Looking for any general recommendations on excursions?

[OnTheJourney]

I’ll be in Bermuda for an overnight with Celebrity in May.  Having never been there before I’ve been looking through the shore excursions to choose what to do. DW and I are not much into beach excursions and so trying to decide on a more sightseeing-oriented experience. I’m thinking that a day ferry to either St George or Hamilton would be worthwhile and that both are available from the Dockyard. The one sightseeing excursion refers to using island taxi. Not sure we want to spend time at the Aquarium or Cave. There is a ship excursion that includes both. Several include a visit to Gibbs Lighthouse. Thanks  for any suggestions. 

[princeton123211]

57 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Having never been there before I’ve been looking through the shore excursions to choose what to do. DW and I are not much into beach excursions and so trying to decide on a more sightseeing-oriented experience.

Bermuda is extremely easy to do on your own-- I wouldn't spend the premium you pay on ship excursions unless you had shipboard credit that you needed to burn. 

 

If you're not looking to go to a beach (which is a shame since Bermuda has some of the nicest beaches in the world) I would recommend doing a Blue Flag taxi tour. Blue flag taxies are ones that the driver is specially licensed to give an island tour and they last about 4 hours (although you can customize it with them if you'd like to do more or less). You should cover most of the island but you could always get dropped off in say Hamilton and take the ferry back if you wanted to spend more time in town on the way back. 

[OnTheJourney]

Princeton, thanks for that advice. We do have OBC but already used it for excursions at other ports. 

 

[moposh]

If an evening cruise is offered, I recommend that.  

[bunzini]

On 2/1/2023 at 11:44 AM, moposh said:

If an evening cruise is offered, I recommend that.  

Curious about this.  I looked at those but wondered what we would really see at night.

[moposh]

11 hours ago, bunzini said:

Curious about this.  I looked at those but wondered what we would really see at night.

It's not dark.  We were able to see quite a lot.

[twobeautifulgirls]

Which evening cruise did you do?

[Maplemoose]

One thing we did in Bermuda was take the ferry to Hamilton and then join a free walking tour offered by the Town  Crier at City Hall at 10 a.m.it was about 2 hours and excellent, especially for the price! 🤣 You would have ro Google and see if it is still operating. We went pre-pandemic.

[OnTheJourney]

Thanks for ideas. We booked a private tour with a local, small family-run outfit that sounds really good. 

[Sea Monster 2]

On 3/17/2023 at 2:36 PM, OnTheJourney said:

Thanks for ideas. We booked a private tour with a local, small family-run outfit that sounds really good. 

Who did you book with?  We are late making plans for our imminent cruise and aren’t tickled by the boat’s excursions.

[OnTheJourney]

21 hours ago, Sea Monster 2 said:

Who did you book with?

Bermuda Byways Tours. However, they're fully booked for the day we're there - only takes a max of 10 people. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[TheycallmeFlip]

On 3/15/2023 at 11:11 PM, Maplemoose said:

One thing we did in Bermuda was take the ferry to Hamilton and then join a free walking tour offered by the Town  Crier at City Hall at 10 a.m.it was about 2 hours and excellent, especially for the price! 🤣 You would have ro Google and see if it is still operating. We went pre-pandemic.

I did the walking tour last June and we loved it.  Ed Christopher, the town crier, seems to know everyone in Hamilton or is related to them.  we were able to tour the temporary Parliament hall while it was not in session.  We took the ferry from the dockyard to Hamilton and it was $9 roundtrip

[Sea Monster 2]

2 hours ago, TheycallmeFlip said:

I did the walking tour last June and we loved it.  Ed Christopher, the town crier, seems to know everyone in Hamilton or is related to them.  we were able to tour the temporary Parliament hall while it was not in session.  We took the ferry from the dockyard to Hamilton and it was $9 roundtrip

I emailed to book it a couple of days ago, but haven’t heard anything back from them. Might have been too late— do you remember how long it took to get a confirmation?

[TheycallmeFlip]

13 hours ago, Sea Monster 2 said:

I emailed to book it a couple of days ago, but haven’t heard anything back from them. Might have been too late— do you remember how long it took to get a confirmation?

I don't remember if we got a confirmation or not when we registered.  You probably can just show up.  I don't think that there was a maximum number for the tour.

Edited March 30, 2023 by TheycallmeFlip

[Sea Monster 2]

6 hours ago, TheycallmeFlip said:

I don't remember if we got a confirmation or not when we registered.  You probably can just show up.  I don't think that there was a maximum number for the tour.

Super, thanks!

[philpcruiser]

On 2/1/2023 at 9:48 AM, princeton123211 said:

Bermuda is extremely easy to do on your own-- I wouldn't spend the premium you pay on ship excursions unless you had shipboard credit that you needed to burn. 

 

If you're not looking to go to a beach (which is a shame since Bermuda has some of the nicest beaches in the world) I would recommend doing a Blue Flag taxi tour.

Can I assume there would be a line of the blue flag taxis right on the pier?  What is their hourly rate?

[Charles4515]

11 hours ago, philpcruiser said:

Can I assume there would be a line of the blue flag taxis right on the pier?  What is their hourly rate?

There is a parking area off the docks that is designated for offering island taxi tours, island minibus tours and the minibus shuttles to Horseshoe. It has signs. The regular taxi line off the ship the drivers may be or may not have “blue flag” taxis. It is mainly for people going to a specific destination. The so called “blue flag drivers” have an ID. The rate for taxi tours is regulated. It is $50 an hour for the taxi if you have 1-4 passengers or $70 an hour if you have 5-7 passengers. There is a three hour minimum. 

[Charles4515]

20 hours ago, TheycallmeFlip said:

I don't remember if we got a confirmation or not when we registered.  You probably can just show up.  I don't think that there was a maximum number for the tour.

It is first come first served. They do have a maximum. That is why they have registration. But registering is not required. Registration secures a spot in the event the maximum is reached. 

[philpcruiser]

6 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

There is a parking area off the docks that is designated for offering island taxi tours, island minibus tours and the minibus shuttles to Horseshoe. It has signs. The regular taxi line off the ship the drivers may be or may not have “blue flag” taxis. It is mainly for people going to a specific destination. The so called “blue flag drivers” have an ID. The rate for taxi tours is regulated. It is $50 an hour for the taxi if you have 1-4 passengers or $70 an hour if you have 5-7 passengers. There is a three hour minimum. 

Last question on the blue flag taxis (I hope):  Are they in a queue and you need to take the first in line, or say you don't like the looks or attitude or something about the first, can you go down the line and pick one you prefer?

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, philpcruiser said:

Last question on the blue flag taxis (I hope):  Are they in a queue and you need to take the first in line, or say you don't like the looks or attitude or something about the first, can you go down the line and pick one you prefer?

You can pick the taxi and you should pick. That is what I did when I took a taxi tour. There were three or four drivers and I picked one who who impressed me the most. Totally subjective. It is also possible to prearrange but unfortunately I don't have any current drivers to recommend as covid made that info dated. Possibly someone else does. You can also tell the driver things you would like to see. 

[Laurab23]

3 hour minimum for any taxi? We just want to go and see Sea Glass Beach and then head back to the port. I know it's not far but we don't want to walk.

 

Laura

[philpcruiser]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

You can pick the taxi and you should pick. That is what I did when I took a taxi tour. There were three or four drivers and I picked one who who impressed me the most. Totally subjective. It is also possible to prearrange but unfortunately I don't have any current drivers to recommend as covid made that info dated. Possibly someone else does. You can also tell the driver things you would like to see. 

Good to know.  I read some reviews on TripAdvisor where people stated their driver was near silent throughout the trip, or they got a flat tire and spent close to an hour of their trip at a garage and the driver did not give them a reduced fare for that lost time.  You want someone friendly and chatty and knowledgable.

[Charles4515]

25 minutes ago, Laurab23 said:

3 hour minimum for any taxi? We just want to go and see Sea Glass Beach and then head back to the port. I know it's not far but we don't want to walk.

 

Laura

The three hour minimum is for taxi tours. The hourly rate is for tours. You can take a metered by distance taxi to Sea Glass and back. You will stay on the meter and there will some wait time on the meter. 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

27 minutes ago, philpcruiser said:

Good to know.  I read some reviews on TripAdvisor where people stated their driver was near silent throughout the trip, or they got a flat tire and spent close to an hour of their trip at a garage and the driver did not give them a reduced fare for that lost time.  You want someone friendly and chatty and knowledgable.

Never heard of that as the ones that do tours who took the blue flag course are supposed to be trained to guide.  That reminds me. One thing that I advise not doing on a taxi tour is the caves. You will be in the caves for an hour or so and the driver won’t be doing anything. If you want to do the caves just take a taxi there and another taxi back. The driver I had wanted to take us there but I had already done the caves. He seemed disappointed we didn’t want to go there.

Edited March 31, 2023 by Charles4515

[Laurab23]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

The three hour minimum is for taxi tours. The hourly rate is for tours. You can take a metered by distance taxi to Sea Glass and back. You will stay on the meter and there will some wait time on the meter. 

Thank you.

 

Laura