How to visit St. George on a reduced ferry schedule?

We're booked on the Disney Magic to Bermuda on October 13, 2018, with Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as Bermuda days. We don't have all ashore until 11:30 on Monday and departure is 3:00 pm on Wednesday. This makes Tuesday the most likely day to go furthest afield and explore St. George for the flexibility of time, but the orange ferry runs a reduced schedule on Tuesdays, with last return at 2:30 pm. It look like we would get, at most, 4 hours if we catch the first ferry over at 9:30.

Is four hours a good allotment of time for St. George? I love history and old things and would enjoy exploring the town as well as the general area and enjoy a lunch. Or would the ferry schedule likely be altered with a cruise shop docked?

If that's my best bet, are their alternative ways to get back to the ship that don't take hours? Maybe taxi to Hamilton and ferry from there? Or even to ship? I'm unclear how taxi pricing works in Bermuda.

I know this is for 2018, so the schedule may change next year, but it looks like it's been consistent the last couple of years.

Dirk

You can certainly see the central town area of St. George in four hours.

They don't normally alter the schedule because a ship is in town. The reason this is only a seasonal ferry service is that it primarily is for the benefit of cruise ship passenger and the schedule is set under that assumption. If you look at the 2017 cruise ship schedule you'll see that many ships are in port in October:

http://www.marineandports.bm/Documents/Shipping_schedules/2017_Cruise_Ship_Schedule.pdf

Taxi from St. George to Hamilton followed by a ferry to Dockyard will take significantly longer than going by ferry from St. George to Dockyard, and it will cost a lot more. Taxi fares in Bermuda, are metered except when hired as a tour taxi for a minimum of three hours, in which case the charge would be on an hourly basis. A metered taxi ride from St. George to Hamilton is probably going to cost close to $50 plus tip.

You are right in selecting Tuesday to visit St George's. 4 hours is enough time, but lunch will reduce your touring time.

The only time a ferry schedule change is when it goes from the summer schedule to the winter.

To get back to your cruise ship, not going by ferry:

• public bus to Hamilton, fare $4.50 token p/p, travel time - about 50 minutes; and then ferry from Hamilton to the Dockyard, fare $4.50 token p/p, travel time - about 20 minutes.
  
• taxi from SG to Hamilton, fare for up to 4 passengers, about $37 plus tip, travel time - about 30 minutes; and then the ferry.
  
• taxi from SG to the Dockyard, fare for up to 4 passengers, about $76 plus tip, travel time - about 1 hour 5 minutes.
  

SBtS

Take the bus from St. George to Hamilton and then the ferry from there.

Thanks for the suggestions - it's good to know that 4 hours is enough time. We don't have to have lunch. I'm sure we can find many ways to snack! While Disney may have some useful excursions, for this kind of stuff I much prefer to do it on my own since my interests aren't always aligned with the larger group!

My thought is to essentially get to St. George and then follow a walking tour route with time for museums or shops that seem interesting.

Does anyone know if an all-day tour like Heidi's would essentially cover the highlights of St. George if we went that route instead, or would that kind of tour be more of a compliment to a visit to St. George?

Dirk

We just did the walk about in St. George and in less than 4 hrs we walked many back alleys, found the unfinished church, walked over to Fort St. Catherine's, and saw the museum. We did not really shop except the Perfumery so that May impact your time.