2022
Bermuda
Travelling by ship and testing the waters around the Triangle, I touched down in the island of Bermuda, for about 33 hours. A girl needs her sleep but a venture or two exploring the island was definitely in the itinerary.
this was a part of that adventure.
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Tobacco Bay
Horseshoe Bay
Hamilton
St. George
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Crystal & Fantasy Caves
Snorkel Park
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Cafe Ole’
Royal Naval Dockyard to Hamilton
Arriving at the Royal Naval Dockyard, the Clocktower is a short walk or trolley ride away. Inside are a few artisanal shops, but a little touristy for my taste.
We hopped in a taxi for a 45 min ride to Hamilton, the local town located in the center of the island. There we were met with more shops and store fronts, which satisfied our search for snorkel gear.
Crystal & Fantasy Caves
During a hour and 15 minute combined tour, you have the option to view one or both caves. The Crystal Caves, in my opinion were the more popular of both tours, but hearing the history behind the finding of each still gives a new perspective to the overall cave that still stands today.
Throughout the tour, you are led through the depths of each cave. Combining 150 steps and 88 steps of both caves, you are met with the beauty of natural made stalactite and stalagmite formations.
Tobacco Bay
The island of Bermuda is filled with many beaches. With clear waters and pink sand beaches, (I lied, I did not witness any pink sand beaches), you can simply swim, snorkel or enjoy the sun across the island.
Some of the beaches I visited are pictured above and below. Tobacco Bay is located in the town of St. George’s. If you’re travelling from the Royal Naval Dockyard, it’s approximately a two hour taxi ride, but it’s worth the trip. The small hidden beach surrounded by rocks and coral has a sand bank you can swim across or cliff jump.
There are many other beaches, Horseshoe Bay being one of the most popular, known for the pink sand beaches. I joked saying the only way I would see pink sands, is if you stared at the sun long enough, but maybe it wasn’t in my eye’s saturation.
If you want to stay really close by, Snorkel Park is a beach club with all the amenities needed to enjoy the sun, sand and water.
The 33-hour window changes how you see it. You can't waste time on the wrong thing, which means you go directly to the essential ones. In Bermuda those are: the caves, one beach, and enough time at the water to understand why people return.
The Crystal Cave walkthrough takes about 45 minutes. The guide points out formations that have grown for over a million years, still adding microscopic layers. The cave was discovered in 1905 by two boys following a lost cricket ball into a hole in the ground. The cave sits unchanged in the same position it occupied before any of the island's present buildings existed.
Hamilton is the island's commercial center — government offices, banks, actual grocery stores. The ferry from the Royal Naval Dockyard takes 30 minutes and arrives at Front Street. The buildings are painted in the same pastel colors as the residential districts. The pace is slower than you'd expect from a capital city.
Horseshoe Bay delivers what it promises. The pink sand is real — a mixture of white sand, crushed coral, and fragments of a small organism called Foraminifera that leaves a rose tint when dry and a deeper pink when wet. The beach curves around a protected bay, the water clear and warm. At midday it fills; arrive early or late afternoon.
The island roads are narrow and winding — the speed limit is 35km/h island-wide. Visitors can't rent cars; mopeds and taxis are the standard. This controls the pace automatically. Getting anywhere takes longer than the distance suggests, which turns out to be the right speed for looking at things properly.
Practical notes: Bermuda is expensive — significantly more than most Caribbean destinations. The 33-hour cruise stop gives enough time for the caves plus one beach plus Hamilton if you're efficient. Taxi drivers know the island well and most will tell you more than a guidebook does.
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