General: Bermuda

Bermuda isn't perhaps the most popular destination for Europeans and Briton's in particular, despite the fact it is the largest overseas territory of the United Kingdom. In fact many people incorrectly assume it is part of the Caribbean Islands, which are in fact much further south. Bermuda itself lies at a latitude of 32degrees N and is therefore just outside the Tropics regions and is indeed warmed by the Gulf Stream. In fact temperatures rarely ...
...Island can be extremely humid in summer.

My sister and brother in law emigrated here in July 2006 and therefore we had the opportunity to visit over the Christmas period for a ten-day break (made even more attractive by the fact I got our tickets for free with BA miles!!)

A Little Bit of History
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The Island, which is in fact little more than 20 square kilometres is actually a ... more

Bermuda isn't perhaps the most popular destination for Europeans and Briton's in particular, despite the fact it is the largest overseas territory of the United Kingdom. In fact many people incorrectly assume it is part of the Caribbean Islands, which are in fact much further south. Bermuda itself lies at a latitude of 32degrees N and is therefore just outside the Tropics regions and is indeed warmed by the Gulf Stream. In fact temperatures rarely drop below 20 degrees C even in winter, and the Island can be extremely humid in summer.

My sister and brother in law emigrated here in July 2006 and therefore we had the opportunity to visit over the Christmas period for a ten-day break (made even more attractive by the fact I got our tickets for free with BA miles!!)

A Little Bit of History
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The Island, which is in fact little more than 20 square kilometres is actually a collection of around 180 islands, the larger ones linked by bridges to form the Bermuda as we know it, while the smaller ones are probably too numerous to count. The islands are surrounded by a coral reef, the most northerly in the world.

The Islands were uninhabited and undiscovered until the earliest 16th century, during which Spanish and Portuguese sailors visited the island, although they did not stay. The British arrived in the early 17th century, following a shipwreck and the island was claimed for the crown and attempts were made to settle on the island. Despite its strong links with Britain, Bermuda was also of importance to America, particularly during their civil war.

Nowadays the island has the highest GDP per capita of anywhere in the world, and is around $70K.International Finance is the largest source of trade, followed by tourism. The population is approximately 70% black and 30% white, with a large number of expats working in the financial sectors. The Island is subdivided into nine parishes and the main town is Hamilton.

Getting there
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The most logical choice from the UK is the once a day scheduled direct service from Gatwick to Bermuda. The flight leaves Gatwick just after 2pm in the afternoon, and arrives in Bermuda around 6pm, having gained 4 hours en route. The return flight leaves at 810pm and arrives in the UK at around 630am the following morning, again a fairly reasonable journey. The actual flying time can be anything from under six to seven hours, depending on the winds. Our flight home was only 5.75 hours, however the incoming flight had been delayed by the winds.

There are no other direct flights from Europe into Bermuda at the time of writing, and the only other way to make the journey would be to arrive via the USA and get a connecting flight. In general I would think this is best avoided, due to the additional hassle of connections in the USA in the current climate.

BA regularly has World Offers on the route, and the cheapest I have seen is for £299, and a £399 offer was available for most of the autumn. However flights around the period I flew were around the £900 bracket.

Money and Taxation
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The official currency is the Bermudian Dollar, which is pegged somehow to the American Dollar and therefore both are used interchangeably. For ease I ordered US Dollars from the Foreign Exchange desk. It has to be said that Bermudian money is much more attractive than the boring green US dollars however!

During this review I will refer to costs in Dollars. The US dollar has been at its weakest compared to the UKP for the whole of 2006 and therefore it is more appropriate to quote local prices, rather than an artificial £ price based on a weak dollar. The weak dollar makes this an ideal opportunity to visit Bermuda, as the Island is generally noted for being expensive, but the favourable exchange rate meant that we found most things very reasonable.

Bermudians do not pay any income tax whatsoever, and taxes are obviously generated via other means. Arriving in the airport can be a slow process, with custom forms and passport scrutiny taking an age. Visitors are allowed to bring in $30 of gifts - anything else is taxable. The queues at the airport can be frustrating, however it appeared it is returning residents who are questioned the most, the assumption being they must be bringing goods in with them!

Getting Around the Island
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If you think you can hire a car and explore the island at your leisure, then forget it! No one can drive in Bermuda unless they have passed a driving test, and there are no car hire companies anyway. You can however hire a moped without a test, and there are thousands of mopeds all over the Island. Even residents are only allowed one car per property, and cars were banned completely until around 60 years ago. This does seem a little bizarre as the roads are generally straightforward and well kept and Europeans would be used to much more difficult road conditions.

There are no trains either, there was a train line running across the Island for a short time, but the entire track was sold to another country. The bus network is excellent, and is the prime method for exploring the Island. The buses are frequent and clean, and run to all the major attractions and hotel resorts. A weekly ticket is $45, and if you are staying for more than a week, then the monthly ticket is only $10 more expensive.

The bus ticket is actually good for the many ferries that run from the City of Hamilton to various points of the island, although not all routes run in the winter.

Eating and Drinking
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There are plenty of restaurants and bars across the island offering all kinds of cuisine to suit all budgets. Because of the favourable exchange rate, I found eating out was more affordable than I expected it to be. However this does add up over a week. Typically a one course lunch would be anywhere from $15- $20 and a glass of sauvignon blanc would be around $7.50 with a pint of beer around $6.00. We did also eat a few meals where the cost was around $100 each, including wine, however one in particular, the Lido Restaurant at elbow Beach Resort offered outstanding food and service and again that price would compare favourably with a similar restaurant in the UK. Places you should certainly try and see include: Swizzle Inn, Henry VIII Pub and Restaurant, Lido Restaurant, Café Cairo, The Spot, and try the White Horse Tavern in St Georges for the Bermuda Onion starter - not to be missed!

Places to Visit
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The island is not particularly large and is broken into nine separate parishes, plus the City of Hamilton (confusingly NOT in the Parish of Hamilton…!) The city of Hamilton is fairly central to the Island and therefore conveniently divides the East and West Parishes. It is pretty easy to look at the map in conjunction with the bus timetable and work out the best routes to take in everything you want to see.

It would be impossible not to visit the City Of Hamilton, and indeed that is where we started our first day. This is the major commercial and financial district for the Island, and it can be busy as a large portion of the community works here, yet the City itself is only actually home to around 1000 residents. Hamilton was in fact designed to be a central city, and its streets are laid out in a grid with a mild elevation working back from the Harbour. Soon after the town was laid out, the capital was moved from St George. Shopping is of course quite basic compared to shopping in the UK but there are a number of small department stores, and there are plenty of Bermudian artists painting wonderful watercolours at reasonable prices should you want a souvenir. There is a small branch of Tiffany's on Front Street if you want a treat.

Hamilton is home to Bermuda cathedral, and the current cathedral dates back to 1894. Entrance is free, or you can donate $3 to climb the steeple steps to get a panoramic view of the city. The nearby City Hall is very impressive and hosts a number of different galleries, featuring temporary and permanent exhibits. One of the current temporary exhibits is a celebration of Rembrandt etchings, dating back 400 years. Finally there is the Historical Society Museum, which has a collection of furnishings, maps, crafts and ship related memorabilia. This museum is adjacent to a city park which is a pleasant spot for relaxation and watching the Bermudians go about their business, including the businessmen clad in their colourful shorts.

You can aim to spend at least one day in Hamilton taking in the sights and enjoying a leisurely lunch overlooking the harbour. We also made the most of our transport passes to take a round trip of the bay, taking in a few stops and allowing us to see the city from the water.

You will need at least another full day to explore the fascinating Dockyards area. You can take the bus westwards, to the tip of Bermuda, which is actually the Island of Ireland Island North…To get here you will actually cross the smallest drawbridge in the world, with an opening of just 30 cm, allowing a captain to get the mast through the bridge. Entrance to the dockyards is excellent value for money at $10, and you can re-enter the same day, if you want to visit the shops and restaurants just outside the dockyard itself. The commissioners house is full of very interesting exhibitions including Bermudian Money, Bermudian Tourism, and the different cultures that have touched Bermuda e.g. the Portuguese. There is also a small dolphin sanctuary as well as extensive shipping history of the islands. There is the Clocktower Mall which has a number of small boutique type shops, and there is also the opportunity to see glassblowing in action - although I found the gift shop itself very expensive.

St Georges is the other main town on the Island, and is in fact the site of the original settlement and is now a World Heritage Site. There is a small museum in the Globe Hotel building, which is part of the Bermuda National Trust and UK members can visit for free. Much of the museum concentrates on the Blockade Runners during the American Civil war in the early 19th century, and it was extremely interesting. There are other museums in the city, although only open on Wednesdays in winter. The main square still has its original stocks. St Georges is also home to the Unfinished Church, which was intended to replace the other church in the town. It is now maintained by the National Trust.

On the way back from St George's you can stop at the Crystal Caves and Fantasy Caves, which were discovered only 100 years ago, when two boys were playing cricket and their ball disappeared. They climbed down, and found this fascinating discovery. Entrance fee is $15 for one cave and $21 for both, and there are around 90 steps down. The guides tour lasts around 15 - 20 minutes, which is a little short, but still definitely worth seeing.

Bermudian beaches are renowned for their pink sand and many are good spots for snorkelling including Church Bay. Horseshoe Bay is very popular with locals and tourists alike and was the spot for our Christmas Day pre lunch outing.

One of my favourite outings was to the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo in Flatts Village, Hamilton Parish. Entry to the attraction was once again a reasonable $10 and it certainly felt like three attractions in one, with wonderful fish tanks, as well as a small Zoo area zoned by regions e.g. Asia/Australia/Caribbean, and a fantastic Natural History Museum. Definitely not to be missed!

For a relaxing morning, you can also visit the Driving Range where a bucket of balls costs $5 plus $2 for club hire. The adjacent minigolf is good fun too, providing you can keep your ball out of the water..!

In general, the locals are very accommodating to visitors and are very helpful and will go out of their way to be pleasant to visitors. The legendary Johnny Barnes has been waving to people on their way into Hamilton every morning for over 30 years and now has a statue in his honour! This is a rich island, and while property prices and rents are astronomical, most Bermudians do earn a decent living and there is not the poverty that can be seen in the Caribbean resorts for example. There is very little crime too. You will meet a lot of British residents, including many that are happy to serve in restaurants and bars and enjoy the slower lifestyle and the scenery. The island itself, while having no water at all, with no lakes or rivers, relies on rainfall for its water supply. The island is abundant with lush greenery and in many ways is in keeping with a fine English garden. There are no real nasty bugs to be alarmed about either, it is quite easy to sit out in the evening without being swarmed with mosquitos and the like.

Staying with family, I did not have to worry about accommodation, which is just as well as this can be quite expensive. There are some fine resorts on the island including a Fairmont and a Wyndhams. Cheaper accommodation is also available, and given it is unlikely to be discounted much during the peak season, then a package break would no doubt work out to be better value for most.

In summary, I think Bermuda has a lot to offer tourists, with a blend of sightseeing and watersports as well as fine cuisine and a laid back approach. I think the Bermudian Tourist board had lost their way for a while and were not particularly promoting the Island, but they seem to have realised the flaw in this and the island is making a comeback. Our visit was in December, and I think that is an ideal time to go (unless you want a deep brown tan!) as the temperature was still lovely and warm every day, the crowds were not particularly deep, and you still have the opportunity to see and do everything you can in the summer months but without the flocks of cruise ship passengers that invade the island each day.

(bear with me while I load the photos...I have loaded seven , but Ciao has its normal bugs......:( 

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