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It was SOOOOOOO romantic to hire a horse and buggy to tour Hamilton at night under the star studded sky. The cost was $30 per half hour. The price was worth it--moseying through the streets at night with the scent of bouganvillea heavy in the air. WONDERFUL!
The horse plodded along the streets and the town slowly unfolded to us. Several shops were opened late into the evening, while others were closed tight...their windows proudly boasting of offerings within.
We passed couples slowly walking arm in arm, families jostling along the sidewalks and souvenir hunters browsing through stores. It was a tranquil, mellow evening in Bermuda. Theme: Other
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The Bermuda bus service is relatively efficient and reliable. It's comfortable unless you happen to get the occasional coach with an air conditioning problem. And, it's reasonably cheap.
Bermuda is actually divided up into 14 "zones", and we never really paid much attention to them, because we bought transportation passes, good for unlimited passage for seven days. If you do, however, choose to do single trips and pay-as-you-go, the cost is $3 IN COINS for shorter trips, or $4 in COINS for longer trips. (depends on the zones) Transfers are free, so long as you take the next transferring bus. Again, that's all kind of complicated. My advice is to purchase a transportation pass for use on the Bermuda buses (and on the ferries). Seven days for an adult is $45. They also sell one, two and three day passes. You can buy them at the airport, or downtown in Hamilton at the main bus terminal. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BUS AND FERRY TRANSPORTATION PASSES, PLEASE SEE MY GENERAL TIP ON THE SUBJECT.
As for the buses themselves, pick yourself up a route map at the main terminal. There are about 11 lines, and they all go from Hamilton to somewhere and back. In ancient tkimes, they say all roads led to Rome. Well in 21st century Bermuda, all buses lead to and from Hamilton.
All bus stops have a "pole" that's either dark blue or pink. (Now a warning, some bus stops are nothing BUT a pole by the road) If the pole is pink, that bus is traveling towards Hamilton. If the pole is blue, the bus is headed to its ultimate destination away from Hamilton. And all of the "blue buses" list their destinaton on the front of the bus.
Bus drivers are very accomodating, so long as you're friendly to them. Always say good day first. But then, you can certainly say "does this bus go by the Swizzle Inn or the Aquarium or whatever". If the bus driver answers in the affirmative, just ask him to announce the closest stop and then sit back and relax. In some cases they'll even stop at "non-stops" just to be helpful. Leave a Comment Theme: BusPhone: 441-292-3851 (Public trans board
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Buses carry the lion's share of public transport in Bermuda. I've already discussed them in the previous tip. Another public transportation option is the ferry system, which provides transport from Hamilton Ferry terminal (right downtown on Front Street at the Harbor) to the east (St. George) and west (Dockyards) ends of the island. There is also a short ferry service from Hamilton to the small docks over in Warwick and Paget's parishes.
The ferry lines are as follows:
BLUE ROUTE : Hamilton-West End-Dockyard
ORANGE ROUTE: Hamilton-Dockyard-St. George
GREEN ROUTE : Hamilton-Rockaway-Somerset Bridge
You can get a ferry schedule at the ferry terminal, or by going to www.seaexpress.bm. For the tourist, the most useful ferries run from Hamilton to the Dockyards area (sometimes via Watford Bridge/West End). Another ferry goes to St. Georges, after a stop at Dockyards. (That's a great one for an hour long "north shore cruise" of Bermuda) The ferries are clean and comfortable. The larger ones have an air-conditioned bottom cabin, if you're feeling a bit heat-weary. But for my ride, I prefer sitting on top. If the sun is heavy, you can get under the awning, but I do enjoy the sea breeze.
Also, if you've rented one of those death scooters to ride, you can bring them onto the ferry. You'll be parking them up front, and as far as I could see, there is no additional charge.
The ferry is a heck of a lot faster from Hamilton to Dockyards than the bus. A bus will take almost an hour. The ferry can get there in 20 minutes if direct...30 minutes if you take the one that stops at Watford Bridge first. For St. Georges, the bus is probably faster, time-wise. But again, the ferry ride is picturesque and much more relaxing. It may be your only good chance to look over the entire north side of Bermuda, the part of the island not as well-suited to beaches and swimming.
Note, CASH is not accepted on the ferries. You must either use a transportation pass or purchase a ticket for your ferry passage at the dock/terminal. Leave a Comment
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There is a huge supply of taxi cabs for hire in Bermuda. Most are the small mini-van type of vehicle, a cornucopia of small Suzukis, Nissan, VW, and Toyota models often not seen in the USA. Our friends who owned Kingston House B&B call them "BOWs", meaning "box on wheels".
Taxis aren't cheap, but they're the best plan in traveling to and from Kindley Field. From Kindley to Hamilton is usually about $30. I suppose if you were staying in one of the snooty beachfront hotels on the south shore, it could run $50 from the airport.
Taxis are also an option if you find yourself at Dockyards or St. Georges later in the evening on a Sunday evening, and perhaps the ferry or bus service has ceased, or is so infrequent as to be an hour or more in coming.
I didn't actually see anyone hail a cab on a street, but I understand that it can be done, NYC style. Just raise your hand and motion.
Most cabbies are pretty darned friendly, especially if you'll put up with listening to his own personal CD of steel drum music he wrote and recorded. :)
There are a lot of cab services in the phone book, I'd suggest asking your hosts or concierge for advice on who is most reliable. AND, for your return flight, ALWAYs assume that the cab may be 15 minutes late in arriving. It's kind of "Bermuda Time", as they say. Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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We traveled mostly by using the ferry/ bus pass through Hamilton. The cost for adults was $23 and for children it was $1 each way. This was a very good way to see the sights! We traveled to the Royal Dockyard by ferry easily and quickly!
When we took the bus, it was full to capacity, but it slogged along the roadway efficiently and surely. The sun was bright in the sky when we tripped off the vehicle and made our way to our destination.
When we were finished sampling the sights, we tried squeezing all three of us under the shade of a tree while waiting for the bus to carry us back to town. The heat was building and one small tree didn't hold much relief for three hot, sticky travelers. Happily, after several uncomfortable minutes the bus arrived...hooray! Theme: BusPhone: 441-295-4506
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Bermuda is a small island and getting around is very easy. One way to see bermuda is the Mo-peds.
It is a popular way to get around bermuda.
I would recommend getting the single scooters over the double. The single scooters are easier to handle than to double ones.....
Just be careful , the roads can get narrow in some places, some cut through rocks and walls that come pretty close to you..
Also remember that you drive on the left side of the road, the hardest part is the circles or round abouts, remember left side not right,, Leave a Comment
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A number of cruise lines serve Bermuda. While we were there, we saw ships from Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean, to name a couple. There are three major docking facilities in Bermuda, namely
Hamilton harbor itself, which appears to berth up to two cruise ships. I don't think
Hamilton can handle the "mega" sized ships, but I'm not exactly a sailor. ;)
Dockyards/West End, which also looks to have room for up to two cruise ships. Dockyards
is the former headquarters of the Royal Navy, during its based time in Bermuda, and the
harbor area is clearly designed for large ships. I suspect that THE largest ships docking
in Bermuda probably go to Dockyards.
St. George harbor, on the east end, located at the historic (17th century) village of
St. George.
Depending on the cruise line, you may spend a few hours or perhaps even a couple of days in and around Bermuda. For my tastes, cruising is just not the way to go. I'm not into the crowds and the "disembark and reembark madness" that ensues. I do realize that cruising is often a very affordable alternative, and my college son and his buds love cruising.
I will tell you this... while the Bermuda government clearly loves the ease of simply taxing visitors "by the head", via the cruise industry, the locals are less enthralled. Local studies have shown the visitors who fly into Bermuda clearly spend 10x the amount of money during their stay than do the "boat people". So basically what happens is that tourists arriving by sea help to fill government tax coffers, but have less of an impact on the private local economy than you'd imagine. It's the folks who fly to Bermuda and stay there for a few days that eat in the restaurants, do the bulk of the shopping and visit the local attractions. And if you want my personal opinion, non-cruise visitors learn and enjoy so much more about Bermuda.
But if cruising "shivers your timbers", then Bermuda is a top-drawer destination to consider. Leave a Comment Theme: Ship/Boat
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If you'd like to enjoy a more relaxing "tour" around Hamilton, the Dockyards or around St. George, you might want to try the horse-drawn carriage. The cost for doing so is $30 per half hour, for 1-4 riders. After that, there are various surcharges if you try to take your entire sewing club in one carriage. :)
The best place to catch the carriages in Hamilton is on Front Street, just to the east of the #1 cruise ship terminal. As for the Dockyards, you can catch them over near Dockyards ferry stop. As for St. George, I'm sorry... I'm not sure where "the barn" is. I'm sure the locals will point you in the right direction.
Oh, and if your carriage is pulled by TWO horses, it costs something like $5 more... I guess both horses have to eat...and it's expensive eating out in Bermuda. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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As I've already mentioned, you cannot, as a tourist, rent an automobile in Bermuda. However, there are a zillion motorscooters (the locals call them cycles) for rent. Quite honestly, it seems as if there is a rental agency on every other corner.
From what I saw, price-wise, there isn't a lot of competition...I think they've just all agreed to charge the same high rates. :) Generally, a one person cycle costs something like $50 for the first day, and progressively less for subsequent days. Two person scooters (deluxe) cost more. There's usually an additional deposit, and in many cases, the standard insurance does NOT cover theft...which I'm told DOES occur. It's one of those "bring your lawyer with you to Bermuda things", I guess.
Quite honestly, ::I:: think the biggest issue with renting a scooter would be telling it apart from all the OTHER rented scooters. It may be like what you do with your suitcase at the airport baggage claim... tie a ribbon around it or something. :)
SUPPOSEDLY, the cycle rental agencies give instructions to renters. But, let's just say that a "final exam" is not included. I saw a lady running all OVER a road over in St. George. She was screaming with both hands in the air as the cycle took off, veering right in front of a large truck and then coming to a stop on a grassy knoll. Good thing she had those riding instructions. As for safety, I think it's required that you wear a helmet on motorcycles. This is so that the mortician will not have to spend a lot of time making your face presentable for your funeral, after you're killed riding the bike.
OK, I'm being funny, but I'm not entirely kidding either.... Leave a Comment Theme: Motorcycle
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Within towns like Hamilton or St. George, or even for short journies such as Flatts Village to Devils Hole, etc., I'd suggest just walking. Distances in Bermuda are so short, when compared to almost anywhere else. Again, from one end of the island to the other is only 20 miles total. (not recommending that you walk THAT, but a 6-8 km walk from Hamilton to Crystal Caves or the Aquarium isn't that bad. Then again, I like walking.
Two things...
Remember, traffic drives on the left. Remember this when you cross roads... be sure to look in the correct direction first. :)
And, walk on the side facing into traffic, and if there is not a sidewalk, as is often the case, be sure to get out far enough for oncoming vehicles to get an early peek at you as they come around a blind corner. Speed limit in Bermuda is 35 km, and most obey it... other than the bus drivers that is. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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on December 20, 2006
on August 4, 2007
on March 28, 2004
