May into September is Bermuda’s peak season. I’ve found that by visiting between November and March, when temperatures are usually in the 60s, Bermuda is uncrowded and affordable.
“We had a fabulous time,’’ said Abbe Levin of Boothbay, Maine, who visited in March. “My husband and younger son golfed daily - they got great deals - and my older son and I explored beaches upon beaches with no other people.’’
“Deals’’ is the key word. Bermuda tends to be pricey, with expensive lodging, dining, and taxis, but there are ways to avoid the high costs. One of the biggest expenses can be getting around, as there are no rental cars, just scooters. Scooters aren’t ideal for everyone, and can be dangerous. “Just about every flight leaving the island has at least one person in a cast or with a nasty road burn from a scooter accident,’’ one hotelier told me during my first visit. Taxi fare between Hamilton and the airport or Dockyard can reach $50 with tip.
Bermuda’s public transportation system covers the island end to end from a hub in Hamilton. Bus fare is $4.50 cash (coin only) or $4 token, but the better deal is a transportation pass, which ranges from $12 for one day to $45 for seven and includes ferries. Savvy travelers use the bus to get to their hotels from the airport. “We used the bus system exclusively,’’ Levin says. “It was cheap and convenient, very laid back and relaxing, and we actually met lots of locals.’’
While many visitors limit their dining options to either their hotel or restaurants in the chief tourist areas, these often have big-city prices. If you want to know where the locals go, ask folks.
“Winter is a great time to eat out in Bermuda because restaurant owners suffer from the lack of tourists, so they’ll put on great offers to get locals to leave the house and eat out,’’ says Mary Dunn, an island resident.
