Turks & Caicos City Guide

The archipelago of the Turks and Caicos Islands is a British Overseas Territory that is made up of two groups of islands, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks islands. These islands are situated in the Caribbean Sea at the end of the Bahamas chain and are located at a distance of 575 miles southeast of Miami, on the US mainland.

In recent years, these gorgeous islands are known for their stunning beaches, coral reefs and azure seas and have become immensely popular with vacationers, honeymooners and diving enthusiasts. Tourism is the main revenue earner for the eight inhabited islands of the TCI group and the islands are populated by ever-smiling residents who call themselves the ‘belongers’ and welcome visitors with open arms.

Most visitors’ accommodation decisions for their Turks and Caicos vacations are determined by the size of their travel budgets, for the territory offers some of most opulent luxury resort hotels on its various stunning beaches. However in addition to these super luxurious enclaves, the islands also offer mid-range, family-friendly hotels many of which even offer all inclusive hotel deals.

The island of Providenciales is the most popular accommodation option in the Turks and Caicos Islands. This island has verdant but arid landscape and has a rather well developed tourism structure. Provindenciales is further equipped with a wide variety of hotels that include luxury hotel resorts, spa hotels, boutique hotels, extended-stay hotels and even discount hotels that offer much sought after all inclusive deals.

This island is home to the quaint village of Cockburn Town- capital of this British Overseas territory. Grand Turk hosts the cruise terminal for Carnival Cruise lines along with a few hotels and restaurants though its tourism infrastructure is not as well developed as Providenciales.

These islands are relatively less inhabited and untouched by the accouterments of the 21st century. They are popular with honeymooners and other folk who like to be one with nature on their vacation in Turks and Caicos. These islands offer a few small hotels and other forms of accommodations but are essentially quite secluded and tranquil.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a tropical island paradise which offer ample opportunities for water based activities like swimming, snorkeling and diving amongst the coral reefs. Other popular activities on the islands include beach combing, sunbathing, bird watching and whale watching though the islands also offer some important historical and native attractions, which cater to sight-seeing enthusiasts who choose to vacation here.

Cheshire Hall is one of the main historic attractions on Providenciales. The ruins of this former cotton plantation date back to the 19th century and offer spectacular vistas of the island.

The Conch Farm is located on the remote eastern end of the Grand Turk Island and is a facility that seeks to preserve and also commercially produce the local delicacy: conch. The facility offers tours of its premises including breeding basins, a hatchery and laboratories all of which are geared towards the breeding of nearly two million conchs. A similar facility for preserving and breeding conch is located on the island of Providenciales and depending where you choose to stay on your Turks and Caicos vacation, you can choose to visit the facility that is located closest to you.

The Grand Turk Cruise Center is a major tourist attraction on the island. This center was built by Carnival cruises and offers beachfront access and is set amongst fourteen verdant, landscaped acres, resembles a colorful Bermudian village from the 18th century. Situated on Grand Turk’s Governor’s beach, the cruise center is equipped with a 175 meter long main pier, a huge Jimmy Buffet’s Magaritaville (which has a huge lagoon like pool) and several duty free and jewelry stores, which are housed in edifices that are built to resemble the quaint ‘salt houses’ of the past.

The Turks and Caicos National Museum is housed in a 150 year old private home Guinep House on Grand Turk Island. This home was built from timber salvaged from the ships that crashed on the nearby reefs. The museum offers exhibits that illustrate the history of the islands and also has displays like the wreck of Spanish sailing that was recovered near the islands.

The ruins of the Wades Green Plantation are located on the island of North Caicos. Plantations were established on North Caicos just before the War of Independence when loyalists to the British crown escaped the war and settled on the islands. They then attempted to grow cotton here but the conditions were not very favorable. The most successful of all the plantations established on North Caicos was Wades Green that extended over 3000 acres. Today the ruins of the plantation constitute a popular attraction of the territory.

The many stunning, pristine white sand beaches are undoubtedly the most popular attractions on the Turks and Caicos islands. Some of the best beaches of the Turks and Caicos island group are Grace Bay, Malcom Beach, Long Bay Sapodilla and Taylor Bay on Providenciales, Pine Cay and Parrot Cay on Caicos Cay, Sandy Point and Whitby beaches on North Caicos, Governors Beach and Pillory Beach on Grand Turk and the beaches of Salt Cay.

The Turks and Caicos Islands enjoy year round amenable weather and the average temperatures on these islands range between 85° and 90°F (29°-32°C) during the months of June to October. The islands also experience the Caribbean hurricane season that extends from August to November.

During November to May, the average temperatures on the islands dip slightly to register readings of 80° to 84°F (27°-29°C). The water temperatures are conducive to swimming and diving all throughout the year as they range from 82° to 84°F (28°-29°C) in summers to about 74° to 78°F (23°-26°C) during the winter months. It is estimated that the islands on an average experience 350 days of sunshine and can be visited at any time of the year.

Fare Buzz often announces attractive flight deals for the Turks and Caicos Islands and if you are looking for cheap air flights for sun dappled sojourn in the British Virgin Islands, then you would do well as to connect with Fare Buzz on Facebook and Twitter so that you can receive advance information about these cheap air tickets.

These beautiful Turks and Caicos are mainly served by the Providenciales International Airport located 1 mile (2km) west of Provindenciales town. This airport welcomes various domestic and international carriers as air connections to the Turks and Caicos Islands have improved significantly in recent years.

Most resorts and hotels on Provindenciales offer airport transfer services for their guests though metered taxis are also freely available at the airport. Before you get into a metered cab at the Providenciales airport, you should check if the driver has turned on the meter for some drivers on the island are quite unscrupulous and have been known to fleece unsuspecting tourists.

Public transport options on the islands are quite sketchy and most visitors who arrive on a vacation to the Turks and Caicos Islands opt to rent a car for the duration of their stay.

Car rentals on Provindenciales are quite pricey and if you are looking to hire a car for your Turks and Caicos vacation, you should probably fix your car rental before you arrive on the island. Fare Buzz can be of help in this instance for it offers a wide array of affordable car rentals for the Turks and Caicos Islands that can be booked via the same platforms you use to make your travel bookings for your Turks and Caicos vacation. Intra-island transport is provided by boat, private plane or air taxi.

The Turk and Caicos Islands are essentially vacation destinations and are really not known for their shopping options. There are several stores on Providenciales and Grand Turk, which offer duty-free goods, jewelry, native arts and crafts. These islands additionally are equipped with several art galleries that display and retail the artworks of the many local artists.

The many resorts on Providenciales and Gran Turk are well equipped with restaurants and cafes that offer several in-house dining options. The islands are also equipped with diverse stand alone restaurants that offer native Caribbean eats as well as international cuisines. Some of the popular restaurants on Providenciales include establishments like Da Conch Shack, Hemmingway’s on the Beach, Hole in the Wall, Captain Zheng’s, Bangkok Express and Horse-Eye Jacks.

The nightlife scene on Turks and Caicos is also largely centered around the resorts on these islands. In addition to the entertainment options at the resorts, the islands also offer several nightlife options which are patronized by locals as well as adventurous tourists who like a bit of local flavor. The island of Providenciales offers the most lively nightlife scene that features casinos(Casablanca Casino and the Players Club) and several nightclubs and bars like Nikki beach, The BET soundstage, Danny Buoy's, Club Sodax, Junkanoo's Bar and Grill, Calico Jack's Restaurant and Bar and Magnolia Wine Bar.

Grand Turk similarly offers more laid back bars like Big Daddy’s, Nookie Hill and the Salt Raker which are patronized by largely by locals and a few adventurous tourists.