Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda is a Beach Lover’s Paradise

TripAdvisor readers voted Horseshoe Bay Beach the 8th most beautiful beach in the world, and the 3rd best beach in the Caribbean. Popular with tourists and famous for its horseshoe shape and pink colored sand, Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda is located in the Southampton area of the island. If you stay at the Fairmont Southampton, it’s right next door to the hotel’s private beach – accessible by hotel trolley and just a two minute walk away. It’s easy to see why the beach is so popular with the crystal clear, brilliant blue water surrounded by limestone rocks. Its definitely a small piece of paradise.

Horseshoe Bay is about four miles long (even though it doesn’t look it!), and is popular for sunbathing, swimming, snorkeling or relaxing. While the sand looks white from afar, if you take a closer look, you’ll notice it’s actually pink. Pink-sand beaches are found only in Bermuda, the Bahamas and a few places in Scotland. The pink sand found on Bermuda’s beaches gets its color from a combination of crushed shells, coral and calcium carbonate. Not only is it gorgeous sand, but also powdery soft, and cool to the touch.

While at Horseshoe Bay you can walk the trails to South Shore Beaches (if you have a family with young ones be sure to check out Jopsen’s Cove – enclosed and protected from breaks), swim in the calm water between the coves to the right, or I highly recommend climbing one of the big rocks to enjoy the view (like my friends Elaine of Style at Home and Dave of Dave’s Travel Corner)

If you’re into photography, you’ll be in heaven as you capture photos of the beautiful scenery that surrounds you.

If you find yourself hungry or out of sunscreen, there’s a small shop and concession stand, along with public bathrooms. And, if like me and you find yourself working from the beach, you can purchase wi-fi so you don’t miss any important e-mails. When you’re ready to ditch the laptop and hit the water, you can rent snorkel gear from the shop or just watch the fish from the surface through the crystal, clear water.

TIP: Being in the north Atlantic, the water does tend to get pretty chilly over the winter and most Bermudians wait until May 24, Bermuda Day, before taking the plunge. As such, even though the beautiful waters were calling my name, the warm sun and sand ended up winning out over the desire to go for a swim.