Working on 2.5 day itinerary

I am starting to think about our itinerary for our cruise to Bermuda at the end of July. I will be traveling with my 16 and 13 year-old sons. My mom and her husband may travel, too, but my mom has chronic pain and mobility issues, so they may plan different shore excursions. If we could coordinate for one day together, that would be ideal, but if not, I think it would be okay too.

We will be on the Breakaway which docks on a Wednesday at 8 a.m. and leaves on Friday at 3 p.m. So I am assuming all-aboard is 2 p.m.

Since it will be our first time on the island, I'd like to do a little sight-seeing and beaching, but I also realize my boys like to be active.

How might we organize all of this?

Day 1: Blue flag taxi tour or private van tour with my mom and her husband (is it likely that we'd make it all the way to St. Georges? Or could we have a guide meet us there?)

Day 2: Gibbs lighthouse (by bus? shuttle? taxi?), walk from Warwick to Horseshoe with stops for beaching. Snack/food at Horseshoe. Back to Dockyard and either walk around, mini-golf with a view or back on the ship for dinner

Day 3: Very early morning (ugh!) Hidden Gems tour

OR

Not do taxi tour with my mom and her husband.

Day 1: Take early ferry to St. Georges. Tour St. Georges. Bus (?) to Hamilton and then to Warwick. Walk from Warwick to Horseshoe. End day at Gibbs Lighthouse (maybe too much?)

Day 2: Take Hidden Gems tour at reasonable hour (10:00 a.m.). It finishes at 5. Leisure time at Dockyard.

Day 3: Parasailing? Helmet dive? Go see dolphins and museum at Dockyard. Maybe hit up snorkel park (though I have heard mixed things).

Here are my suggestions:

Day 1: Blue flag taxi tour or private van tour with your sons, mom and her husband. If you contact the driver/guide of the taxi, you can specify that your tour includes St George's. With the cruise ships at the Dockyard, it would be unlikely that a tour would start in SG. But if you contact the driver/guide, you could ask to start the tour in SG.

To keep the tour interesting for your sons, schedule stops at Fort Scaur, Fort Hamilton, and Fort St Catherine.

You could end the tour at SG assuming it doesn't start there, but you will have to coordinate the end of the tour with the ferry schedule. OR, you could end the tour in Hamilton, and take the ferry back to the Dockyard from there. There are some options if you end the tour in Hamilton, but that will depend on the time the tour ends.

Day 2: Take Hidden Gems tour at reasonable hour (10:00 a.m.); finish tour at 5. Leisure time at Dockyard.

Day 3: Gibbs lighthouse tour (by bus or taxi); bus or taxi to Warwick Long Bay Beach and walk from Warwick to Horseshoe with stops for beaching. Snack/food at Horseshoe. If you take the taxi to Gibbs, you can start earlier. Back to Dockyard and get ready for departure. If you have time after returning, either walk around, or mini-golf.

If you take the Hidden Gems Tour, make sure there are no duplications between the tours you take.

Also, there is a thread here titled Bermuda private guide with contact info for the more popular guides and CC member comments about the guide.

SBtS

2 general comments

if you research on this board, ive heard heidi is wonderful for tours. i have no experience

http://www.bermudafootsteps.com/

your idea of helmet diving is a good one. it was canceled due to weather when i was there and i really want to go. dont know where else you can do such a thing

2 general comments

 

if you research on this board, ive heard heidi is wonderful for tours. i have no experience

http://www.bermudafootsteps.com/

 

your idea of helmet diving is a good one. it was canceled due to weather when i was there and i really want to go. dont know where else you can do such a thing

I have done a tour with Heidi and it is wonderful. We saw so much all over the island and she told us so much about her island. A great way to see the island. We met at Dockyard and she took us over alot of back roads,stopped for lunch and as far as St George before we headed back to the Dockyard.

Laura

I have done a tour with Heidi and it is wonderful. We saw so much all over the island and she told us so much about her island. A great way to see the island. We met at Dockyard and she took us over alot of back roads,stopped for lunch and as far as St George before we headed back to the Dockyard.

 

Laura

I have booked with Heidi in May. How much of St George did you see? Should we go there separately to see more of the sights?

I have booked with Heidi in May. How much of St George did you see? Should we go there separately to see more of the sights?

She drives around a little and points out stuff of interest. We did end up taking the ferry the next day to see more of St George. She did stop in St George for a pit stop and coffee break. I have been to Bermuda before on tours and she took us places I have never seen. We also stopped at Jobson's Cove for a few minutes and I fell in love with that beach. We cruise in June and I plan to go back to Jobson's for a couple of hours. I think you will be very pleased with Heidi's tour.

Laura

Thanks for the suggestions. I really would like to be able to take some time in St. George. So we would either need to tour guide that would take us there or meet us there (after taking the ferry). My mom often can't sit for long periods of time especially in uncomfortable seats so I am wondering what would be best.

She drives around a little and points out stuff of interest. We did end up taking the ferry the next day to see more of St George. She did stop in St George for a pit stop and coffee break. I have been to Bermuda before on tours and she took us places I have never seen. We also stopped at Jobson's Cove for a few minutes and I fell in love with that beach. We cruise in June and I plan to go back to Jobson's for a couple of hours. I think you will be very pleased with Heidi's tour.

 

Laura

Thanks for your input. I thought we would probably need to go back another day. Really looking forward to the tour

Susan

I am a little concerned about doing Gibbs/Warwick/Horseshoe on the last day. I have heard that it can be slow going getting back to the dockyard, especially if there is a slew of people who want to catch a bus or taxi. I wouldn't want to risk missing the ship.

Thinking maybe it might make sense to do this set of activities on Day 1 or Day 2. I am not sure I can completely plan with my mom, because she may be limited by how she is feeling on any given day. Though I'd love to do some exploring (even by taxi tour) with them, I'll have to be willing to play that by ear.

In the meantime: if a day's plan includes Gibbs and the Warwick to Horseshoe walk with stops to swim and take photos along the way, where would you start? At the lighthouse or at Warwick? We will have breakfast on the ship and will definitely need to pack some snacks (can we acquire some at the Dockyard?) for our walk. My teens are always hungy!! Would you recommend a bus? A cab? Or a mini-bus? Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

I'd love to say we could wake up early, eat, catch the 9:30 ferry to St. Georges, tour, eat lunch, head to Hamilton, and then do the beach walk, all in one day. But I'm guessing that would feel like a bit much. There was someone who posted about doing this (can't find the post/photos now though).

If we focus on just the lighthouse and the beach walk, then we can make it as leisurely as we want, and we can plan on getting more food (of course!) at Horseshoe. Then, maybe if boys are still up for it, we can look around Dockyard, go mini golfing, try parasailing (which they have always wanted to do) or head back to the ship for a little and take a break and then head off again for a glass bottom boat tour.

You can bring prepackaged snacks with you. I need a gluten free diet so packing my own snacks for our excursions was critical. I packed granola bars, nut mixes & some GoPicnic meals.

I'm going to have to research some more about starting at Gibbs Lighthouse & walking back to Horseshoe. I never considered that for our first trip as we wanted to just find some sand & sit all day. But next trip is with our kids & they'll want to explore.

We had nasty weather for our St. George's day & had to take the bus to Hamilton to escape dangerous lightning. It's wasn't all the bad considering but the walk to the ferry dock from from bus station in Hamilton might be too much for your mom if she's having a bad day.

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You can bring ......

 

I'm going to have to research some more about starting at Gibbs Lighthouse & walking back to Horseshoe. I never considered that for our first trip as we wanted to just find some sand & sit all day. But next trip is with our kids & they'll want to explore.

 

...... bad day.

Most on this forum do not recommend walking Gibbs L/H <> Horseshoe Bay, and it is not because ot the distance; but you'll be walking on South Rd for about ¾ mile. South Rd is a main road that connects the rest of Bermuda with the West End, and it is also a bus route.

The road is not as wide as a 2 lane road in the states. There are no side walks or breakdown lanes so you'll be walking on the edge of the travel lane. There are small hills, curves and shrubbery growing close to the edge of the lanes. Drivers have poor sight lines.

If your group were all adults and were careful, walking may work; but if you have children, take the bus, IMO.

SBtS