Coopers Island Nature Preserve & Clearwater Beach Bus

My husband and I were on the NCL Dawn May 19-26 cruise. On Monday May 22 we took the new free NCL "tender" to Saint George. What a bonus! We jumped on the 9 AM tender with no issues. It was an overcast cool day and a bit of chop when we set out. The only issues I heard about were that the bathrooms on the tender were not the cleanest and lacking in toilet paper.

We arrived at Fenno's Wharf just before 10 AM where you head right after exiting to go to the town center. This is a public street and one should be reminded to walk to the side in order not to impede actual road traffic.

I went to the Information Center near the public restrooms and requested 2 tickets for the beach bus. It was $9 each way. You receive tickets to give the driver on the way to Clearwater Beach and a wristband on the way back that the driver will snip off when you return to St George. We were directed across the square to several park benches near where Freddie's used to be. Within 5 minutes our white beach van backed in and Cal the driver welcomed us. It was about a 20 minute ride to Gombey's Bar at Clearwater Beach and Cal provided us with lots of information along the way.

Upon arrival we stopped into Gombey's to let them know we would be back for a fish sandwich after our exploration of Coopers Island which was a former NASA tracking station. It was a short walk up to the entrance just after Turtle Beach. We spent a few hours exploring all the nooks and crannies, observation tower and beaches. What a jewel of an area! There was a beach on the windward side that had a gorgeous pink beach but on the leeward side was a blue lagoon type beach that would have been a great spot to snorkel. We saw a few other couples and some joggers but it was pretty quiet, probably due to the weather.

We headed back to Gombey's at around 12:30 and one other couple was there that we had seen earlier. Our driver Cal arrived to pick them up and asked us when we would like to be picked up. We told him 2 PM. Marlon, the proprietor, came over and asked if we wanted a "Yummy" or their version of the Bermuda fish sandwich (fried wahoo served on raisin bread with tartar sauce, local seasonings, lettuce and tomato) and we agreed. It was delicious! Totally hit the spot. The bill for 4 beers and 2 sandwiches was $54 which was totally reasonable.

Clearwater Beach is right before Gombey's and is a nice stretch of sand as well. You can rent lots of equipment, chairs and umbrella's at Gombey's. It's a great spot off the beaten path. Maybe next time I go there the weather will be better. :D

Cal showed up at 2 and we had plenty of time to do a little shopping in St George before the 3:45 PM tender back to the Dockyards. Great day out and about in Bermuda.

Cal showed up at 2 and we had plenty of time to do a little shopping in St George before the 3:45 PM tender back to the Dockyards. Great day out and about in Bermuda.

Thank you for your report back. A lot of great information.

Great review! We may just attempt Clearwater next summer when we take our kids. Do you remember if they had stand up paddle boards for rent?

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I do not recall if they had them at Gombey's. They had paddle boats that I saw. Also, there may be other rentals right on Clearwater Beach. Sorry I don't have more details but it wasn't the best beach day but still fun and absolutely gorgeous there.

Is there a schedule for when the bus leaves St. George and picks up at Clearwater?

There is no schedule that I am aware of. It is not listed on the attached link but I am thinking our Cal is the Calworth Fulbert mentioned here. We got our tickets at the Visitor Information Center and I suspect that they radio him but am not sure. There was another couple who were already there when we arrived so perhaps he was returning from dropping them off. When he picked them up he asked us for a time and we agreed on 2 PM. Perhaps he can be contacted in advance.

https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_000325.htm

Thanks for posting your experiences in St David's. We just returned from Bermuda and we also planned to go to Clearwater beach area.

We took a taxi from St George's to Clearwater beach. The fare was $17 one way. Walked on to Turtle Bay and stayed there for half a day. Very beautiful beach. There were very few people. No rentals there. Just two picnic tables.

On return, we decided to take the #6 bus back to St George's. The bus runs every hour and the life guards told us that it could run a bit late. I have read here that people have waited for a very long time for the bus. However, we were lucky. We waited at the bus stop across form Gombey's for about 5 minutes, so that was not bad of a wait at all. The #6 bus does a whole loop of St David's all the way up to the lighthouse and around, before it crosses on to St George's. There were only 4 people in the bus, including the two of us.

At the St George's Visitors Center, there was a board saying $9 shuttle/van ride to Tobacco Bay, Fort St Catherine's and Clear Water, but the lady at the desk advised us that the shuttle was not running on scheduled time that particular day (general elections in Bermuda) and that she strongly suggests taking the public bus #6 if we had bus tickets or alternatively a taxi.

We had purchased a ticket booklet from the post office in Hamilton. Return trip on the bus was one ticket each. Next time we plan to explore the beaches in the nooks and crannies of the reserve.

One day we went to Horseshoe Bay in the afternoon......never seen that many people there before......it was packed shoulder to shoulder and the usually tranquil far right and left side cove area were also pretty packed. Did not spend too much time there. People were reporting chairs and umbrellas being sold out (set was $45). Shower rooms and bathrooms were in a total mess. Have seen far better days there than this one. We took the #7 from Hamilton (we were docked there) and got a cab back. It was very easy to get a cab. There was a dispatcher right out of the beach entrance and several cabs or vans waiting, that they sent you in.