What to do with your dog in Bermuda
Planning a Bermuda trip with your dog? Discover pet-friendly ferries, restaurants, shops, and parks, plus the permits and paperwork you need before you fly.
Most places that call themselves pet-friendly mean they’ll tolerate your dog. Bermuda is one of the few places that seems genuinely pleased to see one.
That’s not a small distinction. It’s the difference between a holiday where you’re constantly negotiating and one where the dog is just part of the day. If you’re arriving with a dog this summer, here’s how to spend your time. And if you live here, some of this is a reminder of what’s on your doorstep.
Start at the west end.
Take the ferry from Hamilton to Dockyard. Twenty minutes, dogs ride free, and the top deck is the only deck you want — it’s also the only one they’re allowed on, so that decision is made for you. Your dog will be the most popular passenger aboard and you should be prepared for that.
If you want more of the water than a ferry crossing gives you, Island Time Bermuda and Winsome Bermuda will both take you and your dog out properly — a private charter, a swim off the back, nobody asking whether the dog is coming.
Once you’re ashore, the Bermuda Arts Centre has a resident dog called Toppy who conducts the tour himself. Next door, the Bermuda Craft Market and Jon Faulkner Pottery are both happy to have four legs browsing — carefully, in the pottery. The Clocktower Mall shops vary, so ask at the door rather than assume.
Then lunch. Frog & Onion has an entire indoor room dedicated to dogs — a room, not a corner — which is the moment most people realise this island is different. Or Bone Fish, which keeps an oversized deck chair that appears to exist purely so small dogs can be photographed in it. It works every time.
Spend an afternoon in town.
Hamilton is walkable, shaded in the right places, and full of shopkeepers who will greet your dog before they greet you.
Start with a coffee at Brew on Front Street, which does a mean puppuccino. For lunch or a long afternoon, Harry’s has a shaded patio where dogs are welcome and nobody rushes you. Devil’s Isle has a sheltered deck — note the dog in your OpenTable comments and the right table will be waiting.
Then the shops. TABS on Reid Street for the shirts. Vineyard Vines, where the fitting rooms comfortably fit two legs and four. Cassine for local clean beauty and skincare, which is the stop that’s for you rather than the dog. And The Island Shop for linens and ceramics, where the staff are genuinely delighted by four-legged shoppers.
Give yourself a morning in the Botanical Gardens.
Thirty-six acres in Paget, open to dogs on a lead all year, and the best hour of the day is early before the heat arrives. The Botanist sits in the middle of it. They bring out water bowls unprompted, and well-behaved dogs are welcome upstairs in the cafe area. The rum bar downstairs is for hoomans only, which is fair.
Head out east, and take your time about it.
If you’re driving or scootering to St George’s rather than taking the fast ferry, the road east is half the point. Your first stop is barely out of town: Boats n Barks, tucked into Rance’s Boat Yard on Crow Lane just before the Johnny Barnes statue, is a proper dog shop — holistic food, eco-friendly toys, Bermuda collars, and a nautical streak inherited from three generations of boatyard. It’s run by Debbie Rance, and every item on the shelves has been approved by Scupper, the Chief Sniffer, who takes the role seriously. Note the shop is closed on Thursdays.
Further along, FoodHub at Pinky’s in Devonshire does the only drive-through pup cup on the island, which is a sentence worth reading twice. A little further on in Hamilton Parish, Bailey’s Bay Ice Cream Parlour is the traditional stop for anyone heading that way, and nobody there will be surprised to see a dog in the queue.
Once you’re in St George’s, Munchies by the Sea does a fish sandwich with salt in the air and no need to explain yourself. And if you’re staying at the St Regis, guests can take dogs onto the resort’s own beach year-round — the pink sand, properly, in season or out of it.
Round on the south shore at Tucker’s Town, The Loren belongs in the first category rather than the second — genuinely pleased to see a dog, not simply willing to allow one. Our founder Lauren has been running her pet tech sessions there these past few weeks, so if you time it well you may find yourself in one.
And when you want to change things up.
The Railway Trail runs most of the length of the island and you can pick it up wherever you’re staying. Shaded, quiet, mostly flat. Go early or go late — in July those are your two windows, and both are better than anything in between. If you live here, it’s the walk that’s easiest to forget you have.
A word on the beaches.
If you’re visiting in summer, know that public beaches are closed to dogs from April 1 to October 31. That’s the hottest, stickiest stretch of the year anyway, and sand at midday is no kindness to paws. The parks, though, stay open all year — Spittal Pond, the Arboretum and the Botanical Gardens will all happily take a dog on a lead. Guests at hotels with their own private beaches — the St Regis among them — can take dogs onto the pink sand year-round. And if you’re here between November 1 and March 31, the whole coastline opens up and it’s the best-kept secret of the Bermuda calendar.
The map.
Every place mentioned here, and about thirty more, live on Peru’s List: Bermuda.
The part that happens before you get here.
None of the above matters if the dog doesn’t make it onto the plane, and that’s the bit people leave too late. Bermuda has real requirements: an import permit, a rabies certificate with the right dates, a microchip whose number matches every document you’re carrying, and a breed list to check before you book anything. Miss one and you don’t find out at your kitchen table — you find out at the airport.
That’s what the PadsPass Digital Pet Passport is for. You enter your route and your pet, and it tells you exactly what’s required, in what order, and by when — for your specific trip, not a generic list. Your dog’s records live in one place you can share with a vet, a groomer, or a hotel in seconds. It’s $99.99 a year for up to five pets, and for a trip to Bermuda it’s all you need.
Planning your pet’s next trip starts here.
Practical notes
Buses don’t take dogs, so plan around the ferry and taxis — most drivers are happy to take a well-behaved dog, though not all take cards.
Public beaches are closed to dogs from April 1 to October 31. The parks aren’t — Spittal Pond, the Arboretum and the Botanical Gardens are open to dogs on a lead year-round.
Flying in? Bermuda restricts some breeds on entry, so check the government’s list early — and walk your dog before security at L.F. Wade, as there’s no relief area on the other side.
If something goes wrong. Ettrick and Endsmeet are the island’s emergency animal hospitals. CedarTree comes to you — a vet who makes house calls, which matters more than usual when you’re in a hotel or a rental and don’t know the roads. All three are PadsPass CheckPoint Partners, which means your dog’s records are already where they need to be.
Key Takeaways
Bermuda is genuinely dog-friendly, not just tolerant — ferries, restaurants, shops, and parks across the island welcome dogs as a matter of course.
A west-end day can combine the free dog-friendly Hamilton–Dockyard ferry, private charters, art and craft shops, and lunch at dog-loving spots like Frog & Onion and Bone Fish.
Hamilton offers a walkable afternoon with dog-friendly cafes, restaurants, and shops, including Brew, Harry’s, Devil’s Isle, and The Island Shop.
The Botanical Gardens and the Railway Trail are year-round, on-lead options that are best enjoyed early or late in the day during summer heat.
Public beaches are closed to dogs from April 1 to October 31, but parks stay open year-round, and the beach ban lifts completely from November through March.
Before flying, pet parents need an import permit, a rabies certificate, a matching microchip number, and to check Bermuda’s breed restrictions — tools like the PadsPass Digital Pet Passport help track these requirements for a specific trip.