Bermuda is not in the Caribbean. It sits about 1,050 kilometres off the coast of North Carolina, at the latitude of Charleston, and it is a great deal further north than most visitors assume. The Gulf Stream keeps it warm enough for the reefs that ring it — the northernmost coral reef system in the world — but it is a subtropical island rather than a tropical one.
The practical consequence is the season. From roughly December to March the air sits around 18 to 20 degrees and the sea drops to about 19. That is pleasant for walking, golf and looking at the water, and it is marginal for swimming. Bermuda's summer, May to October, is the beach season and it is the opposite of the Caribbean calendar.
The pink sand and where it is
The south shore beaches are pink, and the reason is specific: red foraminifera, single-celled organisms that live on the reefs, die and wash ashore as crushed shell mixed into the white sand. Horseshoe Bay, Warwick Long Bay, Jobson's Cove and Church Bay run along that coast in a chain of coves separated by rock.
The north shore and the Great Sound have the harbours, the sailing and Hamilton, but not that sand.
The island is 34 square kilometres and 35 kilometres long, shaped like a fish hook. Nothing is far, but there is one main road and it is narrow, the speed limit is 35 kilometres an hour and visitors cannot rent cars — only scooters, electric microcars and taxis.
The ten below are grouped by which coast.
The south shore
The pink sand, the coves and the Atlantic.
Rosewood Bermuda occupies a former private club at Tucker's Point with a hilltop main building, a beach club on the south shore, a golf course and the best service on the island. It is the only property with both a beach and a harbour beach.
Rosewood Bermuda
Tucker's Point · 5★ · $$$$
A south shore beach club and a harbour beach in one property
Check availabilityThe Loren at Pink Beach sits on the cliff at Tucker's Town above a private pink beach, with a small room count, a serious restaurant and the most contemporary architecture in Bermuda.
The Loren at Pink Beach
Tucker's Town · 5★ · $$$$
Cliffside modern architecture above a private pink beach
Check availabilityThe Reefs Resort and Club occupies a cliffside site in Southampton with terraced cottages down to a private cove, a family operation going back decades and the most loyal returning guests on the island.
The Reefs Resort and Club
Southampton · 4★ · $$$$
Terraced cottages down to a private cove
Check availabilityPompano Beach Club sits above a private beach in Southampton with cottages in gardens, a pool and a long-standing reputation for value on the south shore.
Pompano Beach Club
Southampton · 4★ · $$$
Garden cottages above a private beach at fair value
Check availabilityAzura Bermuda occupies a position in Warwick with a beach club, a pool and rooms that are among the most recently reworked on this coast.
Azura Bermuda
Warwick · 4★ · $$$
Recently reworked rooms with a south shore beach club
Check availabilityThe east end and St George's
The old capital, a UNESCO site, and the quieter end of the island.
The St. Regis Bermuda Resort occupies a site beside St George's with its own beach, a golf course, two pools and the newest large resort in Bermuda. It is a twenty-minute drive from Hamilton.
The St. Regis Bermuda Resort
St George's · 5★ · $$$$
Its own beach and golf course at the quiet east end
Check availabilityGrotto Bay Beach Resort sits in Hamilton Parish around natural caves, with a private beach on the north shore and a family-focused operation. The caves on the property are a genuine feature.
Grotto Bay Beach Resort
Hamilton Parish · 4★ · $$$
Natural caves on the property and a north shore beach
Check availabilityHamilton and the Great Sound
The capital and the harbours. Sailing, restaurants and no beach.
Hamilton Princess & Beach Club - a Fairmont Managed Hotel occupies the pink landmark on Hamilton harbour with a marina, two pools, a serious art collection and the best restaurants on the island. It is where the sailing world stays and it has no beach of its own, running a shuttle to one instead.
Hamilton Princess & Beach Club - a Fairmont Managed Hotel
Hamilton harbour · 5★ · $$$$
The pink landmark with a marina and a serious art collection
Check availabilityNewstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort & Spa sits on the harbour in Paget with a golf course, a spa and rooms looking across at Hamilton. It is a ferry ride from the town.
Newstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort & Spa
Paget · 4★ · $$$
Harbour rooms with a golf course and a ferry to town
Check availabilityThe west end
Cambridge Beaches Resort and Spa occupies a peninsula in Sandys with five private beaches, cottages in gardens and an adults-only policy. It is the furthest from the airport and the quietest place on the island.
Cambridge Beaches Resort and Spa
Sandys, west end · 4★ · $$$$
A peninsula with five private beaches, adults only
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The cottage colonies and guest houses across Paget and Warwick are excluded, and they are a Bermudian institution: small clusters of self-contained cottages around a main house, often family-run for generations. They are not hotels in the sense this guide uses.
What to do
Walk the south shore beach trail from Horseshoe Bay through the coves to Warwick Long Bay, which takes about an hour and is the best free thing here.
Snorkel or dive the wrecks. Bermuda's reefs have sunk hundreds of ships over four centuries and several sit in shallow enough water to snorkel.
Go to St George's, founded in 1612 and the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the New World, and to the Royal Naval Dockyard at the far west end.
Take a ferry rather than a taxi where you can. The Great Sound routes are fast, cheap and the best way to see the island.
Play golf. Bermuda has more courses per square kilometre than almost anywhere and several are on cliffs.
Practical notes
Bermuda's airport is a two-hour flight from the US east coast and about seven from London. There are no direct flights from the Caribbean.
May to October is the beach season, with the warmest water from July to September. Hurricane risk runs August to October. November to April is cool, quiet and considerably cheaper, with the island still pleasant for everything except swimming.
Visitors cannot rent cars. Scooters, electric microcars, taxis, buses and ferries are the options.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Bermuda Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Can you swim in winter?
The sea drops to about 19 degrees between January and March. Some people do, most do not. It is a shoulder-season island rather than a winter-sun one.
Why is the sand pink?
Crushed red foraminifera shells from the reefs, mixed into white coral sand. It shows best in low light.
South shore or Hamilton?
South shore for the beaches, Hamilton for restaurants, sailing and ferries. The island is small enough that both are reachable.
How many nights?
Five. The island is compact and rewards a slower pace than its size suggests.