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Best Bermuda Beaches
Unbelievable Pink Sands!
So which one do you choose from the 34 fabulous beaches of Bermuda? All of them are so unique and beautiful in their own rights! Over the last many years, We have spent long hours at each one of those wonderful Bermuda beaches.
And Bermuda's sand looks pink. Is that true? Yes! So why do the Bermuda beaches have pink sand? Red tiny organisms grow under coral reefs and die on the ocean floor. These along with bits of corals and shells get washed up to the shore, get mixed with sands and create a pink hue. And that makes the Bermuda sand look pink in color, well almost ;-)
Some of the Bermuda beaches have long expanses, while some are just tiny coves that are separated from one another by rocky cliffs. Some of these beaches are surrounded by coral reefs. The reefs are generally visible above the water surface particularly during low tide. You can also clearly see them at times when you are snorkeling.
While there are some private beaches owned by hotels, most of the Bermuda beaches are public family beaches. The public beaches in Bermuda are open from dawn to sunset.
You can not camp on the beaches or stay at night. But in many occasions we could swim even from private beaches although we didn’t reserve rooms in the hotels. If you eat at their restaurants, they allow you to use their private beaches.
Okay, enough of chatter. Let’s get down to choosing the best Bermuda beaches. Let me start with Our Top 5 most favorite beaches of Bermuda.
Horseshoe Bay Beach Bermuda: This stunningly beautiful beach in Bermuda is a curved stretch of pink sand in Southampton parish. This beach has been consistently ranked within the top beaches of the world by various international magazines.
Tobacco Bay Beach Bermuda: Located at St George parish, this beach is great for snorkeling and you get fascinating view of the colorful marine life along with corals.
Warwick Long Bay Beach Bermuda: This wonderful & secluded beach is half a mile long stretch of pink Bermuda sands and dunes. As the name suggests, it's located at the Warwick parish and is a great place for snorkeling.
Elbow Beach Bermuda: This beautiful beach has a gentle curve resembling an elbow. It's located at Paget parish and very close to City of Hamilton. You can see reefs close to the shore and the beach is great for snorkeling.
Jobson's Cove: This is a small wonderful & secluded beach surrounded by steep cliffs. Jobson's cove is located at Warwick parish.
Those were the absolute Top Five in our favorite list of Bermuda beaches.
However, there are several other beaches in the island that are simply as beautiful and come quite close to the top of our list of favorites. In fact, some of them can easily become part of your days agenda depending on the parish you plan to visit.
And those beautiful Bermuda beaches are:
John Smith's Bay Beach: One of Bermuda's pink sandy beaches, it's a long and wide stretch of pink sand. The beach is located at the Smith's parish and is excellent for snorkeling.
Hog Bay Beach Bermuda: Located in Sandys parish, this secluded beach is a hidden treasure. Not many know about this beach - one of the most exclusive Bermuda beaches.
Astwood Cove Bermuda: This is a stunningly beautiful cove at Warwick parish. The cliffs here are home to many long white-tailed tropical birds.
Church Bay Beach Bermuda: It’s a little cove formed by coral cliffs and located in Southampton at the western end of the south-shore beaches. Church bay is one of the excellent Bermuda beaches for snorkeling.
Chaplin Bay Beach Bermuda: Quiet and ideal for relaxing, this beach stretches across the boundary between Warwick and Southampton parishes.
Stonehole Bay Beach: Located adjacent to Chaplin Bay, this exquisite and small pink beach is surrounded bt rocky cliffs and offers a secluded piece of paradise.
Shelly Bay Beach Bermuda: This is one of Bermuda's pink sandy beaches and is located at the Hamilton parish. Due to a long stretch of shallow waters, this is one of the great Bermuda beaches ideally suited for kids and families.
Whale Bay Beach Bermuda: This beach is located at the western end of Southampton parish. During season, you can see schools of humpback whales migrate through the blue waters off the south shore, and hence such name of the beach.
Snorkel Park Bermuda: Located at Sandys parish, this beach is a great place for families and kids. This is a manmade beach and great for snorkeling.
Somerset Long Bay Beach: It's a beautiful secluded beach in the western Sandys parish. There is also an adjacent park.
Achilles Bay Beach: A tiny beautiful beach north east of St. George's town with calm serene waters and ideal for swimming and snorkeling.
Daniels Head Beaches and Park: Located at the western remote corner of Sandy's Parish, Daniel's Head with its 17 acres of coastal area is one of Bermuda's best kept secrets and not widely known to the general tourists. The beaches (now only one public) are great for swimming and snorkeling.
Devonshire Bay: This is a National Park of Bermuda located on the south shore of Devonshire parish. It has a great combination of beach, fort, parkland and picnic areas.
Clarence Cove: This is a nice little beach on north shore road, close to Hamilton and ideal for snorkeling.
Deep Bay: East of Clarence Cove on the north shore road, there is an opening in the wall and steep stairs through a high cliff will take you down to this gem of a beach. There is no marked entry and tourists often miss out on this lovely little beach.
St. Catherine Beach Bermuda: Located north of the St. George's town, this beach is a wonder little stretch of white sands. You can see the St. Catherine Fort at a distance. If you are visiting St. George's town, you should not miss the fort and the beach.
Clearwater Beach & Turtle Bay Bermuda: Located in St. David's of St. George's parish, these picturesque beaches have calm waters and great for families and kids. There are ample facilities here making them popular spot for picnics.
Sea Glass Beaches in Bermuda
While you may be lucky to find sea glasses (also known as beach glasses) in some of the beaches I already discussed above, but there are few special beaches in Bermuda that are really popular with those who make collections of sea glasses. You can find lovely green, brown, white and even the rare blue and red glasses in those beaches. Some of these glass beaches are not well known to public but are hidden gems. Check out Bermuda Sea Glass Beaches to know about sea glasses in Bermuda and the beaches to find these great jewels.
Seashells in Bermuda Beaches
So, are there beaches in Bermuda where seashells are washed up? What kind of shells can you find there. If you are a seashell collector, I am sure you will like to find out about all that and also want to know if there are any restrictions for shelling on Bermuda beaches. Check out Seashells in Bermuda Beaches for my answer to a viewer of this website who wanted to know about sea shells in Bermuda beaches.
Which beaches in Bermuda have pink sands?
So which are the best pink beaches in Bermuda? As I had mentioned earlier that bits of corals and dead tiny red organisms get washed up ashore and create a red hue in the sand. While that can happen in most beaches in the island, for the best pink sandy beaches, you should visit a South Shore Beach.
However note that over time these red particles in the sand keep moving up the beach through wave actions and get exposed to sun. The color then starts fading and the sand tends to lose the pink hue. So for the real pink sand, look near the water line or around one of the reefs at the edge of the water. You will notice that the wet sand is far more pink than the exposed dry sand further up the beach.
If you want to collect a sample of pink sand to take back home as a great nature's souvenir from Bermuda, take it from the wet sand and put it into a plastic zip bag. Once that gets dried up, you will get a nice sample of pink sand.
Bermuda Beach Map
I have created a small map so that you can get a snapshot of where all our favorite beaches are located in Bermuda and their relative positions. Here it is: Bermuda Beach Map.
So now that you got the treasure of Bermuda Beaches, choose the ones you like after going through my reviews. You really can't go wrong. They are all beautiful and some have unbelievable pink sands.
Bermuda Beaches for Kids
Waters around some of the Bermuda beaches can have undercurrents or even submerged reefs. They are unsuitable for children. You will also ideally need bathrooms, cafe and other facilities for the children, and also ideally a park for them to play around. Here are the beaches that I recommend for kids & children: Bermuda beaches for kids
Bermuda Beach Art Festival
This is an annual event to celebrate the beautiful beaches of Bermuda. It takes place all across the island in several beaches. The sand artists create wonderful beach art on the sand which lasts until the next high tide washes it away. Hundreds come to see the art competition. The festival also includes several other activities like music & dance, yoga classes, watersport demonstrations and such. Check out Bermuda Beach Art Festival for details.
Best Bermuda Beaches for Body Surfing
If you love to swim on rolling surf, then there are few beaches that you can consider in Bermuda. But remember that Bermuda has offshore barrier reefs keeping the waters relatively calm and you won't therefore get the real surfs in general. You will get more swells than waves. Exceptions are when there is strong wind or prelude of a storm that creates the rolling surfs. But such time is not good for swimming anyway. For body surfing waves, the best south shore beaches are the ones that have long expanse of sand, and they are:
1) Horseshoe Bay Beach
2) Warwick Long Bay Beach, and
3) Elbow Beach.
I have described all these beaches in the sections above.
Bermuda Beach Safety
While Bermuda waters are great for swimming and snorkeling, there can be some unanticipated risks or dangers. For example, occasionally you may find marine creatures like Portuguese Man of War in Bermuda waters or rip current that can be dangerous.
Lifeguards are on duty in some of the public beaches (Horseshoe Bay Beach, John Smiths Beach, Clearwater Beach and Turtle Beach) during the summer months between 10am to 6pm. A white flag on the lifeguard tower indicates that a lifeguard is on duty. There are also beach warning flags that are put up. A yellow flag indicates that the water conditions are questionable and you should ask a lifeguard before getting into the water. A red flag means it's unsafe to get into water. Read Bermuda Beach Safety to know about all the possible risks at the Bermuda beaches and the safety tips.
Need more information about Bermuda Beaches?
If you are looking for more information about the beaches in Bermuda which you still don't find in this section, there is one more way. Check out the Bermuda Beach Forum and see the questions the viewers are asking and the answers provided. If you have a question which is not covered in the forum yet, ask your own question. Hopefully that too will be answered soon.
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Visitors' Reviews & Comments
Melody Fontaine
Just wanted to thank you for all the wonderful information and pictures of the beaches in Bermuda. My husband and I are going on a cruise in late April with our family and found your information to be a big help. I'm planning on taking the family to a bunch of different beaches and your descriptions helped me to narrow my choices so I could pick the best beaches to suit our needs. Thank you again for your amazing site!! I'll let you know how the research worked out once I get back from our cruise. Sincerely,
Michael
Hello Raj, Please point to walking distance beaches from Dockyard. I know about Snorkel Park. Is there anything else? Thanks,
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com)
Hi Michael, There is no other beach within a short walking distance. But if you love to walk, then try Somerset Long Bay and our favorite Daniel's Head (beware, there are no side-walks for most part of the road). Best is to take a short (10 minutes) bus ride to Somerset (bus #7 or 8) and then both beaches are at easy walking distance.
Peter sent me a touching note on his experience in Bermuda, particularly about the West Whale Bay Beach which is also one of our family favorites.
About a favorite beach of Melissa. She was born and raised in Bermuda, but lives abroad now.
Stan Snarski was looking to find out a snorkeling and bathing beach in Bermuda's Hamilton City. He enjoyed this beach 10 years back with his family but has now forgotten the name of the beach.
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