We've cruised to Bermuda 3 times and were thinking of doing something different next summer. We looked at Belize but for what we want to do, I can't get the price below 8K for my husband, 2 kids and myself and that's too high. I found a rental site online for Bermuda and there's an apartment in Southampton Parish for 860/6 nights that sounded perfect for us - near bus and beach. The cruises have shortened their stays and while we love cruises, we really want to spend longer on the island. My son and husband scubadive, my daughter wants to swim with the dolphins, and I want to snorkel; I'd also like to check out some of the re-enactments like the dunking chair in St. George. Is staying in an apartment reasonable? I'm assuming we'd do some cooking in the apartment to save some money (I know groceries will be expensive) but any ideas for reasonable restaurants? Most of our eating was on the ship when we went previously.

We rented an apartment couple years ago from Bermudarentals.com near West Whale Bay. It was perfect for us, we could not afford the hotel rates so renting an apartment was great. It was seafront and we could have a dip right in front of the house, was walking distance to the bus stop and walking distance to West Whale Bay where you could almost have the beach to yourself. The lady who owned the main house was really helpful and friendly. We also rented a scooter which although rather dangerous, did give us independence and the supermarket was not that close to the apartment, so was useful for shopping.

Groceries are expensive, we prepared breakfast in the apartment which was just juice coffee and pastries from a local bakery. We normally ate lunch out at hotels such as Coco Reef or Pompano which were close by. It was less expensive to eat lunch out than dinner. At dinner we prepared something ourselves or ate out in less expensive places eg Swizzle Inn & Tio Pepe (think this is closing down). I think renting an apartment is a great thing to do and would definitely do it again.

I have rented from Bermuda Rentals and Bermuda getaway. It is significantly cheaper. The trip advisor site has a number of rental reviews and an active forum with several participants who are frequent renters.
There are some good reasonably priced restaurants in Bermuda, Lemon Tree, Bouchee, Hog Penny Pub, and La Trattoria for example. I agree that having lunch rather than dinner out is a great money saver. Mikes Grocery also has some very good takeaway options.
Have a great time. Bermuda is another world.

Miles Grocery, sorry for the typo.

jasonsmom,

I suggest you include guesthouses in your research. Two properties in Paget include units with kitchens: Salt Kettle House and Greenbank Guesthouse & Cottages. Salt Kettle rates are inclusive of a full breakfast and the "Starboard" apartment is 2 baths, 2 bedrooms direclty on the water. Both properties put you on the Salt Kettle ferry line which will quickly deliver you across the harbor to Hamilton. From Hamilton you can connect to other ferries or buses to reach sites around the island.
Here are the links:
http://greenbankbermuda.com/index-2.html
http://saltkettlehousebermuda.com/Home_Page.php

Good luck! We will be there in October for our 21st visit