Bermuda's Telephone Services

The international country code for telephone calls placed to Bermuda is "1-441." Once on the islands, however, outgoing international calls should be prefaced by the access code "011' plus the code of the desired country.

For example, visitors calling England would begin the call with "011-44" before dialing the direct telephone number. Calling the United States and Canada requires no international prefix, however, and should be treated like a regular long-distance call, with a "1"efore the area code and local number.

If you encounter an emergency while on vacation in Bermuda, call "911" for emergency police, fire, and ambulance services. Local directory service can be obtained by dialing "441," and international directory service or an international operator can be accessed by dialing "00."

Public pay phones are located throughout the islands. These phones charge $0.25(USD) for local calls, and many accept both U.S. and Bermudian coins. International calls will cost more, but pay phones allow users to pay with major credit cards (such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express) and several types of prepaid calling cards.

Cellular telephone service for the islands is provided on an AMPS-TDMA network. Travelers from North America should have no problem getting their mobile phones to work, but roaming charges may be assessed based on the individual service provider. Vacationers from regions that use GSM phones will not be able to take advantage of Bermuda's network. Once on the islands, travelers can rent working cellphones for use during their stay. This may be a wise idea even for visitors with phones on a TDMA network, as expensive roaming charges are an unpleasant welcome home present.

Internet cafes are widely available in Bermuda, enabling visitors to send and receive e-mail from almost anywhere on the islands. Travelers should note, however, that the service can be somewhat expensive, averaging around $10(USD) per hour.

Bermuda is fairly well connected, and vacationers should have no trouble staying in touch with friends and loved ones at home.