Need help with 3 day plan

[alwalaska]

SailBadtheSinner and all the other helpful people out here, I need your help.

 

I am going to list each of my 3 days below in separate posts, along with day specific questions. I appreciate any and all suggestions and comments.

We're going May 13th, so I'm not sure if the weather will be warm enough to want to spend time snorkeling.

General Questions

 

1. Is there a time when a short visit to a pink beach would fit?
   
2. Would we be able to fit a cave tour in? If so, where would it best fit?
   
3. Is there a copy of the summer 2011 ferry and bus schedules somewhere?
   
4. Are we missing something obvious?
   

[alwalaska]

Day 1 (Wednesday) - Hamilton

Dock around 8am and head immediately to Hamilton (hopefully on the first Ferry - Carnival is docking a large ship 30 minutes after us)

Take part of the Hamilton walking tour from http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bermuda/0091020033.html

12:30 - 5pm - Boat rental through Tony and Aquatic Bermuda

Evening - Hamilton Harbour Nights

Questions -

Depending on what time we arrive at Hamilton, what part(s) of the walking tour would you leave for the evening or skip all together?

Is there somewhere we can pick up food to take with us on our boat tour? We will have a cooler provided and we can buy ice.

For 2 adults and 2 picky young adults (18 & 20), where is a friendly and not too expensive place for a late lunch / early dinner?

[alwalaska]

Day 2 - St Georges

Walking Tour - http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bermuda/0091020034.html

Fort St Catherine

Possibly other forts in this area

??Crystal Caves

??Pink Beach

Possible evening Pirate Adventure

Questions -

 

1. Does the Wench ducking and other reenactments typically occur each day or only on Wednesdays?
   
2. Any fort recommendations?
   
3. Transportation Recommendations?
   

[alwalaska]

Day 3 - ??Dockyard (2 fairly large ships in port - last of 3 days for both ships)

Fort and Bermuda Maritime Museum

Bermuda Dockyard Glassworks

??Rent kayak close to dockyard - free transportation provided

??Pink beach walk

??Crystal Cave

Questions -

 

1. Will everyone have the same idea and stay close the last day? Are we better off clearing out - at least in the morning?
   
2. Is there enough to keep us busy all day? We don't leave until 5pm . The other ship doesn't leave until 4:30 pm either.
   

[SailBadtheSinner]

First, the easy ones:

ferry schedule - http://www.marineandports.bm/Img/downloads/BMOC/summer_schedule_11.pdf

bus schedule - http://www.gov.bm/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_18606_252_993_43/http%3B/ptpublisher.gov.bm%3B7087/publishedcontent/publish/ministry_of_tourism_and_transport/public_transportation_board/bus_schedules/bus_schedule11.pdf

 

Pink sand beaches are found at the South Shore Beaches and would not be a good fit on day 2 with your visit to St George.

 

The visit to the caves could be a fit when you visit St George.

 

You may fit the pink sand beach visit in on day 1. After the boat rental, walk to the bus terminal on Church St and board a route #7 bus and get off at Horseshoe Bay for pink sand. When done at HSB, either board an outbound route #7 bus and go back to your cruise ship or take an inbound route #7 bus to go back to Hamilton for Harbour Nights.

 

I'm including a map to help you with the locations of attractions:

 

Both links worked for me; if they don't for you, post back and I'll try another way.

 

 

SBtS

[njhorseman]

As far as ferry schedules are concerned, you need to wait until mid April, when the 2012 summer schedule will be published. While the 2011 schedule might be useful to get an idea of service to Hamilton, the 2011 schedule for St. George was very limited and might be significantly revised this year. Since there is no winter service to St. George, the schedule currently in use won't be of any value to you for that route.

[alwalaska]

Thanks so much. The links worked great. I had found the bus schedule but didn't realize it current. I have saved both to my hard drive now so that I have them handy whenever I need them.

 

So, does everything else seem reasonable, or are you working on the harder items?

 

Your posts are extremely helpful and I appreciate all the time you take to help all of us.

[SailBadtheSinner]

Answers to General Questions

 

• Is there a time when a short visit to a pink beach would fit? Day 1
  
• Would we be able to fit a cave tour in? If so, where would it best fit? Day 2
  
• Is there a copy of the summer 2011 ferry and bus schedules somewhere? provided
  

 

Day 3 is good; staying close to the cruise ship on departure day is never a bad idea. A lot of people will make this a Horseshoe Bay Beach day so I don't see the Dockyard as crowded. You can rent kayaks from Snorkel Park which is about 7 minutes from the cruise ship. Somerset Bridge Water Sports offers kayak rentals but are not located at the Dockyard and would require a short bus ride. I don't see a problem renting from SBWS in the AM. NO pink sand beach walk & no Crystal Caves.

 

Day 2, St George. Yes to walking tour, and visit to Fort St Catherine. Additional forts to consider – Alexandra Battery and Gates Fort. The wench dunking occurs on Wednesday & Saturday. For transportation, the ferry is the fastest, but has limited scheduling (see 2011 schedule but may change for 2012). Your day in SG won't start until 10:45PM (2011 schedule). You could start earlier by taking the 7:30AM ferry to Hamilton and then a route #10 or #11 bus to SG. Arriving in SG at about 9:35AM. There are 2 ways to see the Crystal Caves in the same day. Option one, ferry to SG and do walk and forts and then take first available route #1 or #3 bus to the caves. Could take route #10 or #11 buses but those routes do not pass by the caves which leaves about a 7 minute walk from where you are dropped (opposite the Swizzle Inn). Downside, the last cave tour starts at 4:30PM. Option two, take the 7:30AM ferry to Hamilton and then a route #10 or #11 bus (close) to the caves getting there maybe 20 minutes after opening. Then continue to SG on any outbound bus. NO pink sand beach walk.

 

Day 1, Hamilton. First thing, buy transportation passes. Next, get in line for ferry to Hamilton. For the walking tour, I would be sure to do Fort Hamilton and its moat; and climb the bell tower of the Bermuda Cathedral (10). Fit in whatever else you have time for. After the boat rental which I believe starts and ends in Hamilton, take a route #7 bus to Warwick Long Bay Beach and take the beach paths to Horseshoe Bay Beach. You should see pink sand at each beach. This is doable because the sun sets after 8PM during the days of your visit. Take outbound route #7 back to the cruise ship or inbound route #7 bus to Hamilton. As for food during the boat rental, I don't know enough about Hamilton but the Frommer walking tour has Take a Break (as part of #7) and mentions Paradiso Cafe for eats.

 

To fit snorkeling in, except at Snorkel Park, will require a major tweak.

 

 

SBtS

[alwalaska]

This is perfect! Thank you so much! I'm really excited for our trip now.

 

We can snorkel on our boat rental if we really want to. I'm thinking we are not going to really want to in mid-May unless we have a really nice warm sunny day. :)

[alwalaska]

there's a guy that works a little tour mini bus.. called beach buggy ..really good down to earth guy...check him out if he is booked he always help's you find another....do not but any tickets or tours on board the ship

 

Our plans are pretty full, but otherson our roll call may be interested. Where can I find more info? Is he located at the dock yard? I tried Google and didn't come up with anything.