Seeing Bermuda in two days

[rma15]

As some of you, I am taking the 5 night Voyager cruise out of Bayonne to Bermuda. My date is June 26th. We will be docked at King's Wharf for 2 days. I know it is not enough time to see everything. I would love some advice from all of you Bermuda experts.

 

 

Here is some background about us.

My husband and I love the beach and snorkling. Living at the Jersey shore, we are real water people.

 

What beaches would you recommend?

 

We are also interested in seeing the towns but touring all the historic sights are not too important.

 

Is it possible to see both Hamilton and St. George?

 

Is it worth it to do a snorkel tour or is there enough to see off the beaches?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[ineedacruise]

What beaches would you recommend? Jobsons Cove, Horseshoe Bay, and Tobacco Bay.

 

 

Is it possible to see both Hamilton and St. George? If you purchase a bus and ferry pass you can see Hamilton and St George. Both are great places to visit and have a totally different feel. Hamilton has great shopping and St George is quaint and historic.

 

Is it worth it to do a snorkel tour or is there enough to see off the beaches? I do not snorkle so maybe someone else can answer this one.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

I have been there twice and would jump at the chance to go again.

[Susan-M]

A couple of hours each in St. George and Hamilton should give you enough time to explore. If you don't mind carrying your snorkelling equipment with you, you could head to St. George in the morning, see the town and then walk to Tobacco Bay, about a 10-15 minute walk from downtown. There is great snorkelling right at the beach. We also snorkelled a little further along - closer to the fort, & only a 2 minute walk from the crowds at Tobacco Bay. You could enjoy the afternoon at the beach and then head back by bus or ferry to the ship.

The next day, head to Hamilton for the morning, then take the bus to the south shore beaches (Jobson's Cove, Horseshoe Bay, etc) and enjoy the afternoon snorkelling from the beach.

 

We didn't do a snorkelling trip there so can't compare, but saw lots of varieties of fish right from shore.

 

We usually toured around by bus in the mornings and then headed back to the ship for lunch and to pick up our snorkelling equipment and towels, but we were docked in Hamilton and St. Georges, so it was easier to get back to the ship mid-day. With being docked at King's Wharf, you might want to pack up everything for the day before heading out.

 

The buses and ferries are great for touring, and we found that they were always on time. Just be sure to have the schedules with you.

[smeyer418]

I would also take the 1/2 day two wreck snorkeling tour if it is offered. I love to snorkel and you will see fish abnd both a Civil War wreck and a WW II one(the WWII one is the wooden vessel and the civil war is metal)...very much worth the tour...You can get a taste of the Island in the two days but it will be hectic...

 

PS even though its called a two wreck snorkel its only one stop...

[bermudaone]

for beaches, i would recommend horsehoe bay, espcecially if you are wanting to to some snorkeling. there are a couple of coves attached to this beach that have nice snorkeling. if you like to snorkel or dive on the reefs, you can contact some of the dive shops and do a 1/2 tour. try www.divebermuda.com

 

it is very easy to do st.georges & hamilton in the time you will be here, especially if you are not interested specifically in seeing "historical" places. st.georges is a quaint little town and actually put on a show! the visitor service bureau is right on the main street in st.georges and worth stopping in.

 

shopping is better in hamilton as there are more stores. if you are interested in local arts and crafts there is a street fair on wednesday evenings called harbour nights (on tuesday evenings theres a similar one in st.georges) that promotes local artist and craftspeople. check out www.bermudacommerce.com for any more information.

 

have a great trip!:cool:

[cutekatcar]

We were there last August. Docked in all 3 spots. Although my kids were only 8 and 11, they said they saw the best fish at St. Catherine's beach which we went to while in St. George. That's all we did that day while at St. George, so I can't help you with the town aspect. We took taxi from the ship $7.00 one way. The taxi stopped at Tobacco Bay, and we walked from there to St. Catherines - it's a lot bigger than TB (literally 50 feet wide!!). I have since read on the boards that the best snorkeling is on this side of the island.

 

We took a snorkeling tour and it wasn't great. I hardly saw any fish.

 

While we were in Hamilton, we went to Horseshoe Bay - it was incredible. Do not miss it. I've read that most beaches on that side of the island are as incredible as that. Sand like talcum powder. I did snorkel with my daughter - it was ok. But the little coves and sparkling blue-green water - it was really unbelievable. I wanted to go back the next (and our last) day, but my poor kid got her "friend" so she couldn't go to the beach. But I would have given up shopping to go back. I enjoyed that beach more than Trunk Bay on St. John or any of the beaches on St. Thomas or Aruba.

 

Enjoy!

 

Anna

[Family Lady]

Hello, I will be traveling on the June 26th RC Voyager Cruise out of Bayonne, with a group of dancers who will be performing on the ship. I hope you might keep an eye out for their performance. Mass Motion Dance Academy will perform Dancing Through the Decades. This group of dancers have performed on Carnival Fascination in the past. You will be pleasantly surprised when you learn that the group of high school students, who raised money through fundraising in order to take the trip, perform with the energy and excellence of professionals. The show features music and dance from the swing of the 20's right on through to the hip hop of today. Since they aren't professionals they normally do not gain recognition in Royal Caribbean Compass, so gathering an audience can be hard to do. Please keep an eye out for the show, you won't be disappointed!

[leonadeb]

:) This will be our familys first cruise and I love all the information I find on this site. What is the Royal Caribbean Compass? We would like to try to catch your dance show...do you know where on the ship you will be performing...or when?

[Family Lady]

Hello, The Royal Compass is the news letter which your cabin steward will leave in your stateroom each night. It provides all of the scheduled activities for the next day. You can read various Royal Compasses if you go to http://www.cruiseclues.com and click on Voyager of the Seas in the index on the left, you will find all sorts of great information on the ship, including the Royal Compass. In past years Mass Motion Dance Academy has performed on Carnival Ships. Carnival's newsletter is called Capers and we were not listed in the Capers. Maybe we will be lucky enough to be printed as an insert in the Compass. We are not sure of the date and time our dancers will perform. Thank you for showing interest, if you ask the cruise director once you are settled on the ship I'm sure he will share the time with you. I will post it on this site once we get the details. It's a great show, I hope you get to see it. Enjoy your cruise!

[MA cruisers]

We'll be on VOS on July 9. Will the dance team still be performing or is their visit for only one cruise.

[Family Lady]

Sorry to say that they won't be on the July 9th sailing, only the June 26th cruise. We'll leave the ship in good shape for you to enjoy your cruise!

[Mary&Jim]

Anyone been horseback riding while in Bermuda?

 

Mary

[jhaasz]

MA Cruisers - Isn't that July 10th (we're on this cruise, also).

[wwaggone]

I would buy a two day transportation pass. It allows you to travel all over the island and also allows you to take a boat between some towns, such as Hamilton and King's wharf. They give you a map and schedule book. Its the best way if you want to go cheap and do your own thing.

[celbercrz333]

You'll probably hear it all here. What I want to tell you is about their "taxicabs". They are vans. They will transport just you or several people. The more people who go in one vehicle, the less it is for each person. We foolishly used one instead of the bus in St. George thinking a group would get on if they saw us ready to board. No, we had to pay the full price, which wasn't that much since we only went to the Perfume factory. However, we got the bus returning back. If you decide to use a taxicab, make sure it's for a whole group. We did this when going to the golf course on our cruise and it worked out to be $5 each person, and the ride was three times as long from Hamilton to the course as it was from St. George to the Perfume factory. Oh, and the perfume factory is nice, but very, very small. They take you downstairs and along a short hall and then upstairs to buy what you can buy in downtown Hamilton. IF I went again, I think I'd skip the perfume facory and go to one of the forts. Also, if you think about renting a motorbike, they rent out real fast. We tried twice to no avail. We also hear that one person per week gets killed on them. So if you do, be careful.

-Jo

[traveller99]

Hi, Mary&Jim. Must have been thinking the same thing! Here's one link - http://www.bermudatourism.com/default.asp?page=horseback_riding.html

I've not done this in Bermuda, but I hope that I can. Here's what came up in the Bermuda Yellow Pages (http://www.bermudayp.com)

Bermuda Riding For The Disabled

PO Box WK 525 Warwick WK

BX 238-7433

Fax 238-7434

E-Mail:brd@ibl.bmWebsite:http://www.brd.bm

Inwood Riding Stables

36 Radnor Rd. Hamilton Parish CR

01 293-4964

Fax 293-5215

Mike Watson Western & English Horse Riding

PO Box HM 3068 Hamilton HM NX 234-6773

Pager 298-1173

Spicelands Riding Centre

Middle Rd. Warwick WK

03 238-8212

Fax 238-6479

Be sure to vist my website for some good Bermuda info. I'm not sure what's up with the yellow highlight, but I think it has something to do with the "Yellow Pages" and cut and paste. Anyway, ENJOY!:p

[celbercrz333]

Traveller,

I used that yp site while preparing for our cruise to Bermuda 2 yrs. ago!

-Jo

[Swizzle v2.0]

You'll probably hear it all here. What I want to tell you is about their "taxicabs". They are vans. They will transport just you or several people. The more people who go in one vehicle, the less it is for each person.

Taxis are the same price for 1-4 persons but there is an additional charge if there are 5-6 people. So for best price/person have either 4 or 6 people.

 

Oh, and the perfume factory is nice, but very, very small. They take you downstairs and along a short hall and then upstairs to buy what you can buy in downtown Hamilton.

Just a quick note for everybody: a few months ago The Perfumery moved to St. Georges, the location near the Swizzle Inn has been closed.

 

Also, if you think about renting a motorbike, they rent out real fast. We tried twice to no avail. We also hear that one person per week gets killed on them.

Actually road fatalities in Bermuda are around 6-12 per year. Last year I think three tourists were killed in scooter accidents. That said the injury rate is much higher and I don't recommend scooters for people who are not used to driving scooters/motorcycles.