Turks and Caicos is one of my favorite destinations. This island chain is the best kept secret in the Caribbean although they are technically not in the Caribbean, but rather the Atlantic. They are made up of 40 islands and cays but only 8 are inhabited and lie 550 miles southeast of Miami, just below the Bahamas. The official language is English and the currency is the US$.
Here are my top 10 reasons to fall for Turks and Caicos:
Beaches – Because Turks is surrounded by the 3rd largest coral reef in the world, the island and beaches are protected. This leads to gorgeous white sand beaches, crystal blue calm waters, and very little marine life.
Sun – The islands are in a semi-arid climate so there is very little rain. Imagine a dessert island with only 24 inches of rain a year. I saw one or two raindrops while I was there and it did rain two mornings but was completely over by the time I crawled out of bed.
Food – Do you like to eat? Do you consider yourself a “foodie”? Well, this is an island for you. I ate jumbo prawns (imagine little lobsters), ahi yellowfin tuna, chocolate salt (YES, I just said chocolate salt – amazing over sliced bananas, conch, conch, and more conch, and fresh fruits.
Conch – It is on every menu and you can even dive for your own!
Rum – Do I really need to explain this further?
Accommodations – Most of the accommodations on Grace Bay Beach in Provo are condos that are privately owned. This means that most of them have washers and dryers as well as kitchens. Each of the resorts should have an entry-level room called a Junior or studio suite with a wet bar but no laundry facilities that is more moderately priced.
Potcakes – this is the local mixed breed dog that gets its name from the rice and pea mixture that was fed to strays. If you fall in love with this breed on vacation you are allowed to adopt them and bring back to the US.
Provo and Caicos – photo courtesy of Scott Khile
People – I’ve never known a more friendly community of people. Everyone is always smiling and happy and the service is fantastic! I actually had a pool butler apologize to me because he failed to anticipate that I might want shade at the pool.
Snorkeling/scuba diving – as I mentioned earlier, the islands are surrounded by the 3rd largest coral reef in the world (#1 Great Barrier Reef in Australia and # 2 in Belize). This means an abundance of marine life. I’m not a diver and am easily freaked out in the water but I literally screamed with joy when I first got in the water to snorkel. The song that kept coming to mind was “Big Blue World” from the Nemo Musical at Animal Kingdom in Disney World. Amazing fish, coral, and many other things I didn’t recognize.
Easy to get to from the Southeast US – I took a quick flight from Nashville to Miami and then another quick flight to Providenciales (PLS). I left home at breakfast and arrived for a late lunch.
So, what are you waiting for? Contact me today and let me help you plan your trip to paradise!