Tours

Special Interest Tours

Garden and Wildlife Tours

Free 75-minute guided tours of the Botanical Gardens depart from the visitor center Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:30 am weather permitting.

In spring the Garden Club of Bermuda arranges tours ($30) to three homes and gardens each Wednesday afternoon from 1 to 4.

Byways Bermuda offers personalized off-the-beaten-path tours of Bermuda for $100 per person for a four-hour tour.

Contacts

Botanical Gardens (441/236-5291.)

Byways Bermuda (441/535-9169. www.bywaysbermuda.com.)

Garden Club of Bermuda (gardenclubbermuda@northrock.bm. www.gardenclubbermuda.org.)

Historical and Social Tours

The Bermuda Department of Tourism (BDT) publishes brochures with self-guided tours of Hamilton, St. George's, the West End, and the Railway Trail. Available free at all Visitor Information Centres and at hotels and guesthouses, the brochures also contain detailed directions for walkers and cyclists as well as historical notes and anecdotes. The BDT also coordinates walking tours of Hamilton, St. George's, Spittal Pond Nature Reserve, the Royal Naval Dockyard, and Somerset. The tours of Hamilton and St. George's, as well as most of the Royal Naval Dockyard tours, take in historic buildings, while the Spittal Pond and Somerset tours focus on the island's flora.

Out & About Bermuda leads walking tours through some of Bermuda's most scenic nature reserves, parks, residential neighborhoods, and historic areas. The tours are conducted for two to six people and cost $20 per person or $30 per couple.

Tim Rogers Tours are run by a witty British transplant who has lived in Bermuda for more than a decade. Rogers leads exceptional walks (and seated talks) about various Bermuda topics that other historians or guides sticking to their textbooks may be hesitant to discuss. His humorous and conversational tours cover intriguing historical material on piracy, local ghosts and lore, and the island's more interesting architectural motifs. A 90-minute walking tour costs $80 per couple and $10 extra for each additional person. Special group rates are also available.

The Walking Club of Bermuda is an exercise club that provides visitors with a social opportunity to meet Bermudians while seeing the island. Walks are of varied length and refreshments included in the fee are served afterward. A $20 yearly membership fee is required for regulars, but donations are welcome from nonmembers at the beginning of the walk.

Segway Tours of Bermuda offers a historical tour of the Royal Naval Dockyard and St. George's aboard a Segway—an electric two-wheel vehicle. The machines are the only vehicles that can tour the Maritime Museum. Sites include the Clocktower Mall, Casemates Prison, the Victualling Yard, the Glassblowing and Rum Cake Factory, and the Sail Loft. The 90-minute tour includes a brief orientation of the vehicle and costs $80.

Contacts

Bermuda Department of Tourism (441/292-0023. www.gotobermuda.com.)

Segway Tours of Bermuda (441/504-2581.)

Tim Rogers Tours (441/238-0344. trogers@northrock.bm.)

The Walking Club of Bermuda (441/236-6034 or 441/737-0437. www.walk.free.bm.)

Horse-Drawn Carriage Tours

You can hire carriages on Front Street in Hamilton—a Bermuda tradition among the just-married. Rates for a one- or two-horse carriage for up to four passengers are $30 for 30 minutes. Each adult is charged an additional $5 per half hour when more than five people ride in one carriage.

Taxi and Minibus Tours

For an independent tour of Bermuda, a taxi is a good but more expensive alternative to a group tour. A blue flag on the hood of a cab indicates that the driver is a qualified tour guide. These cabs can be difficult to find, but most of their drivers are friendly and entertaining—they sometimes bend the truth for a good yarn—and well informed about the island and its history. Ask your hotel to arrange a tour with a knowledgeable driver.

Cabs seat four or six, and the legal rate for island tours (minimum three hours) is $36.50 per hour for one to four passengers and $49.50 per hour for five or six passengers. Two children under 12 equal an adult.

Taxi and Minibus Tour Operators

Bee-Line Transport Ltd. (441/293-0303. 441/293-8015.)

Bermuda Triangle Tours (441/293-1334. www.bermudatriangletours.bm.)

Destination Bermuda Ltd. (441/292-2325. 441/292-2252.)

Island Taxi Services (441/295-4141.)