Bermuda is a beautiful place. You can walk along the pink sand beaches, dip your toes into the turquoise waters, and witness some of the most vibrant sunsets imaginable. Did you know that as you appreciate these sensational scenes, you could be standing above an underground cavern? One of the most spectacular and most easily accessible caves in Bermuda is the popular Crystal Cave.
Below the surface, there is a whole other world waiting to be explored. In fact, there are hundreds of caves and passageways in Bermuda; the country has one of the largest concentrations of limestone caverns in the world. In traditional Bermudian style, let's enter the pastel pink building and through the gate to discover this amazing natural landmark.
It is very important that people do not touch the formations in the cave. Once the stalactites and stalagmites come into contact with our hands, the natural oils in our skin can cause the cave formations to die. As they grow at the slow rate of approximately one inch per hundred years, it is extremely important that we do not disrupt this process.
Descending into Crystal Cave in Bermuda
As we entered the cave in a single file line along with our tour group, we slowly walked down many steps, descending 200 feet below the surface. Our tour guide shared information about the history of the cave with us. It was discovered in 1905 by two teenage boys who were chasing their cricket ball that fell into a hole in the ground. As they searched for their ball, the boys found that this hole was the entrance to an impressive underground cavern. In 1907, the property owners opened Crystal Cave for public viewing.
The accessibility of the cave nowadays has vastly improved since its early discovery. Not only is there a main staircase leading down into the cave, but there is a bridge that extends across an underground lake. Visitors are able to examine the white cave formations up close while peering down into the clear blue water. The cave is fully illuminated, making it much easier to admire the million-year old creations (and take photos!).
Exploring These Fascinating Caves
On our tour to the Crystal Caves, we marveled at thousands of incredible rock formations in all shapes and sizes. There are lengthy stalactites, crystallized soda straws, and unique chandelier clusters unlike anything I've ever witnessed. As we walked across the wooden boardwalk that extends the length of the cave, we gazed across the vibrant azure waters. The deep blue waters are brilliant in their own right, but the fascinating rock formations reflect at its surface of the water as though they've doubled in number.
You might feel a droplet of water hit your head now and again from the cave ceiling. No worries, it's good luck to be hit by one! We learned so much valuable information about the caves from our tour guide. However, we had plenty of free time to explore these marvelous scenes at our own pace, too.
While there are hundreds of caves in Bermuda, you should consider a visit to Crystal Cave. It is one of the most well-lit caves I've ever visited, with some of the most appealing stalactites. There is a second cave right beside Crystal Cave called Fantasy Cave. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to visit the Fantasy Cave, but you can purchase a combined ticket for both caves. If we had the time, we would have definitely checked it out as well as we were thoroughly impressed by the Crystal Cave.
And it seems like a trip to any spot in Bermuda wouldn't be complete without running into a cat! This friendly kitty roamed around the property of Crystal Caves freely, both outdoors and inside the gift shop. Of course, the cat didn't venture down into the caves themselves and was quite content staying above the surface.
Want to see more photos of Bermuda?
View all of our travel photography in one place! You can browse and buy any of our pictures, including prints, gifts and more.
Getting There
Crystal and Fantasy Caves are easily accessible by the Bermuda public transit system. Several buses travel right past the caves - we took the city bus to get there. It was about a 25 minute bus ride from the Hamilton bus terminal. Further details, including pricing and hours of operation are available at the Crystal Cave website. You don't want to miss taking a Bermuda Crystal Caves tour as it was certainly a highlight of our visit to this gorgeous island.
| Follow Justin Plus Lauren: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Join our Travel Community |
Rutavi Mehta says
Hey Justin & Lauren,
It was breath taking for me to see through your pictures. Indian passport lets us use very few countries for visa work. Also being located in extreme travelling to such destination is such a dream.. But you guys post lovely information about Bermuda and I only new the story of Bermuda triangle :) Hope to see you in India soon !
Samantha says
Holy crap that cave is stunning! On another note, Lauren your dress is adorable!
antonette - we12travel says
Wow very impressive. I always love exploring caves because they are all different from each other, no matter where you are. Sounds definitely like a great add on to a Bermuda trip!
Jenna says
This looks so cool! I love caves, and this one looks great. I will have to add it to our list--hope we can make it there one day!
Katie @WorldWideVegetarian.com says
This cave looks AWESOME! I would love to visit a place like this and see all the details inside. It looks so bright and open, I have never seen a cave like this. Very cool, if I am in Bermuda, I will check it out.
Katie
Lauren says
We are lucky because the cave was very well lit, and they added that awesome platform that made it easy to navigate over the water. You definitely have to go to Bermuda first of all, and yes you should check it out! We definitely fell in love with Bermuda...
Megan Claire says
WOW this looks BEAUTIFUL! Go Bermuda! I had no idea there were caves like this here!
Lauren says
And they are all over the place, some that you can just walk right into on your own (more on that soon!)!
Heather @ TravelingSaurus says
This looks so cool! Crystals are so impressive. Now, I need to go back to learning the difference between stalagmites and stalactites....
Lauren says
Stalactites are the ones that hang from the ceiling, and stalagmites grow up from the bottom :) It is all so interesting!
Angie says
Just incredible. And good for them for being so straightforward about protecting and prosecuting if damage is done to this natural wonder. It sickens me to think of the people that go home with pockets full of Pompei. What is wrong with people!
BTW you looked totally cute!
Lauren says
Ohh I didn't know that about Pompei. Why can't people just let things be! That makes me mad!
Oh and thank you - I just bought that top and was really happy to be able to wear it, it's far too cold out here to wear it now!
Fairlie says
Those cave formations are very impressive. And great photos of them too.
Lauren says
Thank you so much! It was even more spectacular to look at in person, but I'm glad that my photos have done it some justice!
Rachel says
Those photos are so beautiful! When we went to some caves on Gotland earlier this year they told us the same, that it is good luck to get dripped on :-) Btw - that kitty photo made me melt with 'awwwwness'.
Lauren says
I always add a kitty photo to a blog post when I can! :)
San says
wow what a stunning place and great pictures! I would love to visit such a cave now with the summer heat getting started in Buenos Aires ;)
Lauren says
That's very true, they generally are quite cool to be in! I was in a cave in Curacao once that wasn't any cooler than the outside, but that's because it wasn't truly below the surface of the ground, but in the side of a mountain. It always tends to be cooler underground, a great reprieve from the heat!
Natasha Amar says
The caves look beautiful and very impressive. Some people say that all caves are similar. I disagree and never miss out on the chance to visit one. I simply love the feeling of being in a space that took millions of years to form. There's no way you can remain indifferent to how marvellous nature is when you're in a place like that.
Lauren says
I don't feel that all caves are similar! I guess if you aren't interested in this kind of thing, you might think that. I always jump at the opportunity to visit a new cave because I really think they are so fascinating. I'm glad that you agree! :)
Anna | slightly astray says
Omg, this is gorgeous!! I think this is seriously some of the prettiest pictures of caves I've ever seem as well as some of the most impressive formations!! I love the deep blue lake in the cave too. And how cool is it that it was discovered by a couple of kids looking for a lost ball?!
Lauren says
It was a really cool discovery story, and I'm glad that the caves were further discovered later. I just love how the formations look along with the blue water. It was a really cool experience. I hope you get to go there someday!
Erin | No Ordinary Nomad says
This looks incredible! I love caves, and it looks like they've done a really great job here lighting it up.
Lauren says
They really did! When we entered, they had most of the lights off, and then they turned them on and we could really see the difference a bit of light makes! Of course, they did the typical thing at one point as they normally do during cave type tours, and turn ALL of the lights off...so you can see how truly pitch black it is down there.
Brenda says
That cave looks so pretty with all those stalagmites. Bermuda is certainly somewhere I've wanted to visit, the caves makes it even more enticing. The cat at the end is certainly so cute!
Lauren says
There are so many caves in Bermuda, and I'll be featuring some more "off the beaten path" ones very soon here as well!
Elena@Elena's Travelgram says
Whoa! The cave looks incredible with all those stalagmites hanging down! Reminds me of Gouffre de Poudrey in France a lot!
Lauren says
Oooh, Gouffre de Poudrey..I'll have to look that one up!