Pershing Yachts GTX8078' 8"
View Specs & ReviewWhere Biscayne Bay meets the Gulf Stream
Yachting in Miami
A Minted Location · Miami, Florida
No American city lives on the water the way Miami does. Miami-Dade leads Florida in vessel registrations — 74,622 boats by the state's own count — and the county's tourism authority calls Biscayne Bay "Miami's most popular boating destination." The infrastructure matches the appetite: Government Cut runs 52 feet deep by the Army Corps' published figures, Island Gardens berths superyachts to 550 feet in the middle of the skyline, and every February the city hosts what the show itself bills as the world's largest boat and yacht show.
Minted Yachts works this water constantly — showings, surveys and sea trials from Haulover down to the Grove — and every figure below comes from the facility's own published information or a government source, the same standard behind every review on this site.
For a buyer it's three markets in one: the superyacht corridor at the Cut, the most social day-boating culture in the country out on the sandbars, and Coconut Grove's sailing heritage — with the boat show putting a thousand-plus boats in front of you each winter.
Where to keep a yacht in Miami
Miami dockage runs in four neighborhoods. The Government Cut corridor is the deep end — Miami Beach Marina's 400 slips beside the ship channel, Miamarina's downtown basin at Bayside, and Island Gardens' superyacht berths on Watson Island. Edgewater holds the Venetian Marina, host site of the boat show. Coconut Grove and Key Biscayne are the soul of the bay — Dinner Key's enormous city marina, Grove Harbour, and Crandon Park across the water. And up north, Bill Bird Marina at Haulover anchors the inlet where the charter fleet lives. Figures below are what each facility publishes about itself.
Marinas
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Slips | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yacht Haven Grande Miami at Island GardensThe superyacht address: 50 berths to 550 ft with 27 ft draft and no beam restriction, 800-amp power, customs on-site, and Miami-Dade's first marine Foreign-Trade Zone. | Watson Island — Biscayne Bay, off the MacArthur | 550 ft | 50 | Fueling arranged on-site |
| Miami Beach Marina400 slips to 250 ft a few hundred yards from open ocean — the biggest full-service campus at the Cut, with ship's store and dive shop. | South of Fifth — beside Government Cut | 250 ft | 400 | Diesel & Rec-90 non-ethanol |
| Miamarina at BaysideThe City of Miami's downtown basin: 125 wet slips for yachts 55–230 ft in the middle of everything. | Downtown — Bayside Marketplace | 230 ft | 125 | — |
| Venetian Marina & Yacht Club222 slips to 130 ft minutes from the ocean — formerly Sea Isle Marina, and the host site of the Miami International Boat Show. | Edgewater / downtown — Biscayne Bay | 130 ft | 222 | Fuel on-site |
| Dinner Key Marina & Mooring FacilityThe city calls it the largest wet-slip marina on the US East Coast: 587 slips for 30–135 ft plus a 225-vessel mooring field, on the site of Pan Am's old flying-boat base. | Coconut Grove — Biscayne Bay | 135 ft | 587 | — |
| Grove Harbour MarinaFifty-plus years in the Grove, with dockage to 135 ft plus dry storage and repair services on the property. | Coconut Grove — Biscayne Bay | 135 ft | — | Refueling on-site |
| Crandon Park MarinaThe county's Key Biscayne base: slips, moorings, dry storage and 24-hour ramps, with dive and charter operations on the docks. VHF 16/68. | Key Biscayne — Biscayne Bay | 80 ft | — | Gas & diesel |
| Bill Bird Marina at Haulover Park152 gated slips for 35–120 ft at the mouth of Haulover Inlet — home, per the county, to the largest charter and drift-fishing fleet in South Florida, freshly rebuilt in 2025. | Haulover — at the inlet, north bay | 120 ft | 152 | — |
Yacht clubs
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Slips | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coral Reef Yacht ClubThe Grove's racing powerhouse since 1955 — host of the Bacardi Cup, two Star Worlds and the 2023 Etchells Worlds. | Coconut Grove — Biscayne Bay | — | — | — |
| Biscayne Bay Yacht ClubFounded 1887 by Ralph Middleton Munroe — one of the oldest yacht clubs in the Southeast, still racing and still teaching kids to sail. | Coconut Grove — Biscayne Bay | — | — | — |
Figures are as each facility publishes them on its own site; blank cells mean the facility doesn't state a number. Confirm slip availability and current rates directly — or ask us to make the calls.
Cruising from Miami
The Cut. Government Cut is the deepest yacht entrance in the region — the Army Corps deepened the Miami Harbor entrance channel to 52 feet in 2015, the first federal navigation project in the southeast built to fifty feet — and it puts you from marina to open Atlantic in minutes.
The bay. Biscayne Bay is the playground: the tourism authority's own guide points boaters to Key Biscayne, historic Stiltsville and Boca Chita Key, and notes that "boat tie-up parties are popular at the Nixon Sandbar near Key Biscayne, and at the Haulover Sandbar" — the two great gathering spots of Miami boating. The old Marine Stadium basin on Virginia Key, built for powerboat racing in 1963, still offers the flattest protected water in town.
On the hook. No Name Harbor, inside Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park at the tip of Key Biscayne, is the official overnight anchorage: the state park publishes it plainly — $20 per boat per night at the honor stations, $8 for day use, and no more than two boats rafted together.
The river. The Miami River is the working waterfront — the state-created Miami River Commission calls it a "Working River" with shipping terminals, boatyards and marinas along its 5.5 miles — and it's where serious service happens, anchored by RMK Merrill-Stevens, Florida's first shipyard.
Beyond. The Gulf Stream runs close, Bimini is a morning's crossing, and the upper Keys are an easy day south through the bay — which is why so many Miami boats are bought with all three in mind.
- No Name Harbor — Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, Key BiscayneThe official overnight anchorage of Biscayne Bay: $20 per boat per night at the seawall honor stations, $8 for day use, and a two-boat rafting limit — all published by the state park itself.
- Nixon Sandbar — Off Key BiscayneOne of the two great tie-up spots of Miami boating — the county's tourism authority names it alongside Haulover as where the weekend fleet gathers in knee-deep water.
- Haulover Sandbar — Between the ICW and the Haulover Inlet channelThe north bay's floating block party. Even the county's marina directions acknowledge it — 'there is a sandbar between the ICW and the Haulover Inlet Channel' — so mind your draft and the crowd.
Service, refit & supplies
Shipyards & refit
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Dockage |
|---|---|---|---|
| RMK Merrill-StevensFlorida's first shipyard — operating since 1885 — with a 2,700-ton shiplift on the superyacht yard and a 100-ton travel lift on the 30–130 ft yard. The anchor of the river's refit trade. | Miami River | — | — |
On the Miami calendar
Miami International Boat Show — February, across the city; the 85th edition ran February 11–15, 2026, and the next is February 10–14, 2027. The show bills itself as the world's largest boat and yacht show — 100,000-plus attendees, 1,000-plus brands, 1,000-plus boats — owned by the National Marine Manufacturers Association in partnership with the International Yacht Brokers Association, with venues from the Miami Beach Convention Center to Sailor's Cove at Island Gardens. NMMA puts its economic impact at a billion dollars for Florida.
It anchors a winter circuit no other coast can match: Fort Lauderdale's show in late October, Miami in February, Palm Beach in March — three world-class shows within a day's cruise of each other, all on our home water.
Yachts we'd shortlist for Miami
Reviewed the same way as everything on this site — specifications verified against the builder's own numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I anchor overnight in Miami?
Yes — No Name Harbor, inside Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park at the tip of Key Biscayne, is the sanctioned overnight anchorage, and the park publishes the rules plainly: $20 per boat per night paid at honor stations along the seawall, $8 per boat for day use, and no more than two boats moored together. It's protected, walkable to the lighthouse, and the classic first night aboard any new boat in Miami.
Where do yachts get serviced in Miami?
The Miami River. The state-created Miami River Commission calls it a Working River, lined with boatyards and marinas along its five and a half miles, and its anchor is RMK Merrill-Stevens — Florida's first shipyard, operating since 1885, with a 2,700-ton shiplift for superyachts and a 100-ton lift for yachts to 130 feet. A commission-cited study puts every mega-yacht service visit at roughly $385,000 of local economic input, which tells you how deep the trades run here.
Is Miami a good market to buy a yacht in?
The deepest one in the country for range of style: performance boats, superyachts, sailing stock and the biggest day-boat fleet in Florida — Miami-Dade leads the state with more than 74,000 registered vessels. February's show puts over a thousand boats in the water at once, and the year-round inventory means you can see and sea-trial almost anything without leaving Biscayne Bay. Minted Yachts covers this market every week — the form on this page reaches us directly.
Where are the Miami sandbars?
Two headline spots, straight from the county tourism authority's own boating guide: the Nixon Sandbar near Key Biscayne and the Haulover Sandbar just off Haulover Park, where boats tie up and the crowd stands in knee-deep water. Haulover's sits right between the ICW and the inlet channel — the county's own marina directions flag it — so watch your draft on approach.
Is Coconut Grove a good place to keep a boat?
It's the sailing heart of Miami — the tourism authority calls the Grove the city's center of sailing. Dinner Key Marina, which the city describes as the largest wet-slip marina on the US East Coast, holds 587 slips plus a 225-vessel mooring field; Grove Harbour adds dockage to 135 feet with dry storage; and two historic clubs — Biscayne Bay Yacht Club (1887) and Coral Reef Yacht Club (1955) — keep the racing calendar full year-round.
Where can I dock a superyacht in Miami?
Island Gardens on Watson Island is the marquee address — 50 berths for yachts to 550 feet with 27 feet of draft, 800-amp power, on-site customs and Foreign-Trade Zone status, all by its own published figures. Miamarina at Bayside takes yachts to 230 feet in downtown proper, and Miami Beach Marina berths vessels to 250 feet beside Government Cut, a few hundred yards from open ocean.
Which Miami restaurants can I get to by boat?
The verified list, from each venue's own site: The Deck at Island Gardens fronts the superyacht marina on Watson Island; Seaspice serves dockside on the Miami River; the Rusty Pelican sits on Rickenbacker Marina with the skyline view; and Coconut Grove stacks three in a row — Monty's Raw Bar (boat mooring, hail the Dock Master), The Bayshore Club (zero-distance dock access with service to your slip), and Regatta Grove (docking reservations by phone). Our Dock & Dine guide maps the run with each venue's own dock policy. Landmarks like Kiki on the River, Casablanca and Joe's Stone Crab sit on the same water but publish no guest dockage — confirm arrangements before arriving by boat.
When is the Miami International Boat Show?
February — the 85th edition ran February 11–15, 2026, and the next runs February 10–14, 2027. The show bills itself as the world's largest boat and yacht show, with more than 100,000 attendees, 1,000-plus brands and 1,000-plus boats across venues from the Miami Beach Convention Center to Sailor's Cove at Island Gardens. It is owned by the NMMA in partnership with the IYBA.