Juldie

We have never been to Bermuda and have always wanted to go so I am beginning to plan a trip there. I was hoping I could use a timeshare week but it doesn't look as if RCI has very many resorts in Bermuda so it looks like I will be booking somewhere on my own.

I have noticed that people don't seem to spend a week in Bermuda, more like 3,4,5 night get-a ways. Why is this?

Also - which months are the best to travel there? I don't really want to go over the summer because I like to escape lousy New England weather other times during the year. I know the winter months will be too cold and the Fall seems out because of hurricane threats.

We will want to be on the beach, spend a lot of time in the ocean. So I would appreciate your advise on when the very best time is to travel to Bermuda.

almesq

The season in Bermuda is relatively short if you're looking for beach and swimming weather. Summer is the time to go--June through early to mid-September. May is nice as well but may not be real hot and water might not be warm yet. Once you get to October, beach weather is questionable, although certainly possible if they're having a warm October. Bermuda does not have tropical weather, it is 600 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Spring and Fall are nice, but definitely not for the beach.
I've been to Bermuda for a whole week, and also for long weekends. People go for short trips, especially from the east coast, because it is so close and easy to get to that it's perfect for a short getaway. A whole week there is great.

RobertoB

I've been to Bermuda in June and mid October. I will say that I enjoyed June more not just because it was warmer but the daylight hours were much longer. We did snorkel in October if that helps your decision. Both trips were roughly nine or ten days.

Almesq is correct about the weekend trip. Bermuda is a two hour flight from East Coast gateway cities. Easier to justify a short trip with two hour flight time.

Lois

Due to it's location, the best months (their "high season&quot are June, July and August. Early June the water is still cool, though, so the later in their high season the better. If you go any other months the water will not be good for swimming (and it's gorgeous). That's why you find specials at all other times of the year.

Actually I think a 5 night stay would be perfect. As it's a quick flight from the East Coast, you'd have most of your time on the island. As it is so small, it doesn't take long to see it all.

Lois

gail

We love Bermuda, but it is not the best place to escape lousy NE weather - beach season is really not all that long there. (It is easy to forget that it is not Caribbean, but off coast of Carolinas).

I think part of reason people book shorter trips is that Bermuda is more expensive than many Caribbean locations. Also, from northeast US, a lot of people cruise to Bermuda and this involves a 3-4 day stay on cruise ship (we were told Bermuda government has strict control over both length of stay of cruise ships and days of week - most must time their stays for mid-week and not w/e).

Juldie

Lois - when you mention the water temperatures, I am curious what you mean by cool temps. Being from New England I am used to very cold temps(60's)even in August. Of course I prefer the water to be warmer than that. So in early June, what would you say the water temps are?

Does it get very very hot and humid during the summer months in Bermuda or are there constant breezes?

ParrotMom

This week it is 80 degrees in Bermuda with a chance of showers each day.. You will find air fare has come down drastically for flights to Bermuda... with the results being the Bermudians are going to the US shopping and there isn't an increase in tourists utilizing hotels..WHY!! Bermuda is very expensive..and affordable to most of us BOP"s by cruise ship. We escape the NE snow by going to the Caribbean...mostly the affordable Dominican Republic in February.
W

Lois

If you are from New England you should do okay with the water temperatures in early June -- it was just cooler than we like (we like mid 80s).

It was humid on the island but there are breezes.

Lois

Knowing

I am sure that many people go for three days because it is easy to get to, but also because hotels can run $600 a night. So, even if it doesn't get much better than Bermuda, it's expensive. We were just there the first week of September and it was VERY hot and humid, although we were told historically this is not always the case. I wouldn't rule it out as a playground in the fall as hurricanes tend to be very rare there.

almesq

I've been there many times, all in season. I was there last year the first week of September and was there when Hurrican Fabian hit and devastated the island. We were trapped there for 5 days, unable to get out or really do anything at all. It doesn't get hit often by hurricanes, but only because it is so small and such a small target. It is right in the hurricane zone, so you just never know.
It does get hot there in the summer, but generally not unbearably hot like a tropical climate would. There are also often breezes, but at times things are very still which makes it seem hotter. From June through September, and even into early October very often, the weather is just beautiful, and the 1.5 hour flight means you're actually there for most of your vacation. As others have said, it is very expensive. It really is a great place and you will love it.

sp

For very detailed weather reports check out www.weather.bm and click on climate data and also www.bermudaweather.bm - a nice feature there is a picture of the sky for each day - it's done by months - you just pick which one you want to see. I found these extremely helpful when I began making Bermuda my favourite getaway. My favourite time to go is after the 1st week of June. By then, the water will be 80. The nice thing about going then is I find that time of year to be so rainy here - and I've had enough of it by then. It's so nice to get there and have beautiful sunny beach weather. I've also gone the end of September (which I found unbearably humid - when I got off the plane, I felt like I just walked into a dry cleaner's in the middle of summer). It's ok if you're just always in the water, but it's very uncomfortable when you're out and about. I'm sure once you get there, you will want to do some sightseeing, shopping, etc. Bermuda is beautiful, charming, and will take your breath away.

sueoz

Hi - we went to Bermuda during Thanksgiving week a couple of years ago. We loved it! But - it depends on what you like to do. We love to hike and walk and the temps during the day were great for that. We did snorkle (we are from New England) and it was not too bad but too cool to stay in for long periods of time. We plan to go again during the same week but will bring our wetsuits to snorkle! Prices also tend to be down at that time. Wonderful place to visit. sue

girlonthego

I have been to Bermuda in May, July, and Oct. All those times were great. Funny enough the ocean was much warmer in mid Oct than in mid May. We spent a week all three times. Bermuda is a beautiful and relaxing place. You can scooter, ride the bus, take a taxi. Town is quaint and people are friendly. Everyone seems to live nicely here and crime is low. I think you would enjoy Bermuda. We have stayed at the Southhampton Princess and the Reefs. Reefs is a quieter more Bermudian hotel. It is on the water and very nice. The Princess is big and more luxurious, but you must take a bus down to the beach. I hear Elbow Beach is a great hotel. If you want a Bermudian feel, in a very nice hotel, look into the Reefs.

ParrotMom

Sadly girlonthego crime is up and much of it is against tourists (Royal Gazette) and sadly a woman celebrating her 20th anniversary was killed this week on a moped. Whether on the beach or in a hotel/guest house you should be aware. The weather in Bermuda has become over the past 12 years we have cruised there very humid...you will find the four new ferries are a/c as are the new buses and to make matters worse the taxi drivers and the government are having stand off on rates and the installation of global positioning units. You will also find that at the end of October when the cruise ships leave that many Bermudians go "off the rock" to the States or UK

Juldie

Thanks everyone so much. This information is so helpful. I have wanted to go to Bermuda for a long time but have never had the money to do so. The last time my husband and I went to any place "exotic" was 17 years ago when I was pregnant with my younger son. Over the years our trips have been to Florida to see my elderly parents and we would use a timeshare week there or in Orlando. It doesn't look like using our timeshare in Bermuda is going to happen.

Yesterday there was a funeral for a friend in his early 50's. My husband and I are feeling we want to do a few things and live a little. Years and years of constant financial obligations including having a freshman in college and a jr. in high school with college just looming, we are feeling that we have to give to ourselves too. It has been 17 years.

Have started looking into places to stay in Bermuda. Wow. It is so expensive - definitely out of our league to spend $300/night. I think I will look into some of the cottages although they don't seem much of a savings.

Thanks again.

girlonthego

Juldie, Have thought of going anywhere else? Bermuda is very expensive. I had no idea crime was up as Parrot Mom said. We were there a year ago and it was very nice. This is a different island, but we went to Aruba last spring. It was a wonderful trip. It is nothing like Bermuda, but it was a fun tropical vacation. It hardly ever rains. The later spring would be cheap to stay in their best hotels and you would be escaping the cold. You can fly direct from Boston. We stayed at the Marriott Stellaris Hotel and had a great time. It is a dry arid type island, but all of the hotels are lush and green with beautiful pools. There are many timeshares there that can save you money by having a small kitchen. The Marriott has a beautiful timeshare there. If I recall, you were looking to swap a timeshare. I am not sure what RCI stands for but I am sure they have an Aruba hotel. I am not trying to discourage Bermuda, but if you want to try other options, we enjoyed the trip to Aruba. Also, the drinking water is pure there and their crime rate is definitely low.(I checked before we went.)The restaurants were also excellent in Aruba. Have fun taking a wonderful trip wherever you go!

ParrotMom

A gentleman on our cruise told us that his wallet was stolen on a beach...stupidly he admitted he stuck it in his shoe..Bermuda is definetely far safer than many of the other islands, but drugs use is on the way up. There have been several other incidents against tourists,one recently against a couple in a guest house. Yet, there isn't any place that I love more than Bermuda and with a "heads up" would not walk the side streets of St. George. Bermuda is changing and it is true passenger capacity and ships have been limited by the Government of Bermuda but within the next few years there will be with the blessings of the Government mega ships coming in.. NCL and a few others have offered to dredge the harbors and build docks to accomodate these ships..When I asked about this to a gentleman who gave horse and buggy rides and the affect it would have on jobs and the economy....he said "the locals don't want to work and they would probably have to import workers from the Far East".. They had hoped that the hotels would draw many tourists, but instead there is now a huge insurance business in Bermuda. NCL has made an arrangement with manyof the restaurants and pubs for their passengers for $5.00 each to be able to try out the restaurants for lunch. "Juldie"...there are too many people who put off vacations because they will wait to retire....and they never get to it...If I had a chance of going to Bermuda or Aruba.....definetely Bermuda...crime is not a major problem, but I'm just saying..it's not the Bermuda of 20 years ago and I still adore it.

BettyInToronto

Juldie: We love Bermuda and have been twice - both in September. (Main reason is we love lobster and the Bermuda lobster season is any month with an "r" in it so we wait until all the kids are back in school and head over the weekend after Labour Day. We always stay a week and our next time (Sept 2005) we are planning on either 10 days or 2 weeks.

I agree with what everyone said about Bermuda being expensive but it deosn't have to be. We are from Canada (obviously) and our dollars are always worth less making that $300/night hotel just not an option.

The first time we stayed at Vienna Guest Apartments which was quite nice. I checked their rates now and it's $120US for high season. It's a complete one bedroom unit with full kitchen, gas BBQ and swimming pool.

Then we found a lady here in Toronto, Fiona Campbell, who handles rentals for privtate owners in Bermuda. Her website is www.bermudarentals.com

Our second visit had us in a small studio for just $75US/night. (Today it's still only $77 but there is a one bedroom unit for $120) She has a few more places in the $120 range all over the island. These are 1 or 2 units in someone's home. (no tax) So it's quite nice and centrally located. Okay, not right on the beach but close enough to walk.

I saw on another great website www.bermudagetaway.com a place called Marrs Hill Guest Apt that looked promising and it too was only $120/night.

Also, because of Fiona, we found out that we could bring some groceries, especially a small cooler as carry-on luggage with frozen steaks, chicken & pork chops. We made our own breakfast and picnic lunches which we could eat anywhere anytime. No need to find a restuarant and pay $30 for lunch. Remember, there are no McDonalds, etc in Bermuda so we found this the best. Stop hiking that beautiful Rail Trail and sit down and have a sandwhich and apple. Beautiful and cheap! We BBQ'd most dinners and went out twice - for lobster. It can be done.

We were on a fishing trip and everyone else was staying at the high priced hotels and couldn't keep their catch. We got everybody's and shared it with our host family. She loved it! And we loved having fresh fish on the BBQ that we caught that day! One of the highlights of the trip for my husband.

We also do a lot of walking/hiking and snorkeling, which is free! (We have our own gear). We rented a two-seater scooter (cheaper and safer than getting two singles) and put over 300 miles on it in one week. When we returned it, the guy was amazed we did so much traveling on such a small set of islands, but hey we went EVERYWHERE.

One day we found a good snorkeling spot by accident but didn't have our stuff. We didn't think twice about going back to the apt for it. Round trip - 30 minutes. Hey that's nothing for Toronto traffic where it takes 90-120 minutes to drive to work. <g> I checked out the current price for bus passes and at $95/week that's about half the price of a scotter. Good deal but with just a little less freedom.

You can do Bermuda for less. Feel free to ask more questions but be sure to check out the two websites I mentioned.

Betty