This Caribbean Floating Bar Has World-Class Tacos — And You Can Only Get There by Boat
You come in by boat, cut the engine, and drift into Lindbergh Bay with a floating taco bar ahead of you. The water here is clear enough to see sand patches under the surface as you slow down. Small boats move through the bay. People sit in float seats with drinks in hand. Others climb up from the water to pick up tacos. It looks like a swim stop until you get close enough to see the line forming at the counter.
This is Lime Out St. Thomas, anchored in Lindbergh Bay on the West End of the island. The headline detail is also the rule: you can only reach it by boat.
What It Is
Lime Out St. Thomas is a floating taco restaurant and bar, open every day from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It operates first come, first served, and it does not take reservations.
The setup is intentionally simple. You arrive on the water, tie up, order, and settle in for the kind of afternoon that stretches longer than you planned.
How You Get There
Lime Out is explicit about access: no swimming in, no kayak approach, no paddleboard arrival. You come by charter, shuttle, or your own vessel.
The most straightforward option is the St. Thomas Taco Taxi, a round-trip water shuttle priced at $30 per person. It’s designed for travelers who want the Lime Out experience without committing to a full-day private charter.
There are also packaged excursions that combine the Lime Out stop with a sailing catamaran ride and a turtle snorkel. The VIP package is priced at $249 per person and includes a three-taco gourmet lunch, premium open bar at Lime Out, reserved float seating, and extras like a Lime Out hat and a 16-ounce Lime Out Corkcicle tumbler.
The Turtles & Tacos package is $179 per adult, including the catamaran ride, turtle snorkel, reserved float seating, a two-taco gourmet lunch, and two craft cocktails. A children’s version is priced at $129 and includes two kids tacos, two juices with flavors like tamarind, passion fruit, soursop, and lemonade, plus a Lime Out hat and reserved float seating.
Both excursions include a guarantee to return to port 90 minutes before departure, a detail that speaks directly to cruise travelers and anyone planning the day on a tight clock.
What the Experience Feels Like
Lime Out is designed for people who want to be in the water, not just near it. Reserved float seating is a major part of the draw, and the whole scene encourages you to treat the bay as the dining room. You climb up for food, step back down, and eat close enough to the platform that you can hear the music and the conversations.
It’s casual, it’s social, and it feels unmistakably St. Thomas: a day on the water that happens to include tacos.
The Sister Bar
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because Lime Out is the sister bar to the original Lime Out in St John, which first opened back in 2019. The expansion was natural because, well, who doesn’t love a floating taco bar?
What to Know Before You Go
Lindbergh Bay is a mixed-use zone, and Lime Out is direct about safety. Boats move through the harbor. Swimming more than a couple yards away from your boat is discouraged, and swimming across the harbor’s channel is not allowed.
Vessels are asked to operate at no-wake speed in the harbor and use extra caution in the immediate area. There are day-use mooring balls around the restaurant for guests, and the guidance is to use them rather than anchoring near the vessel.
Why We Love It
Lime Out succeeds because it turns lunch into a small event without adding friction. The boat ride becomes part of the day. The bay becomes the seating plan. You leave with the feeling that you did something specific to the Virgin Islands, not just something you could replicate on land.
Getting there is the point. The tacos are the reward.
How to Get There With an Easy Flight
Right now you can fly from Miami to St. Thomas on American Airlines for about $171 round trip on select dates we found on Google Flights (including next month) making a day at a floating taco bar in Lindbergh Bay feel like a quick, affordable escape from South Florida. Those fares are subject to change and availability, of course.
Karen Udler is the Deputy Travel Editor of Caribbean Journal. A graduate of Duke University, has been traveling across the Americas for three decades. First an expert on Latin American travel, Karen has been traveling with CJ for more than a decade. She likes to focus on wellness, luxury travel and food.
