125+ web files in a constantly
updated compendium on Bermuda's business, culture, cuisine, customs, districts,
economy, education, food, geography, government, history, internet access, laws,
parishes, politics, religions, traditions, wildlife etc. For tourists, business
visitors, employers, employees, newcomers, researchers, retirees, scholars.
Funded by and linked to The Royal
Gazette, Bermuda's only daily newspaper.
By Keith Archibald Forbes (see About Us) exclusively for Bermuda Online
To refer to this web file, please use "bermuda-online.org/abcbda3.htm" as your Subject.
Bermuda National Symbols are
| Bird | Cahow. Because of its perseverance, strength and endurance. Long thought to be extinct, wiped out by early 17h century colonists, until re-discovered 300 years later. |
| Flag | See top graphic above. |
| Flower | Bermudiana. (Sisyrinchium iridioides). A member of the iris family first recognized by Carolus Linnaeus as different from the American blue-eyed iris. This was confirmed in 1884. |
| Tree | Bermuda Cedar, a unique species of juniper. An integral part of the landscape since 1606 and once used to create furniture, build ships and construct beams for houses. |
| Vegetable | Onion. First introduced from England in 1616 and for 300 years afterwards was exported from Bermuda to West Indies and North America. |
One
of the nine smallest places in the world, in total land area. 21 square miles or
53 square kilometers, compared to the USA's 9.629 million square kilometers. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_outlying_territories_by_total_area
.
Bermuda is "bm" as a country code on the Internet. Bermuda is named after the man who first discovered it, Spanish navigator Juan de Bermudez. Before he first discovered Bermuda via shipwreck on local reefs in 1503, Bermuda was uninhabited. Later Spanish, Portuguese, French and British mariners also came ashore, mostly involuntarily because of sharp uncharted reefs that damaged or sunk their ships. As soon as they built small vessels from local cedar, or made repairs, they left. Portugal and Spain claimed Bermuda but did not take possession or settle. Bermuda had no permanent residents until 1609 when the flagship "Sea Venture" of the British Third Supply Fleet was caught in a tempest with 150 British officials, colonists and crew, including Admiral Sir George Somers, Sir Thomas Gates as Virginia's first Governor-Designate, and John Rolfe. See Bermuda's Links with the USA and Bermuda's Early History portrayed in its cultural postage stamps.
The other name - the Somers Isles - commemorate Bermuda's British founder father, discoverer in 1609 and colonizer, Admiral Sir George Somers, when it was not populated at all. In 1612 the Bermudas, then the Somers Islands, were in the third charter of the Virginia Company. More English colonists arrived specifically for Bermuda. The charter was revoked in 1684 when Bermuda became a British crown colony. However, it was once referred to as Virgineola, in its 16th century brief period as a dependency of Virginia.
Today, Bermuda remains a (nominal) British possession, a completely self-governing British Overseas Territory, with its own laws - not those of the United Kingdom. No UK laws apply in Bermuda and Britons are just as much foreigners as are Americans, Canadians, Europeans, Asians and other citizens.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the British Government department responsible for Bermuda's foreign affairs, through its headquarters in London and its Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates. It is represented by the Deputy Governor's Office at Government House, 11 Langton Hill, Pembroke HM 13, Bermuda. Telephone: (441) 292-2587, Fax: (441) 295-3823). E-mail depgov@ibl.bm.
The whole of Bermuda is tiny by world standards - with a land area of only 21 square miles or 56 square kilometers. It includes all the islands mentioned above. Residents and visitors can travel from one end to the other in just over an hour and from north to south in 10 to 15 minutes. Scientific theory has it that what we know today as Bermuda began some 100 million year ago as a volcanic mountain, with the volcanoes having disappeared 70 million or so years ago.
Some oceanographers say the Bermuda Rise juts up from the deep Atlantic Ocean floor in the form of three steep- sided mountains, the largest of which supports the Bermuda Islands we know today, on the southern margin of a shallow water platform, with Challenger and Argus (or Plantagenet) Banks to the southwest. Others say the Bermuda Rise is five mountains including the more distant Bowditch and Muir Seamounts (the furthest of which is about 150 miles to the northeast).
The Bermuda Mountain is longer - 32 miles - than the land area width and much wider - 16 miles wide - than the maximum land width of 1.5 miles. At sea, the Argus and Challenger Banks are round and about 6 miles across.
Below the level of limestone and 450 feet below sea level is volcanic rock; and below that, only black lava and other igneous volcanic rock. Only in one place in Bermuda - 60 feet below sea level at the southern end of Bermuda International Airport -is volcanic rock found so near to sea level.
Bermuda is (an observer) member of CARICOM and member of the ICFTU and IOC.
Bermuda is a foreign country and requires valid passports from:
Americans (who number about 85% of all visitors, See Bermuda's Links with USA). Before they arrive, American visitors should note that the US Government has implemented new regulations that will require all those traveling to Bermuda and from here to the USA by air or sea to travel on a valid passport. All travelers, including American citizens, going to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada must have a valid official passport to enter or re-enter the United States. Other regulations will require that visa applications to Bermuda via the USA or from Bermuda to the USA for those thinking of going from Bermuda to live and/or work in the USA be completed online. The USA's Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires this. Further details can be obtained from the US Consulate in Bermuda. Americans should also read and heed the US State Department's Travel Advisory section on Bermuda, on its website.
Non-citizens of the USA must also carry a US Green Card showing them to be legal registered aliens there, if entering Bermuda from USA
Britons (5% of all visitors, see Bermuda's Links with the UK):
Canadians (5% of all visitors). See Bermuda's Links with Canada file.
Non-citizens of Canada or the United Kingdom must have an appropriate travel visa from Canada or the United Kingdom if entering Bermuda and not a citizen of that country.
Nationals of other countries (5% of all visitors).
All adults and children - irrespective of nationality - should have individual official passports from their country of birth or domicile to enter Bermuda. It is the only way of confirming and proving both your nationality and your identity. Birth certificates and drivers' licenses, not issued by countries but merely by sub divisions of them, don't show such confirmation or proof. Travel documents for all must be shown to Bermuda Immigration on arrival.
Plus:
Air mail,
in normal conditions, from North America or
Europe can take more than a week to arrive and is sometimes delayed for longer.
Most of the incoming mail comes from the USA. Residents without their own
Post Office mailboxes should note that incoming mail will not always be
delivered every weekday, never on Saturdays, Sundays or Public Holidays; and not
if the postal carrier is sick or away.
All mail leaving Bermuda for the USA, Caribbean and South America is x-rayed in Bermuda. Always use first class air mail or courier service or secure electronic mail. There are several courier services operating to and from Bermuda.
Only car ships - no freight ships or scheduled aircraft - go between the Caribbean and Bermuda. Surface mail can take many months, especially when misdirected to places with no passenger shipping or airline connections to Bermuda. Mail problems usually occur more frequently from November to March when, in more normal circumstances, air services from the USA to Bermuda are fewer in number and with smaller aircraft. Because of this, regular air mail from the USA for Bermuda has been sent to London first, then redirected to Bermuda on British Airways on the three days a week winter service. To help avoid such problems, all Christmas parcels from Bermuda should be sent by an early or mid October deadline and for Bermuda residents and visitors, letters should be sent no later - and ideally much earlier than - December 8. If with questions, call the Post Office at 297-7893.
Packages sent to recipients from Bermuda by courier are treated in a different way to regular airmail. Recipients must always give their full physical postal addresses, postal codes and telephone numbers. Costs will include:
The overall effect is that a US$39 pair of trousers from a good US retail store like Land's End could end up costing the recipient over US$90.
See Fauna.
See under Traditions and homes.
Including, but not confined to, narcotics and weapons.
Arriving via cruise ship or yacht incurs a US$ 80 person Arrival Tax imposed by the Bermuda Government, in lieu of the Departure Tax. It has increased significantly since in May, 1996, the Wall Street Journal newspaper reported this tax as by far and away the highest such tax of any vacation destination. Since then a US$ per cabin tax is also payable to the Bermuda Government, now also included in the ticket prices of cruise passengers.
Departing by air to any overseas destination from Bermuda was US $20 per person in Departure Tax but in the Bermuda Government Budget of February 16, 2001 it was raised by 25 percent to $25 per adult per departure, irrespective of class of airline ticket, effective April 1. It applies to ALL outward bound visitors and residents, per trip. Vouchers can be obtained from hotels and the airlines for the Bermuda Departure Tax. Airlines serving Bermuda now include this in the cost of their tickets. On a per square mile basis, the tax makes Bermuda, with its 21 square miles, at US$1.25 per square mile, by far and away the most expensive place in the world from which to exit. In contrast, economy seat passengers going from any United Kingdom airport to any European Union (EU) country, plus those applying in 2002 to join the EU, pay 5 pounds sterling (about US$7.50) in departure taxes. UK passengers going to non EU countries such as the USA or Canada or Bermuda, pay the long-haul rate of 20 pounds sterling (about $30) per adult. But at the UK's total square mileage of 93,200 the departure tax per square mile is US$0.0032. As Bermuda is not in the UK for any legal purposes, visitors from the UK returning there from Bermuda also pay the standard Bermuda departure tax.
The Bermuda Government does not permit visitors to rent automobiles or drive those owned by residents. Visitors are restricted to a low powered rented moped or scooter (not safe if you are not used to them). Companies are not allowed to own cars in corporate names. They don't have chauffeured limousines. Bermuda properties are not allowed to have limousines to collect or deliver guests to the Bermuda International Airport. Public buses are not equipped to accept passengers with luggage. Only one automobile is allowed for each Bermuda family or household.
Most American, Canadian & other visitors will find that if they need cash in Bermuda, local ATMs from either of the two largest local banks will service them. But note carefully the dollar notes they dispense will be in non-exportable Bermuda dollars only (which cannot be cashed overseas). It is an odd anomaly in a country where the US$ is otherwise fully accepted as a legally permitted currency for visitors.
Because so many have been written, brief mentions only are included. Because Bermuda has changed so much over the years, all older guide books are no longer accurate.
Awarded by Royal Warrant at
the Court of St. James, London, on October 4, 1910. Commissioned by the Bermuda Government
from London's College of Arms for Bermuda's tercentenary in 1909.
It is a white and blue shield with a red lion holding a scrolled shield showing the sinking of Admiral Somer's flagship Sea Venture off Bermuda in 1609.
Armorial Ensigns are Argent on a Mount Vert a lion sejant affrontee Gules supporting between the forepaws an Antique Shield Azure, thereon a representation of the wreck of the Ship 'The Sea Venture' (AD1609) all proper, together with the motto Quo Fata Ferunt.
This is from Virgil's Aeneid and its translation from the Latin is Whither the Fates do Lead Us.
Police
Headquarters, 10 Headquarters Hill, Devonshire DV 02, Bermuda. P. O. Box HM 530,
Hamilton HM CX. (441) 295-0011. Fax (441) 299-4459. Government
House has direct responsibility for the operational side of Policing with the
Police Commissioner reporting directly to Governor Sir John Vereker, while
budgeting and manpower is Government’s responsibility. The service is paid for by Bermuda
taxpayers, not the United Kingdom. The service has (from April 2008 ) 477 (469
before that and 461 in 2005) full time officers mostly from Bermuda, Britain and Caribbean,
or about 8 for every 1,000 permanent inhabitants.
By comparison, in the USA, there was an average of 2.5 (two point five) Police Officers for every 1,000 permanent inhabitants. Bermuda has by far and away the highest number of policemen in the world per square mile (23) in Bermuda's total of 21 square miles. By comparison, Sutherland, Scotland, has 22 policemen in 2,300 square miles. It is no secret that much of the crime committed on the Island is drugs related, and it is well documented that more than half of Westgate's (Bermuda's main prison) inmates have used drugs prior to incarceration. The rate of recidivism remains stubbornly high at around 80 percent.
Violent crime in Bermuda has leapt by 44.5 percent in the last seven years but Police have vowed to keep up pressure on street criminals.
The latest figures, published in March 2008, show robbery has gone up 48.3 percent in the past year while wounding has gone up ten percent. Residential burglary has gone up 75.5 percent since 2006 - a factor partly explained on house breaking, which had been defined as burglary in the day time, being merged statistically with burglary which had previously only covered only offences from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Between 2000 and 2008 total reported burglaries have increased 99 percent. Cash, jewellery and electronic items including laptop computers, cell phones, iPods and digital cameras are the most common targeted items. The most common methods of entry were an insecure window or door and a forced or pried window or door.The Bermuda Police Service also has about 100 civil servants and industrial staff. Officers of the rank of Chief Inspector and above are entitled to the police benefit of a car. They have amnesty from parking regulations. Other officers include a marine section of one inspector, one sergeant and twelve constables, with a fleet of boats including 22 foot Boston Whalers, 27 foot Boston Whalers, 24 foot Arctic Rigid inflatables and a 46 foot Hatteras. Its officers provide the primary search and rescue facility in local waters (there are no police helicopters).
There is also a Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) of the Bermuda Police Service, for Internet-related crimes and anti-money laundering procedures, following implementation of the Proceeds of Crime (money laundering) Regulations 1998. All members of the Association of Bermuda Compliance Officers in regulated institutions - such as banks - are required by law to appoint a reporting or compliance officer. He or she is responsible for passing reports of suspicious transactions to the FIU.
The Police Support Unit is new, with a wide variety of tasks. The attractions of the service include a starting salary from $41,900 excluding overtime, a retirement pension plan and vacation of 24 working days annually. Issued in 1997 was a retractable truncheon. Police do not usually wear pistols, primarily because all members of the public are forbidden by law to carry guns. But despite this, Bermuda has had more firearms offences in the past two years than in all the earlier 20 years combined, primarily because of many illegal local drug pushers. Another direct result of this has been the availability to all policemen and policewomen of a dual purpose protective vest that can combat knives and gunshot attacks. Officers can carry radios, batons, handcuffs and other equipment in special, easy to reach pockets.
Some officers undergo special training in Britain. Ranks follow the British tradition. In ascending order of seniority, they are constables, sergeants, inspectors, chief inspectors, superintendents, assistant commissioners, deputy commissioner and Commissioner.
Periodic visits are made by Britain's senior advisor for Dependent Territory Police Forces. He makes periodic recommendations to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
There are also several hundred part time, all Bermudian, Bermuda Police Reserves (telephone (441) 299-2442), with a capacity of up to 180 men and women.
In 2000, Commissioners were brought in to study the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes against local residents and visitors to Bermuda (like the racial rape, torture and murder of Canadian teenager Rebecca Middleton). Commissioners revealed to the press and general public on September 10, 2000 that Bermuda is five to six years behind Britain in its ability to tackle criminals. For example, In Bermuda, there is very limited legislation to allow officers to take DNA samples and only a very few cases are prosecuted this way, unlike in the United Kingdom where more than 53 percent of all crimes against persons use DNA. Colin Coxhall, a senior British policeman, was brought in the Bermuda Government to serve as Commissioner. But he got too close to finding out serious problems in narcotics trading by Bermuda government officials, so was fired.
Since the brutal murders in Bermuda of Miss Stapleton, a censorette of the United Kingdom in July 1941, Miss Anjie Herkommer of Germany in April 1992, and Miss Middletown from Canada in the late 1990s, plus similar murders of at least one local woman, a very serious concern has been sexual assaults on women traveling or living or visiting alone. There is a very high number of rapes of women. Local and visiting women are warned to be exceedingly careful with strangers, never to accept rides from local men on motorcycles or in cars and carry whistles or better.
New Police officers graduate locally from the Recruit Foundation Course.
Under the provisions of the Police Amendment Act 1998, section 32(A)(1)b, the Governor has ordered all interviews with persons suspected of indictable offences to be tape-recorded in facilities designated by the Commissioner of Police as suitable.
The Selective Driving Enforcement Program is a methodology to stop, book and indict drunk or drug-impaired drivers, people who overtake dangerously by weaving in and out of rush hour traffic, speeders, those without or with improperly fastened helmets and those with faulty vehicle lights. Offenders include locals and visitors.
Primarily because of a very high Bermuda Government import duty, prices of all liquor (including wine and beer) bought in Bermuda are high - sometimes twice or more than in the USA. As visitors, you may import one liter per person. Soft carbonated drinks are also expensive by North American standards, US $3.24 for a 2 liter bottle of the Bermuda-made product, or $1.99 for a same size imported house brand soda.
There are no large discount stores like in the USA. To avoid paying much more in Bermuda, stock up on:
Formed in London in 1987 to look after Bermuda's interests on a number of fronts, particularly in the areas of finance and commerce. Its membership includes Bermudians living in London and rest of UK, plus former Governors of Bermuda. It promotes Bermuda's image; fosters closer links between Bermuda, the UK and Europe. works with BIBA and others and Bermudian students in the UK.
Bermuda has both direct taxes - in Employment Taxes paid by both employers and employees - and so many indirect taxes including import duties averaging 31 percent at wholesale value and a high Death Duties tax that all locals and visitors pay a premium in costs of all imported goods and services. The biggest cost is to pay for the 51 paid legislators - 17 times the international average of the ratio of legislators to voters in a total of only 20 square miles - and army of civil servants amounting to 15 percent of the entire work force. Mostly because of this, the overall cost of living in Bermuda is about 2.64 (two point six four) times the cost of living in the USA and about 1.8 (one point eight) times the cost of living in Canada or the United Kingdom. This is one reason why the Internal Revenue Service of the USA allows Americans living and working in Bermuda a $ 76,000 exemption before they pay USA federal taxes.
Bermuda is in the Atlantic Time zone, like Nova Scotia to the north and Caribbean 1,000 miles south. Atlantic Time is one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST). Bermuda is normally four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time and British Summer Time in the United Kingdom. But as the latter occurs one week before Bermuda observes the beginning of US Daylight Savings Time on the same night as the USA, for one week only, Bermuda is five hours ahead of the UK.
See "Gambling."
Most offices open from 9 am to 5 pm five days a week. Many shops and restaurants (except those in hotels) are also open on Saturday but not on Sunday. See the Bermuda Cuisine list of restaurants. At this time, all retailers including restaurants who wish to open on Sundays must apply to the Minister of Finance for a special permit and pay for it. Only a few are open on Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm. Gas stations are usually open on Sundays until 5 pm. A handful of hotel branch store and other pharmacies and some non hotel restaurants are also open on Sundays for dinner. On a public holiday, all local restaurants and shops close and only hotel restaurants are open.
See International Direct Dial Telephone Access and costs from Bermuda.
They are administered by the Bermuda Government. They are available ONLY to Bermudians and other residents - not tourists - for very short periods usually around late string and summer public holidays, in park lands or near public beaches. There is a limited season and campers must bring their own tents, sleeping bags, clothing and more. In the year 2000 there was a $50 deposit and $5 per night charge.
Under the Bermuda 2002 Statistics Act enacted by the legislature, there will be a census every 5 years starting in 2010. All once-voluntary surveys are now compulsory, backed up by heavy fines or imprisonment for non-compliance.
Most of the 65 to 70 percent of the black population of Bermuda prefer the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Most of the white Europeans or North Americans (about 30 percent of the community) are Anglican or Episcopalian. Weekend times of church services are in the Saturday print editions of the daily and twice a week newspapers.
Churches or denominations with websites should check our Links policy is they wish for their websites to be included here. Once they hyperlink to Bermuda Online at www.bermuda-online.org, a hyperlink to their website will be shown quickly, plus an email address. Sorry, not otherwise.
Churches include:
Adjutant Lute DesBrisay, Salvation Army. She arrived on January 2, 1896 and officially began the Salvation Army in Bermuda.
| Both the City
of Hamilton and Town
of St. George have
elected Mayors and Councilors. The
town was Bermuda's original
settlement in 1609 and capital from 1612 until superseded by the city in 1815.
The city and Hamilton Parish should not be confused with each
other. They are separate entities six miles apart, named
after different people.
Bermuda International Airport |
 |
| Harrington Sound (on the left of what looks like two lakes above, but which in fact has an access to the sea under Flatt's Bridge and has many subterranean caves) marks the lowest point on the Bermuda sea platform. It is about 23 meters in depth at its deepest point (off Devil's Hole). Its geological formation is not yet fully explained. It is not the crater of an extinct volcano as often assumed. To the right of Harrington Sound is Castle Harbour, with the airport nearby |  |
Bermuda is widely susceptible to this. Hurricanes and winter storm surges have debilitating effects on shorelines. A Jamaican firm, Smith Warner International, was commissioned in July 2003 by the Bermuda Government to do a survey at taxpayers' expense.
Internationally, Bermuda has a medium-high crime rate - as duly noted by both Britain and the United States of America in their travel advisories. But there are probably more crimes in Bermuda per capita - per square mile among its 68,000 residents in 21 square miles than anywhere else in the world. In the 1970s, a Governor, his aide and the Chief of Police were assassinated. in 1996, there was a notorious rape, torture, sodomy and murder of a 17 year old innocent Canadian tourist. (See under "Rebecca Middleton" in Bermuda Laws). Most crimes locally are by locals seeking illegal narcotics or the money to pay for them. They trespass by night or day at premises used by visitors and locals. Some may have illegal guns. These thieves go after valuables like cash and credit cards not locked in safes. The crime rate is such that all visitors should not, under any circumstances, leave your room or suite or cottage sliding glass doors or apartment windows or doors unlocked by day or night. If you merely lock a nylon screen from the inside by night or by day if you are out, you risk being robbed by thugs who will cut the screen and enter. Always use a secure safe in your room - and inform the local police promptly if you are robbed or assaulted. Also, be wary of venturing out at night and do not carry a handbag on you or when you are on a moped or scooter, in a place where it can be easily snatched by a thief.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Board: Visitors raped, murdered and sodomized in Bermuda, or their families, should not expect quick or generous or any compensation. Only dependants, not family members, are usually eligible. In the case of raped, sodomized, tortured and murdered 17-year old Canadian visitor Rebecca Middleton, her family had to wait 10 years and in 2006 got only a nominal $2,840.63.
Tourist Crime Unit: Bermuda's many crimes against tourists have received such bad publicity in the USA (from where over 80% of tourists come), Canada and UK that a Tourist Crime Unit has been established, using 2 members of the 469-strong Bermuda Police.
See Money.
For Bermuda Customs (Import Duty) purposes, residents - not visitors - can claim a $100 per person duty free allowance (it was a $200 per person allowance until April 1, 1996 and $400 per person a few years ago) each time they travel for over 3 days, or can lump all such allowances together if returning to Bermuda as a family.
But residents should retain in their possession and produce if necessary the receipts for clothes, personal effects and goods they purchase abroad, in case their value declared by the resident is challenged by a Bermuda Customs officer. Duty is payable at 30% of the value of purchase cost abroad of imported goods less the $100 per person duty free travel allowance. Some goods are duty free, such as books and computer business software (not games). The mere $100 per person duty free allowance for residents allowed by the Bermuda Government does not compare well with the present £145 per person duty free allowance applicable in the United Kingdom for purchases outside the European Union (EU); the much more generous rate for travelers within the EU; $300 for Canadians returning to Canada from abroad; and $800 in the USA for US residents visiting Bermuda.
Also - unlike US citizens or registered aliens returning home to the USA after a vacation or business trip who qualify routinely for a further US Customs exemption of up to $100 per day of bone fide goods shipped from abroad, for their own personal use - Bermudians or residents do not get the same consideration from the Bermuda Government.
Visitors are not entitled to the US$100 duty-free allowance of returning residents. Instead, they may bring in gifts up to the total value of $25 (compared to $100 or so in most other countries) after which they pay duty at prevailing rates.
Bermuda follows the USA, on the
same day, instead of the UK and Europe, later. In Bermuda in 2007, as
in the USA, clocks were set forward an hour on Sunday, March 11. Previously, daylight
savings time for Bermuda and the United States started on the first Sunday in
April — when clocks went forward an hour — and ended on the last Sunday in
October, when they would fall back. In 2007,
clocks will not fall back until the first Sunday in November rather than the
last Sunday in October.
In 2008, The Miscellaneous Taxes (Rates) Amendment Act increased the rate of departure tax for all visitors and residents from $25 to $35 per person. Bermuda has by far and away the highest Departure Tax in the world per square mile, - of US$1.66 per square mile.
The airport in Bermuda has no jetways so the handicapped in wheelchairs or otherwise disabled must be lifted down manually, when arriving and departing. Please see the Bermuda Physically Handicapped Association for more details. For details of hospitals and medical support groups locally, see Health Care Support Groups in Bermuda.
See under "Pharmacies" in Senior Citizens of Bermuda. "
If not Bermudian, the company will need to:
Held in Bermuda in May 2002. It highlighted the African-Bermudian History exhibit. Attendees included South Africa Archbishop Ndungane.
1973. November. Bermuda Government gave a tentative go-ahead for plans to create a national lottery and asked the Lottery Committee to draw up details. The Committee's report indicated strong support from residents and visitors. The Committee planned to use the money raised by the Lottery to finance a major sports complex, possibly at Shelly Bay, and other recreational facilities. But this never came to anything.
There are several gambling organizations in Bermuda and gambling is big business - worth an estimated US$33 million a year in 2003. Government levies a tax on all betting. It is officially frowned on but unofficially sanctioned and encouraged. Some want to see Bermuda become an open gambling center. Legislation to rid Bermuda of gambling machines by 2004 was enacted in 2001 under the Prohibition of Gaming Machines Act. It phases them out over a 3-year grace period but new ones were reported as imported in May 2003. There are believed to be more than 500 gaming machines in Bermuda's bars and night clubs. Most bars and/or nightclubs have them now. In theory, they can only operate them until 2004. In October 2002 there was a series of Police and Customs raids on bars and clubs with them, involving seizure of millions of dollars. But the machines were later returned after court cases. There are numerous other forms of gambling which do not use the gaming machines. Locals and visitors can gamble openly on bingo, raffles, in licensed premises on horse races, British soccer pools, American and United Kingdom horse racing and greyhound racing, American football, Crown and Anchor at cricket games and elsewhere, floating poker games. During the NFL season, it is estimated that more than $350,000 is bet on teams. Types of licenses under the Betting License Act 1975 include
For a list of commercial gambling places see under "Gambling" in Employers.
Since August 2003, the Leopard's Club on Cedar Avenue has encouraged and permitted Las Vegas-style poker, crown and anchor, big wheel and poker, with chips costing from $1 to $100.
| Betting Licensing Authority 2003 | Betting (Regulations & Tax) Act 1975. The Wor. William A. Francis, LLB, JP, Chair; Elizabeth Christopher; Andre Heylinger, CA; Michael Smith. |
See why Bermuda is one of the most expensive places in the world.
Golf is a superb but expensive pastime in Bermuda.
They are expected from visitors at the rate of 15 percent of a restaurant bill instead of tipping, 10 percent or more of where you stay in most cases, a discretionary amount when using a gas (petrol) station, usually US $2 for two bags if you use a packer in a grocery store, and whenever you use a taxi, at about 15 percent of your fare.
Please budget in advance for Bermuda prices. Most visitors have no prior idea food shopping is so expensive. What a couple can buy in the USA for a week will be less expensive than buying food in Bermuda for two days. Only locally owned stores are allowed. So they do not have bulk purchasing power or other economies of scale. Also, they have very high import duty rates imposed by the Bermuda Government which average 30 per cent at wholesale costs. Only a few stores can offer prices comparable to those in the USA. The good news is that the larger, full service premises with an extensive range of meats, seafood, vegetables and products are now open from 8 am to 10 pm daily except Sundays and from 1 pm to 5 pm on Sundays and are not as expensive as convenience stores. One of the most convenient is The MarketPlace, with branches island wide. Its e-mail address is marketpl@ibl.bm. Or Miles Market, on Pitt's Bay Road, telephone 296 7615. E-mail miles@ibl.bm
Under no circumstances are individuals allowed to import or own guns, not even BB or pellet guns or slingshots. Penalties for doing so are severe.
See under Clubs, fitness centres and health clubs in Employers.
All visitors - including those from the UK - should note they are not covered locally, so should insure themselves adequately to cover their visit or employment locally. Costs of medical services are appreciably more expensive than in USA.
Hotels, cottage colonies, guest houses, etc. are required to add the Bermuda Government's Hotel Occupancy Tax, currently 7.25 percent, to your room rate. Most will also ask you for a further 10% or more of your total bill, as gratuities for their staff. There is also a Resort Levy tax for people staying at resort hotels.
English is the only official language but a few people, mostly expatriates, may speak others.
98% of all males and 99% of all females age 15 and over can read and write.
The Royal Gazette (on the Internet daily, Monday to Saturday except for public holidays in print editions) national and international newspaper - the only daily -is better than most newspapers up to 10 times the population and size of Bermuda. All places to stay have them. Overseas newspapers, sometimes a day old, are weekday and Sunday editions from Boston, London, New York, Washington DC and elsewhere. There are also leading British and North American business magazines. But the latter two categories are very expensive locally. The Sunday edition of the Boston Globe is over US $5.00. Some English Saturday or Sunday newspapers now cost $10 in Bermuda.
See Postal Service and Post Offices.
There is a Post Office in every Parish (county). They are owned by the Bermuda Government, sell postage stamps, commemorative First Day Covers, pre-stamped air letter forms without enclosures, have and rent Post Office boxes for those who prefer to receive their mail this way instead of being delivered. They are open 5 days a week, from 8 am to 11:45 am then from about 1:30 pm to about 4:45 pm. Most are closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. When this happens, unlike in Europe, North America and United Kingdom where there are machines selling postage stamps, there are no other ways in Bermuda to buy postage stamps. Post offices do not sell postcards. There is one mail delivery a day, 5 days a week (Mondays-Fridays except Public Holidays) to homes without Post Office boxes, less when a postal worker is sick or if there is a dangerous dog on the premises. Tourists and business visitors expecting any mail during their Bermuda visit should allow at least a week for receipt and should ask at where they stay for mail as there are no mail deliveries directly to their cottages or rooms or apartments or rented houses.
Note both their celebrations and how services are restricted on the days concerned.
See "Churches."
Only one outlet of Kentucky Fried Chicken is allowed to operate as a restaurant franchise.
In Bermuda's 21 square miles in total land area, the Bermuda roads - the biggest being one lane each way usually - total about 155 miles (250 km) in statute miles total length of all of them combined. Only the main roads - North Shore Road, South Road and Middle Road, for their positions on the North Shore, South Shore and Middle respectively - are wide enough for traffic to go on either side. Many residential roads are too narrow for fire trucks and ambulances to enter. All roads have names, British style. All are listed alphabetically, with local postal codes. Most road signs and direction markers are in both miles and European-style kilometers.
The surface of all Bermuda roads is asphalt with granite aggregate chips. They provide a durable, reasonably non-skid surface. The asphalt is flexible enough to absorb the weight of heavy vehicles without cracking. It is impervious and sheds water. But their narrow width is another matter. They are often congested, very narrow, hilly, noisy, sharp-cornered and twisting compared to most other places.
In many parts of Bermuda, there are either no sidewalks or pavements or on one side of the road only. They are not suitable for people in wheelchairs or who have difficulty walking or who are on roller blades or scooters. Health and safety-conscious visitors are advised not to run or jog on them because of the illegally high speed of many local motorists but instead to go to one of the national parks.
Bermuda has the busiest and noisiest roads in the world, with more road traffic and illegally noisy vehicles by far per square mile, than any other place in the world.
Non-smoking visitors cannot assume that hotels are for non-smokers only. Some may have non-smoking sections. Always check directly with the hotel concerned. Effective April 1, 2006, smoking in public places was banned in Bermuda. Legislation enacted in late 2005 makes it an offence to light up in bars, restaurants hospitals, hotels, offices and schools across the Island. It also sees cigarette vending machines banned along with tobacco advertising at sporting events and it is illegal to sell cigarettes to under 18s. There is a $1,000 fine for those who break the law.
It is often assumed - wrongly - that because Bermuda portrays a British image and is not yet politically independent of Britain, that British National Health laws apply and visitors don't need insurance. This is wrong on both counts. British National Health don't apply (in fact they don't even apply when traveling in UK if you are not a resident of UK), there is no reciprocal health insurance arrangement with Britain or any other country - and nationals of all countries including the USA, UK, Canada, are advised to cover themselves for adequate travel insurance, or be prepared to accept any liability financially. Bermuda is more expensive than even the USA for health related costs which are not insured.
Tiny Bermuda - with only 20.75 (twenty point seven five) square miles and with the third highest population in the world per square mile - has some of the highest costs of accommodation in the world and the huge cost of living expenses to go with them. Bermuda organizations trying to help visitors in distress cannot be expected to continue to bear any costs for cruise ship or other visitors who do not take sensible contingency precautions.
For your own piece of mind, ensure your plans to Bermuda include taking spare money, travel insurance and health insurance to cope with possible unexpected accommodation in an emergency medical situation for any reason or a death. It seems many visitors do not do this, yet have no hesitation in renting motor scooters or mopeds in Bermuda, which can be very dangerous to those not familiar with them; drive them on the wrong side of the road compared to Europe, USA and Canada; and end up having accidents, with their vacation ruined. Thus, they become clients of the Overseas Family Help Committee of the Hospital Auxiliary organization in Bermuda - which will not cover any of their hospital or medical or related expenses.
Every week, visitors suffer such emergencies when in Bermuda but do not make contingency plans. Some claim they have no money and no health and travel insurance for unexpected problems. They are not being exempted from any health or hospital costs incurred in Bermuda, in the same way that visitors to the USA or Canada are not being exempted if they fail to insure themselves adequately.
Visitors from the UK and European countries who take out travel insurance should note that Bermuda is not in the UK or Europe but in the (most expensive) "worldwide" category of countries. Visitors from the USA, Canada and elsewhere who do so should remember that Bermuda is not part of the UK but a "foreign country."
Pre-existing health conditions will apply to all insurances.
Required for all non-nationals including those born in Bermuda without a Bermudian parent.
In 2008, this increased from $15 to $35 per person.
Last Updated: May 7,
2008
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