Can someone help me with beach info?

[Yellowlily]

My DH and I are contemplating doing a 5 day on the Grandeur of the Seas with our baby (will be 6 months at time of cruising). That itinerary goes to King's Wharf. Never been to Bermuda ever. We are seasoned cruisers but not with an infant nor Bermuda. We do love the beach - especially loves that are relaxing and not too overcrowded, but hey...we'll take the beach! Anyway, this may be a dumb ?, but I did'nt really see any "beach" excursions. Can you get there easily by foot? Can anyone explain the island. I've been reading some on Bermuda, but I'd love to know more on beaches and how to get to them, etc.

[Jeanne S]

The only beach accessible via foot with a baby in KW would be Snorkel Park which is on the other side of the Dockyard Fort.

 

If you don't mind taking a taxi, you would also enjoy HorseShoe Bay.

[JD75]

horseshoe bay is a nice beach that will have everything you'll need.. i.e. chair and umbrella rentals, bathrooms, showers, etc.. and it's the closest major beach to King's Wharf.. Horseshoe can get crowded though..

 

If you're looking for a more secluded beach I would suggest Chaplin Bay.. (between horseshoe and Warwick Long bay) There's a nice gentleman in the parking lot that will rent you an umbrella and various floats, etc..He also has some refreshments for sale. The drawback to Chaplin is there's only porta-potty style bathrooms instead of the large bathroom/shower facility that horseshoe has.

[Swizzle v2.0]

Anyway, this may be a dumb ?, but I did'nt really see any "beach" excursions. Can you get there easily by foot? Can anyone explain the island. I've been reading some on Bermuda, but I'd love to know more on beaches and how to get to them, etc.

Cruise ships don't offer beach excursions in Bermuda because, unlike some other destinations, beaches are easy to get to by taxi/bus/scooter, the island is safe for travelling, and the public beaches are free to use. I'll assume you don't want to rent a scooter with a baby so that leaves bus or taxi. Taxi is more expensive (~$20 to get to the South Shore beaches, which are the "marquee" beaches) and bus will be about $4/person each way, but no charge for the baby. With a baby I'd recommend taking a taxi over the bus as the taxi can get you right to the beaches whereas the bus drops you off at the top of a fairly big hill that you have to walk down.

 

As already noted Horseshoe Bay has the most amenities but will also be the most crowded of the beaches, the other nearby South Shore beaches (Chaplin, Jobson's, Warwick) will not have the same level of amenities, but will not be as crowded either. Waves at the South Shore may be too much for a 6-month old to play in the water but there are some secluded coves (such as to your immediate right at Horseshoe) that might be good.

 

There is a beach part way between St. Georges and Hamilton that is good for children - Shelley Bay. Very protected cove, shallow water, amenitites, even a playground. It is usually not crowded but in terms of scenary it is not as spectacular as the South Shore beaches. You might want to try it if you're thinking of taking the ferry from Dockyard (King's Wharf) to Hamilton.

 

Snorkel Park will be very close to your ship but will likely be crowded. Admission is free so wouldn't hurt to stop by and check it out.

[moai]

If you go to Horseshoe Bay, make sure you get there early. By 1pm they run out of chairs and umbrellas. Luckily I found some shade in between the rocks on the cove :)

[filosofe]

Cruise ships don't offer beach excursions in Bermuda because, unlike some other destinations, beaches are easy to get to by taxi/bus/scooter, the island is safe for travelling, and the public beaches are free to use. I'll assume you don't want to rent a scooter with a baby so that leaves bus or taxi...

 

Swizzle,

A little off topic BUT...how dangerous is it REALLY to rent/drive mopeds/scooters in Bermuda??

Everytime I read about renting a scooter/moped when visiting Bermuda there is always the caveat about how dangerous it is...driving on the opposite side and the narrow roads. Sounds like it would be the perfect way to get around.

Just wanted your opinion on this...

Thanks,

LarryF

[Swizzle v2.0]

The real danger comes from people who don't have much experience driving scooters/motorcycles, not only are you trying to get used to driving a scooter but you're also dealing with:

- narrow, winding 2-lane roads (most times without any shoulders)

- lots of traffic

- driving on the left

- roundabouts

 

Bermuda is not the place to be riding scooters for the first time! That said if you're experienced with them then by all means go ahead, I think JD75 recently rented one for a week and had a wonderful time. Scooters are not that dangerous for the experienced driver, thousands of people in Bermuda are on scooters everyday.

[travelgirl913]

My DH and I are contemplating doing a 5 day on the Grandeur of the Seas with our baby (will be 6 months at time of cruising). That itinerary goes to King's Wharf. Never been to Bermuda ever. We are seasoned cruisers but not with an infant nor Bermuda. We do love the beach - especially loves that are relaxing and not too overcrowded, but hey...we'll take the beach! Anyway, this may be a dumb ?, but I did'nt really see any "beach" excursions. Can you get there easily by foot? Can anyone explain the island. I've been reading some on Bermuda, but I'd love to know more on beaches and how to get to them, etc.

 

Bermuda is one of the safest, cleanest islands for you to take a baby to. When I was there last month we took the bus to Jobson's Cove located near Warwick. It is a little cove, with beautiful calm water, much less people and some shade. There was an infant there when we were there. The mother had her in the shade near the cave and the mom could still be in the sun next to her. Also, the water is very shallow, warm & calm so it would be perfect for you to take the baby in.

 

As far as the cruise goes the only suggestion I would have is to think about having a balcony cabin to get fresh air for the baby. At 6 months a baby is still building it's immunity system and it would be best to not be in a recycled air cabin.

 

Have a wonderful trip.

[JD75]

Hi Filosafe,

 

I highly recommend renting a scooter.. There is no better way to truly see that beautiful island. I had one for a full week and it was one of the highlights of my trip. Here's a link to my previous post with some tips for those who want to rent one.

 

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=216187

 

i think most of the horror stories and negative statistics you hear about are from the locals who drive the island every day, all year. I'm sure Swizzle will agree on that point. It was somewhat entertaining to see some of the young men out there on their scooters passing cars with other cars coming right at them.. I've never seen anything like it, but man, some of them sure had some skills driving those things. I was impressed.

 

Hey Swizzle, do you drive a scooter or a car out there?

[Swizzle v2.0]

Hey Swizzle, do you drive a scooter or a car out there?

I commute by bus. I have a licence to drive a car but don't have a car at the moment. I don't have a scooter and that puts me in the minority as most foreign workers use them.

[JD75]

Good thing you don't have a car... when we were at the gas station filling the scooter we saw a car getting it's tank filled up for $60!!!!! For those who haven't been to Bermuda.. the cars are very small too

[Swizzle v2.0]

I'm not surprised, gas prices work out to around $6 per US Gallon here.

[www]

I went to Bermuda twice on the Majesty. Both times I witnessed bad accidents, lots of blood. Also, there have been passangers from the Majesty ship in the past that have been killed on their trip on a moped/scooter.

 

One woman was killed this summer. Her hubby passed something or someone, and she went to pass too,when someone was coming the other way at her, she panicked reacted quickly and moved to the right side of the road, instead of the left and hit them headon.

 

It is true that they are fun, they are also very dangerous, so think twice.

[travelgals]

Swizzle, you are a wealth of information. We are on the Zenith 8/27 and I would like to arrange to rent a room at one of the hotels so we can use the facilities and be comfortable--without feeling that we are stealing services. I would like the Southampton Princess, it seems like a nice hotel, but think the Wyndam is probably where many cruise people go because they offer day passes and since we are traveling with a 12 and 17 yr old, our experience is that they meet kids on the ship and want to go wherever they all are going, which is usually a mid range large hotel- so did I pick the right place? 17 yr old will want to jet ski (omg) and I see it only at the Princess, not Wyndam.

[Swizzle v2.0]

I've never stayed at either hotel but both are nice with their own private beaches and so forth. I've heard that the swimming facilities at Wyndam are better for kids as they have slides .etc. and Wyndham's beaches are closer to the resort, with the Southampton Princess you have to take a shuttle. The jet skiing at Southampton Princess is managed by a separate company that uses their docks at Waterlot Inn. You do not need to be a guest to book jet skis with them.

 

I didn't realize that it was common for cruisers to get day passes or rooms at hotels here. I've seen it mentioned a couple of times in the last few months. Do a lot of cruisers do this?

 

There's a recent thread in this forum somewhere about the Wyndham, a poster here stayed there recently. From what I recall they liked it. Do a search of this forum for 'Wyndham' and you'll find it.

[travelgals]

thanks, Swizzle

[old bag]

My children LOVED Jobson's Cove, which is next to Warrick Long Beach. It was completely protected from the waves and in there was even nice shade in one section.

 

Riding the Bus was a breeze.

[gopatriots]

Travelgals, I stayed at the Wyndham in July. To the best of my knowledge, the Wyndham did not offer jet skis. It did offer paddle boats (don't bother!) and kayaks (well worth it). The waterpark is great. My children are ages 10, 8 and 5 and they couldn't get enough of the water park. I'm sure your 12 year old would enjoy it, but not sure about the 17 year old. There are two slides at the water park; one you ride without a tube and the other you can ride either a single or double tube. Both were really enjoyable. The pool has a swim up bar and the hotel offers three beaches (the best one in my opinion is Cross Bay and the hotel offers a shuttle service. The shuttle runs all the time from the hotel lobby). The hotel has ample showers, bathroom facilities and umbrellas at Cross Bay and Boat Bay beaches. Cross Bay looked out toward the Southhampton Princess. I did not visit the Princess but I'm sure you'll love it.

[travelgals]

Thanks gopatriots, we rented a room at the Wyndam and will report back.