joysjones

We are taking a 5-day cruise to Bermuda, but only have 1.5 days onshore. For the half day we have booked a glass-bottom tour/snorkeling trip with Aquatic Bermuda. Our boat will be docked in St. George and we were trying to plan our full day. Any recommendations as to how we can plan that day to get a good intro to Bermuda. Thanks Joysjones

jecrow

The transit system in Bermuda is actually excellent so I suggest you buy a one-day pass and travel from St. George to Hamilton. Hamilton has some nice shops and restaurants. From Hamilton, take the ferry over to the Dockyard, then you can take the bus back or ferry.

txgirlinbda

What hours do you actually have to spend on your full day? Would you rather see beaches, historical stuff, shopping, forts, museums? jecrow is right, we have a great public transportation system here, but you can really waste time back-tracking. If there are a few of you travelling, a book of tickets to share might be a cost-saver over buying everyone one-day passes.
Let us know what interests you, and we'll help you get the most out of your day!!

joysjones

Thanks for the replies. We are a group of 10, 5 couples, and are not particularly interested in shopping. We would like to see historic sites, and beaches and stay away from the more "commercial" things since we don't have much time. We have the whole day after 9:00 AM as the boat will be docked overnight. Thanks again for the help

txgirlinbda

How fun!!
I would spend your morning or evening (before or after your snorkel trip) walking around St. George's - it's a World Heritage town, very walkable, but if you're not in to shopping, you can save it for the evening and not worry if shops are open. It's staying light fairly late now, too. Don't miss the Unfinished Church there. There's also a nice fort on the other side of town, if you walk past the golf course.

That takes care of St. George's and you still have your full day.

After breakfast, I would recommend the #11 bus to Hamilton. It's a quick, pretty scenic ride along North Shore, leaves town every 15 minutes. You can hop off in FLatt's if you want a peek at our little zoo and aquarium. Hamilton is your spot for lunch (City Cafe at the bus stop will make you a custom sandwich to go) or find a restaurant, have a little walk around town. There's another great old fort here (Ft Hamilton) with an awesome moat filled with tropical foliage. It overlooks the harbor and would be a nice picnic spot. There are lots of restaurants and nice parks.

Leave Hamilton on the ferry to Dockyard. They run (approximately) hourly. Have a look around Dockyard, grab an ice cream, explore the old military buildings. If there is another ship docked in Dockyard while yours is at St George's, Dockyard will be packed. It's mostly the touristy stuff except for the Maritime museum and the old buildings. (You would be able to see a cruise ship off North Shore from the #11 bus on your way to Hamilton).

From there, I'd get on the #7 bus leaving Dockyard - this gets you to all the South Shore Beaches. Horseshoe Bay is the tourist favorite, with all the concessions and rental gear, nice bathrooms, etc. A little further down, though, are Jobson's Cove through to Warwick Long Bay - a walkable string of beaches and parks that are rarely crowded. But you'll need to carry water and towels. There are toilets along the way at the parking areas.

Once you've had enough sun, back on the bus. You have three choices to get back to Dockyard.

A) Bus 7 - transfer to Bus 1, will take you to Grotto Bay, where you can transfer to any St. George's bus (not as hard as it sounds, driver will help you). Last #1 at 6:15 from Hamilton.

B) Bus 7 all the way back to Hamilton bus terminal, change to Bus 11 back to St George's. Hourly at :45 past the hour all evening.

C) Commuter ferry Orange Route leaves Hamilton 5:20, 45 minute ride.

With that many people, I'd go ahead and just each get a one-day travel pass. It will cover bus and ferry trips, and if you decide to get on and off, or make a mistake somewhere, no problem. They are $12 each.

Hope that's helpful - I know it's a lot of detail, but once you get here and look at a bus/ferry map, I think it will all make sense. And you won't be doing a lot of back-tracking.

Have a great trip!

joysjones

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have been pondering how to best use our time, since we have so little, and your outline plots it out wonderfully. Thanks for taking the time to make our vacation more enjoyable.
Joysjones

txgirlinbda

Absolutely!! I hope you have a great time! And should you find yourself in Hamilton and in need of a coffee, I highly recommend Rock Island on Reid St, one block off Front St. She makes awesome goodies too!!!