I would plan Bermuda around the ferry timetable.

Personally, I would plan Bermuda around the ferry timetable. Visitors cannot hire an ordinary car here, because private cars are reserved for residents to keep the narrow lanes clear, so the boats and buses are not a fallback but the actual transport system. One more thing is worth knowing before booking: despite the pastel houses and pink sand, this is not the Caribbean at all, but a subtropical Atlantic island beyond the American east coast, kept mild by the Gulf Stream.

The airport sits at the eastern end, with short flights from the American east coast and longer ones from Britain and Canada. Almost everything is imported, which makes this an expensive island, and the warm months fill the good rooms early. Compare flights and hotels for Bermuda at https://destination.chat and choose your parish before your hotel, because without a car the distance between your bed and the beach becomes a daily decision.

The island reads as three ends of one long hook. In the east, Saint George's keeps the lanes and forts of the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the New World, listed by UNESCO with its fortifications. In the middle, Hamilton holds the harbour, the ferry terminal and the shops of Front Street. In the west, the Royal Naval Dockyard fills its fortress walls with the maritime museum and craft workshops. Between them run the south shore beaches, pale pink from crushed shell, at Horseshoe Bay and Warwick Long Bay, with Gibbs Hill Lighthouse above and the Crystal Caves inland.

Where you stay matters more than usual. In Hamilton, city hotels stand near Front Street and the ferry terminal, the best base for public transport. Along the south shore in Warwick and Southampton, resort hotels face the pink sand below Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. In Saint George's, small historic inns and guesthouses sit around King's Square, while out west in Sandys, apartment rentals and cottage guesthouses gather near the Dockyard ferry landing.

Transport is the thing to get right. Buses and ferries cover the island on multi-day passes and reach almost everything worth seeing, taxis are plentiful and costly, and visitors wanting their own wheels choose a scooter or a small two-seat electric rental. Driving is on the left, helmets are required, and scooters account for a real share of holiday injuries on wet, narrow roads. You can check transfer and boat trip prices at https://destination.chat and buy a transport pass when you land.

Time it for warmth. Bermuda is subtropical rather than tropical, so the sea is properly swimmable from late spring into autumn, while winter turns mild, green and much cheaper, with golf, walking and empty beaches instead of swimming. Come expecting the Atlantic rather than the Caribbean, and the whole island makes sense.

Q: Can visitors rent a car in Bermuda?

A: No. Ordinary car hire is not available to tourists, since private cars are restricted to residents. Visitors use buses, ferries and taxis, or rent a scooter or small electric vehicle.

Q: Is Bermuda in the Caribbean?

A: No. It lies in the North Atlantic off the American east coast, well north of the Caribbean, and its climate is subtropical rather than tropical.

Q: When is the best time to visit Bermuda?

A: Late spring to early autumn for swimming and the warmest weather. Winter is mild but cool for the beach, quieter and cheaper, and the Atlantic hurricane season runs through late summer and autumn.

Q: Is Bermuda expensive?

A: Yes. Nearly everything is imported, so prices are high. Guesthouses, apartment rentals, transport passes and self-catering all make a real difference.