Tour of Forts

[dcbiker97]

I've been looking around the internet and haven't found anything so I thought I'd post my question on here. I am looking to find out if there are any organized tours that go to several forts around Bermuda. I know that there are several that are open to the public, but was wondering if there was a company that offered transportation/tours of several over the course of a morning/afternoon.

[bdaguy]

I've been looking around the internet and haven't found anything so I thought I'd post my question on here. I am looking to find out if there are any organized tours that go to several forts around Bermuda. I know that there are several that are open to the public, but was wondering if there was a company that offered transportation/tours of several over the course of a morning/afternoon.

i haven't heard of any such tours so you may be doing it on your scooter with a map. the blue flag taxis go by the hour but this would be very expensive if you want to do the major forts. you could try www.bermudayp.com and search for "highways and byways" they are a tour van, but i'm not sure if they do personalized itineraries. if you can't do any of the above, i could figure out a way for you to do it via public transport. the major ones you would want to see are maritime museum in dockyard (west end) fort st catherine (east end) and fort hamilton (central). check out http://www.bermuda.com/attractions/forts/. st georges has the most, as this is the only way for ships of decent size to get into bermuda, so a few are of walking distance from each other and st. georges definitely best enjoyed on foot. the cool thing about forts in bermuda is that they were designed to repel invading ships, so all of them have spectacular ocean views.

[dcbiker97]

Thanks for the information. I've contacted the company. I was hoping to find one person knowledgeable about the forts that can take me around either one on one or as part of a group.

[nursegrrl8]

we'd be interested in a fort tour as well. Let me know if you find anything!

[Writeratsea]

i haven't heard of any such tours so you may be doing it on your scooter with a map. the blue flag taxis go by the hour but this would be very expensive if you want to do the major forts. you could try www.bermudayp.com and search for "highways and byways" they are a tour van, but i'm not sure if they do personalized itineraries. if you can't do any of the above, i could figure out a way for you to do it via public transport. the major ones you would want to see are maritime museum in dockyard (west end) fort st catherine (east end) and fort hamilton (central). check out http://www.bermuda.com/attractions/forts/. st georges has the most, as this is the only way for ships of decent size to get into bermuda, so a few are of walking distance from each other and st. georges definitely best enjoyed on foot. the cool thing about forts in bermuda is that they were designed to repel invading ships, so all of them have spectacular ocean views.

If you go to St. George, don't forget to see the Confederate Museum, located in old Globe Hotel. It is right in the square and its theme is the blockcade runners during the Civil War, when Bermuda did a booming business. We found it very fascinating. Fort St. Catherine's is so well organized with exhibits and dioramas etc, that you really can do it yourself. An added bonus is that there are two nice beaches next to the fort to go swimming afterwards, either St. Catherine's or the less known Achilles Bay. Fort Hamilton has terrific views. Because it is located in the center of Bermuda, you can see one end of Bermuda to the other. The moat has been turned into a botanical garden, just beautiful. The British Maritime museum located in the dockyard has many buildings and displays. Dolphin Quest is also located within and you can just sit on the benches and watch for free. The Commissioner's House has some pirate treasure displays and an incredible coin collection. The outer walls are pretty immpressive and the ocean views provide great photos. When you enter, there is also a large statue of Neptune, a copy of a figurehead from a British warship. That is also a great photo oportunity. All of the forts have displays and a lot of information is presented so I don't think you really need a tour guide, as it is self explanatory. We didn't visit Fort Scaur also near the dockyard. We plan on seeing that fort and the village of Somerset on our upcoming Sept 30 trip on the Majesty.

[CaribbeanBound]

The good news is you do not need a tour. You can do it yourself.

 

If you are berthed in Hamiliton you can easily walk to Fort Hamilton, which is a free attraction to visit. Upon arrival, you’ll cross over a 25-foot long drawbridge over a deep dry moat and into the nicely manicured grounds of the Fort. There are several large cannons and easy access to the upper elevations of the Fort which afford beautiful views of downtown Hamilton and the Bay. (For your best picture opportunities of downtown, go in the morning. However, you’ll get better pictures in the moat in the early afternoon as there will be fewer shadows). We highly recommend exploring the underground passages and walking the moat which is now a nicely planted garden area with lots of foliage and a pathway. The only way down to the moat is via a 108-step lighted stairway from the middle of the Fort’s grounds to the lighted underground passageway and finally out a doorway into the moat. If you like to explore Forts, this free adventure is tough to beat!

 

In St. George, you can walk to Fort St. Catherine, which is a cool fort and museum with lots to explore. Dioramas, videos, and wall plaques along a self-guided tour are highly informative. If you visit here after seeing Fort Hamilton you’ll learn about a few of the unexplained projectile lifts, air tubes, and light boxes you previously saw but maybe didn’t know what they were or how they worked. Next to Fort St. Catherine is St. Catherine Beach. It was very popular, had a snack bar, drinks, and music. It also had some sea glass, but don’t waist your time here. For sea glass by the handful, walk down to Alexandra Beach.

 

Which we did. My wife wasn’t content with the half-gallon of sea glass we picked up the day before. She decided she wanted more. So we walked a mile to Alexandra Beach to hunt more sea glass. This is a very pleasant walk along the coast. As you leave St. Catherine, turn around just as you walk around the first bend in the road. You'll find an awesome picture-taking opportunity of the Fort. Once at Alexandra Beach, we found the tide was about 3 feet higher than it was the day before. While it made looking between the reef rocks dangerous, the cave was still fully accessible and we gathered 2 more quarts of sea glass, and walked back to the ship. Fort St. Catherine is a cool fort and museum with lots to explore. Dioramas, videos, and wall plaques along a self-guided tour are highly informative. If you visit here after seeing Fort Hamilton you’ll learn about a few of the unexplained projectile lifts, air tubes, and light boxes you previously saw but maybe didn’t know what they were or how they worked. Next to Fort St. Catherine is St. Catherine Beach. It was very popular, had a snack bar, drinks, and music. It also had some sea glass, but don’t waist your time here. For sea glass by the handful, walk down to Alexandra Beach.

 

Which we did. My wife wasn’t content with the half-gallon of sea glass we picked up the day before. She decided she wanted more. So we walked a mile to Alexandra Beach to hunt more sea glass. This is a very pleasant walk along the coast. As you leave St. Catherine, turn around just as you walk around the first bend in the road. You'll find an awesome picture-taking opportunity of the Fort. Once at Alexandra Beach, we found the tide was about 3 feet higher than it was the day before. While it made looking between the reef rocks dangerous, the cave was still fully accessible and we gathered 2 more quarts of sea glass, and walked back to the ship. Alexandra Beach also has the remnants of a fort nearby. Not much to see.

 

Tips for Bermuda Visitors and Cruisers

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