Turks and Caicos Islands

img-2ByLisa Dworkin Hours

Map courtesy of Wikipedia. All rights reserved.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory made up of thirty islands, although only eight are inhabited. If you’re a citizen of the United States or Canada, you’ll need a passport, but not a visa, to enter Turks and Caicos. If you’re a citizen of another country, you ought to check the entry requirements before traveling to Turks and Caicos.

Where is Turks and Caicos? The Turks and Caicos Islands are in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Bahamas and north of Hispaniola. Flying time is approximately 4 hours from NYC and 2 hours from Miami.

Photo courtesy of Pinterest. All rights reserved.

Turks & Caicos Beaches

Its beautiful beaches are one reason people love to visit the Turks and Caicos Islands. Grace Bay beach on Providenciales, more commonly known as Provo, is a 12-mile beach that’s been chosen as one of the best beaches in the world more than once.

Grace Bay beach is made up of soft, pale sand and clear, turquoise seas. The beach is fringed by a large coral reef system with fabulous snorkeling and diving.

In addition to Grace Bay’s beach, Frommers considers these beaches Turks and Caicos best beaches.

Malcom Beach (Provo) – Unless you’re staying at Amanyara, which is adjacent to Malcom Beach, you’ll need a 4 x 4 or boat to reach it. The waters off the beach are part of the Northwest Point Marine National Park.

Long Bay (Provo) – The calm, shallow waters off this quiet beach make it perfect for young children. Provo Ponies offers group and private horseback rides on Long Bay beach.

Sapodilla and Taylor Bay (Provo) – Part of the Chalk Sound National Park, these shallow bays have stunning blue water.

Pine Cay (Caicos Cays) – Pine Cay is a private island with what many consider a perfect crescent of sand ringed by azure seas.

Parrot Cay (Caicos Cays) – Parrot Cay is another gorgeous private island and the location of the Parrot Cay resort.

Sandy Point (North Caicos) – Mostly boaters and those in the know find their way to this spectacular beach.

Mudjin Harbor (Middle Caicos) – You can explore wind-swept coves and snorkel in the turquoise shallows at Mudjin Harbor.

Bambarra Beach (Middle Caicos) – Bambarra Beach is home to the Turks and Caicos’ Valentine’s Day model sailboat races and the August Middle Caicos Day beach party. Casuarina trees front the generally quiet beach and shallow aquamarine waters.

Photo courtesy of beaches. All rights reserved.

Places to Stay

Most international flights land at Providenciales International Airport (PLS) in Providenciales. Provo is also the location for most of Turks and Caicos tourism infrastructure.

Turks and Caicos hotels and resorts include:

  • The Palms
  • Parrot Cay
  • Seven Stars Resort
  • Grace Bay Club
  • Amanyara
  • Gansevoort
  • The Regent Grand
  • West Bay Club
  • The Tuscany on Grace Bay
  • The Somerset on Grace Bay

Turks and Caicos all-inclusives include:

  • Beaches Turks and Caicos
  • Club Med Turkoise

Photo courtesy of barkpost.com. All rights reserved.

Something Really Unique and Special

As if beautiful beaches aren’t enough, you can do something I’ve never heard of – but really love – on Provo. You can borrow a dog and take it to the beach!  It’s made possible through a program offered by Potcake Place. Potcake Place is a dog rescue charity whose mission is “to reduce the number of homeless potcakes on the island.”

Potcake is the name given to mixed breed dogs in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas. The name “came about because the locals fed the caked remains of the cooking pot to the dogs.”

Potcake Place invites visitors to “pop in, meet some puppies and learn some more about what we do.  We have a constant stream of puppies needing socialization and adoption.  You can come by and take a puppy out to the beach – we’ll give you everything you need, you just need to supply some TLC.”

To many joyful beach experiences!

— Lisa Dworkin

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