The sun came out after we arrived in Bermuda and the weather turned out to be perfect, in the mid-70s.  We opted out of any formal excursions and instead took a cab to the The Crystal Caves in Hamilton Parish in the eastern end of Bermuda. Our driver was wonderful and gave us a guided tour of the island during the 45 minute trip. (Cost was about $45 each way with tip.) We arrived late morning without reservations. I highly recommend making reservations before you arrive in Bermuda. We were able snag a spot, but we had to wait about an hour. Fortunately, the famed Swizzle Inn is right across the street from the Crystal Caves and we popped in for a rum swizzle before descending to see the incredible caves.

The first time I was in The Swizzle Inn I was 19 years old (a very looooong time ago!) and they have this fun section in the restaurant where patrons have carved their names into the wooden tables and left money, business cards & signatures in the guest books going back decades. I couldn’t find the table where my sister and I and friends carved our names but just being there brought back such great memories!

We headed back to the Caves for our tour and if you have mobility issues or get claustrophobic in tight spaces you may want to skip this. I was dealing with knee pain and while I was able to manage both caves it wasn’t as easy as when I was 19! In the 2nd Cave I was a little claustrophobic as the path down was very narrow. Still incredibly stunning to see the story behind how they were discovered by two boys searching for a cricket ball in the 1907 is remarkable.

After we finished our tour of both Caves we returned to Swizzle Inn for a full lunch. We loved the wahoo nuggets and the conch fritters – all was delicious. We spent a little time in the gift shop, and I came home with what is now my favorite baseball cap that I wear almost daily!

 I highly recommend both The Swizzle Inn and Crystal Caves as must dos in Bermuda.

We headed back to the ship mid-afternoon to make sure we would be able to see the headliner – Kristen Chenowith! Unfortunately, the winds were still too high in port to do the show on the pool deck so we ended up in the theatre – show was phenomenal!