Best of Sandys Parish

Bermuda Maritime Museum [1]: The most visited Bermuda attraction, the museum is housed inside the tall ramparts of the six-acre Keep, the Royal Naval Dockyard’s citadel. Learn about the island’s sea-swept history through exhibits on ancient shipwrecks, pirates, the Royal Navy, and the story of trans-Atlantic slavery. Commissioner’s House offers the island’s best view.

Bermuda Dinghy Races [2]: Somerset Village is the best place on the island to witness this hugely popular spectacle throughout the summer. Cute as a button, the pastel village on the shore of Mangrove Bay is itself worth a stop on a tour through Sandys, inviting languorous afternoons spent strolling its winding country lanes.

Fort Scaur and Park [3]: Talk about lunch with a view! With panoramic views of the Great Sound and Dockyard, this fort and surrounding parkland make a great stop for a picnic or photo op. They also have access to the Railway Trail. Climb into the ditch leading from the 1870s fort right across Somerset Island.

Hog Bay Park [4]: The island’s third-largest park is a loner’s paradise — 38 acres of trails through farmland, woods, and coastal scrub. A pristine beach pops up on the shoreline at low tide, and snorkelers can wade out hundreds of yards to inspect reefs and sea grass.

Cup Match [5]: Don’t miss this annual cricket extravaganza if you happen to visit over the July–August cusp. Staged in Sandys every other year (it’s held in St. George’s in alternate years), the two-day festival represents an immediate initiation into island life. And don’t worry if the game leaves you cold; the gambling, rum, fish sandwiches, and convivial crowds will more than make up for it.

Railway Trail [6]: Arguably the finest stretch of Bermuda’s old railway bed to walk along is the section between the gates of the former U.S. Naval Air Station Annex at Morgan’s Island and Somerset Village. The trail’s cool cut-limestone walls, back-lane gardens, sweeping ocean views, and trails down to the rocky shoreline, where you can take a cooling dip, are unbeatable.