The Island Club Adventures

Yes, when you book in advance with a licensed, locally owned watersports company. It is not safe to accept a ride from someone who approaches you on the beach. That distinction is the whole answer, and it is worth a few minutes before you book anything in Nassau.
 

What the U.S. Embassy said

On 15 June 2026, the U.S. Embassy in Nassau issued a Security Alert about jet ski rentals in The Bahamas. Its recommendation is to avoid renting jet skis. We are not going to soften that, and you should read it yourself.

The alert documents real harm. Since August 2024, six U.S. citizens have been hospitalized after jet ski accidents, three requiring emergency medical evacuation. Seven American women have reported sexual assaults by jet ski operators since 2024. In August 2025, a U.S. citizen was killed after being struck by an unlicensed operator driving an unregistered boat off Paradise Island. U.S. government employees in The Bahamas are prohibited from renting jet skis on New Providence and Paradise Island.
 

The pattern in every one of those cases

Read the reports and one detail repeats. Victims were approached and solicited on the beach. In the assault cases, the operator rode on the machine with the guest and took her to an isolated island. In the fatal collision, the other vessel was unlicensed and unregistered.

The danger is not the water. It is being approached by a stranger with no licence, no insurance, no registration and no accountability, at the exact moment you have a few hours in port and no way to check anything about him.
 

What a licensed watersports business actually is in The Bahamas

Jet ski and watersports operations here are licensed and regulated by The Bahamas Port Department, under the Commercial Recreational Watercraft Act. To hold a Class D Operator's Licence, an operator must provide:

• A current police record

• A valid business licence

• Certificates of completed safety and boat handling training

• A medical certificate

• Proof of insurance on the craft

• Registration of the craft with the Port Department, subject to annual inspection
   

Bahamian regulation also requires a licensed operation to:

• Not rent to anyone under 18

• Not ride on the machine with a renter. This became law in March 2026.

• Carry visible identification and operate in proper uniform

• Display current registration on the craft

• Provide a 15 minute orientation before you ride

• Supply Port Controller approved flotation devices

• Not operate after dark
   

A man who walks up to you on the beach has met none of these requirements. He has not been background checked. He is not insured. His machine is not registered. And if he asks to ride with you, he is breaking the law.
 

The problem you cannot solve on your own

The Bahamas does not publish a public register of licensed watersports companies. There is no website where a visitor can type in a name and check. So the usual advice, ask whether they are licensed, does not work. Anyone can say yes.
 

That is why booking in advance matters. We book locally owned Bahamian watersports companies, not individuals working a beach. We work with the same companies repeatedly, we deal with them directly, and we verify business licence, operator licensing, insurance and craft registration before we book a guest. Licences are checked and current as of today. We do not book walk up beach vendors, and we will not book a company that cannot produce current documentation.
 

The real difference is accountability. A licensed company has a business license, a registered place of business, insurance in the company's name, and registered craft. If something goes wrong, there is a business to contact and a regulator to report to. A stranger on the beach leaves you with none of that.
 

Before you pay anything, we will tell you in writing which watersports company you are booked with and where you will be departing from. You will not be meeting a stranger on a beach.
 

How to spot a licensed operation in three seconds

Licensed watersports businesses in The Bahamas carry visible identification. When you arrive, look for:

• A government issued ID badge, from the Ministry of Tourism or the Port Department

• A company badge identifying the business they work for

• Proper uniform, or the ID badge clearly displayed

• Current registration displayed on the craft
   

No badge, no uniform, no company name, no registration on the machine. That is not a licensed operation, whatever you are told.
 

These are the same checks we run before we book a company. Run them yourself when you arrive, and if anything is missing, message us.
 

Then remember four rules

• If someone approaches you on the beach offering a ride, decline and walk away. Licensed businesses do not need to solicit strangers.

• Never go to a second location or an island with an operator.

• Never let an operator ride on the machine with you. It has been against Bahamian law since March 2026.

• Book in advance, with a business you can hold accountable afterwards.
   

Not sure? Message us before you book.
WhatsApp: 1-242-552-2528
 

Last verified: 20 August 2026. We re check business licensing, operator licensing, insurance and craft registration quarterly.