go to tripadvisor.com
Well-Worth the visit. No steel drums.
I must admit, my favorite thing to do on vacation is explore the culture and there wasn't much of that available.
Good for golf, diving, boating, and tennis, but that's not what I wanted on a vacation. The food was too British and there was no where to travel to on day trips.
When you end up on a drive down to the prison (on the outside looking in), you know you have run out of options.;-)
My wife and I stayed a week in Bermuda about 4 years ago on the east side, at a timeshare resort. We didn’t rent a car but got around mostly on the bus system which worked great. We went to some caverns; had high tea downtown; checked out an art mall on the west side of the island; generally explored the island; and had some great food. I would definitely consider going back. The people were wonderful. Relative cost? Not sure on that one.
Bermuda not much different than the couple of dozen Caribbean ports we have visited during Cruises.
A few rich people and masses of poor people.
Weather is hot even during winter months.
Many nice sandy beaches if you like beaches.
Our favorite place to visit in Caribbean is St Martens.
When u party in the islands, Mon, don’t forget a RRuba!:)
We stayed at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club. You can walk into the city for shopping, restaurants and mass ... less than a mile to all. No beach. There is a shuttle to a beach on the other side of the island. Beautiful and expensive.
There is also a Fairmont Southhampton on the other side of the island, if you want a beach. You would need a cab to go to shopping, dining, etc.
We loved Bermuda and would go back. It is expensive, but you get the sight, sounds and feel of the Caribbean and the flight time is much less.
Please allow me to piggyback off your thread and ask any FReepers who have been to Belize to chime in with their thoughts. Thanks!
I’ve been to Bermuda more than a few times. Would go back tomorrow if I could. Always felt much safer in Bermuda than the other islands. Their ferries and buses are great. You can buy a multi day pass, it’s a bargain.
There is a cruise ship out of Boston harbor that regularly goes to Bermuda i’ve been meaning to check it out for a while now.
Will be an interesting thread.
A while back they were using an old time actual ocean liner for the trip....i really missed out on that one.
Beautiful and expensive. Retains its British colonial charm. Bermuda’s beaches are better than Hawaii’s IMO.
Bermuda: if you think anything there is expensive, it isn’t the place for you. Multi-millionaires in their element, all others fish out of water.
Choose your hotel carefully.A ferry day trip to an isolated outer island is a great get away from it all experience!
Visit at least once but Too built up over last 30 years.
Been to Burmuda 3 times now. Good destination. I’d recommend Atlantis if you have kids. Plenty to do there and they have private beaches so you dont have to worry about the fighting over braids etc. If budget is concern you can stay at Comfort Suites which gives you access to Atlantis. I’d still double check that though. When we cruise we get a room at comfort suites so we dont have to pay the rediculous fees for Atlantis access through the ships excursion arm. Atlantis is expensive!
When the Mott family (Body by Fisher, Detroit, and GM mogul) was there (and the old man still alive, as opposed to his now dead son, Stewart, ultra liberal guilt type)— their two places were beautiful and maintained the Brit colonial feel. Now the main Mott place was sold to some developers who subdivided it to turn it into yet another jacked up place.
To get the feel of Bermuda, one could spend maybe 2 days, and add a day for the best coral sand beach. The place has become a microcosm of Brit politics, but not quite Jamaica yet, but does have Rasta blacks and whites and intermarrieds.
Cheap to get there, even on a boat charter. Airfare the same. It is not in the Carribean. it is roughly alongside the Gulf Stream when the Gulf Stream moves off shore from the Carolinas. So, if you fish-— well, it has it’s benefits.
It's pricey. Everything is shipped to that middle of nowhere from the U.S. - 12$ for a small jar of peanut butter.
It is beautiful- best way to sum it up.
We've rented the same cottage for a week this May.
Bermuda has about nothing in common with the other island nations in the region. It is a refuge for the really rich from UK nations and takes its security seriously. It is extremely expensive to live there and real estate ownership is highly restricted. The native black Bermudians are at the top of the food chain when it comes to education, employment and behavior when compared to the Caribbean dregs like Jamaica, Bahamas, Cuba etc. Drug offenses are dealt with harshly although not on the scale of Indonesia. The weather can be funky since the island lies well north of the Caribbean. I’ve been there in the early fall and it was overcast, clammy and cool in the low 60’s. Years ago in May it was overwhelmingly hot for a week with almost no breezes. The natives are not overly friendly towards tourists. In fact, most are not friendly at all. I have no desire to go back to Bermuda even if it was just a couple of hours stop on a cruise.
Good morning! I’ve been a member here for many years and I am also Bermudian and live on the island. Id be happy to let you know anything you would like to know.
Im seeing a few misguided and flat out wrong statements from some here.
There are not a “A few rich people and masses of poor people” here. Entropy12 is completely clueless and I can pretty much deduce why he would ignorantly say such a thing but thats another discussion. Bermuda has one of the highest standards of living on the planet much aligned with your own in the states.
Anyhow, If you have found a few places you are thinking of staying at let know and Id be happy to give you the details and my opinion on them. Hotel rates (as pretty much anywhere) depend on if you are planning to visit in off season or during season and other factors. Our off season is now until about April-May. Being it is Winter here the ocean waters are cold (I would not go swimming) and the weather is on the rainy/windy/cool side. High 50s to mid 60s probably is not “cold” to many of you but it is to me! Summer months (June - Aug) are dryer and sunnier and temps are average in the 80s.
Our beaches are 2nd to none (IMO) and one of only 2 places in the world that are composed of pink sand.
We are only a two to two and a half hour flight to the states from the US gateway cities (phili, boston, baltimore, JFK, etc). Bermuda is about 24sq. miles and approx. 750 miles east of South Carolina in the middle of the atlantic ocean.
No worries when you visit about currency exchange. The US dollar and Bermuda dollar is a one to one exchange. Merchants here will generally give you back US dollars if you are from away and pay in US dollars.
Bermuda IMO is really the best of both worlds between the US and British colonies. We are very close to the US in relation, travel, culture and trade and yet culturally also British in the same. We watch US television and even celebrate (unofficially) US holidays such as Thanksgiving and (officially) British holidays and our own (such as Bermuda Day every May 24th.)
As long as you bring your manners (Good morning, good afternoon, good evening followed up by ‘how are you today’) I am sure you will have a wonderful visit here and find most everyone to be pleasant and accommodating in return.
You will find Bermuda expensive from what you are used to in the states. We ship into the island pretty much everything from the US/Canada/Britain. (So on that regard the food/products will be completely familiar to you). That said, shipping and import duty and then retailer markups make our prices of the same items you see at home cost more than you would be used to seeing. That said, you are on holiday so take it for what its worth and try not to worry on it! You dont have to live with it day to day like me! :)
Twice a year I go away to the US and fill up my bag for the return trip with runs from Walmart and such places. Even paying the import duty it can be a bit of a savings. (That said I am finding in recent years your prices are not in as much discrepancy as ours as they used to be. I am finding the prices in the US over the last few years climbing quite high).
You cannot rent a car here. It is a small island we simply just cannot let everyone drive. We have a strict policy of one car per residence. That said, as a visitor, you would find the taxis/busses/ferrys hopefully accommodating enough for you. You may also (if you are feeling brave enough) rent a scooter. The majority of us here (self included) ride cycles with a limitation of a 125cc motor. I, myself, dont even know how to drive a car as I have driven a cycle my whole life to date. It is not uncommon here due to the previous mentioned policy and that cycles can navigate the occasional lines of traffic from cars. Our roads are mainly two lane and quite narrow.
Anyhow! I must get on with my day but you are welcome to contact me and ask me anything you wish to further know! :) I hope you do decide to holiday here and I do not believe you would be disappointed! If you enjoy rum at all and you do visit be sure to get acquainted on your visit with my namesake on here! ;)
My wife and I love Bermuda. We went there on our honeymoon almost 16 years ago and we stayed at the Rosedon, a bed and breakfast across the street from the Hamilton Princess, a short walk from downtown Hamilton,and we stayed there again on our tenth anniversary.
We have been to Bermuda a total of nine times. We flew there four times, and cruised there five times, and have plans to cruise there again this year, usually on our anniversary.
It’s expensive, figure about twice you would pay in the states for most items, but mostly worth it.
There are beautiful beaches, but the surf can be a bit violent, and the snorkeling can be spectacular. We went on a power snorkeling expedition from a south shore beach out to a ship wreck, of which there are plenty, due to the reefs surrounding the island, and we have enjoyed the snorkeling at Tobacco Bay, and at Snorkel Park, at opposite ends of the island.
Public transportation - busses and shuttle boats - is very nice, and you can rent motor bikes, but I would not recommend it. They drive on the left, and our reflexes are all wrong for that if we live where we drive on the right. I’ve seen some pretty bad motor bike accidents in Bermuda.
It was very British in flavor, but that has seemed to change over the years. We used to see more of the Bermudian men going to work wearing the signature Bermuda shorts, knee socks, a tie, and a blazer, and Trimminghams, the department store in downtown Hamilton has closed and the building has been torn down and replaced replaced with a bank.
As you might expect, there is a lot of good seafood and beer, as well as British style food, and one can find afternoon tea. The Rosedon served breakfast to your room, to the swimming pool, or to the front porch, which we preferred. There are also a lot of historic buildings to tour, if that interests you.
Twice, we stayed in a south shore tourist apartment,the Paraquet, near Elbow Beach. It was a lot less luxurious than some other places, but we enjoyed the location. It’s where British and European vacationers seem to prefer to stay due to the more affordable pricing. It had a diner where the taxi drivers stopped for meals, so we could always get a taxi into Hamilton, but we preferred using the busses, which were much cheaper. There was a bus stop a short walk from where we were staying, and you can get a bus pass for as many days as you need which includes unlimited bus rides and shuttle boat rides.
For us, living in southern Pennsylvania, Bermuda is a very convenient paradise for us, a two hour flight from Baltimore, and the best times to go are spring and fall, before and after hurricane season. My wife was there once in January, and it was quite cold.
You don’t see the grinding poverty that you see in the Carribean islands, although the buses can get a bit ripe during the rush hours in afternoon. Not all the buses are air conditioned.
Also, there is no problem with money. The value of the Bermudian dollar is always equal to the US dollar, and the US dollar is accepted on all the stores, and change can be received in US currency if you prefer.
Bermuda is not Caribbean geographically or culturally. I have been there multiple times and love it. It’s not as warm as the Caribbean (check the weather, you don’t go there for Spring Break on the beach), but it’s friendly, clean, and safe. It’s also expensive - there’s almost no poverty, but you don’t go there for a cheap vacation. I love the restaurants and nightlife in Hamilton. I love the beaches in Southampton. I love the people. You can read up on their parks, which can make for a nice day hike if that’s your thing, or just lie on the beach. It’s not quite true but a good first approximation that Bermuda is jolly old England transported to a beautiful, warmer island.