Nicole and I had a wonderful time at Coco Reef Resort in Bermuda. As expected, the people were very friendly and the beaches were incredibly beautiful. We even got out and did some snorkeling at a shipwreck and on a reef. If you’re thinking of going or already planning a trip, here are some tips .
Tips
- Seriously consider renting a scooter if you plan to do any serious exploring of the island. It’s not easy to get around. The bus is actually pretty great, but it doesn’t go everywhere and it can be annoying to wait 20 min to go 5 minutes down the road. And forget about walking - sidewalks rarely extend more than a block or so and you do not want to be walking on the crazy roads. If you do get a scooter, however, be careful; we met a couple who wiped out on their first day and had the painful scrapes to prove it.
- Sign up for a snorkeling tour through a company. We went with Jesse James but I heard the others like Snorkel Bermuda and Fantasea Bermuda are great too. You can snorkel on your own at Church Bay or Tobacco Bay, but heading out to shipwrecks or northern reefs with just a few other people really is a unique experience. Your hotel should be able to help you sign up.
- Consider not just the amenities of the hotel but also what’s nearby. A hotel like Grotto Bay is close to the airport and St. George’s, but far from Hamilton or the South Shore beaches. We stayed at Elbow Beach which itself was beautiful but so far from St. George’s that we didn’t make it there. Our hotel was also relatively secluded, which was great for relaxing but not so great for finding new places to eat. So figure out what you want to do - if city stuff, restaurant hopping and site-seeing is your game, pick a place in or east of Hamilton. If you think you’ll be doing water sports and beach-going, pick a resort west of Hamilton by the South Shores.