Getting There

By Plane

Planes arrive at the Bermuda International Airport, Kindley Field Road, St. George (tel. 441/293-2470; www.bermudaairport.com), 14.5km (9 miles) east of the City of Hamilton and about 27km (17 miles) east of Somerset at the far western end of Bermuda.

The flight from most East Coast destinations -- including New York, Raleigh/Durham, Baltimore, and Boston -- takes about 2 hours. Flights from Atlanta take 2 1/2 hours; from Toronto, it's less than 3 hours.

After clearing Customs, you can pick up tourist information at the airport before heading to your hotel. Because you aren't allowed to rent a car in Bermuda, and buses don't allow passengers to board with luggage, you must rely on a taxi or minivan to reach your hotel.

Leaving the Airport by Taxi or Minivan -- More than 600 taxis are available on Bermuda, and cabbies meet all arriving flights. Taxis are allowed to carry a maximum of four passengers. If you and your traveling companion have a lot of luggage, you will need the taxi to yourselves.

Taxis in Bermuda are unduly expensive: They usually move slowly, meters seem to rise alarmingly fast, and taxi fares will inevitably represent a significant percentage of your day-to-day spending money. Regrettably, this situation can't be avoided. Nonresidents are forbidden to drive cars, and your only other option involves either walking (not practical on many of the very narrow roads) or renting either a bicycle or a small-capacity motorcycle (more on that later).

Unless the taxi has been specifically called to pick you up, in which case it will be a bit higher, the meter should read $4.80 (£2.50) when you first get in a cab. After that, expect to pay $6 (£3.10) for the first 1.6km (1 mile) and $2.10 (£1.10) for each additional 1.6km (1 mile) for up to four passengers. The following is a sample of taxi fares, including a tip of 10% to 15%, from the airport: To any point within the City of Hamilton, expect a metered fare of around $40 (£21); to points in and around St. George, around $20 to $25 (£10-£13); to points near Tucker's Town, around $30 (£16); to such south-shore beach hotels as Elbow Beach or the Sonesta, around $38 to $48 (£20-£25); and to such far-distant points as the West End, around $60 (£31). Fares increase by 25% between midnight and 6am, as well as all day on Sundays and holidays. Luggage carries a surcharge of $1 (50p) per piece. In almost every case, a meter determines the fare, unless you ask for a general tour of the island, in which event the driver might opt to charge you and your party about $50 (£26) per hour.

There are several authorized taxi companies on the island, including C.O.O.P. (tel. 441/292-4476), Bermuda Taxi Radio Cabs Ltd. (tel. 441/295-4141), and Sandys (tel. 441/234-2344).

It's cheaper for a party of four or more to call a minivan and split the cost than to take two taxis (because usually only two people with luggage can fit into each taxi). Arrange, if it's practical, for a 10-passenger minivan, or if you're conducting a large group, for a bus holding between 20 and 25 passengers, before you arrive in Bermuda by contacting Bermuda Hosts, 3 Cahhow Way, St. George CR 04 (tel. 441/293-1334). If you're traveling in a party of only two, consider asking a waiting chartered bus at the airport if it has room to take in two extra passengers. Using that mode of transportation, trips from the airport to such nearby hotels as Grotto Bay will cost as little as $12 (£6.25) per person, trips to the City of Hamilton will cost around $19 (£10) per person, and trips to the island's distant West End will cost around $35 (£18) per person.

Bear in mind, however, that these fares are imposed on a per-person basis, and taxis charge their rates for a collective carload of up to four passengers, depending on their ability to fit in all their luggage.

By Cruise Ship

This is the easiest way to arrive in Bermuda. The staff present you with a list of tour options long before you arrive in port, and almost everything is done for you unless you choose to make your own arrangements (although an independent taxi tour is far more expensive than an organized tour). Most passengers book shore excursions when they reserve their cruise.

Depending on your ship, you will probably arrive in either the City of Hamilton (best for shopaholics) or St. George (best for architecture and history buffs). A few ships also dock at the Royal Naval Dockyard on Bermuda's West End. Whichever port you dock at, you can avail yourself of the waiting taxis near your ship, or rent a moped or bicycle and do some touring and shopping on your own.