[upstatedoc]

Anyone ever vacation in Bermuda? It's not on the Caribbean So it's not considered tropical. Let's hear your Bermuda stories

[kscarrol]

Went years ago as a family when the kids were much younger. Definitely enjoyed it, lovely beaches, water was plenty warm and some local areas were interesting. Having said that, haven't been back since but I'm not a beach guy. There is some golf, scuba/snorkling as well...

Edit: As I recall the place we stayed was called Cambridge Beaches, located on the far western tip of Bermuda. Overall really enjoyed it.

[N54Yankee]

I was only there once for about 8 hours. My ship pulled in to refuel and take on provisions. Some Shipmates and I did get a chance to catch snappers off the dock and the Mess crew served em up at chow.

[vreihen16]

I've been there twice on week-long cruises.

Climate wise, the all time record low was 44F and high was only 93F. It is close enough to the gulf stream to keep the temperatures moderate year-round.

The first piece of culture shock is that there are no car rental places, and you cannot drive a car on the island as an outsider. They have a decent bus network, along with ferries between locations. Tourists are encouraged to rent scooters, and they are everywhere. First thing the cruise ships tell everyone before opening their gangways is that broken bones and road rash are common from people who rent the scooters, and they recommend sticking to public transport.

With that said, I did rent a scooter for a day on my first Bermuda trip, having over 100K miles riding experience on motorcycles. This goes straight into the second piece of culture shock...Bermuda is a British territory. Royal Mail, fancier dress, and most importantly driving on the incorrect side of the road. For those not familiar with riding motorcycles, adding that additional twist onto the experience along with narrow roads full of busses and I can see why so many tourists wind up in the hospitals. Sooner or later, the brain will lapse entering a rotary/roundabout/traffic circle backwards, and your vacation ends in the hospital having a pink bus hood ornament removed from your face.

I can't comment on the hotels, since we brought our own so to speak. It isn't the cheapest place to stay/eat.

Did I mention that the place is British? The Royal Mail carriers wear button-up shirts with long, formal Bermuda shorts. At least the last time that I was there (10 years ago), the locals frowned on beach attire if you are not actually on the beach. I'm not a beach person and liked the decorum, but someone used to Caribbean beach resorts may be surprised.

I did go to Horseshoe Beach to see the pink sand. I also rode 7 miles of their rail trail on a rented bicycle. Hamilton (capital) is the center of everything. If you like history, St. Georges is a nice place to stroll around. The Royal Navy Yard on the other end of the island has lots of naval history, but was being converted into a tourist trap last time that I was there because no current cruise ships are small enough to get into Hamilton or St. Georges any more so they all wind up at the Navy Yard dumping off 8,000+ passengers on a slow day.

My suggestion is to make sure that you go to Hamilton and catch the Harbour Night celebrations with the Gombey Dancers on Wednesdays in season. Being a gear head, I also spent an hour or two roaming through car dealerships looking at all of the British stuff/marques that we can't get. Heck, I didn't realize that my entire first day's photos on my first visit was of all the tiny cars that we don't see in the USA!

My favorite memory of Bermuda was accidentally meeting Stewart Mott at his estate, and getting a personal tour of his gardens (when I thought that our group of bicycle riders was going to be arrested for trespassing). I might not agree with his political leanings, but the guy was eccentric, interesting, and friendly to spend a few hours with. Sad to hear that he died before my second trip.

Anyway, I'd go back again for a third visit in a heartbeat if I had the chance.....

[M_Six]

The post above pretty much says it all. Stick with the buses. Bus stops have poles that are either pink or blue. Pink means the bus is heading into Hamilton , blue means it's heading away from Hamilton.

On my first trip I stayed at Grotto Bay Beach. It was decent at the time, but that was 25 years ago. Second trip was maybe 10 years ago. We stayed at the Hamilton Princess, which is quite nice. We went back to Grotto Bay to hang out for a day. If you like snorkeling, Grotto Bay is cool because they have a sunken ship hull and caves (Grottos) where you can snorkel (at least you could 10 years ago).

Food was ok. We found decent, but not great Italian and Indian. Fish was good, of course. And some of the higher end places had decent steaks.

It's pretty warm and humid from May into October. Perfect beach weather. Our second trip was in late March/early April. The weather was perfect for sightseeing (mid-70's), but a bit cool for swimming.

Check the timing of your trip. They do have a rainy season, if I recall, and there's always a risk during hurricane season.

Here's a shot I took of the caves at Grotto Bay.

[No one]

I like this episode in particular:

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I wouldn't think I'm ready for Bermuda.