A Guide to Scuba Diving Bermuda
Stuart HillThe wreck-diving capital of the Atlantic has the makings for a vacation like no other — and is just a short flight from the U.S. East Coast.
1) The Mary Celestia
Before it sank in 1864 on Bermuda’s southern reef, this side-paddle-wheel steamer outran Union ships to smuggle banned goods such as guns and ammo into Confederate ports. Divers can explore the ship from stern to bow, finning over the historic paddle wheel and adjacent reef where, from late-April into May and June, parrotfish aggregate.
2) Snake Pit
The winter and spring months bring exceptional clarity at this site that gets its name from the eels that rise from the sand and sway like a bed of sea grass. “The fish tend to move in a big circle,” says Philippe Rouja, Bermuda’s custodian of historic wrecks. “So when you’re sitting still, they eventually make their way around the bowl to you.”
3) Get your Swizzle On
The Rum Swizzle is Bermuda’s rum-heavy (and we mean heavy) national drink, available at bars and restaurants around the island. Treat yourself to an upmarket version at Marcus’, the swank restaurant boasting an original Warhol at the Hamilton Princess and Beach Club.
4) The Cristobal Colon
Bermuda’s largest wreck, this luxury Spanish cruise liner stretched 500 feet long when it was built in 1923 and was one of the most decadent vessels of its time. Hard and soft corals, large grouper, and oceangoing barracuda can be seen, as well as intact ship parts such as engines, propellers and steam turbines strewn across the ocean bottom.
5) Horseshoe Beach Bay
Show up after 6 p.m. during summer and you’ll have this favorite pink-sand beach (lauded among the world’s finest) nearly to your lonesome. Midnight parrotfish are often seen patrolling the shallows, so bring your mask for a look.
6) Eastern Blue Cut
“There’s a swim-through that has beautiful dappled light and a lovely anemone at the deepest part of the cave that I always stop to watch,” Rouja says about the cave at Blue Hole, one of many underwater structures at Eastern Blue Cut. The break in the reef here is one of the largest in Bermuda.
7) Woody’s
Bermudians are fiercely proud of their fish sandwich: snapper, grouper or wahoo loaded into the island’s signature raisin bread roll. Hit Woody’s in Somerset Village for a no-frills version of a classic.
8) The Caraquet
The wreckage of this British mail-packet steamer that sank off Bermuda’s northern reef in 1923 is spread across a single stretch just 35 feet deep. The effect, as you fin across it, is as close to flying as you can get underwater.
9) Tarpon Hole
While you can get here as a shore dive off Elbow Beach, you’re best off taking a boat to this reef that’s riddled with tunnels and shadowed by overhangs. Tarpon pushing 7 feet long often gather by the dozens to feed on silversides.
10) Mickey’s Beach Bar and Bistro
With live music several nights a week, this beachfront restaurant is particularly romantic at night, when the water off Elbow Beach is illuminated to magical effect.
