There’s more to Bermuda than pink sand and golf courses.

So believes Ashley Harris, the founder of Bermuda’s eco-friendly tour company Hidden Gems.

The 31-year-old quit her job as a teacher to launch her business 18 months ago. She was never nervous about taking the leap and was pleasantly surprised by how much things took off in just a few months.

“I had a lot of faith it would work out,” Ms Harris said. “I knew this was going to be something that would quickly take off because it wasn’t something that was being offered in the past and it was something I felt Bermuda desperately needed.

“Since then it’s been like a rollercoaster ride to the top of the local tourism industry.

“It took less than six months from when we started before business started doing well. It’s now one of those things that people say ‘I’m doing a Hidden Gems tour when I visit Bermuda’.”

Ms Harris’ company has already won a Best of Bermuda 2014 award for “Best Attraction”. They’ve also garnered a host of rave reviews on travel sites like Trip Advisor and Yelp.

One of the best parts? She now gets to combine her skills in teaching and love of the outdoors on a daily basis.

“My background is in horticulture,” she explained. “My father, Joel Cassidy, is a horticulturalist and owns Bermuda Plant Nursery, so basically I grew up underneath him and was pretty much his miniature protégé.

“He taught me everything he knew about the Island’s flora and fauna and now I take all the knowledge I learned from my dad and use it on the eco-tours to teach everyone, Bermudians and non-Bermudians, about the eco-friendly, lush, green spaces in Bermuda.”

Her dad, who happens to be her biggest cheerleader, is also a tour guide for the company.

Ms Harris has master’s degrees in elementary and special education. She’d been teaching here for seven years, but was stifled by being cooped up inside all day.

“I wanted to expand my wings and be outdoors,” she said. “I just felt like I needed to expand and wasn’t feeling like I was at my full potential in terms of what I really wanted to do.”

Her primary goal with Hidden Gems has been to expose residents and tourists to all the natural splendours this 21-square-mile island has to offer. She hopes to get people away from some of the typical attractions and show them less explored parks and nature reserves.

“I would go to these places on my own time and there would never be anyone around,” she said. “They seemed to be getting such a lack of exposure. I felt like I had to bring those spaces to light.

“One of our tours takes people around the Bermuda forts. There are about 91 forts on the Island.

“Another one is all about the caves, we have over 160 of those. Most people think of Crystal and Fantasy, our two most commercial ones, but it’s so much more than that.”

Once people sign up for any of the five eco-tours on offer, they are given all the supplies they need for the day.

“If we are exploring the caves, we give people a backpack which has all the necessary cave gear: hard hats, a headlight and hand-held flashlights,” Ms Harris said.

“This is Bermuda’s first all-inclusive and eco-excursion company, so when people come with us they get everything they need for the day, whether that be snorkel gear, hand sanitisers and umbrellas.

“They also have their meals provided for the day from places like Indigo Catering, Bailey’s Ice Cream, Art Mels and Swizzle Inn.”

Ms Harris admitted it has been a challenge getting other people on-board with her vision, however, the rewards far outweigh any obstacles.

Some tourists are so grateful for the experience they give Ms Harris and the other guides a hug before it’s over.

Bermudians also have lots of praise for the company and are often surprised by new sites, Ms Harris said.

“The common thing Bermudians will say is ‘I’ve never been here before’. They also tell us they didn’t know so much about the country until we brought it to life. Some say they learned more about the Island in one day than they ever learned in the past.”

• Hidden Gems is one of five eco-tours promoted by the Bermuda Tourism Authority this month. For more information visit: www.gotobermuda.com; bermudahiddengems.com.