It’s not the Caribbean. This mid-Atlantic island charms with pink-sand beaches and warm welcomes.
Imagine an island with pale-pink beaches and turquoise water, where the limestone houses come in every colour of the rainbow, the sunsets look like cotton candy and the songs of tiny whistling frogs lull you to sleep.
With direct under-three-hour flights from Toronto via BermudAir and Air Canada, you can be in sub-tropical Bermuda in less time than it takes to drive to Muskoka.
The 55-square-kilometre, fishhook-shaped string of seven main islands linked by bridges isn’t in the Caribbean. It’s in the mid-Atlantic, off the coast of North Carolina.
Settled in 1609 by English sailors who were shipwrecked off what was then an uninhabited paradise, Bermuda wears its heritage proudly as the world’s oldest British Overseas Territory. It could also win prizes for friendliness.
“People who come here are adventure seekers, looking for authentic experiences. The whole island is your resort,” says Rebecca Singleton. The Bermuda-born founder and owner of TABS (The Authentic Bermuda Shorts) has updated the island’s most recognizable statement fashion item with her line of men’s and women’s shorts.
You’ll notice the just-above-the-knee shorts not long after you land at Bermuda International Airport. The staff wear them. Your hotel staff probably does, too. Even police officers sport the practical-yet-stylish workwear. Like Bermuda’s houses, the shorts come in a rainbow of shades, from coral and mint green to yellow and aqua. They’re most often worn by men and paired with a cotton shirt, smart tie and knee socks for work. Add a linen-blend jacket in a contrasting colour, and it’s called the Bermuda Suit.
Pick up a pair of these wearable souvenirs at TABS stores in Hamilton, the Royal Naval Dockyard and The English Sports Shop in Hamilton and St. George’s, which says it’s been the original home of Bermuda shorts for more than 100 years. Singleton says although smitten visitors often return to Bermuda, it remains a “best-kept secret” to many travellers.
“For me, Bermuda is like a giant playground,” she says. Bermuda playtime could mean exploring narrow lanes lined with colourful cottages and the lush hidden gardens of the historic town of St. George’s Town. Look for one of the island’s romantic, Asian-inspired moongates for a photo.
Founded in 1612, the former capital (it’s now called Hamilton) is the earliest English colonial town settled in the New World, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I met Alison Outerbridge of The St. George’s Foundation for an hour-long tour of the town. She explained how the white stepped roofs keep houses cool and catch rain for basement cisterns. Historic St. Peter’s Church is the oldest Anglican church outside the British Isles. It has a remarkable history and a beautiful Bermuda cedar roof.
I nominate the fantastically sloppy fish sandwich for Bermuda’s national sarnie. Beloved by locals, it has generous slabs of crispy fried wahoo, rockfish or turbot layered with tomatoes, lettuce, coleslaw, hot sauce and splats of tartar sauce, between thick slices of raisin bread. Yup, raisin bread. And it works. We got ours at takeout joint Mamma Mia in Hamilton Parrish and devoured them at a picnic table beside the aquamarine water at Flatt’s Village.
With more than 30 beaches, it’s impossible to resist Bermuda’s crystalline water. Shallow entries make getting into the warm water easy. Horseshoe Bay on the south coast is the most famous beach on the island, with a long curve of pink-tinged sand. Warwick Long Bay gets the nod from locals as a top beach. I loved Tobacco Bay, a small crescent beach a 15-minute walk from St. George’s. It has a casual waterside restaurant with beach chairs and snorkel gear for rent.
Bermuda is a diver’s paradise, with more than 300 shipwrecks (and counting) to explore. Sam Bennett of EcoDive Bermuda said snorkellers can watch sea life just a short swim from shore, including plenty of vibrant parrotfish. Bermuda has a healthy population of the reef-nibbling sea creatures. They’re credited with creating the pale-rose beaches that led a mania for all things pink on the island, by pooping out the remains of their colourful coral meals as fine sand.
Bermuda is a four-seasons getaway, with average daytime temperatures around 21 °C in winter, though it gets hot here in high season from May to mid-October. Cool off in one of Bermuda’s famous caves. A jump into the clear, cool water in Cathedral Cave at the Grotto Bay Beach Hotel felt life-changing. I followed that up with a massage on a floating platform in Prospero’s Cave, the site of the hotel’s Natura Spa.
Even if there are no rental cars on the island, getting around Bermuda is easy. Two-seat electric-powered rental microcars are popular. Taxis are plentiful and there are local buses. Just don’t be in a hurry; traffic is often backed up on the island’s three main roads. But the scenery makes that a minor problem.
If two wheels appeal, try a cycle tour along part of the 35-km, ocean-hugging Railway Trail with Pedego Electric Bikes Bermuda.
Afterwards, relax with a lunch of grilled local fish on the harbour-facing patio at Wahoo’s Bistro & Patio. Toast the day with the national drink, a boozy Rum Swizzle.
Take a glass-bottom boat tour from the busy Royal Naval Dockyard complex to see fish, coral and the wreck of the HMS Vixen. The ship was deliberately scuttled in the 19th century to create a barrier to intruders, and her bow still pokes up from the water.
We had a glimpse of Bermuda’s famously vivid coral from the boat but were able to see so much more by snorkelling near it, especially the incredible, violet-coloured sea fans. The soft corals, some the size of office chairs, enthralled us when we joined a Coral Garden Workshop led by marine biologist Dr. Samia Sarkis of the Living Reefs Foundation. It’s offered through Rosewood Bermuda luxury resort.
Visitors can put on snorkel gear and dive in to learn about Sarkis’s project growing corals that will help restore reefs and protect weather-vulnerable structures, like the Bermuda Causeway linking Hamilton Parish and Bermuda International Airport. Sarkis grows baby coral on tiles affixed to a handful of rebar pyramids on the ocean floor. Once the corals are big enough, they’re cemented onto reefs or rocks.
Back on land, try some of Bermuda’s signature scents at 100-year-old Lili Bermuda perfumery, in a 1730s stone cottage known as Stewart Hall in St. George. Canadian owner and perfumer Isabelle Ramsay-Brackstone can thank a shipwreck for one of her latest fragrances, which she blends to tell stories of Bermuda. Mary Celestia is based on a bottle of perfume recovered from the 1864 wreck of the American Civil War blockade runner of the same name near Horseshoe Bay.
“We had ghosts coming out of that bottle,” Ramsay-Brackstone said of the glass flagon of London-made perfume that inspired the fragrance.
They say everyone in Bermuda has a story to tell, and Ramsay-Brackstone is no exception. She’s the Honourary Consul of Canada, appointed to help Canadians in Bermuda with problems like lost passports, even if they dropped into the Bermuda Triangle.
Bermuda embraces the fact-or-fiction tales of this area of the North Atlantic, where planes and ships have disappeared without a trace. We spotted triangles everywhere, from earrings at “Bohemian bungalow” 1609 Design Boutique in Hamilton, to the red triangle on each pair of TABS Bermuda shorts and triangular details on buildings and houses.
Bermuda’s other signature is the colour pink. Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa in Sandys Parish pairs the Gatsby-era elegance from its 1923 opening with modern flair in vibrant pink cottage-style rooms and suites. Known as the Pink Palace, The Fairmont Hamilton Princess Bermuda has a staggering amount of contemporary art throughout the hotel, including a Picasso, Warhol and Banksy.
Where to eat
Bermuda is for food lovers, with an emphasis on local seafood like fish and spiny lobster, flamboyant cocktails and good service.
The elegant Waterlot was built in 1670 and was the home of the Darrell family for 300 years. It’s known for steaks, tableside Caesar salad and flambéed Bananas Foster.
Breezes at Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa has outdoor dining and spectacular sunset views. Fairmont Hamilton Princess Bermuda in Hamilton hosts weekly upscale beach barbecues during high season at its Hamilton Princess Beach Club.
Linda Barnard was a guest of the Bermuda Tourism Authority, which did not preview this story.
