The Best Bermuda Tours, Compared

Bermuda has no gate and no single sight, so the best tour is the one that fits the day you have. These Bermuda guided tours split by where they start, how long they take, whether you swim, and which paid entry the fare covers. This guide takes each question in turn and names the tour that answers it, with what it costs and what it leaves out.

How do the Bermuda tours differ?

Five things separate one tour from the next, and each is on its card.

• Where it starts. Most meet on the cruise pier at the Royal Naval Dockyard or at the Watersports Centre beside it. The private boats collect cruise passengers at 4 Camber Road. The food walk starts on Front Street in Hamilton, the history walk in St. George's.
• How long it runs. From one hour on a private sunset boat to seven on a beach or jungle day.
• Land or water. Drives and walks see the towns and the sights; boats see the reefs, the wrecks and the coves.
• Shared or private. Shared tours are priced per person. The private boats are priced per group, for up to 8, 10 or 15.
• What the fare covers. Crystal Cave is in the fare on every cave tour; the lighthouse climb, US$2.50, is extra on most drives.

Fares are per person unless marked. The homepage lays out the whole range, with ratings.

Which tour shows you the whole island?

An island drive. A coach or minibus collects you at the pier and drives to the far end of the island, stopping at the lighthouse, a South Shore beach, Hamilton and St. George's.

The pink-bus drive is the most booked tour on the island, with over 1,500 reviews. It takes five hours for $80 and gives you an hour in St. George's and 45 minutes in Hamilton. The Titan highlights drive is the cheapest tour here at $66: four hours, then free time in Hamilton and a ferry ticket back to the Dockyard. The Titan pink-sand drive takes 22 people at most, if you prefer a smaller coach.

The trade-off is time. Stops last ten minutes to an hour. Jesal P. found 45 minutes in Hamilton not nearly enough, so if a town matters to you, pick the drive that stays longest there. Every drive is compared on the Bermuda island tours page.

Which is best for snorkeling?

It depends on whether you want the reef or the party. The shipwreck snorkel goes out to the reef line for the Constellation and the Montana, a paddle steamer wrecked in December 1863, in about 30 feet of water. The two-stop trip does a reef and a wreck with ten guests at most. Both want strong swimmers.

The catamaran sail and snorkel anchors in a cove instead, with kayaks, paddleboards and unlimited rum swizzles. It has over a thousand reviews, most of them happy, but Leo W. found it "more a catamaran beach break than a snorkel trip". Choose it for the day out, not for the coral.

For a mixed group, the glass-bottom combo shows the reef through the hull and then anchors in about 3 feet of water near the Vixen, so the swimmers snorkel and the others wade. The Bermuda snorkeling tours page compares every snorkel boat.

What if you do not swim?

You can still spend a good day on the water. The glass-bottom boat, $78, spends ninety minutes over the reef, the seagrass and the wreck of HMS Vixen. The sunset sail, $70, asks only that you sit on deck with a rum swizzle.

The helmet dive is the one that puts you under. You walk the sea floor for 30 to 40 minutes in a diving helmet, breathing normally, with your head dry. It takes children from 5 and is the only tour here that calls itself wheelchair accessible. Taseen S.'s partner, not a strong swimmer, loved it.

Which tours suit families?

Start with the youngest child's age, because several listings set a floor.

• From 3: the cave, Hamilton and beach day.
• From 5: the helmet dive, the shipwreck snorkel and the jungle, lunch and snorkel day.
• From 7: the two-stop snorkel.
• From 12: the Hamilton food walk. The Dockyard Segway starts at 16.

The Titan pink-sand drive, the shops drive, the beach hop and the St. George's walk all welcome strollers. On the water, the catamarans suit children who swim, with paddleboards for the in-between moments. Amber J.'s boys, aged 10 and 8, did both. Our post on Bermuda with children goes through each trip by age.

Which tours are private?

The private boats, a car and a walk. The private catamaran takes up to 15 for $1,175, about $78 each in a full group. The sunset boat is $500 for up to ten, the cliff-jumping charter $900 for up to ten, and the historic cruise $800 for up to eight.

The private car is priced per person, $100 with a minimum of seven, and the St. George's walk $95 a person for two to eight. For a couple, a shared trip costs far less; for a group near the limit, a private boat can cost less per head. See the Bermuda private tours page.

Which tours include a paid entry?

Bermuda's paid entries are few: Crystal Caves, the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse climb and the museums. Here is how the fares handle them.

• Crystal Cave: in the fare on every cave tour. Fantasy Cave, the second cave on the site, is in none.
• The lighthouse climb: US$2.50 extra on the pink buses, the shops drive and the private car. The Titan drives include the base and grounds only.
• St. George's venues: every one on the private walk is paid for.
• The National Museum of Bermuda: no tour includes it. It sits in the Dockyard, a walk from the ships, at US$20 an adult.

The Bermuda Crystal Caves tours compare the three cave days.

Which is best for history?

The St. George's history walk. The town was founded in 1612 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the walk spends two and a half hours inside it: Ordnance Island, Town Hall, St. Peter's Church, the Unfinished Church, a perfumery and two museums, with every entry paid. It is private, rated 5.0.

The pink-bus drive gives you an hour in the same town, enough for the square and St. Peter's. On the water, the private historic cruise takes the captain's history of the coast with a swim. The Royal Naval Dockyard itself, a navy base until 1951, is history on your doorstep: the museum's rooms fill the old Commissioner's House.

What about food?

Only the food walk and the jungle day feed you. The Hamilton food walk is three hours of tastings at several eateries, enough for lunch, rated 4.9 from 460 reviews. It is the only non-refundable tour here, so book it once your date is fixed. The jungle, lunch and snorkel day includes lunch and an ice cream.

Everything else leaves food to you. The Restless Native catamarans bake cookies on board, and the private catamaran will stock food if you order ahead. Bring a snack on any long drive.

What do the low reviews say, and how do you avoid it?

Read the three- and two-star reviews and the same few issues come up. Each has a fix.

• Short stops. Island drives move fast. If you want time in a town, take a walk or a day tour instead.
• Busy, shallow coves. Janet O. found too many boats and bleached coral at a catamaran stop. For better snorkeling, take a reef boat.
• Few fish. The sea is wild. Margot S. loved the coral but saw few fish that day; Jordan H. saw squid.
• The wrong dock. Susan C. went to Hamilton instead of the Dockyard and raced back by taxi. Check the meeting point on your booking.
• Short private trips. Lindsay B. felt the one-hour private sunset boat was too short for the price. If you want longer, the shared sunset sail runs ninety minutes.

How far ahead should you book?

As soon as your ship's times are confirmed. The pier tours fill first on busy ship days, and several ask for your ship's name and docking time. Almost all of them refund in full up to 24 hours before; the food walk does not, so be sure of that one. Check the forecast the evening before any boat trip: the boats stay in for heavy rain or thunder.

Frequently asked questions

Tours that fit a first visit

Bermuda Hidden Gems Summer Excursion

Seven hours with a local guide: caves and pools in Tom Moore's Jungle with a helmet and head lamp, lunch and ice cream, then an hour's snorkel at a nature reserve. From age 5; the walking is over uneven ground.

From $203 per person

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Bermuda Food Tour: Eat, Drink and Explore

Three hours on foot around Hamilton with a local guide, tasting your way through several eateries until you have had lunch. From age 12, for two or more, eight at most. Non-refundable, so book once your date is certain.

From $134 per person (minimum 2)

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Hartley Helmet Diving in Bermuda

Walk the sea floor for 30 to 40 minutes in a diving helmet, from a glass-bottom boat with a bathroom and shade. From age 5 and wheelchair accessible, with wetsuits and hot chocolate when the water is below 80°F.

From $155 per person

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