About Bermuda
Learn About Bermuda...
⮚Bermuda, a Colony of Great Britain:
Bermuda is a self-governing British Overseas Territory with a parliamentary government. Under its 1968 constitution, the British Monarch, represented by the Governor, is the Head of State.
⮚The Town of St. George:
The Town of St. George, in the eastern end of the Island, founded in 1612, is one of the earliest English urban settlements in the New World.
It’s known for being the territory’s first English settlement.
Colonial buildings on and around central King’s Square include the 18th-century Town Hall.
Nearby, the Tucker House Museum is a typical home from the 1700s, with displays of crystal, silver and period furniture.
Other notable landmarks include St. Peter’s Church, founded in 1612.
⮚The City of Hamilton:
Founded in 1788, the City of Hamilton was named after Sir Henry Hamilton, who served as Governor of Bermuda until 1794.
The City of Hamilton, In Pembroke Parish, is the territorial capital. It is the territory’s Financial Centre and a port and tourist destination.
⮚Spoken Language In Bermuda:
The predominant language in Bermuda is Bermudian English. To Americans, it sounds slightly English, while those from the British Isles find it more American. The Bermudian dialect is also closely related to Jamaican Patois with many shared words such as: “Bredrin” (Friend), “Gyanzi” (T-shirt), “Wahm” (What’s happening), which is largely due to their shared Coromantee ancestry.
⮚Nationality of Bermuda People:
Black Bermudians, a diverse population primarily of any mixture of African, European, and Native American ancestry, make up around 50% of the population, while White Bermudians, primarily of British, Irish and Portuguese descent, make up 30% of the population.
⮚Bermuda Citizenship:
Bermuda citizenship is granted by one of two methods. One is to be born of Bermudian parentage, the second is to be granted Bermudian Status after successfully meeting criteria as set out by the Department of Immigration. These requirements are set out by UK Law.
⮚One of the Richest Places:
Bermuda isn’t just a beautiful island location, it is also one of the world’s most expensive countries in which to live.
Bermuda‘s income is highly dependent on Tourism and Exempted reinsurance Companies. These industries have generated considerable economic growth for the island nation.
⮚Driving on the Left Side of the Road:
Driving on the island is on the left, British-style, and the maximum speed limit is 15 mph in Hamilton and 21 mph on the rest of the island. Under Bermudian law, non-residents are not allowed to own four-wheeled vehicles.
Always remember whilst driving on Bermuda roads that:
“The left side is the right side, while the right side is suicide”
⮚Bermuda Shorts:
They are so-named because of their popularity in Bermuda, where they are considered appropriate business attire for men when made of suit-like material and worn with knee-length socks, a dress shirt, tie, and blazer.
When packing your Bermuda wardrobe, think smart-casual.
The atmosphere of the island has a sophisticated and stylish vibe.
⮚Bermuda Culture:
Bermuda’s island culture is a mash-up of British colonial history, African heritage and modern style that has developed into a completely original and inviting way of life.
Bermudians value good manners and personal courtesy.
A greeting of 'good morning', 'good afternoon', or 'good evening' is expected and noticed if not given.
⮚Bermuda Public Transportation System - Buses:
With 11 bus routes and 14 bus zones, buses are frequent and plentiful, and they service most areas of interest. They’re easy to spot as they’re painted Bermuda pink with blue stripes.
Pink poles mean that the bus will be travelling toward the City of Hamilton and blue poles mean that the bus will be travelling away from the City of Hamilton.
⮚Bermuda Public Transportation System - Ferries:
Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside neighbourhoods and islands, allowing direct transit between points.
The four routes are divided by colour; Pink, Blue, Green and Orange. The most popular services for visitors are the Blue Route (Royal Naval Dockyard – Hamilton) and the seasonal Orange Route (Royal Naval Dockyard – St George).
The Blue Route is a popular fast ferry between Hamilton and Dockyard.
The travel time is between 15-20 minutes and is much faster than the 60-minute bus.
The ferries run frequently, and extra boats are scheduled to transport cruise ship passengers on Wednesday evenings when Harbour Nights takes place.
⮚Bermuda Weather:
Thanks to the Gulf Stream and the Bermuda-Azores High, Bermuda enjoys a temperate, sub-tropical climate.
The Gulf Stream pushes warm, equatorial water to the west and north of the island, up from the Gulf of Mexico.
This ensures comfortable temperatures year-round, from mid 60s in winter to mid 80s in summer.
The climate is sub-tropical, mild in the winter, spring and autumn (fall), but from late May to October, can be uncomfortably hot and with especially high humidity. The hottest part of the year is from May through mid-October, when temperatures hover between 75°F / 23°C and 85°F / 29°C.
Temperatures rarely drop below 55 degrees F or exceed 90 degrees F.
The lowest air temperature ever recorded was 43.6F.
The highest was 94F.
Water temperatures during winter months are much the same as the air temperature, ranging from about 66F (in January) through 75F until the late spring.
⮚The Bermuda Currency:
The currency was introduced to simplify transactions and reduce the dependence on British currency. Initially, the Bermudian Dollar was pegged to the British pound, but it was later pegged to the US dollar in 1972.
Since then, the Bermuda government has maintained the peg, ensuring that the currency remains stable.
U.S. currency is generally accepted in shops, restaurants, and hotels.
Currency from the United Kingdom and other foreign countries is usually not accepted, but can be easily exchanged for Bermuda dollars at banks and hotels.
The BMD is pegged to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 1:1, and the American currency is often used inter-changeably on the island.
Bermuda Fun Facts
What do Bermudians Call Themselves?
'ONION', a Bermudian, born and bred! At the turn of the century we were exporting onions and Easter lillies. We’d rather be called onions.
What do Most Bermudians Eat for Sunday Breakfast?
For Bermudians, Sundays and holidays start with a codfish breakfast, a traditional food in Bermuda.
A codfish plate consists of salted codfish served with onions in butter or with a sauce of stewed tomatoes, plus boiled potatoes, a banana, a hard-boiled egg, and avocado slices.
Bermuda Fish Sandwich - A Must Try:
The fish sandwich is a staple in the island’s food culture.
This delicious version is found only in a few local restaurants in Bermuda.
The sandwich is filled with fresh ‘white fish’ fillet, usually snapper, wahoo or rockfish (grouper), which are all native to Bermuda’s waters.
The raisin bread satisfies the sweet-savoury taste profile preferred by most Bermudians, topped with local Tartar Sauce.
Bermuda Rum Swizzle:
A local secret recipe handed down through generational bartenders.
Now everyone on the island lay claim to make the BEST Rum Swizzle.
We will not divulge the local secret, but suffice to say it's a mixture of fruit juices, local Gosling Black Seal Rum, and a few secret ingredients (ha ha).
From sightseeing tours to airport transfers, 1609 Destiny Bermuda Ltd.
has the minibus transportation to take you there.
You can rely on us for a great journey.
Attractions
Gibb's Hill Lighthouse
Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse began on May 1, 1846 and has been flashing out its beam to seafaring men ever since - first by the use of kerosene, and finally these days by electricity.
At the time of its construction in 1844, steel was not available for building purposes. As a result, Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse is one of the few in the world made of cast iron.
Its beam of light runs 362 feet above sea level. Ships 40 miles away can see it. Its flash can be spotted by planes flying 10,000 feet and 120 miles away, while the light itself can be seen on the horizon which is about 26 miles.
Crystal and Fantasy Caves
A tourist attraction since 1907, it was discovered in 1905 by Carl Gibbons and Edgar Hollis, two 12-year-old boys searching for a lost cricket ball. Soon after, the Wilkinson family (the owners of the property since 1884) learned of the discovery.
Mr. Percy Wilkinson lowered his 14-year-old son Bernard into it with a bicycle lamp on 140 feet of strong rope tied to a tree to explore the cave.
The area surrounding Harrington Sound (which lies to the south of Crystal Cave) is of limestone formation and is noted for its many subterranean waterways, through which the waters of the sound empty into the Atlantic Ocean.
Crystal Cave is one of these, and, as its name suggests, is known for its beauty, with many stalactites, stalagmites and deep, clear pools.
Horseshoe Bay Beach
Horseshoe Bay is a well-known beach in Bermuda.
As a tourist spot, it lies on the main island’s south atlantic Ocean coast, in the parish of Southampton. It is one of two beaches of the same name in Bermuda, with the other located at Tucker’s Island.
The sand of Horseshoe Bay’s beach is very fine and displays a white colour. The beach is equipped with one lifeguard station which is manned during the summer between 10am and 6pm.
There is also a café where lunch can be purchased during the summer months.
The same building also provides toilet facilities, showers and a foot-washing area for removing sand before departing.
Warwick Long Bay Beach
Warwick Long Bay stretches for half a mile, with jagged outcroppings framing the beach and a coral island rising out of the clear blue waters just offshore.
Snorkelling is good along the bay, and trails connect to nearby beaches at Jobson’s Cove and Chaplin Bay. Warwick Long Bay is accessible from South Shore Park, just off South Road.
Warwick Long Bay has restrooms, a playground and a lunch cart (during the summer months). But take note: Those winds feel like a chilly blast come winter time.
Warwick Long Bay is great for families because it has an inner reef that safeguards the shores. (Source: www.gotobermuda.com)
Hamilton
(Capital of Bermuda)
Founded in 1788, the City of Hamilton was named after Sir Henry Hamilton, who served as Governor of Bermuda until 1794.
The City of Hamilton, in Pembroke Parish, is the territorial capital. It is the territory’s financial centre and a port and tourist destination.
Somerset Bridge
Somerset Bridge is a small bridge in Bermuda connecting Somerset Island with the mainland in the western parish of Sandys.
It is reputedly the smallest working drawbridge in the world. It crosses a small channel connecting the Great Sound with Ely’s Harbour.
The bridge is opened by hand, creating a 32-inch gap that allows the passage of a sailboat’s mast.
Old Town St. George
The Town of St George, founded in 1612, is an outstanding example of the earliest English urban settlement in the New World.
St. George’s is a town on St. George’s Island, in Bermuda. It is known for being the territory’s first English settlement.
Colonial buildings on and around central King’s Square include the 18th-century town hall.
Nearby, the Tucker House Museum is a typical home from the 1700s, with displays of crystal, silver and period furniture.
Other notable landmarks include St. Peter’s Church, founded in 1612.
Royal Naval Dockyard
HMD Bermuda (Her/His Majesty's Dockyard, Bermuda) was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War.
The Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda had occupied a useful position astride the homeward leg taken by many European vessels from the New World since before its settlement by England in 1609.
Royal Naval Dockyard is located in the Clock Tower Shopping Mall in Sandy's parish. (Source: Wikipedia)
John Smith's Bay Beach
This bay was named for Captain John Smith, the same man who famously encountered Pocahontas during his tenure at Jamestown, and who later created the first map of Bermuda.
Great snorkelling on nearby reefs and lifeguards throughout the summer makes John Smith’s Bay an ideal place to spread out your beach towel on the south shore.
Fort Scaur
Scaur Hill Fort, also called Scaur Hill Lines and Somerset Lines, is a fortified position erected in the 1870s at Scaur Hill, on Somerset Island, in Sandys Parish, the westernmost parish of the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda.
Fort Hamilton
Image Source: Trip Advisor
Fort Hamilton was built by the British in the 1870s, with other hilltop fortifications at Prospect and Langton.
They were land defence forts designed to repel an army approaching the island’s capital — with Fort Hamilton also commanding a strategic overlook of Hamilton Harbour as well.
The fort never saw combat and has been maintained as a site of historical interest, popular with visitors to the island.
Fort St. Catherine
Take a stroll through Bermuda history at the island’s largest fort. Situated on the northeastern tip of St. George’s, Fort St. Catherine sits between St...(Need more wording here)
Fort St. Catherine, or Fort St. Catherine’s, is a coastal artillery fort at the northeast tip of St. George’s Island, in the imperial fortress colony of Bermuda.
Successively re-developed, the fort was used first by Bermudian Militia and then by regular Royal Artillery units from 1612 into the 20th century.
Clearwater Beach
Located at the east end of the island, Clearwater Beach and Coopers Island Nature Reserve were once part of a US military base and the NASA tracking station.
Today the wide expanse of Clearwater Beach is home to Sunjammers Beach Bar, there is also a great playground and you can rent kayaks, snorkel and hydro-bikes and more.
Coopers Island is a protected nature reserve featuring wetlands, rocky shoreline and best of all more pristine stretches of white sand beaches. It’s worth the walk to explore.
The former NASA radar tower serves as a viewing platform, providing a vantage point for watching birds and wildlife. (Source: www.bermuda.com)
Some Inspiration for Your Journey Around Bermuda
