Horseshoe Bay-Bermuda

[janice1218]

My family will be sailing on the Explorer 6/19/08. Looking for the best beach experience. I have been reading alot about Horseshoe Bay, does anybody have any input? Can we get off the boat and take a taxi?

[familycruzer]

Your best bet for Bermuda is to buy a bus and ferry pass. Its one of the easiest islands to get around and the pass can get you just about every where. Horseshoe Bay is beautiful but the waves can be a bit rough at times to be careful.

[wingnutphl]

Horseshoe Bay is wonderful! We loved it! You can get food and rent a chair right there at the entrance to the beach. I agree with the above poster. Get a bus pass. It's easy to use and very clean. And spend the $1 per person to get you back up the hill! LOL

[janice1218]

Can you purchase the bus pass on the boat? Is it cheaper than a taxi?

[familycruzer]

You can purchase the pass on board but also at the visitor center as soon as you get off the ship.

I am not sure of taxi prices in Bermuda but the bus and ferry is very inexpensive.

 

Edit for taxi bus and ferry fares...

 

The most popular method of payment for visitors is the Transportation Pass, good for unlimited rides on the bus and ferry system. Passes are available for one-day ($12), three-day ($28), four-day ($35) or seven-day ($45) pass. Reduced prices are available for children ages 5-16 ($2); children under 5 ride free.

 

 

All taxis are metered at government-set rates

Current taxi fares are $5.75 for the first mile and $2 afterwards, for one to four passengers travelling between 6 a.m.-12 a.m.

Fares are 25 percent higher between midnight and 6am, all day on Sunday and on public holidays

Some taxi drivers are available at an hourly rate to act as your tour guide, and will drive your party to sightseeing destinations all over the island. An approximate rate for this service is BM$36.50/hour

[Sue L]

Just take bus #7 from King's Wharf. It is about a 20 minute ride or so. You can buy the tickets right on board at the excursion desk.

[maxs mom]

We are beach people and we find the best beach in every port. Horseshoe Bay is one of our very favorites. Go early because it can get very crowded. We usually do the bus thing, but we have done the taxi. If you can share the taxi with others, it's not so expensive. The taxis are convenient, though, if you're pushed for time.

[janice1218]

There would be 4 of us, so maybe the taxi would be the best.

[KillaFee]

Definitely get the bus/ferry pass if you plan on going to more than one place the entire time you're in Bermuda - it's a deal!! Horseshoe Bay is AMAZING. I have tons of pics down in my Explorer Bermuda album in my webshots link down below. Make sure you don't just get there and plop all your stuff down in the very beginning...it's totally worth it to walk all the way down to the other end. Less crowds and the rock formations are amazing! You can just wander through them and there's even a beach past it. Ahhh....you will love Bermuda.

Laura

[DFW4]

Janice,

Come join our roll call!

 

I don't recall what we paid for the bus pass, but we bought it onboard.

 

See you at Horseshoe.

 

Johnathon

[Cruise_Couple]

We used a taxi (5 of us) and it was great. We took the cab to the Gibbs Hill lighthouse and then to Horseshoe Beach. It was the best beach I have ever been on!!! We loved it and would not hesitate to go back there.

[furball08]

The last time we were at Horseshoe Bay, we took the advice of a local and followed the beach to the left (facing the ocean) around the rock outcropping

(you may get a little wet) and found another smaller horseshoe, then another, then another, ...until we were secluded on a beautiful little beach about 50yards wide all to ourselves. It was our favorite all time beach day.

 

We road the bus, clean and fast

[TPKeller]

Here's a map of Horseshoe Bay Beach, if you want to see the view from the sky.

 

Theron

[bchbms]

I totally agree with Furball08 above. Take the bus to Horseshoe but keep walking to the left and you will find even more spectacular beaches and coves (Hangover Hole was our favorite!). We are beach people, not 'in the water' people, and this walk provided some of the best beach time we've ever had! Also, the buses are easy, cheap, and will drop you wherever there is a stop, so make sure you plan a stopover at the Swizzle Inn on your way back to the ship! ;)

[janice1218]

What is the Swizzle Inn?

[TPCRUISER2]

The Swizzle Inn Is The Best Bar To Visit In Bermuda! The Original Is On The East End Between The Airport And St.georges. They Have Just Built Another Between Horseshoe Bay And Hamilton.

But You Will Swagger Out If You Drink The Famous Drinks.

 

Bermuda Is Unlike Anyother Island, Your Drive From The Dockyard Up South Shore Drive To Horseshoe Is Breath Taking.

 

Can You Tell Bermuda Is My Favorite Destination!

[CRUIZINMOMMANJ]

Loved HS Bay - the dollar van up the hill was way worth it - great picture ops....water was great for us - and we had a 5 year old with us - not too rough - and if it is on the one side...go into the voe - very calm "lake" like water.

 

I want to go back!!

[janice1218]

I would love to stop at the Swizzle Inn, but i don't think that it would work out with my 10 and 8 year olds.. thanks for the info. I cannot wait.

[Pomperaugrr]

I would love to stop at the Swizzle Inn, but i don't think that it would work out with my 10 and 8 year olds.. thanks for the info. I cannot wait.

 

The Swizzle Inn is not purely a bar. They have very good burgers. If you took the kids around lunch time, they would be fine. It tends to be more of an adult atmosphere, but at mid-day, I have seen kids in there with their parents. I have only been to the original, so I can only speak as to that.

 

Eric

[azdteapot23]

Just went to Horseshoe Bay last week. It was beautiful as always!

 

DH and I wanted to take a taxi because of the short time we were on the island (3 hours) but most taxi's were taking people to Hamilton. Drivers were willing to drop us off on their way to Hamilton, but none were willing to come back and pick us up when we were ready to leave the beach. Since we were on a tight timeline we didn't want to risk there not being a taxi to take us back to the ship so we took the bus.

 

It was $12pp for the all day pass as someone stated above and it was good for the bus and the ferry.

[glendon3281]

I'd go to Tobacco Beach at the OTHER end of the island (all but 20+ miles). It was gorgeous and NOT nearly as crowded as Horseshoe.

 

Get off the ship as early as possible, take the bus into Hamilton, (walk, shop, sightsee a little) then catch the next bus to St. George. Tobacco Beach is up and over the small hill from St. George. You can then take the ferry back to King's Wharf and you don't have to worry about missing the ship since you're docked there overnight.

 

You can then go to Horseshoe Beach the next day since it's much closer and you have to be back on the ship by a certain time.

 

I thought the bus/ferry pass was an excellent way to see the entire island. You can also get off the Hamilton-St.George bus and have a drink at the Swizzle Inn. The bus stop is right in front of the place.

 

Have fun!

Linda

[green eyed lady]

We went to Horseshoe Bay in Nov based on the reviews here and while it was nice, I don't see what all the hoopla is about. It definitely wasn't "the" best beach we've been to. Don't get me wrong, we had a nice day there but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary...and the food situation was pretty bad...a small shack with burgers and fries and I think that might've been it. Chair rental was $10 each I think and they were more like sand chairs, not lounge chairs. If I were going to Bermuda again, I would pick a different beach...JMHO :D

[TPKeller]

I'd go to Tobacco Beach at the OTHER end of the island (all but 20+ miles). It was gorgeous and NOT nearly as crowded as Horseshoe.

 

Get off the ship as early as possible, take the bus into Hamilton, (walk, shop, sightsee a little) then catch the next bus to St. George. Tobacco Beach is up and over the small hill from St. George. You can then take the ferry back to King's Wharf and you don't have to worry about missing the ship since you're docked there overnight.

 

You can then go to Horseshoe Beach the next day since it's much closer and you have to be back on the ship by a certain time.

 

I thought the bus/ferry pass was an excellent way to see the entire island. You can also get off the Hamilton-St.George bus and have a drink at the Swizzle Inn. The bus stop is right in front of the place.

 

Have fun!

Linda

Although I have not been in the water at either Horseshoe Bay or Tobacco Bay, they are indeed both very beautiful beaches. But it's also very important to note that they are completely different!

 

Horseshoe Bay Beach is on the open ocean, and has whatever wave action that you would normally expect to get from a beach on the open ocean. Tobacco Bay is a very sheltered bay (zoom in for a closer look), and rarely sees much wave action at all. It's fairly shallow, good for snorkeling, but the beach part is on the smaller side, and it does tend to crowd up in the afternoon when there are cruise ships docked at St. George.

 

I have several pictures of Tobacco Bay in my St. George album.

 

Theron

[EnzosMom]

Can anyone please let me know which night they do formal night on this ship out of Bayonne? I am leaving this Sunday and I am trying to finish packing and planning what we will do..Thanks in advance! :D

[iheartbda]

Although I have not been in the water at either Horseshoe Bay or Tobacco Bay, they are indeed both very beautiful beaches. But it's also very important to note that they are completely different!

 

 

Theron is correct but I might add that Tobacco Bay is really not representative of the beautiful Bermuda beaches. It is very small, slanted and can indeed get very crowded when ships are in. IMO a better beach at that end of the island is St. Catherine's which is very close to Tobacco Bay, MUCH larger and flat.

 

However, if you want to snorkel, Tobacco Bay is one of the best places.