Ultimate Bermuda Travel Guide

In the middle of August, my family and I (along with my boyfriend, Brian) took a week-long Norwegian cruise on the Escape ship to Bermuda.

We left from New York City and it took roughly 3 days out at sea until we finally arrived at the naval dockyard in Bermuda. We had a few excursions planned for our time on the island of Bermuda as well as a trip to St. George Island for a resort stay. Even though we spent our nights sleeping on the cruise ship, we explored Bermuda throughout the day.

I am sharing my Ultimate Bermuda Travel Guide that will help you understand what to see and what to experience if you plan on taking either a cruise or plane ride over to the breathtaking (and blue!) island of Bermuda.

What to Know Before Visting Bermuda 

I had absolutely zero knowledge about anything pertaining to Bermuda prior to our cruise! Brian looked up a bunch of helpful information on Google to learn more about the country. He also told me information regarding the population, cost of living,

The entire island has about 64,000 residents in total. The white roofs on the top of each home collect rainwater that ultimately transforms into drinking water for the people of Bermuda! Tanks underneath the homes collect rainwater. The climate is usually tropical year-round and in August it was extremely hot outside. In total, Bermuda is only 21 square miles. The only city in Bermuda is Hamilton. The only town in Bermuda is St. George. Bermuda is also known for its championship golf courses and the island has plenty of ocean-side greens. Once on the island, you will be greeted by Bermudians who speak English and accept American dollars.

How to Travel to Bermuda

Within the island of Bermuda, you have several options to choose from to get from one area to the next. For my family and I, we personally took ferry boats and taxis. The ferry boats are easy to buy tickets for (well, coins!) and are affordable for each person. Taxis will run you a few dollars and most taxi cabs are patiently waiting for you at the dock when your ferry disembarks for quick service.

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Although we arrived at the Royal Naval Dockyard via cruise ship, you can easily book a flight from the US over to Bermuda. From the east coast, it would be roughly 2 1/2 hours of flying time. The international airport is located on St. George’s Island and multiple airline carriers can fly you directly to Bermuda.

You can typically get from one area of Bermuda to the next via ferry boat or taxi cab. The ferry rides cost around $3 dollars for “tokens” that you drop off as soon as you enter the boat to pay your way across the island. Uber does NOT exist in Bermuda, so you will need to determine which modes of transportation will work best for you/your group.

What To Do

Play Mini Putt-Putt

Upon leaving our cruise ship for the morning, Brian and I spotted a mini putt-putt golf course. I was hesitant to play because it felt extremely hot outside with little wind to cool us down and the course would take us roughly an hour to complete. Even though I was annoyingly complaining about the heat, Brian was being his typical sweet self and bought us tickets to play together.

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After a couple of rounds, we took some cute couple photos and I forgot about the sun blaring down on us. I am thankful that he bought us the 18 holes of putt-putt because it ended up becoming one of my favorite memories from the entire vacation! The putt-putt course also includes various mini versions of famous real-life golf courses across the world.

Explore the city of Hamilton

While walking through Bermuda’s capital city, Brian and I also took some time to find the pink Hamilton Princess Hotel to capture some outfit pictures with the hotel as the backdrop. Boy, this hotel did not disappoint! I felt the luxury hit me as soon as we opened up the front doors. The hotel features contemporary artwork, including colorful hibiscus prints from legendary artist Andy Warhol.

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Explore St. George’s Island

Surprise, surprise! We had to jump on yet another ferry boat to take us to the east end of Bermuda. Staying on an island will do that to you — make you take a lot of ferries! Another day of our Bermuda trip took us over to St. George’s Island where we would be spending the entire time relaxing at Grotto Bay Beach Resort & Spa.

Day Pass to Grotto Bay Beach Resort & Spa

Luckily for us, we all paid a $50 fee in advance for a day pass to grant us exclusive access to the pools, hot tubs, caves, aqua park, lounge chairs, swim-up bar, and underwater fun. Either add this resort to your list of places to stay the night or consider investing in a $50.00 day pass because we all enjoyed our experience at Grotto Bay Beach Resort & Spa. My cousins and I also swam in the chilly underground caves at the resort.

Tobacco Bay Beach

My cousin Allison and her boyfriend Nick chose to explore Tobacco Bay Beach instead of snorkeling with us for one of the island excursions. They loved Tobacco Bay Beach! The beach is also located on the east end of Bermuda on St. George’s. Once there you are surrounded by limestone rocks and open water. The beach club offers food and drinks so you can sip on a classic Rum Swizzle.

Tourists love to flock to Tobacco Bay Beach for snorkeling, diving off the rocks, and swimming. If you have extra time you can also pay a small entrance fee to walk through Fort St. Catherine. Beautiful sand and water, what else do you really need?

Shipwreck Diving

My sister, being the more adventurous one out of two of us, chose to dive in the Bermuda water instead of hanging with us at Grotto Bay. Equipped with her GoPro and dive gear, she left bright and early for a shipwreck dive. Apparently, Bermuda has more shipwrecks than anywhere else in the world! She definitely had a blast checking out the old shipwrecks. There are over 200+ sunken vessels found within all 21 square miles of Bermuda.

Snorkel Trip on Catamaran

Our snorkel trip took us out into the glistening turquoise Bermuda water for a few hours of exploring caves, spotting colorful fish, and paddleboarding. I highly recommend booking your catamaran snorkel trip with Rising Son Cruises. I had no say in what company we chose to experience our snorkel trip with as my aunt picked out Rising Son, but I am very satisfied with how knowledgable and friendly the crew were to us! Even with a packed boat, we never felt excluded. It’s no wonder the Rising Son Cruises has an exceptional 5-star rating according to Trip Advisor and holds the top spot for the number one tour in Hamilton.

Horseshoe Bay Beach

I hate to break this to you…but the so-called “pink sands” found in Bermuda are not completely pink like you would imagine! The pink color comes from a mixture of crushed coral and calcium carbonate. My mom and my sister explored Horseshoe Bay while Brian and I chose to sleep in one morning because we were extremely tired. To visit the famous Horseshoe Bay, you need to hop on a #7 bus leaving the Royal Naval Dockyard in the morning.

Yes, I was a little sad to miss out on this popular beach spot. The Rum Bum Beach Bar definitely would have made for a fun time drinking Rum Swizzles! In addition to drinks, the beach has numerous natural rock formations to climb and photograph the sunset.

Have you been to Bermuda yet? 

Would you want to visit Bermuda in the future?

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