Just Landed in Bermuda? Your First 7 Days

The two established operators are One Communications and Digicel, with Paradise Mobile as a newer challenger; all offer prepaid and postpaid plans with 4G/LTE and increasingly 5G island-wide, and coverage is strong given the island's size. Prepaid SIMs are activated on the spot with your passport, while postpaid plans usually require proof of address and are easier to set up once you have a lease. Home broadband and TV are typically bundled by One Communications and Digicel over fibre or cable.

Typical cost: A prepaid SIM with a few GB of data runs around BMD 40-70 per month; unlimited postpaid mobile plans are typically BMD 90-130 per month, and home fibre broadband commonly runs BMD 120-180 per month.

The Bermudian Dollar is pegged one-to-one to the US Dollar, and US Dollars circulate freely at par, so you can spend either without exchanging money. Cards are widely accepted in shops and restaurants, but taxis, buses, ferries and some small vendors still prefer cash or tokens. Cost of living is among the highest in the world, driven by import duty on almost everything and a payroll tax baked into wages.

Opening an account: Butterfield and HSBC Bermuda are the two main retail banks, with Clarien Bank as a third option. Open an account in person with your passport, work permit and a local proof of address; a letter from your employer speeds things up considerably and is often expected. Non-residents and those without a permit face heavy restrictions, so open the account only once your permit and housing are settled, and allow a week or two for cards to be issued.

Cash: A card-friendly island for retail and restaurants, but keep small US or BMD notes for taxis, buses, roadside stalls and tipping, and buy tokens or a pass for ferries since they take no cash. There is no separate sales tax at the till; instead a heavy customs duty and a government payroll tax are already reflected in prices and wages.

Tipping: Tipping is expected and often added automatically: many restaurants add a 15-17% service charge to the bill, so check before adding more. Tip taxi drivers around 10-15% and hotel porters a dollar or two per bag.

There is no local address-registration or town-hall enrolment for new arrivals in Bermuda. Your right to be on the island flows entirely from your work permit and the passport endorsement your employer arranges with the Department of Immigration, and there is no separate resident registry, ID card or civil-registration step to complete after you land. Practical setup, such as banking, housing and health cover, is what actually consumes your first weeks, not any government registration. Keep your permit and employer letter accessible, because those, not a registration certificate, are what institutions ask to see.

Where: Not applicable; immigration and permit matters are handled through the Department of Immigration via your employer.

Households are limited to one car, and newcomers usually rely on the pink-and-blue public buses, the government ferries, taxis and rented electric minicars or pedal-assist bikes. Buses run on a zone-based fare system and ferries link Hamilton with St George's, the Paget and Warwick shore, and Dockyard; both are run by the government and share the same tokens and passes. There is no Uber or Lyft, and cars cannot be rented by visitors or most newcomers.

From the airport: L.F. Wade International (BDA) is about 20-30 minutes from Hamilton by road. Take a licensed metered taxi from the rank, roughly BMD 40-55 to Hamilton and more to the West End, a pre-booked minibus shuttle, or a pickup arranged through your employer. Public buses do not serve the airport terminal directly, so a taxi is effectively your only option on arrival. Bus cash fares elsewhere are BMD 3.50 for up to three zones and BMD 5.00 for longer trips, with tokens slightly cheaper at BMD 2.75 and BMD 4.50.

Housing is scarce and very expensive, and most rentals are found through agents such as Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty, Sinclair Realty and Rego, or via word of mouth and workplace noticeboards. Many expats start in a furnished flat or a self-contained apartment attached to a family home, which is a common Bermudian arrangement. Utilities and internet often sit on top of rent, and BELCO electricity in particular can be a significant monthly cost given air-conditioning and imported fuel.

Typical rent: A one-bedroom flat commonly runs BMD 2,500-4,000 per month; two- and three-bedroom homes frequently exceed BMD 5,000-8,000, with Hamilton, Paget and Warwick at the higher end and eastern or western parishes a little cheaper.

Deposit norm: Expect first month's rent plus a security deposit of one month, sometimes two. Leases are typically one year, and agents may charge a fee equivalent to part of a month's rent. Always view in person and use a recognised agent rather than wiring money to an online listing.

Bermuda has a mixed public-private system centred on the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in Paget, the island's only general hospital, plus numerous private GP clinics and specialists. Care is of a high standard but expensive, and serious, complex or specialist cases are frequently flown overseas for treatment, most often to Boston, Baltimore or other US East Coast centres. There is no free universal system, so proof of insurance is central to accessing care.

How to access it: Register with a local GP clinic for routine care and use the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital emergency department for urgent needs; call 911 for an ambulance. Bring your insurance details to every appointment, as providers bill directly and expect proof of cover before treatment. Wait times for specialists can be long given the small population, so book early.

Insurance: Health insurance is mandatory and normally provided by your employer, who must cover at least the government Standard Health Benefit. Confirm the plan, its overseas-care limits and your dependants' coverage before you need it, and strongly consider top-up cover for air evacuation and treatment abroad, since off-island care can run into tens of thousands of dollars.

• Greet people and say good morning or good afternoon before getting to business; Bermudians value politeness and taking a moment to acknowledge you.
• Dress smartly for work and formal occasions. Bermuda shorts worn with knee socks, a blazer and tie are genuinely acceptable business attire for men in summer.
• Sundays and public holidays are quiet; many shops close and traffic slows, so plan errands for weekdays or Saturday mornings.
• The island is small and socially connected, so treat everyone courteously; word travels fast and your reputation follows you.
• Wave or nod to let other drivers out and expect the same in return; road courtesy is a genuine social norm, not an optional nicety.
• Respect church, family and community events, which remain central to Bermudian life, and accept invitations graciously when included.
• Be patient with island pace; queues, appointments and deliveries move slower than in bigger cities, and pushing rarely speeds things up.

• The speed limit is 35 km/h (about 20 mph) island-wide, roads are narrow and winding, and scooter accidents are the leading cause of serious injury for newcomers.
• Drive on the left, and note that visitors and most newcomers cannot rent conventional cars; you are limited to buses, taxis, ferries and small electric minicars or scooters.
• It is a British Overseas Territory, not part of the US or the UK proper, so entry rules, currency, banking access and services can differ from what your passport implies.
• Cannabis and many recreational drugs remain illegal and enforcement is real; do not assume relaxed attitudes elsewhere apply here.
• Household car ownership is capped at one vehicle, so plan transport around that limit before you arrive expecting to drive freely.