It's no wonder Bermuda is a honeymooner's paradise. With its private hidden coves and blushing pink beaches, it's a perfect place for relaxation and romance, but there's also much to see and do. You can spend the days on the beach, or boating, golfing, shopping or swimming with dolphins. Explore crystal caves and historical museums, forts and churches. Bermuda's nightlife offers everything from fine dining to fast food, jazz clubs to Irish pubs.  Let's start with:

ROYAL NAVAL DOCKYARD

History

     In 1809, Britain's Royal Engineers began designing The Dockyard as a resource that would allow them to keep an eye on its shipping interests and protect its vessels from threats by pirates, while simultaneously monitoring activities in its colonies. The wharves and buildings were constructed by slave labor and convicts, including barracks and a massive fortified Keep well-stocked with gunpowder. After construction work that continued for decades, the British fleet was feeling sufficiently capable to sail from the Dockyard to the U.S., wherein the troops ransacked and burned Washington during War of 1812.

     Over the years, world politics and alliances changed and Britain and the U.S. became the strongest of allies, remaining so today. So Bermuda's Dockyard played important roles in both World Wars, and when it shut down in 1951, its' closing marked the end of a proud maritime tradition. The Bermuda government reclaimed Dockyard and the land on which it stood. Then, for almost three decades, the stone buildings sat empty and dormant — an almost-forgotten reminder of a glorious seafaring past.

        

     The Dockyard today, no longer a dockyard, still uses the name. All buildings are open to the public. While it still handles the occasional hydrographic survey and cable laying ships, the facilities mostly include locally owned shops and restaurants. Access is free to all, except to the Bermuda Maritime Museum.

Bermuda Maritime Museum

 

Museum buildings of the Lower Ground Buildings of the Upper Grounds
1 Queen’s Exhibition Hall                        9   Dainty Exhibit/Westminster Palace Stone
2 Shifting House                                      10  Artifact Conservation Laboratory
3 Shifting Office                                      11  Commissioner’s House / Restrooms 
4 Shell House                                           12  High Cave and Magazine
5 Forster Cooper Building                     A- G Bastions A to G and Magazines
6 Boatloft
7 Restrooms
8 Dolphin Quest
 

The Keep with the Commissioners House standing tall

     A good first stop is the 6-acre Bermuda Maritime Museum to your right as you get off the ship and walk around to the Dockyard.  It is the largest museum on the island and housed in the former Keep.  Entrance is by way of a little bridge across a moat. Visitors feel transported into the past as they admire vaulted ceilings and 300-foot tall ramparts. As one might imagine, in an ordnance building built to store munitions and large quantities of gunpowder, the unusual floors made of bitumen to prevent sparks were a critical detail. Of special interest is the interior waterway, where small boats were loaded with munitions to ferry to larger boats anchored offshore.  Over 500 years of history and culture including bastions, cannons, local watercrafts, maritime art, and an extensive shell collection are located here.  Other treasures and artifacts recovered from sunken ships that had hit Bermuda’s reefs are exhibited here also. Admission fee includes viewing dolphins in the Keep Pond. Every day except Christmas from 9:30-5pm (last admission 4pm) Adult $10/Child $5     Website for more information and map of Keep:  http://www.bmm.bm/map.htm 

     Be sure to visit the Commissioner's House, the centerpiece of the impressive Bermuda Maritime Museum.  This grand home, built in 1823, now houses changing exhibitions devoted to Bermuda's history. The house was built of limestone and wrought iron in 1823 by convicts. It was originally constructed to house the Dockyard's commissioner.  The house itself has been beautifully maintained, with a lovely grand staircase and gorgeous stained wood floors. Among the better heritage exhibits in the house (each room has a different theme) are the Bermuda transportation room, the government room, the historic map room and the slave trade exhibits. The views from the  second floor wrap-around porch are spectacular, so be sure to bring a camera and pose in front of the furling Union Jack, Bermuda, Old Glory and Canadian Maple Leaf flags.
 Dolphin Quest Bermuda    

   

     The Keep Pond is now the residence of the dolphins of Dolphin Quest where you can interact and swim with the dolphins.  Programs can be booked with Dolphin Quest at their office at the Keep Pond or contact www.dolphinquest.org / email dqbermuda@dolphinquest.org.  "Fins and Flippers" program is $130 per person and takes about 40 minutes -- 20 minutes in the water with the dolphins.  Or, you can choose a "swim" or a "dip" or just sit on the benches and watch for free.  Dolphin Quest Bermuda is open daily from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

     Exiting from the Maritime Museum you can take a break with the kids at the Children's' Playground or go to Snorkle Park nearby.

Snorkle Park.    After several hours of shopping or exploring, visitors may want to test the waters for themselves. Just a short walk from the cruise ship dock, through a limestone tunnel, you'll come upon a tropical beach setting in Snorkel Park with many amenities--including a beach bar. .  (The beach is usually crowded, more so than other Bermuda beaches because of the close proximity to the cruise ships.) Admission to the park is free but there is a charge for the various activities. Kids love the waterslide which is available with an all-day pass.  You can also rent snorkel equipment, paddleboats and kayaks here. For the more adventurous, there are also underwater scooters, SNUBA tours and banana boat rides.

      
     Beneath the waves, you can explore the wonders of a natural coral reef, showcasing beautiful tropical fish and a sunken sloop, appropriately named Seahorse.

On your left before you get to the Maritime Museum  is the Craft Market.

Bermuda Craft Market.  On Maritime Lane is the main entrance of the former Cooperage building, where dockyard coopers made barrels for shipboard storage of salted beef and fresh water. Here you will find the Bermuda Craft Market.  The Bermuda Department of Tourism and the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce established the craft market in 1987. It is the largest, most extensive craft outlet in the islands, featuring the works of 60 Bermudians. Every day, you will find artists here who are happy to explain their crafts as you watch them work. Many will produce customized crafts for a unique gift. Candles, Bermuda cedar work, ceramics, jeweler, fabric art, painted glassware, three-dimensional decoupage, needlework canvases, Christmas ornaments and quilts are just some of the items available. The co-operative is open daily from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. in summer, and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. in winter; operating hours may vary on Sundays and public holidays.

Bermuda Arts Centre.  For a special memento of Bermuda for yourself or a loved one back home, a stroll along Maritime Lane will bring you to the diverse artisans, exhibits and historical delights of the Bermuda Arts Centre. Voted Best of Bermuda "Best Art Gallery 2006," it is one of the island's premier galleries. It features both traditional and contemporary art, all created by local artists. On location are four working studios where you can meet the artists and see them at work, including an oil painter, a cedar wood sculptor, a jeweler, and textile and ceramic artists. The gallery also has a large selection of prints and locally crafted gifts, ensuring no one need leave empty-handed. Open daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.   Website: HERE

Bermuda Rum Cake Factory.  Also in the same area is the Bermuda Rum Cake Factory. You'll be able to sense it from the delicious aroma. Just follow your nose! Enjoy a taste of the islands with traditional rum cakes baked in "The Cakery," a micro bakery custom-designed for this island indulgence. Rum cakes here are made exclusively with Bermuda's signature Gosling's Black Seal rum. Back at home, indulge yourself with a mouth-watering duty-free cake. Flavors include traditional black rum, rum and ginger, rum swizzle, banana rum, coffee, coconut rum and rich, dark chocolate rum.       

Dockyard Glassworks. Just steps from the ovens of the Bermuda Rum Cake Bakery, temperatures rise as you approach Dockyard Glassworks. At this spacious studio, artists amaze you with their glass creations. Relax in an "armchair theatre" and watch for hours as craftsmen create fantasies from molten glass. Watching the gentle grace and artistry of the workers, and especially seeing the chemistry of adding color via different sands and minerals is just mesmerizing. This is an incredibly labor-intensive craft, and after spending some time watching the process, you'll not quibble over pricing in the gift shop. You can purchase Bermuda glass collectibles such as a whistling tree frog, "honeymoon hogs" and multicolored fish and birds. Open daily 8 a.m.- 6 p.m., and until 9 p.m. when ships are docked in Dockyard.    

Bermuda Clayworks Pottery.  Visitors can watch potters at work in this converted warehouse.

Clocktower.

                     

     Perhaps the most conspicuous building at Dockyard is the Clocktower with its two 100-foot towers and 3-foot-thick walls. It once housed naval administration offices.  At first glance, the clock on the North Tower may look as if it has lost one hand. It is actually a tide clock, and in Dockyard's naval zenith, the clock hand was set each day to indicate the time of high tide. This was helpful information to all mariners wanting to avoid treacherous reefs in the area, especially those at Dockyard who were charged with transporting supplies and munitions to ships in the harbour.

     Today the building is known as the Clocktower Mall. Inside, spread out along cobblestone floors and between handsome wrought-iron pillars, are exciting boutiques and shops offering a vast array of items. Inside, the building houses over 24 boutiques selling British goods such as porcelain, fine china and tableware along with an array of tourist trinkets. Visit the Clocktower Mall during the season Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sundays and holidays, hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
     Be sure to visit the restored 1856 Dockyard clock with its 9-foot pendulum, three bells and elegant brass works. The museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., with the last admission at 4 p.m. Admission: Adults $10; seniors $8; children 5-15, $5; under 5, free.

OTHER THINGS TO DO AT DOCKYARD:

Neptune Theatre.  After enjoying the attractions here, you can take in a movie at the Kings Wharf Neptune Theatre, a 118-seat cinema shows a night movie twice over. On Fridays through Sundays, you can catch an afternoon show too.

Shark Eye Tours.  For an entirely different kind of seagoing adventure, this time aboard an amphibious vehicle, check out Shark Eye Tours. (Ramp is across from the Maritime Buoy-age System and Bermuda Clay works building in Dockyard)  Feel the vehicle leave the ramp and then float on the sea for an exhilarating experience.  For 45 minutes on a fully-narrated musical tour you change from bus to boat without leaving your seat!  Shark Eye Tours, the specialty tour operator, features a 40-passenger tour bus that  doubles as a boat!  This hybrid vehicle, made of composite fiberglass, gives visitors a unique perspective of Bermuda's Sandys Parish and its attractions on both land and sea. The bus/boat visits places not easily accessible from land, while offering a water tour experience second to none.
Tour rates: Adults $45/Children (4-12) $36/under 3 free.                                           Website:  HERE

Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride.  Marquis Horse Drawn Carriage Ride offers a 1-hour sightseeing and city tour from King’s Wharf; acquaint yourself with historic Royal Naval Dockyard and surrounding areas of Ireland Island; view old prison, Commissioner’s House; Old Naval Cemetery, Black Bay and Parsons Bay with local fisherman’s area; travel past movie locations for “The Deep” and “Bermuda Depths”; knowledgeable guides point out flora and fauna.  Booth is near the ferry dock. The cost  is $30 per half hour, for 1-4 riders. After that, there are various surcharges.

Windjammer Water Sports.  Windjammer Water Sports offer a good range of equipment rentals including: 17 ft. Power Cat – (This motor boat is equipped with electric start, steering console, Bimini top and boarding ladder. It can hold up to 6 people and a complementary cooler with ice is provided -- $40 an hour $20 each additional hour);  17 ft. Daysailers – (These sailboats have a capacity of 6 -- $65 for two hours or $135 for eight hours); Sunfish Sailing Boats – (These can hold 2 persons.); Laser Sailing Boats – (These have a capacity of 2.) Kayaks, Windsurfing Boards, and Fishing Rods.  They also offer a guided Jet Ski Safari combining open water riding and exploration of Bermuda’s hidden coves. Tours last 1¼ hours. The driver must be aged 16 years or older. The Jet Ski Safari is only available at their Royal Naval Dockyard branch.   

Hiking to Somerset.  If hiking through history is more your interest, check out the four-mile trail from Dockyard to Somerset. Somerset Island can be accessed via the smallest drawbridge in the world, however ferries from Hamilton regularly serve the chain of islands stretching from Somerset Island. The path takes you across the Gilbert Nature reserve and past the Royal Naval Cemetery, which dates back to the 19th century. The hike allows ample opportunities to take dips in the ocean along the way and offers fabulous views of the Great Sound. There are quiet lanes, sheltered coves, beaches and nature reserves to be explored in the most westerly part of Bermuda.

The drawbridge was first built in 1620. When operators of small boats entered the channel, the drawbridge was cranked open by hand. The drawbridge is on the $20 Bermuda dollar bill.

 

     No visit to the Royal Naval Dockyard is complete without a visit to the Nannini Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Parlour. Open seven days a week and featuring only Häagen-Dazs ice cream, sorbets and frozen yogurt. Treat yourself to one of the 16 flavors in a cone, sundae or milkshake. It can even be packed for you to take home. 

EVENTS AT THE DOCKYARD

Destination Dockyard.  Hosted by the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines on Monday evenings from May to October from 7-11 p.m., Destination Dockyard is a festival of local entertainment. Street vendors sell various crafts and food items while Gombey dancers perform to the drum beat wearing traditional costumes.  Shops stay open late, and many vendors are on hand to greet visitors stepping off the ferry (a special ferry operates from Hamilton for this event). Watch the Gombey dancers in their unique sequined and beribboned costumes drumming and dance routines honoring Bermuda's diverse heritage.

Dockyard Fair. Tuesday nights from 8-10pm limited music and dancers; food and crafts (but fair is best on Wed night in Hamilton; Tues in St Georges) 

Dockyard Events Calendar:  HERE

Dockyard Map:  Here

ATMS:  on the pier as you get off the ship and Dockyard near Clocktower mall.

 

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