Hamilton Parish

At the middle northeastern section of the island chain, the parish is split in two by the large Harrington Sound, occupying all but the south and northeastern ends of its coast.

• Baileys Bay is a district known for its caves.
• Flatts Village is a small area with an aquarium, restaurants and a few shops, built around Harrington Sound's connective inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. The narrow inlet forces the tidal waters to flow at a surprisingly quick rate. It's not a place to spend all day, but worth a visit if you're touring Bermuda for a few days.

By taxi

Bailey's Bay is less than five minutes taxi ride from Bermuda's airport ($10), or about twenty minutes ($20-$25) from downtown Hamilton.

By car

From Hamilton, take Middle Road or North Shore Road east for about 15 minutes.

By bus

Busses #1, #3, #10 and #11 pass through Flatts Village on their way between Hamilton and St. George's. If coming from the airport, take direction "Hamilton". If coming from Hamilton, take direction "St. George's".

The district of Baileys Bay is less than a mile long. If you are fit enough to walk five city blocks, then you can walk. There are usually taxis going back and forth from the airport that can take you a short distance if you need it.
Flatts Village is small enough to walk around on foot. Public parking is available across the street from the aquarium. Roads are very narrow and not all have sidewalks keep close to the curb and walk single file.

• Crystal and Fantasy Caves

  phone: +1 441 293-0640
  address: Wilkinson Avenue, Bailey's Bay
  Two caves, almost adjacent but different from each other. Crystal cave has cool water formations and a floating bridge. It shows a good bit of human damage and decent amount of sunglasses and cellphones that have made their way to the bottom. Fantasy has more impressive rock formations, a larger area to explore, is a newer business so it doesn't show as many signs of abuse as Crystal, and its walls have a little more color and variations.

• Flatts Bridgethe unusual tidal forces are visible each day. It's a good place for seeing fish life, including the occasional spotted eagle ray, as well as Bermuda's rarest native bird, the common tern. Some locals youths jump off the bridge into the water during the hot summer in spite of the signage.

• Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo

  phone: +1 441 293-2727
  address: 40 North Shore Rd.
  Flatts' main attraction is a remarkably extensive aquarium of Bermuda's local fish life, as well as samples of animal life from Australasia, Madagascar and the Caribbean. At $10 per person, it's a great way to spend an hour or two with the kids. Center-pieced by a 140,000 gallon replica coral reef, this one of Bermuda's main attractions. Over three hundred birds, reptiles and mammals and 200 species of fish.

• Blue Hole Parkwith its caves, fishy ponds, and calabash trees.

• Railway TrailWalk between Coney Island and Bailey's Bay for fantastic ocean views.

Swimming, bays and beaches

• John Smith's Bay BeachNice pink sand beach. Summer lifeguards. Usually a mobile food concession.

• Shelly Bay

  address: North Shore Road
  Lots of shallow water and a large playground make this great choice for families with small kids. Restrooms, beach rentals, food concession.

• Memorabilia from the Swizzle Inn

• Swizzle Inn

  phone: +1 441-293-1854
  address: 3 Blue Hole Hill, Baileys Bay
  One of Bermuda's most iconic establishments offers great food and is home to the Rum Swizzle. According to the motto, you Swizzle Inn and Swagger Out.

• Jamaican Grill

  phone: +1 441-293-8899
  address: Coney Island Road
  Jamaican take-out, including ox tail, jerk chicken and curried goat.

• Rustico Restaurant

  phone: +1 441 295-5212
  address: 36 N Shore Rd, Flatts Village
  the nicest restaurant in Flatts, offering delicious suppers at Bermuda's usual high prices. Reservations recommended

• Swizzle Inn's famous rum swizzle.

• Grotto Bay Beach Resort

  phone: +1 441 293-8333
  address: 11 Blue Hole Hill, Bailey's Bay
  one of the nicer hotels on the island.

• Smith's Parish is to the southwest.
• St. George's Parish is to the northeast.