Expert: Nan - 12/1/2008

Question
Nan,

My wife and I would like to go to Bermuda at the end of March. We will be traveling with our 1 year old daughter. We would like to stay at a nice, but reasonably priced resort/hotel/inn. We found the Grotto Bay Beach Resort from Orbitz, but we were not sure if there were other places that might be better. We would like a place that has pretty easy beach access if possible. Lastly, do you know if you can swim in the ocean at the end of March or is it too cold?

Thanks a lot.

Brian

Answer
Hi Brian,

My very first visit to Bermuda back in the '80s was at the end of April and we swam, snorkeled and had a great time in the water. I don't know how you might feel at the end of March so why don't you check out www.bermudaweather.bm?  Here you can check out the weather and water/air  temperatures on any given day for the past decade or so.  It's a very cool website.  (I just checked for you - I picked March 30 -- and found average water temps in the high 60s and air temps in the lower 70s.)  Grotto Bay has the easy beach/water access you're looking for though it's not located on the South Shore where MOST of Bermuda's "typical" beaches are like Horseshoe Bay, Elbow Beach, Warwick Long Bay, etc.  Grotto Bay is a resort with the amenities you'd expect to find including water sports, restaurants, etc.  You can also find high-end full-service resort amenities like these, and more, at the Southampton Princess (Fairmont) and Elbow Beach.  Since I'm not sure how you'd define "better" than Grotto, I guess it all depends upon your budget. And how you like to spend your time.  There are dozens of guest houses throughout Bermuda.  These of course don't have the amenities that you'd find in a resort, but this type of experience is charming and more personal - if that's what you like.  If this is your first visit, then stay at Grotto and get a feel for the Bermuda experience.  I don't think you'll be unhappy.  I hope this helps!