Bermuda private guide

[familymum]

Any suggestions for a group of 9 people? We're too many for a van but I don't want anything too big.

[njhorseman]

Any suggestions for a group of 9 people? We're too many for a van but I don't want anything too big.

 

One possibility is Winsome Tours. They have vehicles that are larger than taxis:

 

http://winsometransport.com/

[familymum]

One possibility is Winsome Tours. They have vehicles that are larger than taxis:

 

http://winsometransport.com/

 

Thanks!

[ChasK]

We were first timers to Bermuda and just returned. We highly recommend Byways Tours by Heidi Cowen. www.bywaysbermuda.com This was advertised as "uncommon & unusual tours" and it included all of the tourist highlights plus some unusual stop and insights from a Bermuda native who grew up living in Gibbs Hill Lighthouse as her grandfather was the keeper when that was a 24/7 position of great responsibility. Heidi was joined by her sweet dog, Buddy, who is blind. Save your pity as Buddy does very well thanks to Heidi. As a dog lover missing my own, Buddy graciously met my need for a "dog fix". We were impresses with our 6 hr tour which covered the entire island, but even more so when we compared notes with our tablemates that evening. When we thought about all of our stops, included admissions, included lunch and even an afternoon ice cream stop, we were very thankful we had booked with Heidi! We are snorkelers and she showed us Tobacco Bay, Horseshoe Bay, and Warwick Long Bay where we checked out Jobson's cove. Knowing we wanted to snorkel on our next two days, she also checked on weather forecast which, unfortunately wasn't promising. Rain was coming, but Heidi then checked with the island's true forecasters, the silk spiders, and pulled us over for a photo op with these amazing creatures. (they come down low in the trees when a storm is coming). My husband is a history buff and was pleased that he knew the answers to questions asked by our table mates that evening (thanks to Heidi's pointing out places and answering his questions on tour!) While Heidi is proud of Bermuda, she does not gloss over the high cost of living there and the struggles of hurricanes and drought. But she wouldn't live anywhere else and that enthusiasm and love shines through! While first timers to Bermuda, we have been on many cruises and tours and have to put Heidi's tour up there as a don't miss opportunity!

 

I can't speak to Heidi's tour, but I did find that the provided link is incorrect, so I thought I would provide the correct one:

http://www.bermudafootsteps.com/home

[FireStation46]

What part of the island does Royal Caribbean arrive at? Thanks

Edited February 24, 2014 by FireStation46

[njhorseman]

What part of the island does Royal Caribbean arrive at? Thanks

 

Royal Caribbean ships dock at Kings Wharf at the Royal Naval Dockyard.

[sharonlacey]

njhorseman, we will be in Bermuda for 1 day and interested in hiring a taxi ahead for the beach to drop us off and pick us up, as we have 9 people. Do you have any Idea of the cost? I swa that you mentioned Winslow, have you used them?

[njhorseman]

njhorseman, we will be in Bermuda for 1 day and interested in hiring a taxi ahead for the beach to drop us off and pick us up, as we have 9 people. Do you have any Idea of the cost? I swa that you mentioned Winslow, have you used them?

 

Winsome mostly does tours, but you could contact them to find out about their rates for point-to-point transportation. There's a contact form on their website.I haven't used them so I can't make a personal recommendation.

 

Taxis have a maximum capacity of 6 passengers (this may be changed to 7 in the near future), which is why you need a transportation service with a van or minibus for larger parties. Unlike taxis, fares for these services are not set by the government.

 

Even if Winsome isn't available there are usually some minivans available for hire at the Dockyard. If no vans are available, your party could just split up and take two taxis, or take the bus.

Edited March 19, 2014 by njhorseman

[NYfan]

We will be arriving in Bermuda on May 7th, and are looking into booking a private tour of the island. Has anyone used Bermudafootsteps. Read only one post about them. Have reviewed the website too. Interested in what the reviews on CC about what people thought about this tour company.

 

Has anyone booked them and do you have an opening for (2) people.

 

Robert:)

[doc62]

returned from Bermuda 3 weeks ago. Took tour with Dennis Hollis. Highly recommended. Professional,knowledgeable about island as he is a native. Great communication via email.

[MVPinBoynton]

I am glad that doc62 posted, since it reminded me to also. We used David Fox. He did an outstanding job of showing us everything on the island. He was also a pleasant guy to spend the day with.

[soakedbythesea]

I just wanted to add that the prices have been increased this year for taxi tours. We reserved a 4 hour tour with Dennis Hollis as he seemed to get some good reviews from others on Cruise Critic. He told us that our group of 6 will now be $70 an hour. Still sounds like a good deal from a certified driver for 6 of us, as that's under $50 each to see the whole island on Nov. 5, 2014. Our plan is to get an early start, travel to all the major places (but not climb lighthouses or crawl through caves) and return to the ship for lunch, rather than do lunch on the island.

This is to be our last stop before going through the Bermuda Triangle, so wish us luck getting to Florida and Texas without any harm coming to our ship or the souls aboard.:eek:

[soakedbythesea]

We will be arriving in Bermuda on May 7th, and are looking into booking a private tour of the island. Has anyone used Bermudafootsteps. Read only one post about them. Have reviewed the website too. Interested in what the reviews on CC about what people thought about this tour company.

 

Has anyone booked them and do you have an opening for (2) people.

 

Robert:)

 

Heidi and her dog Buddy sounded like they do quite an informative and comprehensive tour. I couldn't get our group to go for $100 each and having a dog along, but she was very prompt and forthcoming with all the details. It sounded like she went above and beyond to show her island and even included a sandwich for lunch.

 

I know I missed sending this before you left, but wondering how it went for you and your group on the tour. shifferds at gmail.com

Edited May 18, 2014 by soakedbythesea

[TopofWorld]

Booked David Fox for a private tour in July more than 2-3 months ago. We agreed on the price, and the itinerary, and all of a sudden today I received an email from him saying he can not be our guide. No explanation, no apologies, no alternatives. If there is a valid excuse, he should have at least mentioned it. Conclusion(s), thought(s) up to you. :confused::eek::(:mad:

[puddles99]

Heidi and her dog Buddy sounded like they do quite an informative and comprehensive tour. I couldn't get our group to go for $100 each and having a dog along, but she was very prompt and forthcoming with all the details. It sounded like she went above and beyond to show her island and even included a sandwich for lunch.

 

I know I missed sending this before you left, but wondering how it went for you and your group on the tour. shifferds at gmail.com

 

Heidi was highly recommended to me but couldn't accommodate us on the day I was hoping. She was very honest about it, offered an alternate date (that unfortunately didn't work for me), and I do hope to have the opportunity to do business with her in the future. Since she was not available, I booked with Winsome Transport (based on reviews here and on Trip Advisor) and look forward to reporting back on my experience in August!

[MVPinBoynton]

Booked David Fox for a private tour in July more than 2-3 months ago. We agreed on the price, and the itinerary, and all of a sudden today I received an email from him saying he can not be our guide. No explanation, no apologies, no alternatives. If there is a valid excuse, he should have at least mentioned it. Conclusion(s), thought(s) up to you. :confused::eek::(:mad:

 

We had a great tour with David. He seemed like a good guy. If he had to cancel, I am sure that he had a good reason since it costs him too. At least he gave you almost 10 weeks' notice to find someone else.

 

When we couldn't find a guide, I asked the original tour guide that I wanted to go with if he could recommend someone else; which he did. I ended up sharing a tour with someone else who had booked David; but the one that was recommended was very good. Someone else on our cruise used him.

Edited May 19, 2014 by MVPinBoynton

[WarmH2OSailing]

Just got back from 3 days in Bermuda on the Summit and spent one day taking a 5 hour island with Blue badged taxi driver Lewis Foggo. Very knowledgable, well spoken and tailored our tour to our interests. I recommend him based on our experience. Have him get you to St George in time for lunch. He put us into the Wahoo Restaurant and we had the best fish chowder we've ever had. You can reach him at Lewis_foggo@hotmail.com.

 

 

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[MVPinBoynton]

Just got back from 3 days in Bermuda on the Summit and spent one day taking a 5 hour island with Blue badged taxi driver Lewis Foggo. Very knowledgable, well spoken and tailored our tour to our interests. I recommend him based on our experience. Have him get you to St George in time for lunch. He put us into the Wahoo Restaurant and we had the best fish chowder we've ever had. You can reach him at Lewis_foggo@hotmail.com.

 

 

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We enjoyed the Wahoo Restaurant with our guide also.

[grandmaR]

We really liked Lewis too - he was very helpful

[conandrob240]

Can you describe what you did in your 5 hrs with Lewis? I want to get the best use of my time!

[WarmH2OSailing]

I think we covered the island. He asked our preference and we said we'd like to see a slice of local activities and a slice of tourism...we did! I asked specifically about golf courses and he took me to the Mid-Ocean club. My wife asked about pink sand and he took her and a Baggie down to the beach and collected some samples. He will take tourists where they want to go and provide an "inside" narrative. We enjoyed the time spent with him.

 

 

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[Hunzi]

We just got back from the Breakaway May 25 sailing. We booked Colin Jennings for two days - Thursday all day, and half the day Friday. That man is a Bermudian National Treasure! We went everywhere and saw everything! I think we saw nearly every inch of coastline, (Ok, we did miss some on St David's), and he was an absolute font of knowledge! Plus he's a lovely man to talk with. I'm normally a do-it-yourself, take a jitney/bus/ferry type girl, but I really wanted to get a full view of the islands, and my DH is partially disabled from military service, so walking/standing very much causes him a lot of pain so I wanted to limit that.

 

He gave us a great overview of the country, was willing to stop anytime/place for photos or to get out to see something. The only thing I didn't do that I wanted to do was climb Gibbs lighthouse - he took us there, and I shopped the gift shop, then DH sort of walked me back to the car and we were chatting with Colin, and I totally forgot I hadn't gone up yet! Next time for sure!

 

Colin made sure we made it to St. Georges in time to see the dunking of the wench, and then we wandered around for a few hours, then he took us to The Beach House by Fort St. Catherine's for lunch (he offered up a couple of ideas.) We invited him to join us, but he had eaten while we were in St Georges.

 

We saw nearly all the beaches I've seen mentioned, we had already spent Wednesday at Horseshoe Bay, and Colin took us to Warwick Long Bay to walk around a bit. Gorgeous! We saw forts, churches, museums, homes both of the famous and modest ones.

 

Loved every minute touring with him and he's cheap at twice the price!

 

If we get back to Bermuda, we'll book him again!

 

Always ;-)

Hunzi

[diskids2]

Heidi was highly recommended to me but couldn't accommodate us on the day I was hoping. She was very honest about it, offered an alternate date (that unfortunately didn't work for me), and I do hope to have the opportunity to do business with her in the future. Since she was not available, I booked with Winsome Transport (based on reviews here and on Trip Advisor) and look forward to reporting back on my experience in August!

 

We have them booked for the cruise right after you....If you have any time, I'd love to hear how it went.

[puddles99]

We have them booked for the cruise right after you....If you have any time, I'd love to hear how it went.

 

 

I'll try to remember to post while we're still on board - feel free to post a nudge if I don't! We're booked on Wednesday, August 13th. :)

 

 

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[diskids2]

Ok thank you and I will ... we are booked for Wed, the 20th.