Bermuda, July 2017

 Bermuda - we love you.....

Surf Side Beach

Here we go, seeing I feel like the older I get, the less I remember, I have decided to do a trip recap of the vacation I took to Bermuda, July 2017.

After a busy 4 day conference in Miami for work (LE MIAMI, stayed at the SLS hotel http://slshotels.com/southbeach/), I met up with my brother and sister in law and we took an evening flight to Bermuda. We departed Miami around 5.30 pm and landed at 9 pm. (1 hour time difference with the East Coast) Getting through the airport was extremely easy, from going through customs, grabbing our bags and getting in a cab to head to our hotel: the Fairmont Hamilton Princess. http://www.fairmont.com/hamilton-bermuda/

During the drive to the hotel, the windows were rolled down as we enjoyed the warm breeze and listened to the evening critter sounds (which turned out to be hundreds of tiny tree frogs chirping away). http://www.bermuda.com/bermuda-tree-frogs/

Once you know what to look for, you can find these little frogs in planters, on fences and in the grass everywhere.

View from the 1609 Bar

Upon arrival to the hotel (about 20 min drive, $30) and a warm welcome from the staff we checked in.  Dennis was particularly helpful in providing suggestions of local scenery and restaurants, bars to visit. After dropping our bags in the rooms we headed to the bar for a drink, 1609 Bar and Restaurant http://www.fairmont.com/hamilton-bermuda/dining/1609/  overlooking some of the amazing boats and yachts (America's cup had just finished and the hotel sits directly on the harbor).

https://www.americascup.com/

Thursday morning we woke up early and rented scooters ($160 / 3 days for a single, 225 / double) and set off exploring the beaches. We first arrived at Elbow Beach. A gorgeous setting with white soft sand, light blue water and a few sparse clouds. We swam a little, took a walk down and within less than 30 minutes the sky clouded and we were dumped on. The nice thing with Bermuda and the Caribbean weather  is it blows over quickly and soon enough it did and we packed up our belongings and set back off on our scooters

We drove to the Fairmont South Hampton http://www.fairmont.com/southampton-bermuda/  and went to their beach club down below. After lunch (rum swizzles, Dark and Stomy and fish sandwiches), we wandered down to Horse Shoe Bay - where the "pink" beach is. After some more exploring there https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_000003.htm

Fairmont South Hampton Beach

(this is much more touristy than the other beaches, nice view from atop the rocks you can climb, but I would recommend going to less popular beaches) we decided to check out the light house which was less than a 10 minute drive to get there.

Horse Shoe Beach - Pink Sand

The lighthouse http://www.bermudalighthouse.com/  has stunning 360 degree views of the island, you can see Hamilton from the top! (Entry is $2.50 PP) - and worth the trek up the stairs.

We decided it was time to head back to the hotel and enjoy the infinity pool that overlooks the harbor. On the way back, we stopped at Warwick Pond as it's a bird reserve, however we were not able to find any there.. just a few gecko's! https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda2_00009a.htm

Back at the hotel, we dipped in the pool and enjoyed some adult beverages. Dennis at the front desk had told us to check out the sunset from Admiralty House which we decided to do. https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda2_000075.htm

 A quick 10 min ride up North Shore Road and we parked our bikes and watched the sunset over the other side of the island. This is also the area where you can cliff dive - however we failed to find the exact spot and I may have to head back to Bermuda at some point in the future to do that one last activity I seem to have missed out on - or as Thomas' syndrome FOMO!

Dinner that evening was at the poolside restaurant, we enjoyed some rose, seafood and pulled pork sandwiches. http://www.fairmont.com/hamilton-bermuda/dining/1609/

Friday we were planning to take a boat out, however none of the places we called still had rentals available so instead we confirmed a boat on Saturday and took off to the Crystal Caves instead: http://www.caves.bm/

This was about a 30 minute drive to get there. The island is very easy to get around however the streets aren't always well indicated. We get "lost" a few times, but it's quite easy to find your way back and figure out the correct route. And the locals are extremely friendly. When people would see us looking at our map, they would go out of their way to stop and offer assistance. We opted for the Crystal caves tour, not the fantasy one.

The tour was about 30 min, a group of 25 others joined and our guide took us down 82 steps to the caves where you see the pristine white stalactites in the crystal clear underground lake. The caves were discovered by two teenage boys almost 100 years ago.

Across from these caves, we enjoyed some more local drinks (frozen rum swizzles) at The Swizzle Inn http://www.swizzleinn.com/ (service is laid back, friendly - the food was ok, nothing that really stood out). Overall I would say the food isn't very impressive in Bermuda. The sea food is decent, but I can say that I have visited many other places / destinations where the dining scene was more impressive and less expensive.

Afterwards we "beach crashed" at the Grotto Bay hotel https://www.grottobay.com/ which was on the way to St. George.

From here we ventured to the town of St. George https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda2_000028.htm where you can wonder down quaint narrow streets with boutique stores and restaurants, bars etc. We parked the scooters at Kings Square (or Market square) where you can also visit the Town Hall.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by Spittle Pond to see if there were birds there, again, no such luck. We did find a grocery store and picked up some necessities such as Rose wine, fruit and snacks. (Bermuda is expensive, a case of beer is $50, bottle of wine $25-$30.. condo's on the island start at 1 million)

That evening we decided to have dinner at a local restaurant, the Lobster Pot http://www.lobsterpot.bm/ - we shared a lobster and some Cajun Mahi Mahi.

Dennis at the front desk had recommended a local bar, on Chancery Lane... "yours truly" - it is a red door, with a doorbell.

No sign, nothing.. you ring the doorbell and ask for Jannis, then you are allowed in - ONLY if there is a seat available. The bar has maybe 18 seats total. The mixologists are creators and make fresh unique cocktails. Definitely a young, local hangout and a fun place to check out if you can find it

On the way back to the hotel, there was a lively band playing 80's and 90's music in Crown and Anchor http://www.fairmont.com/hamilton-bermuda/dining/crown-and-anchor-restaurant-bar-terrace/ - we stopped briefly but knowing we had rented a boat for Saturday, we weren't out too late!

Saturday morning was the PERFECT weather to take the boat out, in the mid 80's, sunny and no wind. We rode the scooters down Middle road to Ely's Harbor, where we had booked a boat at 9.30 am from Somerset boat tours http://www.bdawatersports.com/boats.html

The staff is friendly and they are very thorough in explaining where you can take the boat and how to maneuver it. They provide you with a cooler with some water and a loaf of bread to feed the fish (near the sunken ship). The boat is shaded, and can fit 4 ppl ($160 for the boat + Snorkeling gear).

The boat trip was the most fun activity we did on the trip and we spent 4 hours exploring the water, seeing sea turtles pop their heads out of the water next to the boat, feeding the Bermuda reef fish https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_0002c8.htm , exploring the sunken ship and enjoying the warm island water.

Once we returned the boar, we headed to Woody's - a small local shack where we had refreshing corono's and tasty fish sandwiches  this is on the way to Royal Naval Dockyard. Here you can visit the History Museum of Bermuda, do some shopping (the Bermuda Rum cake bakery is there, it's worth going to try some samples, the have 11 different flavors). We missed the ferry boat to Hamilton (this leaves every hour) and you can bring the scooters on the ferry, but we also didn't mind riding back to the hotel as it was only 40 min to get back, the weather was perfect and the scenery is gorgeous.

That evening we had booked a sail boat tour of the Harbor. We set sail with 18 other passengers for a sunset sail. Sipping on rum swizzles and dark and stomy's, we listened to the captain explain more about Bermuda's history. That evening we dined at the hotel again, at Marcus - http://www.fairmont.com/hamilton-bermuda/dining/marcus/

The take away of the trip would be, rent a scooter, explore the island, enjoy the run and have fun. It's a very authentic, non pretentious experience, and I will be back to cliff dive at some point....