Expert: Aruna Dismont - 7/11/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello.  My husband and I are going to be visiting Bermuda next week and are staying at the Grotto Bay resort.  Can you give us some ideas of places to go and things to do on the island? We're looking for recommendations for restaurants, places to rent kayaks, boat tours, sightseeing, snorkeling, best beaches, etc.  Thank you for your help!

ANSWER: Sarah:

I have outlined below some options in the categories you mentioned, plus a few other things.

I am going to give you some details of a lot of things, so I can give you options.

restaurants:
Swizzle Inn- a walk from your hotel, pub style restaurant, lunch and dinner
harbourfront- upscale seafood, excellent menu that includes sushi
pickled onion-casual all-around restaurant with a great view of front street (main street in the city of hamilton on the harbour)
waterlot inn-one of the few 5 star steakhouses in the world, at the fairmont Southampton resort
bone fish-smart casual seafood located in dockyard (not of the chain!)
lobster pot-casual seafood in hamilton
porofino's-great, authentic italian restaurant with great wine

blue hole water sports-kayak rentals right at your hotel

consort cruises-good sightseeing cruise called famous homes and hideaways
fantasea-does glassbottom tours out of hamilton, as well as snorkelling tours, in-shore fishing, etc

byways-great 8 passenger van tour all over bermuda. very good company, run by a lovely couple. 1-5pm daily
taxi tour-many taxi drivers are certified as tour guides. when organizing a taxi tour, request quinton binns as your taxi tour guide (he's the best!)

church bay-great beach on the west end for snorkelling
tobacco bay-great place on the east end for snorkelling
snorkel park-great place on the very end of the west for snorkel rentals, as well as pedal boats, etc.

horseshoe bay-most popular beach
elbow beach-2nd most popular beach

bell diving-a fun water activity for ages 5 and up
aquarium, museum, and zoo-good for the whole family.
lighthouse-gibbs hill lighthouse, with a beautiful tea room, and a great view of of much of the island, great for pictures
dockyard-settlement at the western end of the island. movie theater, museum, dolphin quest, art gallery, etc
st. georges-settlement on the other end of the island, established as a world heritage site
bermuda perfumery-bermuda makes its own perfume, located in st. georges

I hope something here sparked your interest. For anything that did, please get back to me and I can give you more in-depth and specific information!

Aruna

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Aruna,
Thank you so much for your advice.  We have also heard great things about many of the restaurants you recommended.  Here are a few follow-ups of which we would love some additional information:
Where is Portofino's located?
How would we go about arranging a cuirse with Consort cruises?  (It's just my husband and I going so we don't have a large group.)
Do you know how much a typical byways tour costs and whether they arrange for more people to fill up the 8 person van?
I've heard that Elbow Beach is private, for the hotels that are there.  Is there a public section too?
Where is the Gibbs Hill lighthouse located?  For transportation to these locations, would you recommend we rent a scooter, take a bus or taxi? Thanks again!

ANSWER: Sorry it took so long to get back, I just logged in today and saw that my answer to your follow up didn't go through.

Portofino's is located on Bermudiana Road in Hamilton.
To go with Consort Cruises, call Fantasea at 441 236 1300 to make a booking.
Byways is $100/person (well worth it) and they will go out with a minimum of 2 people.
Elbow Beach has a private part, and a public part that are connected.
Gibb's Hill Lighthouse is in Southampton Parish, 20 minutes from Hamilton.
I wouldn't recommend a taxi everywhere, they can get expensive. If you are into bike rentals, I recommend it, but if not, buses are reliable and cheap. You can get unlimited passes for as many days as you want (max 7).

Aruna

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Aruna,

We had a great time in Bermuda and appreciate all your advice, which we found to be quite helpful.  One question we were curious about, how does the water system work?  We heard that the white roofs somehow disinfect the water which flows right into peoples tanks, or the tanks in the hotels.  How does the roof itself disinfect the water and make it drinkable?  Thanks!

Answer
I'm glad you had a great time, make sure to visit again!

As for how our roofs work, our houses are made of cement and limestone. Limestone rock is actually calcium carbonate, as you may already know, which is a natural filter for water. Roofs are also painted with 'whitewash' which is a liquid form of calcium carbonate, which is why most are very white. The reason the roofs are slanted is that so the water can flow right into the catchments, and into the tanks under our houses (all houses are built with underground tanks). Therefore, tanks have to be cleaned out ever so often, as well as roofs get painted. But, some places do use filters, depending on how old your houses is (pipes, tank, etc), at their sinks if they want to drink their water and its not completely clean. There are of course water companies that you can call to give you water if you're running low or there's a drought, but rainwater is the main staple.
As for hotels, I'm sure they get their water from both sources also; water trucks and rainwater, but I'm sure they filter it much more than private homes do.

I hope this was helpful!
Aruna