When planning my Bermuda Labor Day getaway, I struggled with planning an itinerary. The island is rather spread out, and we did not rent a car. We spent one afternoon and evening in the Eastern part of Bermuda (Georgetown, near the airport) and our itinerary worked well for those visiting the East for a day or half day.

First up, have an early lunch at what is possibly Bermuda’s most famous establishment, the Swizzle Inn! With its catch phrase “Swizzle In, Swizzle Out” and its infamous drink, the Rum Swizzle, the Swizzle Inn is incredibly popular, fun, and unmissable. It calls itself Bermuda’s oldest pub (like The Hog Penny in Hamilton…) and claims to be the creator of Bermuda’s national drink, the Rum Swizzle.

The Swizzle Inn is located on a side street not far from the Crystal and Fantasy Caves (which you will visit next). It is a super casual bar with indoor and outdoor seating, as well as limited bar seating, graffitied with dollar bills and business cards. I stressed far too much about a reservation, which was not necessary. You can usually just show up, have patience, and get a table on the quicker side (and you can have a Swizzle while you wait!). The menu is Bermuda pub fare, featuring all sorts of Wahoo based dishes (Bermuda’s favorite fish). The food was quite good, but we found the Rum Swizzle far too sweet for our taste. No worries, there is a full bar and while we thought it was sweet, most people absolutely adore the Rum Swizzle drink. There is also a full gift shop with some fun souvenirs to take home.

We sampled come cocktails and of course, had lunch, including the Wahoo Sandwich, which is a Wahoo fish fillet served on raisin bread. The food was good and actually reasonable.

After lunch, for a proper “tourist” activity, walk over to the Crystal and Fantasy Caves. They are a five minute walk from The Swizzle Inn – you simply cross the street and follow a path to the attraction’s entrance. The Crystal and Fantasy Caves are natural caves about 50 feet below surface that were discovered in 1905 by two local boys. There are crazy rock formations in the caves and, at least in Crystal Cave, an underground, crystal clear lake. And I say at least in Crystal Cave, we only visited that one because Fantasy Cave was closed when we visited (unclear why). Crystal Cave was truly beautiful and impressed both me and Dan (he is difficult to impress!). You can only visit the caves via a paid guided tour, and they are only open until about 5:00 PM (last tour at 4:30 PM). You don’t need advance tickets unless you are a huge group, but these caves are popular with tourists and cruise ships so you may need to wait a bit. There is a gift shop and small cafe on site to wait out your tour.

And for the claustrophobic, you could have a problem but I did not (at all). They, however, are located down 88 stairs (and back up 88 stairs) and once inside, you walk across a moving bridge over water and are down there for about 20 minutes. It is a very cool experience, but I could see some not loving the whole situation. Once inside, you are pretty much stuck until the tour ends, although you could get out in a true emergency. It is probably best to wear closed toed walking shoes and to bring a sweater; the path way down is a bit slippery and the cave itself is damp and noticeably cooler that the outside. That being said, I wore a dress, sandals, and a long tee-shirt.

Finally, drive about 15 minutes to Georgetown (there is also a bus). Once in Georgetown, walk around, pop into some shops, visit St. Peter’s Church or the Unfinished Church, or explore a bit further and head to Fort St. Catherine or Tobacco Bay Beach (these are better earlier in the day when the sun is out).

Finish your day with dinner in Georgetown. There are some cute restaurants on the water, such as The Wharf or Wahoo’s Bistro and Patio (pretty famous), and others further from the water. We dined at The Three Kings for Indian (Bermuda has excellent Indian restaurants). The food at The Three Kings was excellent.

A few tips to note. First, this itinerary can be done backwards and with the Bermuda public bus system. No need to rent a car or hire a private car. Second, both the cave complexes and Georgetown shutdown earlier than you would expect. Don’t expect to shop too late, and you must enter the caves before 4:30 PM.

STEAL OUR TRIP

Swizzle Inn: #3 Blue Hole Hill, Hamilton Parish CR04. Kitchen open daily from 11:00 – 10:00, bar open until about midnight. Reservations only accepted for parties of 5 or more.

Crystal and Fantasy Caves: 9 am to 5 pm daily. Crystal Cave and Fantasy Cave each cost $24 to enter, with a discount to $10 for children 12 and under, and under 5 free. A combo ticket is sold for $35 per adult, $12 for under 12, and 5 and under free.

The Three Kings: 3 Kings Square, St.George’s GE 05, Bermuda. Open 11:00 – 2:00 and 5:00 – 9:30. Closed Monday.

Wahoo’s Bistro & Patio: 6 Water St, St.George’s GE 05, Bermuda. Open daily 11:30 – 9:30.