Excursions - plan your own?

[RozWazowski]

We are headed to Bermuda and were thinking about planning our own excursions instead of booking through the cruise line. Few of questions about this ....

 

1. will we get mugged, robbed, murdered .. etc

2. what is your experience in planning your own excursions vs cruse line sponsored

3. which way would you recommend

4. anywhere/anything we should avoid by doing this

5. is it more affordable to plan your own, or no cost difference

and

6. what are some must do/cannot miss places to check out in Bermuda(or any on your own trips)

[paul929207]

1. Difficult to predict, but probably not.

2. We have taken private tours all over the world and never had a problem.

3. To take private tours, yuou need to do research to determine what to do and find a good guide. If you are willing to do that, then go for it. Your Roll Call may have people planning private tours and looking for people to join.

4.

5. Usually, private tours are substantially cheaper and you have a much smaller group.

[trish1c]

You could get mugged, robbed, whatever at home, going to work, or on a ship sponsored excursion. You simply have to be vigilent & use common sense no matter what you do.

We've had good & bad experiences with both DIY & through the ship. The ship will wait if it's excursions are late getting back. It will not wait for you otherwise so keep an eye on the clock & the traffic. For a longer excursions I'd book through the ship for just that reason but the vendors know the routine & don't want a bad rep for making people miss the ship.

DIY is usually cheaper & can be a bit more intersting with fewer participants.

Like anything else, you have to do your homework. Check out the ports of call boards. Check with the local tourist board or chamber of commerce if they have one. Read other websites like tripadvisor.

[Essiesmom]

It has never occurred to me to be concerned about safety in Bermuda. Get a guide book on Bermuda and decide what you would like to do. For most things, you do not even need a tour or a guide. When you get off the ship, buy a bus/ferry pass, good for however many days you will be there. We have taken the ferry to Hamilton and walked around. We have walked around the Dockyard area. Lots to do and see. You will be there at the very end of the tourist season. Might not be beach weather. the last time I was there, last October, I got off the ship, bought a bus ticket and rode it all the way from Dockyare to St. Georges. I walked around a pretty quiet St. George's and got back on the bus, rode the alternate route all the way back to Dockyard. the next day I took the ferry to Hamilton and shopped. EM

[KirkNC]

Obviously you can get mugged or murdered anywhere but I bet Bermuda is safer than most US cities. On the excursion, we do virtually all of ours on our own. I spend a great deal of time doing research which makes the ports even more enjoyable. DIY also is often significantly cheaper than the cruise line excursions.

 

Kirk

[cb at sea]

Research your ports. Get a guidebook. Read it. Then, you'll know what might interest you, and whether you'll need an "excursion" to do it! Most things are quite easy to do on your own, as long as you have the info!!!

[RozWazowski]

Well obviously you can be mugged or murdered anywhere. I know that some ports are going to be more worrisome than others in that effect. Which is what I'm asking; as far as safety is concerned do you have any problems in wandering away from the group and doing your own thing?

 

Using a guide book, can you pretty much count on those activities being legit? Keep in mind you're talking to someone who has never been out of country as an adult and this is my first (hopefully of many) trips to see the world.

 

I'm not naive enough to think that everyone we meet on the island will be our buddy and I know they are all out to make a living - respectably or not.

[trish1c]

Using a guide book, can you pretty much count on those activities being legit? Keep in mind you're talking to someone who has never been out of country as an adult and this is my first (hopefully of many) trips to see the world.

 

You are going to Bermuda, not Beruit. Keep a calm head & a vigilent eye & you will be fine. Trust your gut. If it looks or seems hinkey do something else.

Guide books can be out of touch by the time they are printed. On line up to the minute resources can be better. Check & cross check multiple sources. I like both cc ports of call boards & tripadvisor. I feel more comfortable when the groups agree about what's good & what's bad. Many ports have tourism boards. Check those out too. I found a great parasailing vendor through the Key West Chamber of Commerce. The Better Business Bureau also had nice things to say about them. Bermuda.com seems like a great place to start. Bermudatourism also looked helpful.

[tak81288]

As others said research is key....If you find something you may want to do in a guide book also use online sources (such as trip advisor, this website...etc) to get reviews and to see if others have had success/failures with that activity, check with friends and family and see if they have been there and get their opinions if they have...etc...

 

As far as safety, just use the same pre cautions as you would in everyday life (don't have your money hanging out, be aware of your surrondings, keep a cell phone on you...etc....)

 

You will be fine breaking away on your own and will find tourists and people in most places. Your research ahead of time will let you know what places are totally isolated.... When you go about things on your own you will be able to see and do more...when doing ship excursions you do a lot of "waiting"..waiting on 20 people to use the restroon, waiting to get the bus/van loaded...etc...all of that takes up time when you could actually be "doing" something....

 

Again research is vital....the major thing when doing it on your own is just making sure you get yourself back on the ship in plenty of time before the ship leaves.

 

However, if you really don't feel confortable then there is nothing wrong with doing all organized activities that the ship sponsored....just know you will probably pay more and do less with a larger group of people. I sometimes do ship excursions and really enjoyed them even with the drawbacks...

[KirkNC]

Great advise by Trish and others, I start with guide books and than "refresh" my knowledge via CC and Tripadvisor. As for Bermuda, I guess you could find some trouble somewhere but you would have to work at it. I have been several times and traveled all over the island, mainly on scooters and have never had a bad experience there.

 

Kirk

[johneeo]

....

 

1. will we get mugged, robbed, murdered .. etc

 

You will definately get etcetered.

[Hlitner]

Had to smile at the OPs post. We have been traveling independently for over forty years (on 6 continents and yes, even Bermuda) and have not been mugged, robbed, murdered, etc. As to cost, you will nearly always save major dollars by doing your own thing vs the oft overpriced cruise line excursions. As to do not miss places on Bermuda we do not think anything fits into this category. On Bermuda we do enjoy going to several of the beaches and sometimes shopping in Hamilton (this is not as good as in years past). Sometimes its just fun to ride the local bus lines around the island and stop at anything that looks interesting. We once stumbled on a nice pub near a small village called Sandys....and there are lots of other smallish kind of places scattered around the island.

 

Hank

[RozWazowski]

You will definately get etcetered.

 

 

haha :D Hope it's a fun etcetered b/c we need a good trip! lol Thanks for the chuckle.

[RozWazowski]

Thank you all for the advice. I am glad to see no one who has posted on this thread has been murdered in Bermuda :p We are going to start with a tour book and then read some reviews (excellent suggestions). It's amazing how much more we can do "on our own" vs ONE cruise line excursion.

 

We are excited to just be going anywhere, looks like this is a good "starter" for us. And we'll be sure to steer clear of back allies :D

[RozWazowski]

Sometimes its just fun to ride the local bus lines around the island and stop at anything that looks interesting.

 

Being landlocked here, I am sooooo excited about the water ferry (as if being on the ship wouldn't be enough water for me) We might just spend two days on it going back and forth lol