follows from it, together with the ground transport waiting on the apron.
Weather
Weather closes water long before it closes a Long Island runway
A rough morning on the Atlantic side can make a water landing a bad idea while a paved strip is entirely unbothered. That is the practical argument for wheels on a crossing this long and it is the reason we quote both. What the aircraft needs on the day is a crew decision, taken against published minimums, never a preference.
The Block
The small plane waits, which is what makes a Long Island day trip possible at all
On a charter the airframe is yours for the block, so the return is set by you rather than by a timetable. That matters more here than on a short hop. Guests who want a night on the island tell us at the enquiry and the crew and the aircraft are planned around it.
Departure Points
Departure Points for Small Plane Flights to Long Island Bahamas from Miami
A small plane uses short fields that a jet cannot, so the departure point is chosen for your ground time. These are the four we use around Miami. Select one to see exactly where it sits.
Miami Executive
Miami Executive Airport, TMB, Kendall
Kendall-Tamiami in the south west of the county and the field both small planes sit at, the land aircraft and the amphibian. A charter that starts here starts without a positioning leg, which is what decides an early morning on a same day return. It is also the shortest drive from the south and west of the county.
Opa-locka Executive
Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, OPF
The executive airport north west of the city, with private terminal handling and the point most Bahamas day trips are dispatched from. It is also where a return from the islands clears US customs. That makes it the default on a Bahamas day unless the drive is against you.
Miami International
Miami International Airport, MIA
A pickup rather than a base, for a party already at MIA that wants the onward leg to leave from the same airport. Arranged per flight and confirmed with the operator before it is quoted. It costs ground time, because a commercial field moves on its own schedule.
Fort Lauderdale Executive
Fort Lauderdale Executive, FXE
Fort Lauderdale Executive, the Broward departure, with its own federal inspection station for the return from the islands. The usual choice when the group is north of Miami and the drive south would cost more time than the flight saves. The return clears there as readily as it does at Opa-locka.
How to Charter
Charter a Small Plane from Miami to Long Island Bahamas
Chartering an aircraft is not booking a seat. There are four steps, and only the first one is yours.
Plan Your Long Island Charter- 01
Contact Us
Write to us on WhatsApp or by email. Send your dates, how many guests, where you are coming from and where you want to travel. Tell us the hour you would like to leave. A small plane runs airport to airport. Your pickup can also be a marina, a hotel dock or a beach. With a seaplane we can collect you there.
- 02
Get Aircraft and Prices Back
We check what is free on your date and send the small planes that fit. Seats, baggage and flight time for each one. Every aircraft costs a little differently, so we can find the best fit for you.
- 03
Confirm and Pay
You pick the aircraft, and we set the pickup point and the landing site. Then everything around the flight. Catering on board, a car or a golf cart waiting when you land, ground transport to your hotel or back to the airport.
Flowers if the day is a special one. You approve it, you pay, and your boarding time, departure point and everything included come back to you.
- 04
Just Arrive 30 Minutes Early
You will have no terminal and no queue. Just make sure you are there 30 minutes before. Then you take off, land right at your destination, and enjoy the day.
On the Island
Where a Miami to Long Island Bahamas Small Plane Puts You Down
The aircraft puts you on asphalt at one of the island's two fields, Stella Maris in the north or Deadman's Cay in the south. Everything below is reached by road from whichever one you chose, so the choice is made before the flight is filed.
What follows is what parties actually do with the hours in between, in the order they ask for it.
Plan Your Long Island CharterThe Two Long Island Runways and the Border Desk
Where You LandBoth strips are asphalt and both run just under 4,000 feet: 13/31 at Stella Maris in the north, 09/27 at Deadman's Cay in the south. Against eighty miles of island they look small from the air, and from the seat each one is an ordinary landing, because a small plane needs a fraction of that length.
Customs and immigration sit on both fields, and that is the fact this whole route hangs on: you clear where you land rather than somewhere along the way, and every leg you fly afterwards is a domestic one.
Expect the formalities to take minutes rather than an hour. The crew has filed everything before departure and the desks keep daytime hours, which is the one reason an early slot is worth more than a late one.
Say at the enquiry if anyone is travelling on a passport other than a United States one, because that is the case worth flagging before the day rather than at the counter.
Stella Maris and the North End
The North Field
The northern quarter of the island is where most visitors stay. Stella Maris sits on high ground with the marina below it, and the road carries on north past Cape Santa Maria to Seymour's, where the monument to Columbus stands on the bluff at the very end of the island.
Landing here puts you within a short drive of all of it, and it is the field to ask for if the days are built around the beach, the boat or the flats. A car can be waiting on the apron through ground transport.
Clarence Town and Deadman's Cay
The South Field
The southern half is the working half of the island and Clarence Town is its capital, a small harbour town with two twin-towered churches on the skyline, both built by the same priest, one as an Anglican and the second after he became a Roman Catholic.
Deadman's Cay Airport is the field for all of it, and it is also the closest runway to Dean's Blue Hole and to Hamilton's Cave, the largest cave system in the Bahamas. What there is to see once you are down is the island's own subject rather than the flight's, and the Long Island destination page covers it properly.
Queen's Highway, End to End
Eighty Miles
One road runs the length of Long Island, from Gordon's in the south to Seymour's in the north, and almost every settlement sits on it. That is what makes the runway question a real one: the two airports are more than an hour apart by car.
Nothing on the island is hard to reach once you are on that road, and the island is narrow enough that the Atlantic side and the bank side are minutes apart at almost any point. Send the address at the enquiry, and the field, the filing and the car all follow from it.
Dean's Blue Hole, West of Clarence Town
663 Feet Down
A bay a few minutes from Clarence Town holds one of the deepest blue holes on earth: 663 feet, or 202 metres, opening straight out of shallows you can stand up in. Freediving records have been set in it and it is the single thing Long Island is best known for.
You can swim it from the beach, so it works on a day trip at all. Deadman's Cay is the runway for it, and anything you want arranged before you land is set up with the flight rather than on arrival: see the experiences we run.
Cape Santa Maria and the North Beaches
White Sand
The north-western tip of the island is a long curve of white sand on the calm side, backed by dunes and almost always empty. It is the beach photograph people have in mind when they ask about Long Island, and it is twenty minutes from the Stella Maris strip.
The flats behind it are the other reason people come. Wading water sits within minutes of where guests stay, which is unusual, and a flats fishing day here does not start with an hour in a boat. A beach picnic is arranged the same way.
Rods, Tanks and a Cooler on a Small Plane
What Wheels Carry
This is the part of the day a runway changes most. Load on a small aircraft is a weight question rather than a bag count, and a wheeled airframe has more of it to give than floats do.
Rods, fins, dive tanks, a cooler for the boat, a case of something for the house: all of it travels, within the payload for the aircraft on the day.
Say what is coming at the enquiry rather than at the ramp and see the baggage guidance for how the trade between passengers and weight actually works. Anything larger than luggage is a different service on the same runway and that is island logistics rather than a charter with extra bags.
Onward Down the Chain by Small Plane
Same Aircraft
Long Island works as an anchor rather than as a single stop, and clearing in here is what makes that easy: once you are through the desk, every leg after it is domestic. The same airframe carries on to Rum Cay, San Salvador, Cat Island or north-west into the Exumas.
That is what turns one island into island hopping or a wider Bahamas day. Where the next island has no strip of its own, that leg switches aircraft rather than cancelling the plan. The packaged version of a single day is the Long Island getaway day trip and the rest of the chain is on the Bahamas destinations page.
Ready When You Are
Ready to Book a Small Plane Charter from Miami to Long Island Bahamas?
Send the departure point, the number of guests and from when to when. You get back what is free on your dates, the boarding time and what the day costs, before anything is booked.
Add-Ons
Small Plane Flights to Long Island Bahamas Add-Ons
Tell us which of these you want when you send your dates and they go on the same quote as the flight.
In Detail
Small Plane Miami to Long Island Bahamas: Two Runways, the Border Desk and the Drive
Everything above is the day. What follows is the detail behind it: the two strips at the far end, the border that sits beside each of them, the water crossing itself and what charter and private actually change about a flight to the Bahamas.
Miami to Long Island Bahamas by Small Plane: Flying Low Over the Reef and the Flats
A window each on a Miami to Long Island Bahamas small plane
The crossing is not dead time between two airports. A small plane crosses low enough to see what is under it, so the water is part of the day rather than something to sit through. A small aircraft flies low and slow over the water. You cross the Gulf Stream out of Florida, then the Great Bahama Bank goes pale and green underneath for the better part of an hour, shallow enough in places to read the ripples on the bottom from the seat. Then the bank ends. Exuma Sound drops away in a single hard line from turquoise to deep blue, and Long Island stands on the far side of it, a strip of sand and scrub with the Atlantic breaking on one shore and flat water on the other. Without one, an aircraft clears on the way and flies the last leg after. Every seat is a window seat on an aircraft this size, and the same is true of scenic flights of this size, so nobody watches the crossing over someone's shoulder. Other small plane routes from Miami fly the same way.
Small Plane to Long Island Bahamas from Miami: You Decide the Departure Time
Your hour, your names and a small plane to Long Island Bahamas
Nobody hands you a timetable on a charter. The day is built around the hour you name. You name the hour you want to lift off, the hour you want to be standing on Long Island Bahamas and which water in the city suits your morning. The aircraft belongs to your party for the day, so all three are your decision rather than a departure somebody else set, and a change the week before is a message to us. If the drive is shorter the other way, the same day runs out of Fort Lauderdale. Half an hour before the lift-off is the whole of the check-in. Your party walks from the car to the aircraft, the bags go on in front of you, and the list for that flight carries your names and nobody else's. Nothing about the morning waits on a stranger. And the crossing is a reason in itself. The windows are deep and the aircraft crosses low, so there is room for everybody to sit and watch the water change instead of taking turns at one of them.
Small Plane Charter to Long Island Bahamas from Miami: The Crew Files Both Borders, You Carry a Passport
Passports are all your party carries on a Long Island Bahamas crossing
A small plane from Miami to Long Island Bahamas crosses an international border twice in a day. Entry into the Bahamas asks for a declaration filed from Florida, clearance at a port of entry on arrival and a US return filed before you leave, which is what sets where you may land coming home. Passports for everyone, children included, per the travel documents guidance. What may travel sits in the baggage guidance. That same filing sets where you land coming home: a return from the islands clears at None, so a day that began on the water finishes on a ramp and a departure moved by weather runs under the weather and delays policy. If the party changes before the flight, the crew refiles. A name added, a name dropped: that is a message to us rather than a problem for you.
Small Plane Miami Long Island Bahamas: Milestone Days and Bahamas Weekends
A day trip, a weekend or a celebration on Long Island Bahamas
A private small plane from Miami to Long Island Bahamas is booked when the day is worth marking: a birthday, a proposal, a graduation, a weekend away with the people who matter. The flight is short enough that the occasion, not the travelling, is what the day is about. That is what a small plane Miami Long Island Bahamas charter is for. Three of the four sit well inside the county, which is the part that decides how early the morning starts: a field twenty minutes from the house is worth more than five minutes of flight time saved in the air. Some parties fly over for the day and are home the same evening. Others stay on and book the return for the day they want. Both are the same charter, and the whole group travels together on one booking. If there is something to celebrate, say so when you book: catering, a private chef, premium beverages and flowers travel with you. Everything is in place before you board in Miami.
Questions
Small Plane Charter Miami to Long Island Bahamas: Questions Answered
Can a plane land on Long Island in the Bahamas?
Yes, at either end. Stella Maris Airport in the north carries the identifiers SML and MYLS and Deadman's Cay Airport in the south carries LGI and MYLD. Both have a paved runway of just under 4,000 feet, which is more than a small charter aircraft needs.
Stella Maris is an airport of entry, so a flight out of Florida clears in on the island rather than at a hub. Which field you use depends on where on the island you are going, and it is settled at the enquiry.
Do I need a passport to fly to Long Island?
Yes, for every passenger including children. The Bahamas is a different country and a private aircraft does not change that. We take the passport details once at the enquiry and file the manifest for both sides before departure. The travel documents page lists what each passenger hands over and by when, including the cases that need more notice.
How long is the flight from Miami to Long Island?
The distance is about 345 miles to the north end of the island and about 375 to Clarence Town in the south, so this is one of the longer Bahamian crossings flown out of Miami.
The block time depends on the aircraft and which field you leave from and it is confirmed with the boarding time before you book, together with the runway at the far end.
Which airport should we fly into on Long Island?
The one nearest to where you are staying, because the island is about eighty miles long with a single road down it. Stella Maris serves the northern settlements and Cape Santa Maria. Deadman's Cay serves Clarence Town, the harbour and Dean's Blue Hole. Send the address at the enquiry and the field, the filing and the car on the apron all follow from it.
What is the best way to get to Long Island Bahamas?
By air, and privately if the day matters. The scheduled way runs through Nassau and costs most of a day at either end. A small plane charter to Long Island Bahamas from Miami goes direct to one of the two runways and clears in on the island rather than at a hub.
A seaplane on the same route comes down on the water instead. We quote the last two against each other rather than selling one.
Can you take a day trip to Long Island?
Yes, and it is the reason people charter rather than fly scheduled. On a charter the aircraft is held for your block, so the return is set by you rather than by a timetable.
Out in the morning, back in the evening, with both borders handled either side. Tell us at the enquiry if you would rather stay a night and the aircraft is planned around that instead.
How much baggage can we take on a small plane?
It is a weight question rather than a bag count. A small aircraft trades payload against passengers and fuel, so four guests with dive tanks and four with overnight bags are different aircraft. Say what is coming at the enquiry, including rods, fins, clubs and anything with a battery in it, and the answer comes back with the quote rather than at the ramp.
Is Long Island good for a fishing or diving trip?
It is one of the reasons the island has a following. The wading flats sit within minutes of where guests stay, and Dean's Blue Hole, in a bay west of Clarence Town, drops 663 feet and is where freediving records have been set. Gear is a weight question on a small aircraft, so list it at the enquiry and the load is planned around it.
Can we fly on to another island from Long Island afterwards?
Yes. Because you have already cleared into the Bahamas on arrival, every leg after it is domestic. The same airframe carries on to Rum Cay, San Salvador, Cat Island or the Exumas, which makes Long Island a natural anchor for a longer trip rather than only a destination. Tell us the shape of the trip at the enquiry and it is quoted as one movement.
What happens if the weather is bad on the day of the Long Island flight?
A paved runway tolerates a great deal that a water landing does not, which is the main practical argument for this aircraft on a crossing of this length. If conditions are genuinely below minimums the crew moves or stands down the flight and the weather and delays policy says what that means for your booking. That call is the crew's, made against published limits.
Is it cheaper than a scheduled flight?
No and it is not trying to be. A scheduled seat is cheaper because somebody else chose the time, the aircraft is shared and the route runs through Nassau. Charter buys the block: your departure, your return, your party only, your load. On this route that usually means a whole extra day on the island, which is the comparison worth making rather than fare against fare.
What do we do once we are there?
That is the island's own question rather than the flight's, and the Long Island destination page covers it properly. In short: Dean's Blue Hole and the caves inland, the beach at Cape Santa Maria in the north, Clarence Town and its two twin-towered churches in the south, and the flats along the west side. Anything you want arranged before you land is set up with the flight.
Can I bring a pet on a small plane charter?
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.
Next Step
Ready to Book a Small Plane Charter Miami to Long Island Bahamas?
Send the departure point, the number of guests and from when to when. You get back the aircraft, the boarding time and what the whole day costs, before anything is booked.
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