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Arriving by plane, you will likely get great view of the entire island.
Known for beautiful pink sand beaches, Bermuda is definitely beautiful, but not that pink. The pink hue comes from bits of pink coral, but looks nothing like you see in commercial pictures.
St. George’s
I stayed at the St Regis Bermuda, located right outside of St. George’s and directly beside Fort St. Catherine. The fort was used by the Bermuda militia and then the Royal Artillery. I had been told the sand there was pink, but I only caught random hues of peach. It made no difference. The place is gorgeous. The service is fantastic.
The actual town is a bit sleepy, but quite cute. There are a few restaurants, but only a couple stood out to me: White Horse Pub and Restaurant and Wahoos. The St. Regis provides a shuttle back and forth from town after 3pm, but it is an easy walk.
Depending on the route you take, you may pass the unfinished (Gothic) church, built in the late 1800s to replace a church badly damaged in a hurricane, but was never finished due to money trouble, fighting and another hurricane. You will also pass Tobacco Bay Beach, a cool place to hang out, known for calm snorkeling.
Royal Naval Dockyard
Most (or all?) of the cruise ships come into the Royal Naval Dockyard, which is located on the opposite side of the island from St. George’s and the St. Regis. To get from one part of the island to another, you have a few choices. There are regular ferries from the Dockyards to Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda, and then you can take a taxi. Alternatively, there are sporadic ferries from the Dockyards to St. George’s, but my understanding is that ferry caters to the cruise ship timing. A taxi across the entire island can cost upward of $100. I decided to rent the only type of car visitors are allowed, a tiny two seater electric vehicle. Rugged Rentals has locations around the island, and also on the St. Regis property. Renting the vehicle meant I could drive the entire island in a day and stop frequently, which would have cost a lot more if I was just taking taxis.
If you have kids, the Royal Dockyards is a great place to be. They can spend an entire day at Longtail, a floating fun park. It is directly next to the cruise ships. It is also the only place I saw lower food prices. There is some shopping , as well as the Dockyard Terrace and Victualing Yard, completed in 1849 and 1853. The terrace was built to house officers and the yard was built top store, prepare and package food and drink for the Naval Fleet.
Horseshoe Bay Beach
The most famous beach in Bermuda is Horseshoe Bay Beach. If you google search for pink sand beaches, Horseshoe Bay will appear. When I was there, I really could not see pink sand. Locals said that it is an overused beach. It is crowded, but has nice facilities. We were told to drive about a mile down the road and we would find a much pinker beach. That beach was Warwick Long Bay. It was peaceful with tons of space, but no facilities and no shade. While the pink was a bit more obvious, it still didn’t compare to commercialized pictures.
Hamilton
Full disclosure – I did not spend any time here. My timing on the island was during a holiday weekend, so most of the shops were closed. It looked like a fun place to be if you are looking for nightlife. I suspect there are more affordable places to stay as well. Being the capital, there is regular ferry service, making it very easy to get around. If I return to Bermuda, I will probably stay in this area.
