I went to Turks & Caicos in February of 2017 and wanted to write my experience. Turks & Caicos is a British Overseas Territory so technically it’s part of the UK. However the island definitely has a more Caribbean feel and the way people speak on the island is not related to British English at all.
First let me throw out that yes Turks & Caicos is an expensive place and to get the best experience, you do need to throw some money around. Having said that I’m sure there are options for a cheaper experience. Yes it is nice to have a hotel that is on the ocean but it’s not always necessary since there are many beaches to travel to and all are free to use.
Miami, Florida
To get to Turks & Caicos, we first had to fly through Miami. So I flew out of Chicago a night earlier and stayed around Miami airport before continuing on the next morning. I had a pleasant time traveling but the rest of my family did not as they connected through Dallas. One group ended missing an earlier flight but were able to get on my flight while another group almost missed the flight we were all on to Turks & Caicos. Meanwhile I was enjoying my breakfast and had some morning alcohol to get me in the Caribbean mood.
Providenciales
What a beautiful island and no wonder it’s an expensive place to travel too. Out of all the Caribbean islands I’ve been too this may simply have some of the best beaches so close together. The island is not the biggest island in Turks & Caicos but it’s the by far the most popular. It has the most resorts and greater access to more activities. However Turks & Caicos has many private islands around Providenciales that are more expensive and more secluded. Providenciales is a great place to start in the Turks & Caicos regardless if you decide to go on to other islands.
We flew in that morning and somewhat quickly we were able to get a rental car to head over to Grace Bay. The drive wasn’t long, maybe about 20 minutes away. We did stop to get some food provisions as food is pricey on the island and it’s always a good idea to have food for breakfast as well as snacks. I’ll talk about some of the restaurants we visited and they were good but they’re pricey. The great thing about having a hotel right on the beach is that you can wake up and enjoy the beach immediately while having breakfast right at your hands.
Grace Bay Beach
It’s simply gorgeous and on Providenciales northern coast. It’s actually a long beach roughly going for 6 miles. We opted for a Homeaway linked resort called the Grandview that was pretty comfortable and able to comfortably hold 6 people. There are many hotels on the island, all pretty expensive, so don’t forget to look at Homeaway and stay at a personally owned condominiums. Here we had easy beach access with chairs and umbrellas. Nearby there are vendors that sale all types of tour activities. They are still rather expensive but we did do parasailing from a vendor nearby and it was a lot of fun.
Chalk Sound
Just southwest of the airport there is a beautiful body of water that is super milky turquoise. This body of water is not connected to the ocean so it’s always calm and it’s possible to kayak or canoe in. We opted for the restaurant that overlooks the sound called Las Brisas that make killer rum punches. We sat down, under the shade, two times during our travels just to enjoy drinks and take in the beautiful water.
Taylor Bay Beach
Near Chalk sound there is this kind of hidden and very beautiful beach called Taylor Bay Beach. There are no hotels in the area, just private homes, and the water is super shallow and calm. You can walk out for thousands of feet in the ocean and the water only comes to your knees. It’s a super unique place that I’m glad we traveled over from Grace Bay to see.
Sapodilla Bay Beach
This beach is right next door to Taylor Bay Beach and very similar in size. Taylor Bay beach is a bit more shallow but both have beautiful blue waters.
Long Bay Beach
Out of all the beaches this was probably my least favorite that we saw in Turks & Caicos. It’s not that hard to get to from Grace Bay but the roads to get there are pretty rough. Also the beach is super thin and the day we got there, it was super windy. The beaches are not as nice as Grace Bay nor are the waters that blue. This beach is mostly used for kite surfing, which we saw a lot of the day we visited.
Little Water Cay and Fort St. George Cay
One day we decided to take a boat ride from the Blue Haven Marina on the Eastern part of the island. We first stopped at Little Water Cay which is known for the iguanas that live on the island. They set up a cool little dock and walking area where it’s possible to see iguanas just doing their own thing. We spent maybe about 20 minutes on the island before heading to Fort St. George Cay.
Fort St. George Cay is a little further north and is a secluded island with no resorts. There maybe a few people on the island when we got there so we essentially had portions of the beach to ourselves. Our tour company set up some food for us while we were able to walk around the beach and take some photos. It really was a beautiful place and it did feel quite secluded. Apparently this island is ever-changing since the sands and breaks of water are always shifting.
Dining
Dining is not challenging on the island if you’re going to do it but it can be expensive. We went to the grocery store, called the Graceway Gourmet, and picked up some breakfast food as well as snacks. However we did eat around at some restaurants including:
- Coco Bistro
- Chopsticks
- Turks Kebab
- Caicos Cafe
- Bayside
- Somewhere Cafe
- Las Brisas
- Pelican Bay (where we had a bunch rum punches and afternoon lunch)
Thoughts
Turks and Caicos is a must, especially if you love traveling to the Caribbean. It takes top marks in almost every category you could want although it is expensive. What I like most about Turks & Caicos is the classy chill vibe that the island takes. Everybody minds their own business yet there is a certain refinement that you will not find for most of the Caribbean. To me it’s a place to truly relax and isn’t that what island travel is all about?
