Bermuda Caves

[rednose83]

Are the caves worth going to see if you've seen several in the US? Like, are they more of the same? Some of the caves we've seen are Ruby Falls (TN, GA border), the Lost Sea (TN), and the Florida Cavern/Cave (FL).

[iheartbda]

Take a look here and decide.:)

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=b+ermuda+caves&qpvt=b+ermuda+caves&FORM=IGRE

[rednose83]

Take a look here and decide.:)

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=b+ermuda+caves&qpvt=b+ermuda+caves&FORM=IGRE

 

thanks!

[Iliveinbermuda]

There is a web site too.

 

http://www.caves.bm

[racerxspeedy]

The caves are not large when compared to US caves, but they are interesting. A nice place to go if you have time , or a good option if the weather is not the best.

[CaribbeanBound]

Our first order of business was to catch a bus to the Crystal Cave and Fantasy Cave. Bus 1 and 3 will stop directly at Crystal Cave. Bus 10 or 11 will stop at Swizzle Inn which is within 2 blocks of the caves. It’s about a 20-minute ride. Get there early. They open at 9:30 am. We strongly suggest catching the first available bus as the caves are very popular and will get very crowded before noon. You can catch the bus on Water Street, one long block from the pier. Admission to the caves is $14 for one cave or $20 for the pair. (We were in Bermuda a few years ago so the pricing may be different now).

 

Fantasy Cave, which reopened just 10 years ago after a 70-year closure, is BY FAR the better cave. Unfortunately most folks will never learn this fact since the ship excursions only take you to the better known Crystal Cave. Explore both caves if you have the time. If you have a choice, see Crystal Cave first (because Fantasy Cave is better). Do Fantasy Cave if you only have time for one.

 

The best group size is under 20. It got so busy that our group had 40 people. The group behind us had at least 60! They really need to do a better job of controlling group sizes. Your best defense is to go early. The caves are full of stalagmites, stalactites, columns, soda straws, bacon, shield formations and other interesting forms. Both caves are well lit and are full of water (but you won’t get wet). The water is very clear, and believe it or not, it’s all sea water. Fantasy Cave, in addition to being better preserved, also has an interesting spooky side which I will not ruin for you here. Very worthwhile. After exploring the caves, we caught the first 1, 3, 10, or 11 bus back to the ship for lunch.

 

We were in Bermuda for 7 days. Here's our complete, very detailed, review with images: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/bermuda.html

Edited March 1, 2014 by CaribbeanBound

[ljandiernp]

Hi, we are in Bermuda for 3 days on the Breakaway (Wed AM to Friday early PM). On Wednesday we have 3 priorities between the three of us; all of us want to go to Sweet Pea's tea in the garden at the perfume factory and we want to be in Hamilton for Harbor Nights. One of the three in our group also really wants to go to the caves, and to me it makes sense to do this on this day, versus the day we are planning to hike/visit the south beaches (Warwick Long Neck area). If we kept it on this day, would those of you more experienced with the island suggest starting early at the caves, then going to the garden (possibly scheduling tea at a later session than 1 PM), then going to Hamilton after tea? Would this be best accomplished by going to the caves by bus directly from the pier? Or perhaps a water taxi-bus combo trip? We would enjoy the water taxis whenever we can I think. Appreciate your suggestions! Laurie

[njhorseman]

Hi, we are in Bermuda for 3 days on the Breakaway (Wed AM to Friday early PM). On Wednesday we have 3 priorities between the three of us; all of us want to go to Sweet Pea's tea in the garden at the perfume factory and we want to be in Hamilton for Harbor Nights. One of the three in our group also really wants to go to the caves, and to me it makes sense to do this on this day, versus the day we are planning to hike/visit the south beaches (Warwick Long Neck area). If we kept it on this day, would those of you more experienced with the island suggest starting early at the caves, then going to the garden (possibly scheduling tea at a later session than 1 PM), then going to Hamilton after tea? Would this be best accomplished by going to the caves by bus directly from the pier? Or perhaps a water taxi-bus combo trip? We would enjoy the water taxis whenever we can I think. Appreciate your suggestions! Laurie

 

Yes, you can go to the caves first, then tea, then to Hamilton for Harbour Nights. It is a lot of traveling though.

 

There's no direct bus service from the pier to the caves. Take the ferry to Hamilton, walk to the bus terminal and then a bus (1, 3, 10 or 11) to the caves. Take a bus (1,3,10 or 11) from the caves to St. George's to get to the location for tea. Then a bus (1,3,10 or 11...surprise, surprise ;) ) back to Hamilton for Harbour Nights. Then take the ferry from Hamilton back to the Dockyard.

 

BTW, I haven't yet seen any details (dates, hours, attractions) about the 2014 version of Harbour Nights.

Edited March 3, 2014 by njhorseman

[ljandiernp]

Yes, you can go to the caves first, then tea, then to Hamilton for Harbour Nights. It is a lot of traveling though.

 

There's no direct bus service from the pier to the caves. Take the ferry to Hamilton, walk to the bus terminal and then a bus (1, 3, 10 or 11) to the caves. Take a bus (1,3,10 or 11) from the caves to St. George's to get to the location for tea. Then a bus (1,3,10 or 11...surprise, surprise ;) ) back to Hamilton for Harbour Nights. Then take the ferry from Hamilton back to the Dockyard.

 

BTW, I haven't yet seen any details (dates, hours, attractions) about the 2014 version of Harbour Nights.

 

Thanks for such a quick reply! Is there a ferry between St George and Hamilton? Is the bus a better idea? The only timing we'd have to arrange by is arrival at tea for whatever time we reserve, otherwise we have flexibility. How much time do you think we should allow between the caves and arrival in St. Georges by the bus? It's interesting that you have seen no Harbor Nights info yet. Is that surprising or is it a it early do you think? Appreciate your info! Laurie

[njhorseman]

Thanks for such a quick reply! Is there a ferry between St George and Hamilton? Is the bus a better idea? The only timing we'd have to arrange by is arrival at tea for whatever time we reserve, otherwise we have flexibility. How much time do you think we should allow between the caves and arrival in St. Georges by the bus? It's interesting that you have seen no Harbor Nights info yet. Is that surprising or is it a it early do you think? Appreciate your info! Laurie

 

There's no direct ferry service between St. George's and Hamilton. You can only do the trip by ferry by taking the ferry from St. George's to Dockyard and then changing to another ferry to go from Dockyard to Hamilton. Taking the bus from St. George's to Hamilton is far easier and will take you much less time.

 

I would guess about 20 minutes by bus minutes from the caves to St. George's.

 

It's too early for the Harbour Night details. It will probably be announced sometime in April.

Edited March 3, 2014 by njhorseman

[SailBadtheSinner]

Thanks for such a quick reply! Is there a ferry between St George and Hamilton? Is the bus a better idea? The only timing we'd have to arrange by is arrival at tea for whatever time we reserve, otherwise we have flexibility. How much time do you think we should allow between the caves and arrival in St. Georges by the bus? It's interesting that you have seen no Harbor Nights info yet. Is that surprising or is it a it early do you think? Appreciate your info! Laurie

 

 

There is no direct ferry service between Hamilton and St George. The only direct public transportation connection between SG and Hamilton is the bus, but a taxi is an option. It is about a 20 minute bus ride between the caves and SG.

 

Have you considered having a proper Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess;(in Hamilton) instead of going all the way to SG? Afternoon Tea is served daily at the FHP and it certainly will save travel time.

 

In 2013, I believe the Harbour Nights dates were released in late April.

 

 

SBtS

[ljandiernp]

There is no direct ferry service between Hamilton and St George. The only direct public transportation connection between SG and Hamilton is the bus, but a taxi is an option. It is about a 20 minute bus ride between the caves and SG.

 

Have you considered having a proper Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess;(in Hamilton) instead of going all the way to SG? Afternoon Tea is served daily at the FHP and it certainly will save travel time.

 

In 2013, I believe the Harbour Nights dates were released in late April.

 

 

SBtS

 

Hi, thanks for your reply as well SBtS. I did consider the Fairmont, in fact I was just discussing this with someone in my roll call group. Because of mobility limitations in her group she is going to go to the Fairmont, however as a group of gardeners who make personal care products from herbs and flowers ourselves, we really want to go to the perfume factory anyway, so my thought was "why not go on tea day?" If you think I'm trying to accomplish too much we could go to the caves in the morning on Friday of our departure day, doing this alone in the morning and getting back early enough not to worry about ships departure time. I wasn't planning on anything specific for that day yet although we were thinking about a bike ride on the railroad trail. Thanks again, Laurie

[SailBadtheSinner]

Hi, thanks for your reply as well SBtS. I did consider the Fairmont, in fact I was just discussing this with someone in my roll call group. Because of mobility limitations in her group she is going to go to the Fairmont, however as a group of gardeners who make personal care products from herbs and flowers ourselves, we really want to go to the perfume factory anyway, so my thought was "why not go on tea day?" If you think I'm trying to accomplish too much we could go to the caves in the morning on Friday of our departure day, doing this alone in the morning and getting back early enough not to worry about ships departure time. I wasn't planning on anything specific for that day yet although we were thinking about a bike ride on the railroad trail. Thanks again, Laurie

 

I don't think you're trying to do too much on the first day. According to the port schedule, the Breakaway docks at 7:30AM. If it docks on schedule, you should plan to be on the first ferry to Hamilton at 9:00AM (2013 schedule). You want to be at the caves before any excursion from any cruise ship arrives, and normally the Summit arrives 30 minutes after the Breakaway does. Purchases your fares (tokens, tickets, or Transportation Passes), and get in the ferry line.

 

I would take the route #10 or #11 bus to the caves because they run more frequently, and have a more direct route to the caves; but the bus stop (in front of the Swizzle Inn) leaves a ¼ mile walk to the caves. After the caves, all outbound bus will get you to St George in the same amount of time (about 20 minutes).

 

Keep your Friday plans.

 

 

SBtS

[christinalvt]

Can anyone recommend any caves besides Crystal & Fantasy that are not touristy, go-with-a-group caves? Are there any blue holes that won't be crowded with tourists? I love finding places off the beaten path.

 

Thanks!

Christina

[SailBadtheSinner]

Can anyone recommend any caves besides Crystal & Fantasy that are not touristy, go-with-a-group caves? Are there any blue holes that won't be crowded with tourists? I love finding places off the beaten path.

 

Thanks!

Christina

 

I found a list of 10 caves in Bermuda, including Crystal & Fantasy, here. There are 2 listed at the Grotto Bay Beach Resort which has said access to the caves is restricted to their guests. Solution - try not to look like a cruise ship passenger :D.

 

There is cave swimming at Blue Hole Park which is near Crystal Cave; I couldn't correlate it to any of the list of 10.

 

Some caves are on private property, none (except for C & F) would be crowded, but nothing I read at the link indicated that any of them would be suitable for a large group.

 

If you get to C & F at opening, you will beat the crowds.

 

Here is the warning at the bottom of the last page of the link: ....exploring or diving Bermuda’s caves can be dangerous. It is always best to check with local government and tourism offices to make sure that the caves above are still open for public exploration.

 

SBtS

[christinalvt]

I found a list of 10 caves in Bermuda, including Crystal & Fantasy, here. There are 2 listed at the Grotto Bay Beach Resort which has said access to the caves is restricted to their guests. Solution - try not to look like a cruise ship passenger :D.

 

There is cave swimming at Blue Hole Park which is near Crystal Cave; I couldn't correlate it to any of the list of 10.

 

Some caves are on private property, none (except for C & F) would be crowded, but nothing I read at the link indicated that any of them would be suitable for a large group.

 

If you get to C & F at opening, you will beat the crowds.

 

Here is the warning at the bottom of the last page of the link: ....exploring or diving Bermuda’s caves can be dangerous. It is always best to check with local government and tourism offices to make sure that the caves above are still open for public exploration.

 

SBtS

Thanks, SBtS! That is exactly what I was looking for. I am probably going to go to Walsingham Reserve, it sounds perfect!

 

Christina