Elbow Beach, Paget Parish

Elbow Beach is one of the most popular beaches on the main island of Bermuda. Located on the southern (Atlantic Ocean) coast of Paget Parish, it is also home to one of Bermuda’s most famous resorts, the Elbow Beach Hotel. Part of the beach is privately owned by the resort, a good stretch is actually public.

The beach has a gentle curve resembling an elbow and hence the name. It’s one of the most beautiful pink south shore beaches of Bermuda. But it’s a pity that the beach is often overshadowed by the resort of the same name.

As the beach is very close to the city of Hamilton (only few minutes drive) and there are three hotels on the beach front (the third one being the Coco Reef Resort tucked at one end), it gets quite crowded at times. However it remains as a very popular spot for both the tourists and locals. You will often see people taking a stroll on Elbow beach after finishing the day’s work.

The public side of Elbow beach has basic bathroom facilities. There is a concession that rents out snorkeling gears, sand chairs, chase lounges, beach umbrellas etc. There is a popular restaurant and beach bar Mickey’s Bistro right on the beach run by Elbow Beach hotel. You can plan to take your lunch here or just enjoy a few drinks. You can get kayaks from Bluewater Divers, a diving & watersports center that operates out of the Elbow beach hotel. We had once rented out an underwater scooter from them.

There are coral reefs quite close to the shore of Elbow beach. The reefs act as barriers to the ocean breeze and therefore the water here remains relatively calm, making it just ideal for swimming. Elbow Beach is a great snorkeling spot as well. The Pollockshields shipwreck is about 100 yards off the shore. The easiest way of seeing this wreck is to take an escorted snorkel kayak tour or an escorted snorkel motor boat tour from the Elbow Beach store.

A series of small breakers are located within a few feet of the shore and offer an aquarium of marine life. When you’re not swimming or snorkeling, long walks on Elbow beach in Bermuda can be equally enjoyable. In the evenings, you will often see locals playing beach volleyball. They will welcome you to join them and play.

Elbow Beach appeared on an episode of The Sopranos.

You can take bus #7 that runs along the scenic South Shore and get off at the bus stop near the beach. The bus route operates between Dockyard and Hamilton. From the dockyard, it takes about 50 minutes to reach the bus stop for Elbow Beach. From Hamilton you can take either bus #7 or #2, and the ride is only about 10 minutes.