A Little About Bermuda Byways
Bermuda Byways is a very small company — in fact, I am both your bus driver and your historical tour guide.
I have been studying the history of my beautiful island for more than 30 years, and I am constantly finding, collecting and absorbing new historical books and stories. In short, my tour is always evolving.
My bus holds 14 passengers, although I usually limit my tours to 10 people so that everyone has plenty of room and the experience stays comfortable and personal. The bus is spacious, air-conditioned and ideal for a relaxed day exploring the island.
My tours are casual, off the beaten track and filled with Bermuda history, local stories and plenty of beautiful scenery.
We leave Dockyard and travel across the island to St. George’s — where Bermuda’s story really began — making lots of short stops along the way. These are not simply “jump out and take a photograph” stops. I like to explain what you are looking at, why it is important and the stories connected to it.
Tour Details
The tour is approximately 6 hours long and starts and ends in Dockyard.
Price: $110 per person
This includes:
- Lunch
- Bottled water along the way
- Entrance to Gibbs Hill Lighthouse
Payment is cash only as I do not have a credit card machine. US dollars are perfectly fine.
Lunch Along the Way
For lunch, I usually stop at one of two local diners for takeout.
Both are well known for their Bermuda fish sandwiches — traditionally served on raisin bread with tartar sauce — but they also make great burgers, homemade chicken burgers and other basic choices.
We then take our lunch to one of my favourite benches in Flatts Village, overlooking a beautiful inlet where the water is often so clear and blue it hardly looks real.
Where We Go
Nothing on my tours is completely carved in stone.
Quite often a conversation starts, someone mentions something they are interested in, and the next thing we know the bus has taken a sharp left through an oleander hedge to visit some little hidden gem!
A typical tour may include:
- Fort Scaur — wonderful views and fascinating history
- Somerset Bridge — often described as the world’s smallest drawbridge
- Gibbs Hill Lighthouse
- Warwick Long Bay
- Jobson’s Cove — where we may spot parrotfish and Bermuda longtails
- Flatts Inlet
- The back roads of St. George’s
- Building Bay and Alexandra Battery
- The historic Town of St. George’s, with approximately 30 minutes to wander and explore
Along the way, I make plenty of shorter stops and point out the little things that are so easy to miss.
That is one of the joys of living on a 400-year-old island — almost every corner, lane, building, nook and cranny has a memory attached to it and, usually, a very good story.
By the end of the tour, I hope you will not only have seen Bermuda, but will have a much better understanding of how we got here, why we are the way we are, and what you are actually looking at.
Minimum Number of Guests
I need a minimum of six guests to run a tour.
If your party is smaller, I will do my best to add other guests to make up the numbers. Unfortunately, if the tour does not reach six people, I may not be able to head out.
Meet My Co-Pilot
I normally travel with my co-pilot, Toppy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
She is very well behaved and quite accustomed to joining me on the road. However, if you are allergic to dogs, uncomfortable around them or simply prefer not to tour with a dog, I completely understand.
Booking
I do not request a deposit.
I work on the honesty system — you book the tour, and I arrive to pick you up.
I hope I have the pleasure of showing you our beautiful, fascinating and sometimes slightly quirky island.
Thank you so much for considering Bermuda Byways.
Heidi