Can you see Hamilton and St George in one day?

[PittsburghNative]

Traveling to Bermuda next month and I was curious if I should visit both Hamilton AND St George. Is it possible to see them in one day? Is one town better than the other or are they both good to see?

[Charles4515]

21 minutes ago, PittsburghNative said:

Traveling to Bermuda next month and I was curious if I should visit both Hamilton AND St George. Is it possible to see them in one day? Is one town better than the other or are they both good to see?

 

You can visit them both in one day. They are both worth visiting. They are different. I don't consider one better than the other. I always do both when I am there more than one day.  Some will have the opinion one is better than the other. 

[fizzy]

We have been to Bermuda at least 10 times....mostly by ship.... we always do the beaches and shops as visitors do. I've always wondered where the regular, non tourist citizens of the country do their everyday shopping. Does anybody know?

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, fizzy said:

We have been to Bermuda at least 10 times....mostly by ship.... we always do the beaches and shops as visitors do. I've always wondered where the regular, non tourist citizens of the country do their everyday shopping. Does anybody know?

 

They shop at local stores that sell everyday items. There are grocery stores, pharmacies, discount stores,  convienience stores etc. Like what you would find in any small US town. There are no chain stores. No Target or Costco. 

Edited September 13, 2021 by Charles4515

[Langoustine]

I agree. In 2011 we found a local store in St. George that had absolutely no tourist tat in it, but was filled with the essentials that we needed to buy.

[AnitaVacation]

Being able to see Hamilton and St George in one would be challenging, but I guess do-able.  How do you plan to get around?  The bus from Hamilton to St George can be pretty time consuming.  When we go (by cruise ship), we usually do Hamilton on day 1, St George on day 2 and Kings Wharf on day 3 (staying close to the ship on departure day)....

If this is your first trip to Bermuda, you would be awfully rushed to see both in one day.

[trivia addict]

Where is your ship arriving? 
My daughter and I go to Bermuda every summer and our ship

always docks at the Royal Naval Dockyard. We do both Hamilton and St George in one day. The other days are beach days.

St George is small. We go mainly to visit the perfume factory there.

We take an early ferry to St George and then either the ferry or bus to Hamilton. The bus does take a long time but you can always get off at the Swizzle Inn for a rum Swizzle!

Go back to the Dockyards from Hamilton by ferry because that bus is really a long ride! We only did that once!

[Barb Nahoumi]

On 10/7/2021 at 12:33 PM, trivia addict said:

Where is your ship arriving? 
My daughter and I go to Bermuda every summer and our ship

always docks at the Royal Naval Dockyard. We do both Hamilton and St George in one day. The other days are beach days.

St George is small. We go mainly to visit the perfume factory there.

We take an early ferry to St George and then either the ferry or bus to Hamilton. The bus does take a long time but you can always get off at the Swizzle Inn for a rum Swizzle!

Go back to the Dockyards from Hamilton by ferry because that bus is really a long ride! We only did that once!

I prefer to travel by Ferry rather than the bus.  

 

[Charles4515]

11 minutes ago, Barb Nahoumi said:

I prefer to travel by Ferry rather than the bus.  

 

 

The public ferry service from Dockyard to St. George's has been suspended this year. Only the Dockyard to Hamiltion ferry is running. Don't know at this time  if the private NCL ferry to St. George's for NCL passengers will be running. 

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

The public ferry service from Dockyard to St. George's has been suspended this year. Only the Dockyard to Hamiltion ferry is running. Don't know at this time  if the private NCL ferry to St. George's for NCL passengers will be running. 

The NCL ferry isn't in Bermuda. On marinetraffic.com its last recorded reported position was in the Adriatic Sea about two months ago. I wouldn't be surprised if NCL has sold it or if it's been chartered by some other company. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by njhorseman

[trivia addict]

Did not realize that the public ferry to St George was not running. We were last there before Covid.

Hopefully it will return by next summer. Taking the bus to St George from the Dockyard takes way too much time.

[PittsburghNative]

10 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

The public ferry service from Dockyard to St. George's has been suspended this year. Only the Dockyard to Hamiltion ferry is running. Don't know at this time  if the private NCL ferry to St. George's for NCL passengers will be running. 

Would you take an excursion to St George’s? Or would it be best to go by bus?

[PittsburghNative]

I first want to say I’m not mad, but getting frustrated at this point due to transportation issues. Now I’m trying to figure out the best way and most economical way of seeing St George’s. I looked at the map and it looks like the Crystal/Fantasy Caves are near St George’s. I wonder if we should just take the excursion over to the caves and then take a bus on our own to St George’s. Would this idea even make sense or is there a better way of getting across the island?

[Charles4515]

15 hours ago, PittsburghNative said:

I first want to say I’m not mad, but getting frustrated at this point due to transportation issues. Now I’m trying to figure out the best way and most economical way of seeing St George’s. I looked at the map and it looks like the Crystal/Fantasy Caves are near St George’s. I wonder if we should just take the excursion over to the caves and then take a bus on our own to St George’s. Would this idea even make sense or is there a better way of getting across the island?

 

You can take a bus. Multiple bus routes run by there to St. George's. Last time I was in Bermuda we went to the Swizzle Inn which is in the same area as the caves, walking distance from the caves, we took a taxi to St. George's. The fare was $20.

Edited October 12, 2021 by Charles4515

[princeton123211]

On 10/11/2021 at 9:16 PM, PittsburghNative said:

Now I’m trying to figure out the best way and most economical way of seeing St George’s.

These two things are at odds with one another. There are faster ways to get around the island. If you are going to accomplish a lot in a short period of time sticking to straight economics isn't going to get it done. If you exclusively use busses you are going to spend a lot of your day on busses. 

 

On 10/11/2021 at 9:16 PM, PittsburghNative said:

Would this idea even make sense or is there a better way of getting across the island?

A taxi from Hamilton to St George's is going to be about $40-- so you could take the ferry from Dockyard to Hamilton and then the most you would pay would be $80 for up to 4 passengers to St George's and back. As Charles mentioned a stop at Swizzle near the caves is well worthwhile which you can easily do.

 

It's not the most economical solution but its going to save you a lot of time and let you do and see more of a beautiful island. 

 

[PittsburghNative]

On 10/13/2021 at 10:31 AM, princeton123211 said:

These two things are at odds with one another. There are faster ways to get around the island. If you are going to accomplish a lot in a short period of time sticking to straight economics isn't going to get it done. If you exclusively use busses you are going to spend a lot of your day on busses. 

 

A taxi from Hamilton to St George's is going to be about $40-- so you could take the ferry from Dockyard to Hamilton and then the most you would pay would be $80 for up to 4 passengers to St George's and back. As Charles mentioned a stop at Swizzle near the caves is well worthwhile which you can easily do.

 

It's not the most economical solution but its going to save you a lot of time and let you do and see more of a beautiful island. 

 

Thank you for all the great info! You are saving me time and frustration.

 

Do the taxis charge a flat rate? I know some ports I’ve been to, you are charged an exact fare depending on where you are going to. Also, if it’s just 2 people, would the cost be less/more? Lastly, are taxis easy to come by or do we need to call and reserve a time for one to come get us?

 

 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, PittsburghNative said:

Thank you for all the great info! You are saving me time and frustration.

 

Do the taxis charge a flat rate? I know some ports I’ve been to, you are charged an exact fare depending on where you are going to. Also, if it’s just 2 people, would the cost be less/more? Lastly, are taxis easy to come by or do we need to call and reserve a time for one to come get us?

 

 

 

Taxi's are government regulated based on distance. Two will not pay more than one. Rates explained on the tourism website. https://www.gotobermuda.com/article/getting-around-bermuda-taxi

Pre Covid I did not  prearrange taxis but i would hesitate to say how easy it is now. There are not many recent trip reports. There is a Bermuda taxi app called Hitch which you may want to download and use  if you can't easily find a taxi. I hope when you get back you update us with what you experienced.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Charles4515

[PittsburghNative]

3 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

Taxi's are government regulated based on distance. Two will not pay more than one. Rates explained on the tourism website. https://www.gotobermuda.com/article/getting-around-bermuda-taxi

Pre Covid I did not  prearrange taxis but i would hesitate to say how easy it is now. There is a Bermuda taxi app called Hitch which you may want to download and use  if you can't easily find a taxi. 

Awesome, thank you for the info!

[princeton123211]

7 hours ago, PittsburghNative said:

Lastly, are taxis easy to come by or do we need to call and reserve a time for one to come get us?

As Charles mentioned, Hitch can be very useful-- its like a local version of Uber. Heads up there are some small fees built in that are over a usual taxi fare-- we will get a taxi the traditional way at stands or at any major hotel to avoid that when its convenient to avoid them. But if you are somewhere away from a stand or hotel, Hitch gives a lot of peace of mind. We've been places as well where there was a little queue for taxis but the app let us get a taxi right away. 

 

It does allow you to pay by credit card (whereas the majority of taxis only take cash) so it can be helpful with that too if you don't want to carry too much cash.