After spending three days on the ship feeling nauseous, I couldn’t be happier to get off and explore Bermuda. We docked at 7 AM, and I rushed to wake myself up, grab a quick breakfast and then pack myself a lunch. A word of caution to anyone that visits Bermuda, everything there is ridiculously expensive – including food. We’d heard from some other cruisers that had been to Bermuda before that a burger can run you upwards of almost $40 CAD, so I wasn’t exactly planning on blowing my souvenir cash on fast food.
Another tip while I’m at it, is to buy yourself a Transportation Pass instead of resorting to any other method of payment for travel while on the island. For only $32, you can take any method of public transit for 2 whole days (and as many times as you want!) or you could pay $60 for a taxi to drive you from one end of the island to the other. Clearly the Transportation Pass is the better choice, but the only downside is that you’re at the mercy of the bus/ferry schedule. And trust me when I say mercy, because they don’t run often. Miss the bus? You’re stuck wherever you are for 30 minutes. Miss the ferry? Try at least an hour or even 3 hours.
So you can guess that we chose the unlimited travel method, and instead tried to catch the ferry and busses on time. But knowing me and my family, being pathologically tardy, we missed both and had to reschedule how we wanted to tackle the beautiful country.
For our first day, we had originally planned to go up to Tobacco Bay (which is known for its notoriously clear and still waters – but more on that later), before exploring the Crystal Caves and stopping by the Perfumery. Instead, we visited a couple of the beautiful beaches (that we had planned to see on the second and third day), and toured Bermuda’s downtown core – Hamilton, all while taking in the country on hour long bus rides.
If you’ve never been to Bermuda, I highly suggest that you take the time to ride the bus routes at their fullest! Don’t just rely on a taxi or the ferry to take you around. Really immerse yourself in the culture by taking one of their hour long public transit busses to see where the indigenous people live, what their land is like beyond what tourists see, and what the country has to offer besides just beaches and water.
One of our first stops of the day was Elbow Beach. Although it’s one of Bermuda’s most famous beaches (cue every dream you’ve ever had of soft white sand and turquoise blue waters) it’s dramatically less busy than the other popular beach – Horseshoe Bay. Maybe because the rock formations at Horseshoe Bay are so much more fun to photograph and explore, but Elbow Beach is just as beautiful.
If you’re one that prefers a quiet beach, almost to the point where you have it to yourself, over an over-populated beach that’s rife with tourism, then Elbow Beach is your place. Miles of soft white sand that’s gently littered with broken pink seashells (though the sand isn’t as pink as Horseshoe Bay) combined with crystal clear blue waters is what I wanted, and what I found. Not to mention that the path down to the beach from the bus stop is impeccable on its own.
Imagine an alleyway wide enough for 2 cars to pass through side by side with tall sun-bleached grey-stoned walls. And crawling down from the walls are vines and hibiscus flowers with petals drifting to the ground. I couldn’t help myself but pluck a couple of the cherry blossoms and hibiscus flowers – but don’t worry, the locals confirmed with me that it was okay to do!
We befriended another family on the bus and they accompanied us to the beautiful sprawling beach. They had originally planned to only stop at Horseshoe Bay, but after we shared with them a tidbit of information that locals gave us, they decided to give Elbow Beach a try as well. Plus it doesn’t hurt to meet new people and make friends when you’re on a vacation – am I right?
We spent the morning relaxing on the beach munching on our self-made lunches before packing up and leaving to the next destination – Horseshoe Bay! Note to adventurers, most cruise ships will allow you to take food off, but you won’t be able to bring any food back on. So if you can smuggle some sandwhiches out of the buffet (which the crew members had no issue with us doing), I highly recommend it to save yourself some cash.
If you’re feeling a little bit of deju vu and wondering if you’ve seen this dress before, you’re not wrong. This floral maxi has somewhat turned into a Sisterhood of the Traveling Maxi Dress – minus the sisterhood part (I’m the only one that wears it haha). Everywhere I go, this dress seems to sneak its way into my suitcase. Okay I lied, it doesn’t sneak in, I actively pack it. But only because I don’t often get the chance to wear it normally (the slit is way to high to be acceptable in the office) so naturally taking it on a tropical vacation is the only other option.
But if you’re starting to get sick of seeing this dress, then I just ask that you hold on for a little bit longer. I have a couple more sets of photos from the same day, but exploring other places, and clearly I didn’t pack two different outfits, so one dress will have to do. But does that mean that this dress is slowly becoming the Traveling Maxi Dress? And if it is, does that mean that I have no choice but to bring it with me whenever I travel anywhere from now on?
Dress – Urban Outfitters (similar here, and here) | Bikini Top – Triangl
