Bermuda - Facts for the traveller, when to go, events

Facts for the traveller for Bermuda

Visas: No visas are required for citizens of the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Western European countries. Visas are required by citizens of the former Soviet Union, most countries in North Africa and the Middle East, China, Sri Lanka and some former Soviet Bloc countries in Eastern Europe.
Time: GMT/UTC -4
Electricity: 110V ,60Hz
Weights & measures: Imperial

When to Go to Bermuda

Bermuda can be visited year round, but the busiest tourist season is from April through October when the weather is warmest and water temperatures comfortable for swimming and diving. It's also the liveliest time on the island, with plenty of events and entertainment options to keep visitors amused.

The winter season is a bit too cool for swimming, and many tourist-related agencies, like diving companies and boat tours, suspend operations for part of the season. January is the quietest month, so if you're more interested in tennis and golf or seeing the island when it's free of large numbers of tourists, this is the time to come.

The advantage of visiting during the cooler months is that accommodation prices can be up to 40% lower and you can escape the colder winter of more northern climes. So-called 'snow birds' arriving from the US East Coast at the end of the 19th century originally made the winter months the high season in Bermuda. The best conditions for windsurfing also tend to be in winter.

Bermuda Events

Bermuda has an inordinate number of golf tournaments and sedate events like bowls tournaments and gardening shows aimed primarily at older people but that doesn't mean it lacks oomph.

Gombey dancers strut their stuff on New Year's Day, and the Bermuda Festival is a six-week performing arts spectacular running from mid-January through February. The Bermuda Cat Fanciers Association Championship Cat Show in mid-March sounds like a hoot but is slightly less prestigious than the Newport-Bermuda Race, one of the world's major ocean yacht races held in late June during even-numbered years.

SOCA is a Caribbean music festival that has the Royal Naval Dockyards jumping in late July or early August, while the Bermuda Reggae Sunsplash continues the skanking in mid-August. You can march to a different drummer during the three-day Bermuda Tattoo in early November, which culminates with a grand finale of fireworks.