Tours

Special Interest Tours

Garden and Wildlife Tours

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

The Garden Club of Bermuda offers a unique experience of visiting local gardens. Tours are $100 for four people, $25 for each additional person.

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

For the adventurous, have Ashley Harris of Hidden Gems of Bermuda Limited take you cliff jumping or cave swimming. These tours are truly off the beaten path.

Contacts

Bermuda Botanical Gardens. Free 90-minute guided tours of the Bermuda Botanical Gardens depart from the visitor center Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 10:30 am, weather permitting. Buses stop outside the gardens by the King Edward Memorial Hospital entrance. 169 South Shore Rd., Devonshire Parish, DV04. 441/236–5902.

Byways Bermuda. The company offers personalized off-the-beaten-path tours of Bermuda that focus on nature and history. 441/535–9169; www.bermudabyways.com. $100 for 6-hour tour and lunch.

Garden Club of Bermuda. The club of Bermuda offers a unique tour of visiting local gardens. 441/295--3661; www.gardenclubbermuda.org. $100 for 4 people, $25 for each additional person.

Hidden Gems of Bermuda Limited. Ashley Harris of this island ecotour company takes people cliff jumping or cave swimming in some of the more off-the-beaten-path locations across the island. Go with the group or book a special tour. Dockyard, Sandys Parish. 441/236–1300; www.bermudahiddengems.com. From $100 per person for 5 hours.

Historical and Social Tours

The Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) 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 BTA 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.

Bermuda Lecture Tours are run by witty British transplant Tim Rogers 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 geological and architectural features. A 90-minute walking tour costs $80 per couple and $10 extra for each additional person. Special group rates are also available.

Segway Tours of Bermuda offers a historical tour of the Royal Naval Dockyard aboard a Segway—an electric two-wheel vehicle. The machines are the only vehicles that can tour the National Museum of Bermuda. 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 to the vehicle and costs $80. Tours depart daily at 10, noon, 2, and 4.

Contacts

Bermuda Lecture & Tours. These tours are run by witty British transplant Tim Rogers, 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 geologic and architectural features. Special group rates are also available. 441/234–4082. 90-minute walking tour $80 per couple, $10 extra for each additional person.

Bermuda Tourism Authority. The BTA publishes brochures with self-guided tours of Hamilton, St. George's, the West End, and the Railway Trail. Available free at all Visitor Services Centres and at hotels and guesthouses, the brochures also contain detailed directions for walkers and cyclists as well as historical notes and anecdotes. The BTA 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. 441/296–9200; www.gotobermuda.com. Free.

Segway Tours of Bermuda. The company offers daily historical tours of the Royal Naval Dockyard aboard a Segway—an electric two-wheel vehicle. The machines are the only vehicles that can tour the National Museum of Bermuda. 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 to the vehicle. Dockyard, Sandys Parish. 441/236–1300; www.segway.bm. $80 for 90-minute tour.

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 $40 per hour for one to four passengers and $55.50 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; 441/504--7375; www.beelinetransportltd.com.

Destination Bermuda Ltd. Hamilton, Pembroke Parish. 441/292–2325; www.destinationbermuda.bm.

Bermuda Island Taxi. 441/295–4141; www.ridebermuda.com.