Bermuda Travel Itinerary
Being only a 2.5 hour flight from Washington D.C., we were able to make some last minute plans for a spontaneous vacation to Bermuda. It is a perfect place to wind down after a busy period of hustle bustle.
We flew to Bermuda on July 2019 and spent 3 nights and 4 days on this splendid island. A majority of the tourists on the island came from cruises. We learnt from fellow tourists that the cruise stops at Bermuda for 2 nights and 3 days (guests eat and sleep on the cruise). This would give you enough time to get an overview of the island. Cruises are also a great alternate to visit and explore Bermuda.
Tip: Bermuda is an expensive island and you should be ready to spend more bucks on everything starting from hotels, to food to shopping. To give you an idea a loaf of bread is for $7.50 and 1 gallon of gas is for $8.20. Bermudian dollars carry the same value as American dollars.
Day 1 & 2 – Exploring St. George and beach time
Our first day was nice and laid back for some beach time at Tobacco Bay beach.
On the second day, we explored St. George Parish, a UNESCO world heritage site through a walking tour. Majority of St. George attractions are within a walking distance so you can definitely plan a DIY walking tour for 13 things to do in St. George. Tourists tend to skip St. George as it is on the opposite side of the cruise port but this was our favorite city of the island and a must visit.
Day 3 – Bermuda Island tour
For this day, we explored a different side of the island – Royal Naval Dockyard, Somerset village and Hamilton city which is Bermuda’s capital. We decided to take a tour so we could cover a majority of the sites before sunset. The tour started at the Royal Naval Dockyard so we got to the Dockyard via the orange route ferry from St. George.
Bermuda offers several forms of public transportation making it convenient for tourists to Get around in Bermuda and explore the island at their own flexibility.
We reached the Dockyard in time for our 12pm scenic mini bus tour booked via Island Tour center. The driver drove around the entire island providing a brief history and facts about each attraction. He merely stated facts about the island for 4 continuous hours which could get boring for some. Additionally, we expected him to stop at more of the sites but he rather just drove past them which was disappointing.
Unfortunately we did not get pictures of all the sites but here are some of the places we drove by and you can choose to visit on your own:
- Royal Naval Dockyard Fort – there is an entrance fee
- Dolphin Quest Bermuda – where there is a dolphin show and you can also swim with the dolphins
- National museum of Bermuda
- Bermuda Botanical Gardens
- Somerset village
- Tuckers Town
- Gibbs Hill Lighthouse
8. Horseshoe Bay
9. Elbow Beach
Where to stay in Bermuda
Majority of Bermuda tourists come from cruises, which tend to sleep on the cruise. The island has very limited beds – in 2013 Bermuda was reported to have 5265 beds only within 47 hotels. Although there are new hotel constructions coming up such St. Regis and Hilton, options are still limited and tend get booked quickly during peak season.
Due to the limited number of beds in Bermuda, we felt that the prices of the rooms are much higher but do not proportionate to the quality of service. Air BnB has also become a popular option on the island.
Some of the popular cities to stay in Bermuda are the Dockyard, Hamilton and St. George. For us, it came down to three resort options – Fairmont Southampton Bermuda, Air BnB, or St. George Club & Resort.
We were going there as a family of 5, so we decided to stay in a single cottage at St. George Club & Resort as opposed to separate rooms. The resort pleasantly surprised us and was better than our expectations. Here is a tour of our Cottage 100.
St. George Club & Resort offers different types of cottages that vary based on the prices. Cottage 100 is one of the best cottage of the property that offers a large garden in back area with beautiful views of the white roof city along the coast line.
The property also offers free shuttle services within the area which was a great perk to have as we could easily get to the various attractions of St. George without spending extra bucks. The shuttle service is offered everyday till 6pm except for Mondays, which is their day off.
The resort offers free a la carte breakfast, which has a variety of options and won’t disappoint you. There are also 2 restaurants in the property for your lunch and dinners – Griffin’s Restaurant & Pizzeria and Blackbeard’s Hideout, which were also pretty decent.
Finally, there are three pools in the resort including 1 heated pool.
St. George Club & Resort is a decent place to stay. Keep in mind though, that this is an old property and there are chances you will experience plumbing issues like we did on our last day – this property is known for having lots of plumbing issues. Luckily, we were only affected on our last day so it was not a very big inconvenience. Secondly, the front desk staff was not very friendly as you would like so do not expect top-notch quality service from this resort.
