Bermuda in March

Hi all,
My boyfriend and I are taking a much-needed vacation to Bermuda the last week of March. I was wondering if any LTHers have visited this lovely island with pink beaches and turquoise waters. And if so, do you have any recommendations of places to eat? Also, if you have any suggestions of must-do things, that would be great too. I know that sitting on the beach is on the top of my list, but maybe we might need something else to see.

Thanks

Sharona

You'll probably want more to do than sitting on the beach, as it may still be a bit chilly in March. The Crystal Caves tour is interesting. And if it's warm enough for snorkelling, Grotto Bay resort has a cave you can snorkel in. Pretty neat if you've never done it.

There's also a decent, if touristy walking tour of Georgetown. I haven't been to Bermuda in more than a decade, so any restaurant recs would be seriously outdated. Having said that, the Princess Hotel in Hamilton had a really classy piano bar/restaurant where you could get a great steak and listen to live jazz.

For a more casual place, I remember this spot called Island cuisine and they served breakfast, lunch and dinner and I probaly ate there everyday for one of the three, I remember the pancakes and fresh pan-fried wahoo (my favorite fish) being really good and the sandwich's they made seemed to please everyone I was with, but this was 3 years ago so tings may have changed. I found a website here...

http://www.islandcuisine.bm/index.html

Sharona wrote:Hi all,
My boyfriend and I are taking a much-needed vacation to Bermuda the last week of March. I was wondering if any LTHers have visited this lovely island with pink beaches and turquoise waters. And if so, do you have any recommendations of places to eat? Also, if you have any suggestions of must-do things, that would be great too. I know that sitting on the beach is on the top of my list, but maybe we might need something else to see.

Thanks

Sharona

Hi Sharona - I've been there many times for work trips over the past 3 years, and sampled many of the island's restaurants.

Nicer and Pricier places:
Seahorse Grill - very good food and service, at Elbow Beach Hotel
Mickey's Bistro - good food, only open if warm outside, at Elbow Beach Hotel on the beach
L'Oriental - in town, great sushi and cooked Japanese food, no view
Ascots - supposed to be one of the best restaurants on the island, no view
Barracuda Grill - very nice food, in town, no view
Bistro J - in town, good food, "market" menu, no view
Aqua - at Ariel Sands, nice especially if eating outside, good food
Blu - at Belmont golf course, really nice restaurant for steak, great views
Waterloo House - in town, nice place for lunch when back patio is open
Fresco's - Mediterranean food, in town
Mediterraneo - in town, good food
Silk - pretty nice Thai food, in town, view of harbor, nice atmosphere
Harley's - at Fairmont Hamilton Princess, pretty good food, better when it's warm enough to sit outside

More Casual and Not-as-Pricey places:
Swizzle Inn (2 locations - one by the airport and one on South Shore) - fun place to get drinks and also has food
Henry VIII - fun for drinks and has ok food, near Southhampton
Hog Penny - fun place, in town, good food (try rock fish)
Pickled Onion - great drinks, food is pretty good
Portofino - reasonably priced Italian, in town, good pastas and salads
Robin Hood - pretty good pizza, not much of a view

Places that aren't worth the money (in my opinion) - Lobster Pot, Harbourfront, Port O'Call, Little Venice, Flanagan's

Elbow Beach is one of the better beaches. There is a smaller beach at Southhampton Princess and also a nice golf course there. You can take a ferry to the Royal Naval Dockyard area - there are some cool shops (like Dockyard Glassworks and Bermuda Rum Cake Factory) and some OK places to eat. Ferries and glass bottom boat tours leave from Hamilton Harbour. St. Georges is a nice place to walk around. The Botanical Gardens are a nice place to walk around and guided tours are available. You can also go cave-exploring at Crystal Caves. You can climb to the top of Gibb's Hill Lighthouse near Southhampton for great views. Other activities which may require guides and/or equipment rental are snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, and fishing. You can also rent scooters to get around.

These websites offer a bunch of information:
http://www.bermuda.com/
http://www.bermudatourism.com/index.aspx
http://www.bermuda4u.com/
http://www.diningbermuda.com/

It is a beautiful place and a great place to relax. Enjoy!

Thanks for the recommendations! We just got back from Bermuda last night and had an incredible time. It was a bit chilly to sit on the beach, but we did get to see the Royal Naval Dockyard, St. Georges, and the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. We stayed at the Fairmount Hamilton Princess, which was a short walk to the city center of Hamilton. Pictures, as soon as I get them developed, are forthcoming. But thank you everyone once again for the recommendations--it was an unforgettable vacation.
The places we did eat at were (all were in Hamilton unless noted):

Pickled Onion
Fresco's
White Horse Pub (on St Georges)
Swizzle Inn (in Bailey's Bay)
Bailey's Ice Cream (in Bailey's Bay)
Cafe Cairo
Gibbs Hill Tearoom (in Southhampton)
Beethoven's (at Dockyard)
Hog Penny Pub

I also did do a small survey on fish chowder in Bermuda. It is the national dish (http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Chowder/BermudaFishChowder.htm) and I did enjoy 4 bowls of it while on vacation. I especially loved how I could douse my soup in black rum! My favorite was at the Pickled Onion, complete with big chunks of fish and a rich earthy flavor. Least favorite was from the Swizzle Inn, which was bland and I couldn't find a chunk of fish in sight.

Every restaurant we went to had vegetarian options for my boyfriend and plenty of other/meaty options for me, including a piece of suckling pig from the Hog Penny!

Pictures will hopefully be up by the end of the week. The island is picturesque, with my favorite view being the causeway you take from the airport to Hamilton, and surprisingly easy to navigate with a pretty darn incredible public transportation system! Thanks again everyone!

Sharona

Never been, want to go some spring to play golf, but I thought I'd mention to LTHers who may have United miles that United is discounting the amount of miles needed for a free ticket from 35,000 to 20,000 for the next few months, for the Wednesday and Sunday flights.