For families who love to adventure together on vacation, Bermuda makes for the ultimate natural playground. Snorkeling the calm waters of Tobacco Bay Beach, going underground at Crystal Cave, and visiting the island’s most beautiful beaches are just a snapshot of all there is for your gang to love in Bermuda.
Itinerary
PLAN YOUR TRIP
Stroll around the base of Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse or climb up its 185-step spiral staircase for incredible island views.
Courtesy of Bermuda Tourism Authority
Day 1:Ascend a lighthouse and kick back on a pink-sand beach
Prepare to embark on one of your best family vacations ever in Bermuda. Among the many family-friendly properties, Grotto Bay Beach Resort & Spa is a favorite for its lovely heated swimming pool, seasonal floating water park, and pink-sand beach with shallow waters that are ideal for even the tiniest swimmers. Parents can enjoy the hotel’s underground cave spa, Natura Spa, for a truly relaxing moment.
If you’ve arrived on the island early enough in the day, head to Gibbs Hill Lighthouse and climb up 185 steps for incredible island views. To beach it instead, there’s no finer swath of sand than the one at Horseshoe Bay Beach, whose pink sand glows particularly rosy at dawn and dusk.
Finish your first evening with a relaxed dinner at Boundary Sports Bar and Grille, with three outdoor patios and inside dining, too, where the menu aims to please a crowd with dishes including Bermudian fish chowder, wahoo nuggets, and jerk chicken
If you’ve arrived on the island early enough in the day, head to Gibbs Hill Lighthouse and climb up 185 steps for incredible island views. To beach it instead, there’s no finer swath of sand than the one at Horseshoe Bay Beach, whose pink sand glows particularly rosy at dawn and dusk.
Finish your first evening with a relaxed dinner at Boundary Sports Bar and Grille, with three outdoor patios and inside dining, too, where the menu aims to please a crowd with dishes including Bermudian fish chowder, wahoo nuggets, and jerk chicken
Pedal bikes or stroll along the linear park that makes up the Bermuda Railway Trail National Park.
Courtesy of Bermuda Tourism Authority
Day 2:Bike a railway trail and visit Walsingham Jungle
After breakfast at the hotel, it’s time to gear up for a family bike ride along the Bermuda Railway Trail National Park, which runs for 18 cyclable or walkable miles along an abandoned railroad with plenty of scenic overlooks for a pause.
Your next stop in the area is Walsingham Nature Reserve & Blue Hole Park, a 12-acre paradise with natural trails to wander along with the kids for views of the crystal-clear waters of Blue Hole Park. This is also the spot to tour Bermuda’s largest and most impressive caves, Crystal and Fantasy Caves, where deep blue pools shine like gems in the spotlights some 120 feet under the earth.
By now, everyone’s probably saying they’re hungry. So refuel at an iconic island restaurant, Swizzle Inn, where the hearty American and British offerings include burgers, fish and chips, and Shepherd’s pie, served with lots of history. After all, this is Bermuda’s oldest restaurant. Don’t miss trying the rum swizzle cocktail, which was invented here.
One of the island’s beloved dessert spots is right nearby at Bailey’s Bay Ice Cream Parlour, where the all-natural homemade ice cream tempts with island-style flavors like coconut and rum raisin.
Your next stop in the area is Walsingham Nature Reserve & Blue Hole Park, a 12-acre paradise with natural trails to wander along with the kids for views of the crystal-clear waters of Blue Hole Park. This is also the spot to tour Bermuda’s largest and most impressive caves, Crystal and Fantasy Caves, where deep blue pools shine like gems in the spotlights some 120 feet under the earth.
By now, everyone’s probably saying they’re hungry. So refuel at an iconic island restaurant, Swizzle Inn, where the hearty American and British offerings include burgers, fish and chips, and Shepherd’s pie, served with lots of history. After all, this is Bermuda’s oldest restaurant. Don’t miss trying the rum swizzle cocktail, which was invented here.
One of the island’s beloved dessert spots is right nearby at Bailey’s Bay Ice Cream Parlour, where the all-natural homemade ice cream tempts with island-style flavors like coconut and rum raisin.
Dive into over 500 years of island and maritime history at the National Museum of Bermuda.
Courtesy of Bermuda Tourism Authority
Day 3:Explore culture and go golfing
A mix of water and land-based fun awaits today. But first, get a culture fix at Royal Naval Dockyard, home to the National Museum of Bermuda, where the kids can marvel at treasures recovered by scuba divers at some of Bermuda’s many shipwrecks just offshore. Little ones may also enjoy looking at the dolphin enclosure or running around at the small playground and playhouse. Nearby, you can also burn off some steam at Bermuda Fun Golf playing mini-golf-sized versions of some of Bermuda’s celebrated courses. Then relax with delicious fish sandwiches served with ocean views at The New Woody’s Sports Bar & Restaurant, a dive bar and restaurant nearby that locals love.
Bermuda’s only UNESCO World Heritage site awaits in the charming town of St. George’s, home to St. Peter’s Church and other historic sites.
Courtesy of Bermuda Tourism Authority
Day 4:Climb on the canons in a historic fort and snorkel at Tobacco Bay Beach
Focus your family fun today mostly on Bermuda’s West End. Here, boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and bars line St. George’s beautiful, pedestrian-friendly town—A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest continuously occupied British settlement in the New World.
When everyone’s ready for lunch, Wahoo’s Bistro & Patio, right in the town’s historic heart, is the place to try fresh spiny lobster during lobster season (from September through March) or a bowl of the famous Bermuda fish chowder.
Take a jaunt south after lunch to Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve on Bermuda’s southeastern tip to swim in gorgeous beaches like Clearwater Beach or Turtle Bay.
Alternatively, you can stay put in St. George’s to play among the ramparts, towers, and drawbridge at the 17th-century Fort St. Catherine and head out snorkeling nearby among parrot fish in the calm lagoon at Tobacco Bay Beach.
When everyone’s ready for lunch, Wahoo’s Bistro & Patio, right in the town’s historic heart, is the place to try fresh spiny lobster during lobster season (from September through March) or a bowl of the famous Bermuda fish chowder.
Take a jaunt south after lunch to Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve on Bermuda’s southeastern tip to swim in gorgeous beaches like Clearwater Beach or Turtle Bay.
Alternatively, you can stay put in St. George’s to play among the ramparts, towers, and drawbridge at the 17th-century Fort St. Catherine and head out snorkeling nearby among parrot fish in the calm lagoon at Tobacco Bay Beach.
Large tanks house hundreds of marine creatures for up-close views at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo.
Courtesy of Bermuda Tourism Authority
Day 5:Beach day and Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo
Slow down for your last day with a leisurely wake up, beach, and pool time at the hotel before hitting the road west to see West Whale Bay Park. If you’re visiting during the humpback whale migration season in March and April you might be able to point out spouts and tails passing just offshore to the kids. Church Bay Bermuda is another South Shore beach popular with families who love to snorkel thanks to its sheltered position and aquarium-like waters.
It’s going to be time for another family feed soon enough and Lost in the Triangle is an excellent South Shore choice for fresh island seafood like fish cakes and tacos along with kid-pleasing foods, like wahoo nuggets and fries.
You could return to the hotel for some last moments together on the beach or pack in a final activity for the day at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo, nearby. It offers free admission for kids under five and the 145,000-gallon coral reef exhibit is home to sharks and groupers. Kids can get up close with rescued sea turtles, reptiles, and mammals representing many other island environments around the world, bringing back memories of a great time in Bermuda and all the lessons they learned when they head home.
It’s going to be time for another family feed soon enough and Lost in the Triangle is an excellent South Shore choice for fresh island seafood like fish cakes and tacos along with kid-pleasing foods, like wahoo nuggets and fries.
You could return to the hotel for some last moments together on the beach or pack in a final activity for the day at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo, nearby. It offers free admission for kids under five and the 145,000-gallon coral reef exhibit is home to sharks and groupers. Kids can get up close with rescued sea turtles, reptiles, and mammals representing many other island environments around the world, bringing back memories of a great time in Bermuda and all the lessons they learned when they head home.
