poss

Are there some places around the island that have good waves for body surfing/playing in the waves-- or is it all calm?

Are there any great hotels on a great beach that also has great snorkeling right off it?

Or: if there's a great beach with surf, is there a great hotel right there?

(In short, I don't think we'd enjoy hauling around on buses,cabs, etc to get to various beaches. Not our idea of a fun vacation.)

Thank you!

cmeyer54

Elbow Beach and Horseshoe Bay have good waves for body surfing. The best we found were at MidOcean Club but that requires a letter of introduction from your hotel concierge. Don't worry about buses - you'll be on scooters and having a blast. Elbow Beach hotel is obviously on Elbow Beach and its a private beach also. Best public beach we found was horseshoe.

poss

Thanks for reply. Can't figure out whether Bermuda is right for us or not. Sounds pretty and have always been interested. We're in our late 70's and really don't want to do mopeds. Not crazy about hauling around in cabs/buses either. Are used to Caribbean vacations, where we rent cars when we want to explore different parts of the island or snorkel from various beaches. But Bermuda is so much closer, so thought it might be fun to give it a try this summer.
Hoping for more input....
Thanks!

mnag

Here are my thoughts on Bermuda. We visited last year for about 4 days. Stayed at Pompano which we loved. Bermuda would not have been my pick primarily because we like quiet/non-touristy/off the beaten path type places. But we decided to go since we only had 4 days and its quick flight from NJ. We also prefer the rent a car and drive to a diff beach each day sort of thing. Things we loved about bermuda - its lush and beautiful. Its very well kept/no trash around at all. Its sophisticated and the people were great. We did take buses a couple times to visit the various beaches. Went to horseshoe bay and it was packed with cruise ship folks. Very crowded so we kept walking to the left and ended up at another beach just as gorgeous and there were just a few other folks there. The water was beautiful and I would say there was quite a bit of wave action. Lots of fun. The South end beaches are all connected. You have to hike a bit and you're at a different beach. We also took a bus to Elbow and it was a bit crowded for my taste but we were able to find a not so crowded spot. Based on your preference I would look into the Reef hotel (went there one evening for dinner and walked the beach. Lots of waves) or Elbow beach hotel. Would not recommend
Pompano for you since its situated on a beautiful bay but the water is very shallow with no waves. Bermuda offers lots of sightseeing as well. We loved taking the ferry over to Georgetown - amazing little place/very european/outdoor cafes etc. Overall Bermuda is very scenic with some great beaches (which are more crowded that we prefer) and offers great sightseeing options and some nice shopping. To your point, we did find ourselves hauling around in buses and cabs to get to various beaches/hamilton etc.

poss

Thanks for the terrific detail, mnag-- very very helpful!
What time of year were you there btw?
Was there any snorkeling at all from the Pompano beach? Would did you especially love about the hotel?

Many thanks!