What are the best beaches especially not looking for big crowds?

[Charles4515]

29 minutes ago, mcarbone2001 said:

I  found a map of Bermuda on line.(not very big map.)  Cant find turtle bay or Tobacco bay.  Can anyone give me a clue.  Thanks

Is Clearwater beach near Turtle bay??

 

 

Turtle Bay is right next to Clearwater beach. The lifeguard station for that watches both beaches is in between. Turtle Bay is where you might see turtles. Might see them at Clearwater too but at Turtle Bay you probably would. 

 

Tobacco Bay is on St. George. It is about a 15 minute walk north from the town square past the unfinished church. Or a short taxi ride from the town square or the St. George ferry dock. 

[trivia addict]

We were at Clearwater Beach a few weeks ago. Yes, there is a new concession there and it is quite nice. A large outdoor bar, and grilled food from a food truck next to it. Rentals for chairs and umbrellas and clean restrooms. The new owner is anxious to please. Food and beverage prices are not cheap but are what I expect in Bermuda.

 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, trivia addict said:

We were at Clearwater Beach a few weeks ago. Yes, there is a new concession there and it is quite nice. A large outdoor bar, and grilled food from a food truck next to it. Rentals for chairs and umbrellas and clean restrooms. The new owner is anxious to please. Food and beverage prices are not cheap but are what I expect in Bermuda.

 

Than you for posing a first hand report!

[Graciesmom2]

We were at Horseshoe Bay this past Wed.the 29th.  It was very crowded but we enjoyed. There were many Portugese Man o War and several swimmers were stung. They closed the beach to all swimmers on Wed for that problem. So best have a plan “B” this time of year. 
 

We took  the $7.00 shuttle from the Dockyard. It took us right to the beach entrance. The public bus is cheaper if you have a pass, but it drops you off at the top of the hill.  Not bad going down, but quite a trudge back up. The shuttle is a min-bus and they will wait until it’s full to leave, but that was not an issue for us. We left right away to go to the beach, and maybe 10 minutes for the return. I’m older so the walk up the hill for public transportation would have been a real issue for me. 

[ekmmom]

On 7/3/2022 at 3:51 PM, trivia addict said:

We were at Clearwater Beach a few weeks ago. Yes, there is a new concession there and it is quite nice. A large outdoor bar, and grilled food from a food truck next to it. Rentals for chairs and umbrellas and clean restrooms. The new owner is anxious to please. Food and beverage prices are not cheap but are what I expect in Bermuda.

 

Do you know what they are charging for chair/umbrella rentals? Thanks!

[trivia addict]

Sorry, I can’t help you. Although we usually go by ourselves on public transportation, this time we took the ship excursion to the beach, and the chairs and umbrella were included in the excursion price.

[Charles4515]

41 minutes ago, trivia addict said:

Sorry, I can’t help you. Although we usually go by ourselves on public transportation, this time we took the ship excursion to the beach, and the chairs and umbrella were included in the excursion price.

 

How much was the excursion? How long were you at the beach?

[trivia addict]

We were on the Celebrity Summit and the excursion was $145 pp. it is much less to do the beach by yourself, but it entails a ferry, a bus and a walk. Due to health reasons, I decided to take the easy way this time. Our small van took us from the pier at 9:30 and we had to be back into the van at the beach by 1:45. It was approximately a one hour ride each way.

The van held about 16-20 people, it was clean and comfortable, and the driver gave a very good overview of the Island as we drove.

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, trivia addict said:

We were on the Celebrity Summit and the excursion was $145 pp. it is much less to do the beach by yourself, but it entails a ferry, a bus and a walk. Due to health reasons, I decided to take the easy way this time. Our small van took us from the pier at 9:30 and we had to be back into the van at the beach by 1:45. It was approximately a one hour ride each way.

The van held about 16-20 people, it was clean and comfortable, and the driver gave a very good overview of the Island as we drove.

It does not take a ferry and bus to do it by by yourself. You can take a direct van for $7 each way PP. from the Dockyard. They take you right down to the beach with no walk. The time is about 30 minutes each way. (a private taxi by the way $32 each way)The cruise line is renting the same $7 vans and up charging. You really got taken for a ride. 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

I have seen on social media that there is food truck, rentals and a porta potty at Elbow Beach. They are not using the resort part of the beach. They are on the public part. It looks pretty uncrowded. Also there are steep stairs from Tribe road which would hinder anyone with mobility issues. Warwick Long Bay also has a food truck, rentals, porta potty. No steep stairs there. I would warn that there is a deep drop off in an out of the ocean there. On a day with heavy surf a few years ago I found it somewhat difficult to get back on the beach from the water. You can take either a bus or a taxi to either beach. 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Charles4515

[trivia addict]

I know that the closer beaches are only $7 for direct van, but I am not so sure about Clearwater since it is so far. Most likely could do it for less than I paid by hiring someone at the dock, but I think it would be considerably more than $7. Could be wrong so would like to hear directly from someone  who actually did this recently.

[Charles4515]

23 minutes ago, trivia addict said:

I know that the closer beaches are only $7 for direct van, but I am not so sure about Clearwater since it is so far. Most likely could do it for less than I paid by hiring someone at the dock, but I think it would be considerably more than $7. Could be wrong so would like to hear directly from someone  who actually did this recently.

Sorry I missed that you were talking about Clearwater. I am getting threads mixed up.  It would be more than $7 but considerably less than you paid. A nice ferry ride for $4.50 PP each way and the a $20 taxi ride each way plus chairs. No walking. 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Charles4515

[FrannyK]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I have seen on social media that there is food truck, rentals and a porta potty at Elbow Beach. They are not using the resort part of the beach. They are on the public part. It looks pretty uncrowded. Also there are steep stairs from Tribe road which would hinder anyone with mobility issues. Warwick Long Bay also has a food truck, rentals, porta potty. No steep stairs there. I would warn that there is a deep drop off in an out of the ocean there. On a day with heavy surf a few years ago I found it somewhat difficult to get back on the beach from the water. You can take either a bus or a taxi to either beach. 

If this is true, they are great alternatives.

 

[cruisingxpert]

On 5/16/2022 at 6:30 PM, Charles4515 said:

Gombeys found us a gypsy driver who charged the same $20 fare as the taxi. 

You are so very helpful, Charles.  Appreciate that you take the time to respond.  You mentioned a gypsy driver which someone on the Insignia right now talked about.  She said she had found a regular taxi and asked to go to Clearwater Beach and would the driver agree to meet and bring them back.  He said no and that they should go to Tobacco Bay because they could get a cab back.  They went, thought it was awful and jumped into a cab that was just dropping people off at Tobacco Bay.  She found out that he was a "gypsy" driver.  He took them to Clearwater Beach and agreed to a time to pick them up.  They mentioned the bar and the food truck, had a great time and the driver picked them up right on time.

My question- we are docking in St George next week on Insignia and I wonder how we find a "gypsy" driver to take us to Clearwater and agree to bring us back at a designated time.

[Charles4515]

3 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

She found out that he was a "gypsy" driver.  He took them to Clearwater Beach and agreed to a time to pick them up.  They mentioned the bar and the food truck, had a great time and the driver picked them up right on time.

My question- we are docking in St George next week on Insignia and I wonder how we find a "gypsy" driver to take us to Clearwater and agree to bring us back at a designated time.

 

The concession at Clearwater found the gypsy driver for us  when we asked if they would call a taxi. He must have been hanging out there waiting for the opportunity. There was a couple that had prearranged for a taxi back but they thought he had stood them up so we all shared the gypsy taxi who charged the same amount as the legal taxi we had taken to Clearwater. So $20 divided by 4 we did not mind.  I don't know how to find one to take you there from St. George. The passenger on Insignia now lucked out. We took a taxi to Clearwater from St. George. We had no problem finding one to take us there from the  town square.  I was on Insignia and not overly worried about getting back as we didn't have to catch a ferry back to the Dockyard. I don't mind some adventure when there is no pressure.  Also it is in the interest of the concession there for people to come and go so I believe they will help tourists find a taxi or other ride back to St. George otherwise tourists won't go there. I have also found Bermudians to be very helpful to visitors. There is a taxi app called Hitch that I hve on my phone that I have never had to use but you might want to download it.

Edited July 17, 2022 by Charles4515

[cruisingxpert]

11 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

The concession at Clearwater found the gypsy driver for us  when we asked if they would call a taxi. He must have been hanging out there waiting for the opportunity. There was a couple that had prearranged for a taxi back but they thought he had stood them up so we all shared the gypsy taxi who charged the same amount as the legal taxi we had taken to Clearwater. So $20 divided by 4 we did not mind.  I don't know how to find one to take you there from St. George. The passenger on Insignia now lucked out. We took a taxi to Clearwater from St. George. We had no problem finding one to take us therefrom the  town square.  I was on Insignia and not overly worried as we didn't have to catch a ferry back to the Dockyard. It is in the interest of the concession there for people to come and go so I believe they will help tourists find a taxi or other ride back to St. George otherwise tourists won't go there. There is a taxi app called Hitch that I hve on my phone that I have never had to use but you might want to download it.

Thank you.  That's great information.  Really looking forward to coming back to Bermuda 

[KATHYMAC68]

Does anyone know of any resorts offering a day pass? Any offer all inclusive?

Access to beach and pool also…

[princeton123211]

5 hours ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

Does anyone know of any resorts offering a day pass? Any offer all inclusive?

Access to beach and pool also…

It's not really a thing in Bermuda like it is in the Caribbean or Mexico. I believe Coco Reef is the only one of note that does it. Pretty much all other resorts on the island are militant about reserving those facilities for guests only. 

[Charles4515]

5 hours ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

Does anyone know of any resorts offering a day pass? Any offer all inclusive?

Access to beach and pool also…

Right now only Coco Reef is offering a day pass. As the previous poster noted day passes are not a thing in Bermuda. They charge $110 pp which includes use of chairs , the pool amd lunch. Does not include beverages. They have been known of late to cancel booked day passes if the hotel is booked up. You can reserve on Resorts for a Day. 

[moposh]

On 5/20/2022 at 9:12 PM, JFontaine said:

I would add another vote for Horseshoe.  I get there early,  before 9 and the crowds don't get there until 11.  I don't think the chair rental opens until 10. If walking is not a problem, the chair guys will set up chairs pretty far down the beach. It will get crowded there too eventually,  but nothing like at the entrance to the beach. 

Is it pretty warm at this time?

[Charles4515]

7 hours ago, moposh said:

Is it pretty warm at this time?

It will be in the mid eighties this time of year and very high humidity.  Where I am posting from here in the US it is 102 with low humidity.  So I guess Bermuda is warm but not pretty warm? 😎

[mthayer295]

On 7/22/2022 at 12:11 PM, Charles4515 said:

Right now only Coco Reef is offering a day pass. As the previous poster noted day passes are not a thing in Bermuda. They charge $110 pp which includes use of chairs , the pool amd lunch. Does not include beverages. They have been known of late to cancel booked day passes if the hotel is booked up. You can reserve on Resorts for a Day. 

Coco Reef cancelled our reservation for day passes for our August arrival.  I had contacted them back in the Spring.  At first they said there were not taking reservations as they had not opened officially for season.  THen they contacted me about a month later and did take my reservation.  However they cancelled a month or so ago saying they just did not have enough staff to take any day passes this year.  We used to go to elbow beach resort day passes each time we visited but alas that resort is no longer open.  We decided to book a rather expensive excursion thru NCL to Clearwater as it sounded the closest to a day pass experience - no hassles, access to food, chairs and umbrellas included.  

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, mthayer295 said:

We decided to book a rather expensive excursion thru NCL to Clearwater as it sounded the closest to a day pass experience - no hassles, access to food, chairs and umbrellas included.  

 

From what I can tell all who booked Coco Reef have had it canceled.

 

Is the food included at Clearwater? I have gone to Clearwater do it myself and it was $5 each way on the ferry ( you are on NCL so would pay zero)  and $20 each way for a taxi. Chairs were $10 each. An umbrella was $10. I believe the NCL excursion is $145 PP. We spent $75 pp. (shared one umbrella)

Edited July 30, 2022 by Charles4515

[ajtraveler66]

We did a day pass at the Elbow Beach.  It was a wonderful day!

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, ajtraveler66 said:

We did a day pass at the Elbow Beach.  It was a wonderful day!

When? The hotel has been closed since early 2020.