Type in the words “beautiful beaches” in Google and you’ll see pages of search results that list world-famous Grace Bay Beach. Here are 5 tips for visiting Turks & Caicos. Truly, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
TURKS & CAICOS: 5 TIPS FOR VISITING
| #1– | Enjoy the silky sand beaches |
| #2– | Snorkel and dive for conch shells |
| #3– | Visit Iguana Island |
| #4– | Explore the island by bike |
| #5– | Experience the local entertainment |
Enjoy the silky sand beaches (Tip #1)
Within seconds of arriving on the beach in Grace Bay, I understood why so many called it one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. First, my bare feet immediately sunk into the sand. It felt like powdered sugar. Truly, if you’ve never felt silk-like sand between your toes before, I can tell you that it is heavenly!
And then, second, the water was so crystal clear, and bright aqua that it was hard to believe my eyes. Pictures just don’t do it justice.
Where is Turks and Caicos located?
The Turks and Caicos Islands are located 575 miles (925 km) southeast of Miami, Florida in the Atlantic Ocean. Nearby, are The Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Turks and Caicos are a British Overseas Territory. It’s made up of over 100 islands and cays. Though, most of the resorts and roughly 70% of the population are found on the island of Providenciales. The locals speak English. Flights from over 20 major cities go into the Providenciales International Airport (PLS).
Where to stay on Turks and Caicos
There are a variety of places to stay on Turks and Caicos, ranging from all-inclusive resorts, quaint colonial inns, private villas/homes, or simple hotels. Click here to see a ton of accommodation options.
My husband and I stayed at Ocean Club Resort in Grace Bay and thoroughly enjoyed it for these reasons:
- Reasonably priced (roughly $300/night for a junior suite in early December)
- Beautiful pools
- Gorgeous beachfront, with free chairs and umbrellas for resort guests
- In-room kitchenettes. This helped keep the price down for meals as food and drinks are VERY expensive. Instead, buying groceries and making some breakfast, lunch and drinks in your room during the day helps to keep costs down. (And then, of course, splurge on some nice dinners out).
Ocean Club is a 3-star resort, but if your budget allows for a 5-star, I’ve heard amazing things about the all-inclusive Beaches Resort right next door. It has a waterpark, 10 pools, 12-miles of beachfront, 21 restaurants, and more.
Snorkel and dive for conch shells (Tip #2)
The second tip for visiting the most beautiful beach in the world is to book a trip on a snorkel tour. There are some great snorkel companies that pick you right up on the beach of your resort and take you out snorkeling and diving for conch shells for a half-day. Lunch is often included.
Our two guides on Caicos Dream Tours entertained us by diving with us for conch shells when we first got on the boat. Thanks to their extreme ability to hold their breath for a very long time, they’d almost every time come back up with one.
Later, we enjoyed fresh conch salad that they made on the boat, and everyone had the opportunity to purchase a shell, if interested.
Visit Iguana Island (Tip #3)
Many of the snorkel tours also make a visit to Iguana Island. It was such a cool place!
Within just minutes of stepping off the boat onto this small, secluded island we walked down a dirt path and there was an iguana.
Throughout our hour walking around the island, we spotted at least 20 iguanas, all varying in size. They were quite tame too, so we were able to get pretty close to them for photos.
Explore the island by bike (Tip #4)
Next tip: explore the island by bike. Most of the resorts have free bikes for guests to use during their stay. My husband and I didn’t rent a car, and we’re glad we didn’t as we really didn’t need one. Instead, we biked from our resort to a grocery store for some breakfast and lunch food, and beverages. The shopping area was only about a 20 minute walk, and an even shorter bike ride.
You can also bike to other resorts and enjoy beautiful settings like this for lunch or dinner.
And, there are many secluded beaches and cove areas that can be reached by bike as well.
Experience the local entertainment (Tip #5)
As for tip #5, we got lucky. You see, a guest at the resort told us they had learned on Facebook about a local festival happening at the beach just a couple of miles from our resort. So, we took a taxi to the area that evening and enjoyed mingling with the locals while listening to music and eating the yummy food at the the various stands that were set up. This kind of thing is pretty frequent, I am told, so ask around when you visit. And, check out this site for more on the evening entertainment available.
Dining at Coco Bistro was a highlight. The food was delicious, but the ambiance was truly unforgettable. Outdoor among the swaying palm trees under the moon is tough to beat.
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The pics are bearutiful and your description of the sand at Grace Bay as being silky sugar powder just left me wanting to get on a plane and get there!
The whole place looks so pristine and the sand and sea in the photos are immaculately clean, Good tip about the bikes as I wouldn’t have thought of that for getting around.
I have plans for island-hopping around the Carribean next year so will keep your post as reference.
If you’re headed to the Caribbean I would also highly recommend St. John’s in the Caribbean (Trunk Bay is awesome), and also Koki Beach on St. Thomas. Snorkeling at Koki was a memory that will forever be one of my travel favorites!
It looks like you had a great time. I was just reading about a cool new hotel being built there and about how celebrities like to vacation there.
Thanks for the info. I’ll look into that! I can see why celebrities like to vacation there. It’s laid-back and feels like they could enjoy lots of privacy.
Sounds lovely. I particularly like the tip about local festivals. Finding local things like that are great ways to immerse yourself In the actual culture of the place instead of what the tourist board thinks you should see.
Agreed. Just gotta ask the locals!
The sand and water look perfect. One of he iguanas looked like a major chonk. lol.
Yeah, some of them had definitely been eating well on the island for quite some time! Maybe the tourists feed them?
Wow, the sand sounds amazing! We haven’t been (yet), but Iguana Island would definitely be at the top of our list on this trip. How absolutely gorgeous your photos are, too! Love it.
Thank you! All the photos were taken with my Android cell phone! 🙂 You have to see the water in person though to comprehend just how blue it is!
Wow – that does look like a stunning beach. Great to see that there are all sorts of activities such as cycling and snorkelling (would love to try conch salad!). Iguana Island would be wonderful to visit as well.
The conch salad was delicious! Probably similar to you, I am willing to TRY just about any kind of new food (within reason).
This sounds like such a stunning trip to take! I was supposed to visit here as part of a cruise itinerary but I didn’t go due to a hurricane at the time. But I can see now that I probably should visit there on my own and explore!
Yes, you should for sure plan a visit to Turks soon since you missed the stop on your cruise! It is absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to get back myself!