Bermuda advice

[MickeySP]

Heading for Bermuda the end of April, and never been before.

We are in the Hamilton area at the Grotto Bay Beach Resort and would love any ideas for eating & playing.

BF loves to jet ski - any place to rent for an hour or so? Any must see places? We have heard that the busses are a good way to travel, or are taxis a better way?

Any & all suggestions welcome.

 

[liamsaunt]

The busses are a great way to get around. Taxis are great too, but can get expensive. Do not rent a motor scooter!!

I am not sure about jetskis, but there is a watersports facility right at your hotel where you can rent motorboats. Taking a boat out is lots of fun! They'll give you a map so you know where it is safe to boat. The ocean water's going to be too cold to swim in April, but you probably knew that.

Places to eat near your hotel: Swizzle Inn, Baileys for ice cream, Tom Moore's tavern (oldest restauarant on the island, expensive). In town, you can get a traditional Bermuda fish sandwich (grilled or fried fish with mango chutney on raisin bread) at the Fish Hut. Lobster Pot is popular, but I see you are from MA too...I'd rather have lobster at home!

Your hotel is also close to the Crystal Caves, and, I think (stretching my memory here), the perfumery, both of which are interesting to tour. I also like the Botanical Gardens.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

We are going on a cruise to Bermuda at the end of June, so I'm anxious to hear any replies from Bermuda experts. I have heard that the water taxi system is great too. There is a beach called Snorkel Beach that looks neat...they have snorkel rentals, etc...not sure if they have jet skis or not.

 

[jfoofj]

I did the Boston to Bermuda cruise on NCL in July of 2002 with one of my best friends from highschool (I had just gotten divorced, she had just ended an engagement, it was our treat to ourselves that year!). The buses are super easy to use and a lot more economical than taxis. The Crystal Caves are awesome. There is a lot of historic stuff to see... I am remembering a fort near a beach... but I can't remember the name of it but it was very scenic and interesting. I know there were a ton of golf courses, but we pretty much stuck to the beaches which were beautiful. We felt very safe on the island too, much different feel than some other vacation spots I've been to.

 

[MdmMim]

Hog Penny Pub in downtown Hamilton--great food. I agree with the PPs regarding the Swizzle Inn and Tom Moore's.

For a beach, Horseshoe Bay!

The bus system is great and inexpensive.

I love Bermuda! It is beautiful!

 

[MickeySP]

Thanks I am looking forward to going.

Any ideas on nightlife? I would love to go out at least one night.

 

[janey99]

Bermuda is having a major problem with gun violence right now. You should be aware of that if you plan to travel around the island.

Here is a link to today's newspaper - scroll through the articles and you can see that half a dozen people have been shot int he last week:

http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/section.jsp?sectionId=60

 

[Chelley00]

We did a day stop there on a cruise in June. We bought a day long travel pass and that included water taxis and busses. We did the water taxi from port to Hamilton and walked the capital to shop, then found the bus stop and bussed to the Horseshoe Beach. We had planned to walk the South Shore path and check out all the beaches, but Horseshoe wasn't crowded and just so pretty, so we stayed put!

We wanted to go to Swizzle Inn on the way back, but it was out of the way for our particular bus, so we went to Frog and Onion for fish and chips and rum swizzles. It was pretty expensive, but really good and they had a guitar guy playing who had everyone in there singing along...lots of fun!

We bought rum cakes to bring back with us (yummy) I wanted to go to collect sea glass for the kids, but we just ran out of time

Take the bus, skip the scooters. The guy we talked to said people die on the scooters all the time.

The best source for Bermuda information is on cruisecritic.com . They have a whole forum devoted to Bermuda with info about beaches, restaurants, shopping etc.

 

[Chelley00]

We are going on a cruise to Bermuda at the end of June, so I'm anxious to hear any replies from Bermuda experts. I have heard that the water taxi system is great too. There is a beach called Snorkel Beach that looks neat...they have snorkel rentals, etc...not sure if they have jet skis or not.

Snorkel Beach is pretty teeny. It didn't get really good reviews on cruisecritic. The snorkeling at Church Bay is supposed to be better.

 

[liamsaunt]

Church Bay has the best snorkeling on Bermuda, but it is very far from the OP's hotel. I concur on Snorkel Park...it's really just a tourist attraction with a manmade snorkel trail in the Royal Naval Dockyard, not worth it. I doubt the OP is going to be snorkeling anyway, the water is going to be too cold in April, even with a wetsuit.

Re: Nightlife, nightlife is not huge in Bermuda, but there are a couple of clubs in downtown Hamilton. If you go, stay on Front Street. Don't wander into the back areas of town. Arrange for a taxi to pick you up in advance rather than waiting for one to drive by. Your hotel concierge should be able to give you assistance in choosing the best club for you.

 

[Chris2597]

My first bit of advise is to take plenty of $$. I thought Bermuda was very expensive. I agree it is beautiful there and we loved our visit. I also agree with another poster that the bus service is good (crazy taxi and bus drivers), but the ride is somewhat of an E ticket....wild and crazy. I thought we were going to crash, go over a cliff or hit someone several times....Also, do not rent a moped....Lots of accidents and injuries....and the buses and taxis have no mercy on the poor moped drivers....
If you like to tour old churches go to the Episcopal Church. It is beautiful with awesome statues and art. We also like the glass blowing shop and perfume factory.

 

[MickeySP]

Yeah we are reconsidering the nightlife thing, the hotel has a couple nice pubs & bars around it so sticking close is best.

We are bringing $$, but thank goodness we are at all inclusive food, drinks & activities. So we should be good.

 

[CandyMandy]

My ten cents is to think of Bermuda as a milder, civilized version of fun in the and sun. I.e. the beach scene is shall we say "genteel," not one focused on loud music, hyper-stylish swimwear and powered watersports. I wasn't even aware there is jet-skiing allowed anywhere on the island and if it is I'm sure the areas one can do that in are quite limited. Or put another way, don't think "British version of Myrtle Beach;" no one in Bermuda is bombing around on noisy equipment 100 yards off the shore with swimmers in the water.

 

[MickeySP]

We did find jet skiing, it is a tour of the islands which is just fine. We can parasail & if we want rent a boat, happy with that.

We are looking for laidback, after the Bahamas. I liked it but too much in your face for me, just want leisure & relax with abit of side fun.