I know a bunch of people who are coming to visit me, or just coming to Bermuda in general in the next year, so I figured I'd dedicate a blog entry to things that would be really fun to do on vacation here, and some tips I have from being here for 2 months.
1. Transportation
If you don't feel comfortable driving a 50cc motor scooter around the island (read - if you're horrible with directions, or are freaked out about driving on the left), your best bet is to get a weeklong pass for the ferry and bus system, which is pretty comprehensive. You can get a weeklong unlimited pass for something like 50 bucks, which is well worth it. The ferry system is really the best way to see the island, and it's much faster to take a ferry to St. George's or Dockyard than it is to drive there.
A bike is really nice for if you want complete independence and want to do what you want, when you want. If you'd like to see as much as you can all over the island in the shortest amount of time, a bike for a day or two is actually a pretty good idea - especially if you don't want to have to keep going back to the bus terminal in Hamilton to catch the bus to the other side of the island.
Renting a bike for a week probably costs around $200ish, and gas will probably cost you around 10 dollars every 5 days (and you have to return it completely full of gas).
2. The beaches
The best beach on the island by far is Horseshoe Bay. You can hang out at the little cafe, sit on the beach, swim, play volleyball, or take a nice walk all over the place. It's really beautiful - the only catch is that it can get pretty crowded in the summer.
If you want to find a less crowded beach, just drive along South Shore Road until you come to one of the many smaller beaches that line the coast.
3. St. George's
St. George's is the town on the East End of the island, past the airport. You can get there via bus or ferry (I recommend ferry). It's a really cool small town with a nice little beach and a whole bunch of shops and little restaurants. Supposedly the perfumery is there too, but I haven't been yet. Another neat thing about St. George's is that it is one of the ports for the cruise ships, so you'll meet a lot of foreigners there, too. You could easily spend an afternoon in St. George's, and a day if you came back via the Aquarium, etc.
4. Dockyard
The dockyard is actually a really cool place to visit. You can access this via the ferry system as well. There's a cool restaurant called the "Bone Fish" that sometimes has salsa dancing, and always has 24 oz souvenir beer cups. I had some pasta when I went, and it was quite good. Dockyard is smaller than St. George's, but a good afternoon trip.
5. Elbow Beach/Curry night/Tapas at Lido
I haven't been to Elbow Beach to go swimming, but I have played several gigs there. The beach is really beautiful, and the restaurants are awesome. On Friday nights, there is an Indian curry buffet which is surprisingly good, and also surprisingly only $15, which is a STEAL for Bermuda. Cafe Lido also does very good sushi and tapas right on the beach.
6. Hamilton
You can easily spend a day in Hamilton. The capital city of Bermuda, Hamilton is where the SeaExpress (ferry) central terminal is located. If you're all about the crazy expensive shopping, you can certainly get all of that done in Hamilton. Walking around Hamilton is really entertaining. Front Street has a whole bunch of little shops and restaurants where you can get lost for a long time. If you're missing home, you can visit the KFC on Queen Street - the only fast food place in Bermuda (and no, I haven't been yet). Just past the main part of Front Street is the Bacardi building, which is really great looking at night. Just past the Bacardi building is the Hamilton Princess hotel. Over the summer, they do a GREAT happy hour (6 bucks a drink), but in the off season, you can always go into the nice hotel restaurant and get a nice burger and fries (or chicken sandwich, or fish sandwich) for like 15 bucks.
6. Water stuff
As this is an island, there are a ton of things you can do here in the water:
-The beaches, of course.
-Snorkeling - you can do this at basically any hotel, either on your own (fins, masks, and snorkels are always available for rent)
-Diving - If you don't want to get certified, you can usually go out diving for an afternoon for something like 200 bucks. Getting certified takes longer (you should be on a LONG vacation here for that) and is considerably more expensive, but you get a lot more out of it. I eventually want to get my diver certification - maybe in the Spring.
-Kayaking - my favorite place to kayak is at Grotto Bay resort near the airport (just past the Shell station that you pass on the way out of the airport) and the Swizzle Inn. It's inexpensive (20 bucks for the first hour and 15 every hour after that), and you can paddle under the causeway towards the mangroves. You see a ton of fish and stuff, and it's just really relaxing and fun.
7. Nightlife
Usually Friday night is the craziest night for Bermudian night life. Saturday is actually a considerably quieter night, which I found really weird. There are several places in Hamilton where I've been on Friday nights and had a good time (all of them are in Hamilton):
1. The Princess Hotel - great happy hour over the summer through October
2. Portofino - a nice little Italian place on Bermudiana (I think) Rd.
3. La Trattoria - another nice Italian place in Washington Mall (on Reid Street). Be sure to ask for a chicken of wine.
4. Barracuda - On Burnaby Street close to Front Street. This restaurant mostly does fish (obviously). A small bar, but really good mahi-mahi and excellent chocolate fondue for dessert. Also, they have a really good martini menu. The "Lifesaver" martini is probably my favorite.
5. The Hog Penny - Right next to the Barracuda. A great Rock and Roll pub. There is live music and a good atmosphere. Also, great gin and tonics.
6. The Pickled Onion - I only went here on my first day in Bermuda, but it was quite good. I had the asian pork calzone, which was excellent. Also, their Rum Swizzles are pretty good.
7. The Robin Hood - just past the Esso station in Hamilton. Lots of big screen TVs, sports going all the time. Good beer on tap, and a lot of seating - a big bar and a big "sit-down" area.
This list is by no means complete, but it is some of the fun things I've done since I have been here in the island.
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