Itinerary for 3 days in port

[garnet115]

I will be on the Breakaway, arriving in Bermuda in just 2 weeks (yay!). I will be traveling with my 11 yo daughter. We are pretty low key travellers, and I want to have down time on the ship even on the days we are in port. Here is my plan, so please tell me what you think and offer any suggestions that may be helpful (thanks in advance!):

 

Wed Aug 20 - Ship scheduled to arrive at 8am. Planning to take a 10:30 ferry to Hamilton and then either bus or cab over to the Crystal/Fantasy caves. Tour the caves, have lunch at the caves or nearby. Maybe stop for ice cream at Bailey's. Head back to ship late afternoon, maybe stopping in Hamilton to walk around before catching the ferry. (any other suggestions while near the caves?)

 

Thurs Aug 21 - Take an early-ish (9am?) beach shuttle over to Horseshoe Bay and spend the morning lounging. Have lunch at the beach. In the afternoon, head over to Gibbs Lighthouse (How far is this from Horseshoe Bay? Is it walkable? What is the best way to get there?). Head back to the ship mid-to-late afternoon.

 

Friday - Since the ship leaves that afternoon, I would like to stay close to the dockyard. We will probably go over to the glassworks. Depending on weather and mood, maybe spend some time at Snorkel Beach. Generally take it easy and be back onboard with plenty of time before sailaway.

 

Any other suggestions? I am a bit disappointed to miss St. Georges, and would have tried to ferry there to go to Crystal Caves, but the ferries are too infrequent and I don't see us making it on to the 9:30 ferry.

[Innocent bystander]

We took the bus from Hamilton to the Caves on Wed. We just did the Crystal Cave. If you don't have to wait too long, it's a fairly quick trip. We went over to Swizzle Inn.

 

Then we made the fatal mistake and decided to walk to Blue Hole. Big mistake. Should have caught the bus and gone on to St. George.

 

My advice to you is to go to Caves, and then go to St George. You can either catch the 4:30 ferry back to Docks or take another bus to Hamilton and then grab the ferry. I liked St George much more than Hamilton, which I found busy, hot and overwhelming.

[sebas030]

Hi,

 

Just my opinion and suggestion :

 

 

 

I will be on the Breakaway, arriving in Bermuda in just 2 weeks (yay!). I will be traveling with my 11 yo daughter. We are pretty low key travellers, and I want to have down time on the ship even on the days we are in port. Here is my plan, so please tell me what you think and offer any suggestions that may be helpful (thanks in advance!):

 

Wed Aug 20 - Ship scheduled to arrive at 8am. Planning to take a 10:30 ferry to Hamilton and then either bus or cab over to the Crystal/Fantasy caves. Tour the caves, have lunch at the caves or nearby. Maybe stop for ice cream at Bailey's. Head back to ship late afternoon, maybe stopping in Hamilton to walk around before catching the ferry. (any other suggestions while near the caves?)

 

Why not take the 9:30 ferry to St-George, spend 2 or 2 1/2 hours exploring the town ( giving enough time to walk to Tobacco Bay Beach if you want ) and then bus ( 20 minutes ) to Caves. Before the Caves have a bite at the famous Swizzle Inn and do the caves after ( 5 minute walk from one to the other ). Then bus ( 30 minutes ) to Hamilton. It should be about 2:30pm or so. Either explore Hamilton, have dinner and enjoy the Harbor Nights ( I am not a fan of..but many are ) OR Ferry to the Breakaway and enjoy a calmer ship.

 

Thurs Aug 21 - Take an early-ish (9am?) beach shuttle over to Horseshoe Bay and spend the morning lounging. Have lunch at the beach. In the afternoon, head over to Gibbs Lighthouse (How far is this from Horseshoe Bay? Is it walkable? What is the best way to get there?). Head back to the ship mid-to-late afternoon.

 

ATTENTION...since last week there is a new shuttle to Horseshoe Bay and it was a nightmare to reach the beach...Shuttle is now 16$ per passenger round trip...not that much of a wait. Public bus was 2 hours plus wait :eek:. If you share a cab with 2 other person, it will cost you the same round trip and it will be faster and easier.

 

Friday - Since the ship leaves that afternoon, I would like to stay close to the dockyard. We will probably go over to the glassworks. Depending on weather and mood, maybe spend some time at Snorkel Beach. Generally take it easy and be back onboard with plenty of time before sailaway.

 

Expect plenty of people in the Dockyard area...most want to stay close to the ship. Explore the rum cake factory while you are at the glass work :p

 

 

 

Any other suggestions? I am a bit disappointed to miss St. Georges, and would have tried to ferry there to go to Crystal Caves, but the ferries are too infrequent and I don't see us making it on to the 9:30 ferry.

 

You should make the 9:30 ferry. The Breakaway docks early and it takes about 30 for the ship to be clear to disembarkation. The Summit ( right next to the Breakaway ) docks a little later and they are not able to get on the 9:30am.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask !

 

 

Have fun !

 

.

Edited August 11, 2014 by sebas030

[lolavix]

Then we made the fatal mistake and decided to walk to Blue Hole. Big mistake. Should have caught the bus and gone on to St. George.

 

Why was this a fatal mistake? Not good? Too long a walk? I was thinking of going there with my family next week, on the way back from St. Georges.

[garnet115]

Hi,

 

Just my opinion and suggestion :

 

 

 

 

 

You should make the 9:30 ferry. The Breakaway docks early and it takes about 30 for the ship to be clear to disembarkation. The Summit ( right next to the Breakaway ) docks a little later and they are not able to get on the 9:30am.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask !

 

 

Have fun !

 

.

 

 

Thanks for all the input and info. My comment about not making the 9:30 ferry wasn't so much out of concern about the ship, as was a commentary on how slow my dd moves in the morning. LOL. I will definitely give more thought to my Wed itinerary as I would like to fit in some time in St George's.

 

I've been following the threads about the beach shuttle and am a bit concerned, but figure we'll wing it and take a cab if necessary.

 

What about going from horseshoe bay beach to the Gibbs lighthouse? Is that do-able?

 

 

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Edited August 11, 2014 by garnet115

[jfried8]

Yeah I'd like to know if it's walkable

 

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[jdarch]

Thanks for all the input and info. My comment about not making the 9:30 ferry wasn't so much out of concern about the ship, as was a commentary on how slow my dd moves in the morning. LOL. I will definitely give more thought to my Wed itinerary as I would like to fit in some time in St George's.

I've been following the threads about the beach shuttle and am a bit concerned, but figure we'll wing it and take a cab if necessary.

 

What about going from horseshoe bay beach to the Gibbs lighthouse? Is that do-able?

 

Short answer: Doable, but not walkable from the beach. It is about a mile from Horseshoe Beach to Lighthouse Road; bear in mind it is then about a ten minute walk to the top of the hill where Gibbs Lighthouse sits. You take the #7 bus toward Dockyard from Horseshoe and just tell the driver you would like to get out for the lighthouse.

http://www.bermudalighthouse.com/map.htm

 

 

Long answer :rolleyes:: If you are heading to the caves from Hamilton, you might want to consider stopping at the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo in Flatts Village; it is WAY more interesting than it sounds (DW and I have been there twice and totally enjoyed it both times!). See:

http://www.bamz.org/about.php

After your visit, then get back on the bus toward St Georges/the Caves. About 3 miles on, you might want to stop at the Swizzle Inn for lunch - and the caves are just down the street from there.

The Caves: we were recommended to Crystal Cave as the better of the two instead of seeing both - it is more than enough cave for one day! Our two cents...:D

 

Also, depending how many trips you'll take, you may wish to look into the token books vs. Bus/Ferry passes available at the wharf.

See:

http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_000091.htm

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[garnet115]

Short answer: Doable, but not walkable from the beach. It is about a mile from Horseshoe Beach to Lighthouse Road; bear in mind it is then about a ten minute walk to the top of the hill where Gibbs Lighthouse sits. You take the #7 bus toward Dockyard from Horseshoe and just tell the driver you would like to get out for the lighthouse.

http://www.bermudalighthouse.com/map.htm

 

 

Long answer :rolleyes:: If you are heading to the caves from Hamilton, you might want to consider stopping at the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo in Flatts Village; it is WAY more interesting than it sounds (DW and I have been there twice and totally enjoyed it both times!). See:

http://www.bamz.org/about.php

After your visit, then get back on the bus toward St Georges/the Caves. About 3 miles on, you might want to stop at the Swizzle Inn for lunch - and the caves are just down the street from there.

The Caves: we were recommended to Crystal Cave as the better of the two instead of seeing both - it is more than enough cave for one day! Our two cents...:D

 

Also, depending how many trips you'll take, you may wish to look into the token books vs. Bus/Ferry passes available at the wharf.

See:

http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_000091.htm

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Thanks for your response. I will have to give the lighthouse serious thought. I would love to do it, but traveling with a kid means that if she is too tired after a day in the sun at the beach, we may have to skip it. We'll probably play it by ear.

 

As for the Aquarium & Zoo, the ship offered an excursion that combined the Aquarium with the Crystal Caves, but we had little interest in the Aquarium and so decided to go on our own. DD had an environmental unit in science last year, and she is now very anti zoo/aquarium, so it will just be the caves for us. I appreciate the tip on picking just the Crystal Cave if only doing one. Again, we'll see how we are feeling that day.

[kkpcruiser]

Enjoy the Breakaway!

We just returned Sunday!

I would do the caves as planned on day 1 with a stop in Hamilton

I might suggest to try St George on Wed and plan for the 930 ferry. I bet you could make a deal with your daughter for one early day!

It poured torrentially the day we went but it was still worth it.

We walked to Tobacco Bay, past the unfinished church and experienced some of the BEST snorkeling! $10 snorkel rental. The beach itself is just ok but views are great and the snorkeling more than makes up for it. We then walked around St George and caught the 330 ferry back...giving us time on the ship before dinner. Some great shops, and dining spots along the Main Street near the ferry dock.

The Dockyard glass shop is quite close to the ship and it's interesting watching them work with the glass. I bought my gifts here. Beautiful stuff! The fort in Dockyard which is a Museum looks like it would be interesting ($12 adult) but we didn't have time. I think this is more of a side trip than a day trip.

Day 3, I thought it was totally worth a cab fare to reach Horseshoe bay early and enjoy it before the ship crowds. If you walk left past the first outcropping of rocks, it is much less crowded. Cabs right there for return to Dockyard in plenty of time to make the ship!

 

There were significant bus issues last week; we bought a token for the St George ferry but did not use the busses but heard plenty on the ship about the horrendous waits and crowding.

 

I'll bet if your DD gets to sleep in on the sea days, she wouldn't mind getting up early to catch ferry to St George! keep in mind that lounge chairs by 930-10 on sunny seas days will be at a premium. There was zero enforcement of the hour rule and frankly really irritating to see all the saved chairs that weren't used until afternoon but saved all morning.:rolleyes: