Bermuda Boating & Sailing Tours & Top Operators
A vacation in Bermuda won't be complete without experiencing a scenic boat or a sailing tour. It's a great way to explore the blue waters and its amazing marine life, coral reefs and the small islands that are otherwise not possible to see from the shore.
View of Shipwreck HMS Vixen
You can also enjoy the lovely views of the coastline and its landmarks. While most tourists take group boat tours that operate on per person rate, you can also charter a motorboat, or a yacht, or even rent a small boat and explore Bermuda's waters on your own.
The glass-bottom tours take you to places where you see some spectacular corals and sea life through glass bottom views, and even a partially submerged shipwreck. Sunset sailing tours are often complemented with cocktails and commentary from the captain.
Some boat tours are combined with water sports like swimming, snorkeling and kayaking and they take you to fantastic reef and wreck areas.
And there are sailing tours that show you Bermuda's colonial and celebrity homes along the shoreline. Many provide live commentary about the island and its history as you pass by some historic landmarks.
View of an island from boat
The boats for group tours are usually between 30 to 60-foot, and most can carry up to 30 persons and are often motorized boats. There are few larger boats as well that have capacity of about 200 or even more.
Several boat operators advertise year-round operations, but the off-season (November to April) schedules can be quite irregular. Captains usually use this off-season period for maintenance and repair work, or close the operation altogether if bookings are low.
Short Video on Boat Tours
Out of the many Bermuda boating tours that we have explored, following are the most popular group tours that operate on per person rate.
Cruising the harbor, viewing the coral reefs and marine life through glass bottom, and seeing the partially submerged shipwreck 'The Vixen' are all part of this excellent relaxing tour. The captain would take you to a crystal clear water area such as the Sea Garden which is like an underwater haven full of colorful corals and marine life.
Turtle Cove Glass Bottom Snorkel Adventure
Photo: Reef Explorer Bermuda
All along the crew will give commentary and let you know about the life and historic background of corals and fish in this part of the Atlantic. As you pass over Sea Grass Beds, you will have great chances of seeing even Green Turtles.
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Take a cruise to watch amazing sunset while sailing on the Great Sound water area at the west end or in Hamilton Harbor and sip an island cocktail. Alternatively, take a boat tour showing you picturesque shoreline and homes of famous celebrities.
There are rum cruises serving island drinks while you enjoy the scenery. There are also night cruises on motorized yacht showing you the marine life at night.
Sunset and Swizzle Cruise
Photo: Restless Native
Other options includes sightseeing cruises combined with activities such as snorkeling, swimming, paddle boarding or visiting a lovely secluded cove to relax on a pristine beach.
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There are several boat operators who offer spacious open deck catamarans for sailing and sightseeing around the calm waters in Bermuda. You can soak in the views of the coastline and have a drink while sailing.
Most of these catamarans have swim platform and ladder so that you can easily access the water while they anchor offshore in a reef or wreck area letting you swim and snorkel.
Rising Son II
Source: Rising Son Cruises
One such boat tour is on a 60-foot catamaran called the Rising Son-II which is designed for sailing, swimming, snorkeling and offering excellent views of Bermuda's coastline.
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Many operators offer swim and snorkel tours from Royal Naval Dockyard, Hamilton and even St. George. You get to see some stunning corals, fish and even shipwrecks during some of such tours.
Snorkeling at Turtle Cove
Photo: Reef Explorer Bermuda
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Several operators offer guided Kayak tours along the coastline which includes sightseeing from the water and also viewing marine life. Some of such kayaks also have glass bottoms for better views.
Kayaking in Bermuda
Photo: Mangrove Mike, flickr
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Guided Jetski tours are offered by several operators. Most such tours leave from Royal Naval Dockyard or Hamilton. Calm and protected water areas like Great Sound and Harbors where Jet Skiing usually take place. You get to see lovely views of the coastline and even marine life.
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During March to April the majestic humpback whales migrate north through Bermuda's waters towards summer feeding grounds. Watching these giant animals as they leap out of the ocean is an awesome spectacle.
While some times you can see the whales from the shores (a great place is West Whale Bay beach in Southampton), best is to take a Whale Watching Boat Tour to see them from close.
There are several boat operators that offer group boat tours for several hours on the sea, some offer private charters as well.
May through November, a magical spectacle takes place over the sea surface in the dark. On specific nights, the Fire Worms in Bermuda go around dancing in circles over the ocean while releasing intense green glow.
The whole water area lights up offering a magical experience. There are boat tours for witnessing this spectacular dancing display. You can however see the spectacle from the shore too.
X No longer in operation
There is a service offered on an amphibian vehicle which is a combination of a bus and a boat. The vehicle has been designed to move on road and can also sail on water like a boat. It shows you sights from both water and land, and you get best of both the worlds.
X No longer in operation
Underwater experience in a submarine and view awesome marine life and corals.
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Reef Explorer is a 70-foot long boat that offers snorkel, glass bottom and night time boating tours with a capacity of 150 passengers.
This boat tour on the 60-foot catamaran called the Rising Son-II, is designed for sailing, swimming, snorkeling and excellent view of Bermuda coastline.
A great snorkel cruise on a small boat for island swimming and shipwreck snorkeling. Sometimes the captain would take you to Sea Garden, a water area full of beautiful corals and fish.
Another great snorkeling cruise on a small boat where you will snorkel on two famous shipwrecks.
This cruise on a 48-foot boat is one of the most informative Bermuda sailing boat tours. This cruise tour is great for viewing the spectacular Bermuda coastline and colonial homes. This is one of great boat tours where you get a nice flavor of the island from the waters.
This is a family owned business operating for over 20 years and located at Sandys Parish next to the Somerset Bridge. They offer small motorized boats, Jet Skis and Kayaks on rent along with guides. The location of the operator is ideal to explore the reefs and wrecks of the western end of Bermuda.
They operate out of Dockyard and offer several guided boat tours. One of the most popular ones is the sightseeing and snorkel cruise where they take you on a coastal sail on an open deck catamaran to a hideaway where you can swim, snorkel, kayak or paddle board, or relax on a beach. They also offer a Goslings Rum Tasting Tour where you sample different local drinks and rum while on sail and enjoy the beautiful seascape after sunset.
They mainly operate out of the dockyard and offer Jet Ski tours that can be combined with swimming and snorkeling in lovely water areas.
The Jet Ski or the water scooter safari in Bermuda is a great way to see many picturesque sights and marine life. It starts from Snorkel Park Beach locatetd at the dockyard (near cruise terminal).
Moby Dick Charters
Captain Pete offers great sightseeing and sunset group tours in St. George's showing you eastern water areas, secluded islands, historic forts, wonderful Bermuda cottages on the shoreline and more. The sightseeing cruise in the 40-ft boat made in Bermuda lasts for an hour while the sunset cruise is for two hours. Whale watching tour is also offered on private charters or a group of minimum seven.
This tour on this 22-foot glass bottom boat called the Coral Reefer offers a lot of information about the island, sightseeing experience, as well as a great glass bottom view of the underwater world.
X Coral Reefer no longer available.
X No longer in operation
In operation since 2002, Captain Steven 'Cooky' Brown offers great boat tours on his 78-ft luxury cruiser which can take up to 100 person on board. The boat has an air conditioned lower cabin and also an open upper deck with partial cover. Tours offered include glass bottom view both at day and night time, harbor view and homes of famous and rich, and also tour to Harbor Nights during the summer. Most tours include island drinks and live commentary about Bermuda, its history, marine life, reefs etc. There are various departure points including the Dockyard.
X No longer in operation
Operating from Southampton Parish, this operator offers Jet Ski tours and also wake boarding, water ski, tubes and boat rentals.
How about taking a small rental boat and be on your own, explore Bermuda's coastline and the tiny islands lying offshore, discover secluded beaches, nose in to an island to have exclusive picnic or even snorkel. Sounds interesting? We love it. You don't need to go too far into the open sea.
Bermuda's water offers amazing treasures including great tiny islands, many caves along the coastline, great marine life and colorful corals, shipwrecks and more. All you need to find is a
Great Boat Rental to start your day. But what can you unearth and which water areas to explore?
If you are in a private group, you have a number of options to charter a boat and enjoy Bermuda waters in exclusivity. Such private charters with expert crews will let you enjoy all offerings of regular boat tours like sightseeing, snorkeling, glass bottom, sunset cruises and others, but with privacy. And you can customize such charters to include water sport activities like swimming, snorkel, kayaking, paddle boarding or simply relaxing on a beautiful cove beach.
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 By Raj Bhattacharya
Raj, a seasoned travel writer and Bermuda destination expert, has extensive global travel experience. This website reflects his profound insights, garnered over nearly two decades of dedicated findings and research on the island. Raj has assisted countless Bermuda-bound visitors by providing direct, personalized responses to their queries and imparting his wealth of knowledge through this platform. This site serves as an indispensable guide for those seeking informed and reliable insights into Bermuda's treasures.
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Visitors' Reviews and Comments
Angie Lutterman (December 2014)
Hi, I'm heading to Bermuda for the race weekend in mid-January. It's my 3rd time, so I understand the weather and it being outside of the high tourist season. Which leads me to my question...are they ANY sailing trips that happen that aren't charters? We chartered SailBermuda last time we were there for the race weekend--and it was great, but would prefer to not not have to charter to get on the water. Thanks!
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) December 2014
Hi, Unfortunately most boat operators close down their group tour operations during winter, and some operate only on appointed for charters. You can try the Somerset Boat Tour and Slide Show which usually operates on Thursdays (10am to 11:15am) from Somerset Country Squire (Mangrove Bay, Sandys). You will find more info about this tour and others here.
Doug McComsey (June 2012)
Can you tell me of any sunset cruises that run on Sunday evenings in July?
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) June 2012
Hi, although Fantasea Bermuda's Catamaran sunset cruise appears in their daily activity list, I doubt if they run it all seven days a week. You may want to check it out directly with them by giving your desired date. Following are their contacts:
Doug McComsey (June 2012)
Raj, Yeah, I emailed them and they don't appear to have a Sunday evening cruise. We are busy on Monday, the day they offered and we leave on Tuesday at 12:00. Thanks again.
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