St. Catherine's Beach to close at the end of June

[2Cruise4Ever]

Thanks to BermudaMom, we have some late, breaking news: St. Catherine's Beach and St. George's golf club will be closed by the end of June. Here's the story:

 

http://www.theroyalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d85f4730030009&sectionId=117

 

I, for one, am outraged. We are sailing to Bermuda in one week and had planned to spend a day at St. Catherine's Beach because of the gentle waves and amenities available. We have 2 children and we don't want to go to a big beach where there are tons of people. And, we wanted to be able to rent chairs, umbrella, and get some food. St. Catherine's has been recommended to us time and time again. If the government doesn't change it's mind and wait until the season is over, this may be our last trip to Bermuda. If we could cancel this late in the game, we would!!! :mad:

[musicgirl63]

You might want to re read the article. It doesn't sound like the beach itself is closed but rather the golf course and the bar/restaurant called Beach IT. It didn't specifically say the beach. Unless I missed it somewhere myself.

[Got2Cruise]

Thanks to BermudaMom, we have some late, breaking news: St. Catherine's Beach and St. George's golf club will be closed by the end of June. Here's the story:

 

http://www.theroyalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d85f4730030009&sectionId=117

 

I, for one, am outraged. We are sailing to Bermuda in one week and had planned to spend a day at St. Catherine's Beach because of the gentle waves and amenities available. We have 2 children and we don't want to go to a big beach where there are tons of people. And, we wanted to be able to rent chairs, umbrella, and get some food. St. Catherine's has been recommended to us time and time again. If the government doesn't change it's mind and wait until the season is over, this may be our last trip to Bermuda. If we could cancel this late in the game, we would!!! :mad:

 

what do you consider "tons" of people. St. Catherine's was crowded last year when I was there. Jmo, you are missing out on the beauty of Bermuda if you don't try a South Shore beach. St. Catherine's doesn't hold a candle to any of the South Shore beaches. You are sailing on the Dawn, which is NOT going to St. Georges. The reason why people go to St. Cathereines is because their ship is docked in St. Georges. For cruisers docked in St. George, I recommend Clearwater Beach. Much nicer than St. Catherine's imo. Beach Bar, playground, rents equipment. Just a short cab ride from the pier. The locals love Turtle Bay which is right near there, but there is no facilities.

[smeyer418]

what do you consider "tons" of people. St. Catherine's was crowded last year when I was there. Jmo, you are missing out on the beauty of Bermuda if you don't try a South Shore beach. St. Catherine's doesn't hold a candle to any of the South Shore beaches. You are sailing on the Dawn, which is NOT going to St. Georges. The reason why people go to St. Cathereines is because their ship is docked in St. Georges. For cruisers docked in St. George, I recommend Clearwater Beach. Much nicer than St. Catherine's imo. Beach Bar, playground, rents equipment. Just a short cab ride from the pier. The locals love Turtle Bay which is right near there, but there is no facilities.

Thanks Clearwater beach it is next time for me. I love these boards....

[2Cruise4Ever]

what do you consider "tons" of people. St. Catherine's was crowded last year when I was there. Jmo, you are missing out on the beauty of Bermuda if you don't try a South Shore beach. St. Catherine's doesn't hold a candle to any of the South Shore beaches. You are sailing on the Dawn, which is NOT going to St. Georges. The reason why people go to St. Cathereines is because their ship is docked in St. Georges. For cruisers docked in St. George, I recommend Clearwater Beach. Much nicer than St. Catherine's imo. Beach Bar, playground, rents equipment. Just a short cab ride from the pier. The locals love Turtle Bay which is right near there, but there is no facilities.

 

This is my 3rd time on the Dawn and my 3rd time going to Bermuda. I know it's not docking in St. George's. We planned to go to St. George's for the day, visiting St. Catherine's beach for part of the day. I've seen pictures and spoken to lots of people who have visited other popular beaches and St. Catherine's has been highly recommended to us many, many times. My co-worker also has a time share in St. George's. She's been there many, many times. That's where I got my first recommendation. We've been to other beaches and felt they weren't what we really wanted. St. C's appears to be a bit more to our liking.

 

musicgirl63, sorry about the semantics. The beach itself may not be closed, but the amenity area will be. That means there won't be many people on the beach, if at all. First, they closed the Fort itself for renovations. Now, some of the surrounding areas. Besides the perfumery, what else is in St. George's?

[Writeratsea]

This is my 3rd time on the Dawn and my 3rd time going to Bermuda. I know it's not docking in St. George's. We planned to go to St. George's for the day, visiting St. Catherine's beach for part of the day. I've seen pictures and spoken to lots of people who have visited other popular beaches and St. Catherine's has been highly recommended to us many, many times. My co-worker also has a time share in St. George's. She's been there many, many times. That's where I got my first recommendation. We've been to other beaches and felt they weren't what we really wanted. St. C's appears to be a bit more to our liking.

 

musicgirl63, sorry about the semantics. The beach itself may not be closed, but the amenity area will be. That means there won't be many people on the beach, if at all. First, they closed the Fort itself for renovations. Now, some of the surrounding areas. Besides the perfumery, what else is in St. George's?

You will be docked in the dockyard and can take the ferry to St. George.

It doesn't run on Saturday or Sunday. You can catch the ferry from the dockyard at 9, 10 or 11 AM. Returning from St George at 2, 3, 4 and now 6:05 PM. The times seem more convenient this year and I like the added 6 PM time which allows more time to be in St. George.

There are many things to do in St. George. The former Globe hotel is now a museum dedicated to the blockcade runners during the civil war. There is also the Tucker House museum which has a lot of period furniture, paintings etc. Next store to that museum is a good book store with used books available as well. St. Peter's church is very old and beautiful with an interesting graveyard out back. The graveyard has an enormus driftwood cedar tree which is great for photos. If you go to the wall at the edge of the graveyard, there is an open view of the cruise ship docked there which is also a nice photo oportunity. The perfume factory is right near the church and is an interesting free tour. Walk further up the hill and you can view the unfinished cathedral and enjoy a great view of St. George on side and Tobacco Bay on the other side.

Restaurants are around the square, with the White Horse tavern being the most notable. We ate at the George and Dragon which is on the second floor on a terrace overlooking the square and the food was good. There was also a little deli opposite the main bus stop that had good sandwiches.

On the waterfront there is a mini mall called Somer's wharf which had some interesting stores. Caffe Latte is an internet caffe which also houses the Vistor's Bureau with maps and coupons for restaurants and tours.

The Whitehorse tavern also has jet ski excursions and Segeway is now available in St. George as well as the dockyard. I would get the information in the dockyard before leaving for St. George.

I also recommend Clearwater beach as it is two to three times larger than St. Catherine's or Tobacco Bay. You can take a special number 6 bus to that beach, it is not on the printed schedule. The Visitor's Bureau has the times, as it runs once an hour. The beach has stones scattered throughout and crocs would be useful. The sand is white and as mentioned previously there is a snack bar, changing areas and facilities as well as a fully equiped playground. St. David's lighthouse is directly opposite the beach and you can watch the planes come in for a landing at the airport on your left. They are only a few hundred feet above you so it is fun to see.

Hope this information is useful to you. We just got back from 9 days in Bermuda, so we can answer most questions.:)

[musicgirl63]

We are going before it closes, but I think it might be nice if it weren't so crowded!!!! We went to Church Bay last year, we didn't have anything but the restroom/changing area.

[Got2Cruise]

If you go to You Tube you can see a video of the top 10 beaches in Bermuda. Clearwater Beach is Number 3. Elbow Beach is Number 2, and Horseshoe Beach is Number 1. St. Catherine's Beach did not make the top 10.

[BermudaMom]

Sometimes I just don't understand our government. I understand the work they plan to do on tearing down the old hotel - although they've been talking about this for years - but with the beach...right at the start of the season - just seems insane.

 

Anyhow, we do have lots of other lovely beaches though I must say I rarely go to any of them. I so take for granted what others absolutely love. Not a lot of them have concessions with food, chairs etc which the tourist would like though.

 

Years ago there used to be a fast food take out restaurant and tables and chairs at the Clearwater beach and swings sets for the kids etc. As we have no small children now haven't been near the place for years. I will try and check if anyone is operating this during this summer and if I get any info will post it. However, so many of you know far more about our beaches than I do that you can probably better advise than me!

[billfish]

For what it is worth we were on the Majesty last Sept. and took a cab from the ship only to find the beach a St. Caterines disgusting dirty. Shame on the those responsable to keep this resourse clean,

[musicgirl63]

Sometimes I just don't understand our government. I understand the work they plan to do on tearing down the old hotel - although they've been talking about this for years - but with the beach...right at the start of the season - just seems insane.

 

Anyhow, we do have lots of other lovely beaches though I must say I rarely go to any of them. I so take for granted what others absolutely love. Not a lot of them have concessions with food, chairs etc which the tourist would like though.

 

Years ago there used to be a fast food take out restaurant and tables and chairs at the Clearwater beach and swings sets for the kids etc. As we have no small children now haven't been near the place for years. I will try and check if anyone is operating this during this summer and if I get any info will post it. However, so many of you know far more about our beaches than I do that you can probably better advise than me!

 

So the beach will be closed as well???

 

We'll be there around the 20th of June, will it be worthwhile to even go there? We were planning on doing some snorkeling at Tobacco Bay and then heading over there. Should we just skip St. Catherine's?

[welove2cruise232]

I feel very bad for the owners of Beach It -- I think work very hard and we love going there. It doesn't appear the beach itself will be closed, but I guess we'll re-think our plans. Yes, there are lots of other beaches, but this one was so convenient, and we loved the fact that there was a snack bar there, drinks, and many times, entertainment...

[Surfgirl]

So the beach will be closed as well???

 

We'll be there around the 20th of June, will it be worthwhile to even go there? We were planning on doing some snorkeling at Tobacco Bay and then heading over there. Should we just skip St. Catherine's?

 

No worries, musicgirl. St. Catherines is no big deal, and there isn't much good snorkeling there. You're better off at Tobacco Bay-- but be sure to wear aquasocks, because there is a lot of broken glas around Tobacco. Also-- go early, because it tends to get very crowded.

 

I thought the best snorkeling at Bermuda was the Snorkel Park. If you go out beyond where people swim, there's a ton of gorgeous fish. What I do is to bring one of those water proof containers that you wear around your neck and fill it with cornflakes from breakfast. The fish will swarm around you. Bring your underwater camera!

[NextOne]

If the golf course closes, how will people get from St. Georges to Tobacco Bay? Will the road stay open or will everyone have to go the long way around?

[Got2Cruise]

I feel very bad for the owners of Beach It -- I think work very hard and we love going there. It doesn't appear the beach itself will be closed, but I guess we'll re-think our plans. Yes, there are lots of other beaches, but this one was so convenient, and we loved the fact that there was a snack bar there, drinks, and many times, entertainment...

 

I read the article, and maybe my comprehension is off, but didn't it seem as it was saying it was closing because they were going to start demolition of the old Club Med hotel? Wouldn't it be dangerous if the beach was to remain open? I am just thinking outloud here. . .

[NextOne]

The beach isn't THAT close to the old hotel - I can't see it as a safety issue.