Jodi Lewis got tired of hearing about tourists who came to the Island and left without experiencing all that Bermuda had to offer.

So she did something about it.

Visitors can now customise their ideal Bermuda holiday on www.Bermudaexplorer.com.

On offer are a number of authentic local experiences — spend time with a Bermudian family learning how to make a traditional codfish and potato breakfast or fish chowder; go rock fishing or cliff diving.

“The idea for the authentic packages stemmed from an experience I had with some overseas guests,” said Mrs Lewis, who runs the marketing company JDLewis Group.

“They came down to Bermuda and I took them out one day and we saw a fisherman on the side of the road. They got to pick their own lobster and then we brought it back to where they were staying and cooked it up along with all the sides and fixings.

“They said out of everything they had done in Bermuda that experience was their favourite. They had a ball cooking the lobster and just eating and spending time together.”

She shared the story with a taxi driver who had been in the hospitality industry for nearly 20 years and they started brainstorming about how they could package and sell similar experiences.

He suggested they build a website that would allow guests to create their own vacation.

“I am constantly in contact with the tourists,” said the driver, who asked not to be identified. “The more I spoke to them and spent time with them, the more I was able to figure out exactly what they wanted.

“They want experiences and to do things with locals. I already had a website that was doing just tours and, as I started to respond to the people and their requests, I realised a lot of the things they wanted had to be customised.

“We have a section on the website called ‘Vacation Planner’ which allows tourists to build their own vacation based on their specific needs,” he said. “They might want to pick their transportation, their food or their hotel and we make things work for them and act like a concierge service.”

One option, called ‘Book a Beach’, offers families everything they need to host a proper day at the beach — towels, chairs and even the grill are provided.

The taxi driver hopes the website will provide tourists with a once-in-a-lifetime Bermuda experience. He also hopes it will “whet their appetite” enough to come back.

Mrs Lewis believes this innovative approach to tourism will help get the Island back to its heyday when people used to entertain tourists in their homes. “We have got away from that,” she said.

“Our plan is to have a database of local families who are really in tune with our culture and who love to entertain and have the facilities to entertain.

“We will go to their houses and conduct interviews with the families so that we are finding the right hosts. They may have to take a brief class and have training to make sure they know about proper health and safety when it comes to cooking meals and things like that, but it’s kind of about getting back to basics and back to our roots in hospitality and having fun while showing off our culture and our Island.”

The website lets people know if a tour is cancelled and offers options for other activities they can do during their stay. Mrs Lewis said: “I want people to feel like they are getting more out of their vacation because it’s so sad when you see tourists standing around and wasting time looking at maps to try and figure out where they want to go instead of just getting on with their trip. If it’s raining and someone wanted to do jet-skiing and they get on Island and it’s cancelled, they can get feedback on other activities they can do like visit Crystal Caves or the Aquarium instead.

“I think that, for the savvy traveller, [authenticity is] one of the main things they look for. Statistically, they look for more cultural experiences and want to be part of a holiday that’s authentic and non-commercial and doesn’t look like the place they come from.

“There’s no McDonald’s or Burger King here and some people love that about us. People like that it’s a small little town. I think this site is a perfect way to give them a different experience.”