Repeat trip to Bermuda, 3 days with family

[Sisa]

Hello,

My husband, my 15 and 13 year old daughters and I will be going to Bermuda in June on the Celebrity Summit. We will have 3 days there. We have already taken a private taxi tour on our previous visit.

We have come up with a list of possible things we'd like to do. Obviously the list is longer than the time we have. I would like to know which activities people would suggest (or recommend against). I am also interested to know if there is any suggested ways to plan these days. We don't want to run around like crazy. We would rather enjoy fewer activities than be exhausted. So, having said that, here is our possible list of interests:

Hog Penny Pub

St George Town

Tobacco Bay

Horseshoe Bay

Ferry to St. George?

glass beach

horseback riding

possible snorkeling?

glass bottom boat at night

Wednesday downtown Hamilton (music at night?)

 

2 of us are pretty sensitive to the heat, and it will be the end of June, so that is another possible factor. So, what would you suggest for us?

Thanks very much for any help you can give us.

[njhorseman]

Hello,

My husband, my 15 and 13 year old daughters and I will be going to Bermuda in June on the Celebrity Summit. We will have 3 days there. We have already taken a private taxi tour on our previous visit.

We have come up with a list of possible things we'd like to do. Obviously the list is longer than the time we have. I would like to know which activities people would suggest (or recommend against). I am also interested to know if there is any suggested ways to plan these days. We don't want to run around like crazy. We would rather enjoy fewer activities than be exhausted. So, having said that, here is our possible list of interests:

Hog Penny Pub Trip to Hamilton

St George Town Trip to St. George

Tobacco Bay Trip to St. George

Horseshoe Bay South Shore Beach Day

Ferry to St. George? Trip to St George

glass beach South Shore Beach Day

horseback riding South Shore Beach Day

possible snorkeling? Trip to St. George...snorkel at Tobacco Bay

glass bottom boat at night

Wednesday downtown Hamilton (music at night?) Trip to Hamilton

 

2 of us are pretty sensitive to the heat, and it will be the end of June, so that is another possible factor. So, what would you suggest for us?

Thanks very much for any help you can give us.

 

I've grouped things you can do in a single trip by color above.

 

Black in a trip to St. George,

 

Red in a trip to Hamilton

 

Sea Green in South Shore Beach and nearby locations day

 

If you're sensitive to heat you may have to reconsider your trips to the beach.

[SailBadtheSinner]

Just to expand on what CC member NJ provided.

 

The South Shore Beach day: The horseback riding would be provided by Spicelands Equestrian Center http://www.spicelandsriding.com/ . SEC is located about a 35 minute bus ride from the Dockyard on a route #8 bus. According to the SEC site, there are 3 times for morning rides: 8, 9:30 & 11 (reservations required). If you were willing to take the 7:05am bus, you should be able to make the 8AM ride.

 

Since Horseshoe Bay is only a few miles from SEC, have them summon a taxi after the trail ride for a ride to HSB. When done at HSB, take a outbound route #7 bus to the Dockyard. If you're not too tired from the beach, stop at the seaglass beach which is just before you get to the Dockyard. Since it is about a 20- minute walk from the seaglass beach to the wharf, you could walk back to the cruise ship or take the bus for the short ride.

 

For your Trip to St George day: Here is Frommers walking tour of St George - http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bermuda/0091020034.html and a St George walking tour app for iPhone, iPad & iPod - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/st.-george-bermuda-walking/id369971286?mt=8

 

For your Trip to Hamilton day: Bermudian CC member 32N64W has posted a suggested walking tour of Hamilton here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1452524 or Frommer's walking tour of Hamilton - http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bermuda/0091020033.html

 

 

SBtS

[Sisa]

Thanks everybody for your help so far. I have another couple questions:

1) can one rent snorkel equipment at Tobacco Bay?

2) Also, does anyone know about how to take the night glass bottom boat ride?

 

We could book it through Celebrity, of course, but I have grown to prefer to book things independently, if possible. Any suggestions for us?

[AnitaVacation]

I just posted this in another thread, but it fits here also...

 

Reguarding St George....

 

We make a day of it...leave on the early ferry and pack for the day...we will walk around the shops, there is a little train style tour which is nice (you get to see alot and learn alot) for $12pp, there are a few little shops where you can get snacks and drinks, quick lunch or sit down... take the nice walk past the unfinished church, over to Tabacco Bay Beach (if you're not up for that much walking, you can grab a cab for cheap ($5)).......when we are done in SG, we will take the bus to the Aquarium/Zoo/Museum...which is a great way to spend the afternoon ($10pp)....then hop back on the bus to Hamilton and ferry back to the ship for dinner...

[SailBadtheSinner]

Sisa asked: ....does anyone know about how to take the night glass bottom boat ride.....

 

Fantasea Bermuda http://www.fantasea.bm/sightseeing-cruises/bermuda-triangle-nightlife-cruise/ offers the Bermuda Triangle Nightlife Cruise and has a pickup point at the Dockyard (where you'll be docked). You can book the tour from their website.

 

Bermuda Reef Explorer http://www.bermudareefexplorer.com/index.asp may offer a night glass bottom boat tour, contact them.

 

SBtS

[ragtiki2004]

Regarding Tobacco Bay, I believe they rent snorkel equipment but I would bring my own.

[janetz]

Thanks everybody for your help so far. I have another couple questions:

1) can one rent snorkel equipment at Tobacco Bay?

2) Also, does anyone know about how to take the night glass bottom boat ride?

 

We could book it through Celebrity, of course, but I have grown to prefer to book things independently, if possible. Any suggestions for us?

 

 

This is who we snorkel with, excellent.

http://jessiejames.bm/

 

We did the Bermuda Triangle night cruise last September with Fantasea. As soon as you dock you walk to the end of the dock and you will see their booth. You can book it right there. Don't bother with the ship excursion. :)

[Sisa]

Thanks again for all your help. I think I am starting to understand the options and ways to plan things. Now, another question: has anyone gone to the Harbor Night festival on Wednesdays in Hamilton? If so, did you consider it to be fun and worthwhile? We have a limited amount of time. I want to be sure we use it wisely...

 

Thanks!

[njhorseman]

Thanks again for all your help. I think I am starting to understand the options and ways to plan things. Now, another question: has anyone gone to the Harbor Night festival on Wednesdays in Hamilton? If so, did you consider it to be fun and worthwhile? We have a limited amount of time. I want to be sure we use it wisely...

 

Thanks!

 

 

We did some years ago and after about 15 minutes turned around and reboarded our ship (of course our ship was docked in Hamilton so it wasn't like we had to travel any distance). It was a "why bother" experience for us...nothing horrible but nothing I'd go out of the way to see.

 

But that's just our opinion...others no doubt will feel the opposite way.

[jdarch]

Hello,

My husband, my 15 and 13 year old daughters and I will be going to Bermuda in June on the Celebrity Summit. We will have 3 days there. We have already taken a private taxi tour on our previous visit.

We have come up with a list of possible things we'd like to do. Obviously the list is longer than the time we have. I would like to know which activities people would suggest (or recommend against). I am also interested to know if there is any suggested ways to plan these days. We don't want to run around like crazy. We would rather enjoy fewer activities than be exhausted. So, having said that, here is our possible list of interests:

Hog Penny Pub

St George Town

Tobacco Bay

Horseshoe Bay

Ferry to St. George?

glass beach

horseback riding

possible snorkeling?

glass bottom boat at night

Wednesday downtown Hamilton (music at night?)

 

2 of us are pretty sensitive to the heat, and it will be the end of June, so that is another possible factor. So, what would you suggest for us?

Thanks very much for any help you can give us.

 

We have been to Bermuda a couple of times:p I think it was the first year we went to Bermuda we went to Harbor Nights..ferries very crowded and busy..Harbor Nights..not that exciting..my opinion..last year we were going to Harbor Nights again just because we hadn't been there in years...the ferries were soooo crowded going to Hamilton and back that we decided not to go...last year we went to Destination Dockyard on Thursday night... which they have right in the courtyard behind the craft building at the dockyard....lots of fun..music...food and vendors..

the stores in the dockyard are open late..they also had entertainment at the Frog and Onion, too...alot of fun..

[islandmandan]

Thanks again for all your help. I think I am starting to understand the options and ways to plan things. Now, another question: has anyone gone to the Harbor Night festival on Wednesdays in Hamilton? If so, did you consider it to be fun and worthwhile? We have a limited amount of time. I want to be sure we use it wisely...

 

Thanks!

We enjoyed Harbor Night and I'm not one who usually enjoys that kind of thing, but I did. We seen Frankie Avalon there and he seemed to be enjoying himself; so if it's good enough for Frankie Avalon it's got to be good:D. Seriously, we only went because we didn't have anything better to do that night and were surprised we had a good time,not great, but not bad either.

[Zqueeze1]

I'd like to thank everybody for posting their comments. We are trying to put together a plan of action for our three days in Bermuda during our Celebrity Summit cruise and you guys are making it easy for us. Good luck in your future travels.

 

Z and TB

[namaste1223]

Sisa asked: ....does anyone know about how to take the night glass bottom boat ride.....

 

Fantasea Bermuda http://www.fantasea.bm/sightseeing-cruises/bermuda-triangle-nightlife-cruise/ offers the Bermuda Triangle Nightlife Cruise and has a pickup point at the Dockyard (where you'll be docked). You can book the tour from their website.

 

Bermuda Reef Explorer http://www.bermudareefexplorer.com/index.asp may offer a night glass bottom boat tour, contact them.

 

 

SBtS

 

We took the Fantasea Bermuda Triangle Nightlife Cruise two summers ago. I know everyone has their own opinions, but I'd like to tell you that we thought this was the least enjoyable excursion of our trip. If memory serves me correctly, on the way out we were sitting "up top" and were pretty much left to our own devices. When we reached "the triangle," we went downstairs and gathered around the glass to look down into the ocean. They turned on some lights on the bottom of the boat. Maybe to someone with experience what we saw was great, but I wasn't overly impressed, especially given that the excursion wasn't inexpensive. After a short time looking down, we started back to shore, again without much commentary. We were served some watered down drinks (rum swizzles?). I must say that the guys running the excursion were very friendly, but for the money it wasn't what I was expecting. I wouldn't do it again. Helmet diving, on the other hand...:D