Bermuda Holiday Guide: Things to Do, Beaches and the Best Time to Visit

Bermuda is a small, polished island in the middle of the Atlantic: pink-sand beaches between dark limestone rocks, pastel cottages with stepped white roofs, a UNESCO-listed colonial town and some of the clearest water in the western hemisphere. It’s a British Overseas Territory with afternoon tea, cricket and red pillar boxes, but it feels sub-tropical, with hibiscus hedges, palm trees and rum swizzles. And it’s easy from the UK, with direct flights from London. This guide covers the best things to do in Bermuda, the beaches, the island area by area, food, the best time to visit with month-by-month weather, getting there and around (you can’t hire a car), where to stay and how to plan your trip.

Where is Bermuda? Is it in the Caribbean?

Bermuda is not in the Caribbean. It sits on its own in the North Atlantic, roughly 1,000 km off the coast of North Carolina and well over 1,000 km north of the nearest Caribbean islands. It’s often sold alongside them, and shares the turquoise water and pastel houses, but its climate is sub-tropical rather than tropical: warm, humid summers and mild, breezy winters.

The island is a chain of around 180 islands and islets joined by bridges and causeways into a narrow fishhook shape, about 34 km from end to end and rarely more than a couple of kilometres wide. It is divided into nine parishes. The capital is Hamilton, the airport is at the eastern end and the old naval dockyard at the western tip.

Comparing it with somewhere further south? See our Caribbean islands guide and our Bahamas holiday guide: the Bahamas, though also in the Atlantic, is much further south and warmer in winter.

Bermuda area by area

St George's and the East End

• UNESCO town
• Forts and quiet bays

Founded in 1612, St George’s is one of the oldest continuously inhabited English towns in the Americas, and with its forts it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. Wander its lanes of whitewashed cottages, visit St Peter’s Church and the stocks and ducking stool on King’s Square, then walk out to Fort St Catherine and the little beach at Tobacco Bay.

Hamilton and the central parishes

• The capital
• Shops, restaurants, harbour

A small, tidy capital on a deep harbour. Walk Front Street with its colourful verandas, the Anglican cathedral and the views from Fort Hamilton. On summer evenings the street fills for weekly street festivals. Ferries leave from here for the Dockyard and across the harbour.

The south shore

• Best beaches
• Southampton, Warwick, Paget

A run of pink-sand bays from Southampton to Paget, linked by the clifftop paths of South Shore Park: Horseshoe Bay, Chaplin Bay, Stonehole Bay, Jobson’s Cove and Warwick Long Bay. Many of Bermuda’s resort hotels and cottage colonies are along this coast.

The West End and the Dockyard

• Sandys Parish
• Museum, boats, snorkelling

The Royal Naval Dockyard, built by the British navy in the 19th century, now houses the National Museum of Bermuda in its fortress, plus craft markets, restaurants and the cruise terminal. Nearby Somerset is quiet and green, with Mangrove Bay, Somerset Bridge, said to be the world’s smallest drawbridge, and boats rafted up off the islands on summer weekends.

Bermuda’s best beaches

Bermuda’s sand gets its pink tint from the crushed red shells of tiny marine organisms washed in from the reef. It’s most noticeable on the south shore, especially at the water’s edge.

Horseshoe Bay, in Southampton, is the famous one: a long curve of pink sand with lifeguards in season. Walk east along the shore path to the smaller coves of Chaplin Bay and Stonehole Bay.

Warwick Long Bay is the longest stretch of sand and usually quieter; next door, Jobson’s Cove is a tiny, almost enclosed pool, lovely for children when the sea is calm.

Church Bay has some of the best snorkelling from the shore, over a reef close in. Tobacco Bay near St George’s and Shelly Bay on the north shore have calmer, shallower water.

Swimming safely: there can be strong rip currents, so swim where there are lifeguards and check conditions. The sea is cool in winter, and most Bermudians don’t swim until after Bermuda Day at the end of May.

Things to do in Bermuda

• Snorkel and dive the wrecks. Bermuda’s reefs have claimed hundreds of ships over the centuries, and many wrecks lie in shallow, clear water. Boat trips go out to the reefs from Hamilton and the Dockyard, and glass-bottomed boats suit non-swimmers.
• Crystal Caves. In Hamilton Parish, walk on floating pontoons over a clear underground lake beneath stalactites. There are two caves to visit.
• Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. Climb the 185 steps of this cast-iron lighthouse in Southampton, built in the 1840s, for views over the whole island.
• The Railway Trail. The track bed of Bermuda’s short-lived railway is now a walking and cycling path of about 30 km, through cuttings, over bridges and along the coast. Do a section at a time.
• The National Museum of Bermuda. Shipwrecks, maritime history and the story of the island, inside the Dockyard’s keep.
• The aquarium and nature reserves. The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo at Flatts, the Botanical Gardens in Paget, and coastal walks at Spittal Pond and Cooper’s Island for birds and, in March and April, passing humpback whales.
• Sail, kayak or paddleboard. The Great Sound and Harrington Sound are sheltered, with little islands to explore.
• Golf. For its size, Bermuda has a remarkable number of courses, many on clifftops above the sea.
• Festivals. Bermuda Day in late May, with a parade and the Gombey dancers; Cup Match, a two-day cricket holiday in late July or early August; and weekly street festivals in Hamilton in summer.

Food and drink

Seafood is the star. Try fish chowder, the national dish, served with a dash of sherry peppers and black rum at the table, and a fish sandwich of fried fish piled into raisin bread. Sunday breakfast is codfish and potatoes with banana, avocado and tomato sauce, and at Easter, codfish cakes come in hot cross buns. In season, look for spiny lobster and wahoo. The local drinks are rum-based: the rum swizzle, Bermuda’s national cocktail, and dark rum with ginger beer. Hamilton and the south shore have the widest choice of restaurants, from harbourside fish shacks to smart dining rooms, and afternoon tea is still a Bermudian habit.

Best time to visit Bermuda

The best time to visit Bermuda for a beach holiday is May to October, when highs reach the high 20s and the sea is warm. May and June are ideal: warm, less humid and before the main hurricane months. July and August are hottest, busiest and humid. September and October are still warm and quieter, but fall within the peak of the hurricane season, which runs from June to November; storms are not frequent, but travel insurance matters. From November to April Bermuda is mild rather than hot, with highs around 20°C, breezy days and a cool sea: good for golf, walking and sightseeing at quieter prices, but not for swimming.

Average daily high / low and monthly rainfall for Hamilton, 10-year ERA5 data from a sea-level grid point, so afternoons inland can be a degree or two warmer and nights a little cooler. Rain usually falls in short showers rather than all-day downpours. Hurricane season: June to November.

Getting there and getting around

Flights from the UK: there are direct flights from London Heathrow to Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport, taking about 7.5 to 8 hours out and a little under 7 hours back. You can also connect through New York, Boston and other US East Coast cities, which are about two hours away.

No car hire: visitors are not allowed to drive cars in Bermuda. Instead you can rent a scooter or a small two-seater electric car; roads are narrow and winding, the limit is 35 km/h and you drive on the left. Scooter accidents are common, so only ride if you’re confident.

Buses and ferries: the pink and blue buses cover the whole island, and ferries link Hamilton with the Dockyard, Somerset, Paget and Warwick across the harbour and the Great Sound. A transport pass covers both. Taxis are plentiful, and many drivers give island tours.

Where to stay in Bermuda

• The south shore (Southampton, Warwick, Paget): for beaches. Large resort hotels, and Bermuda’s traditional cottage colonies: individual cottages in gardens around a main clubhouse.
• Hamilton and Pembroke: for restaurants, shopping and ferries, with harbourside hotels and smaller inns.
• The East End: resort hotels by the water near St George’s and the airport, good for the old town and the north shore.
• The West End: quieter guesthouses and villas around Somerset, and a resort near the Dockyard.

Bermuda is small, so wherever you stay everything is within an hour by bus or ferry. Tell us whether you want a beach on the doorstep, a quieter cottage or a lively harbour, and we’ll find the right place.

How long to stay: sample trips

Bermuda tours with us

Self-guided walking: the islands of Bermuda8 days · self-guided

Prefer to build your own? A tailor-made Bermuda holiday can add a city stay in New York or Boston, or pair Bermuda with another island. See our Bermuda holidays.

Practical tips

• Entry: British visitors don’t need a visa for stays of up to 180 days in any 12 months. Your passport must be valid for your stay, and you need a return or onward ticket. Check the FCDO Bermuda advice before you go.
• Money: the Bermudian dollar is fixed at par with the US dollar, and US dollars are accepted everywhere. Cards are widely taken. Bermuda is expensive, especially for eating out.
• Dress: smart-casual is the norm, and Bermuda shorts with knee socks are still business wear. Swimwear is for the beach only, and going topless in public is illegal.
• Laws: drinking alcohol in public outside licensed premises is illegal, and drug penalties are severe.
• Plugs: US-style sockets and voltage, so bring an adapter.
• Hurricanes: if you travel between June and November, take out insurance that covers storm disruption and follow local advice.
• The Bermuda Triangle: the stories are part of the fun; Bermuda’s waters are busy with yachts, ferries and ships every day.

Frequently asked questions

Keep planning

• Bermuda holidays
• Bermuda tours
• Caribbean islands guide
• Bahamas holiday guide
• Barbados holiday guide
• New England guide
• Tailor-made holidays
• Escorted tours