The significant other and I, along with another couple are planning a trip to Turks and Caicos in October (after the Texas - OU game of course!)... We're looking to rent a villa for the week. Any advice on beaches to hit or parts of the islands to go to.. or stay away from? Where is the best snorkeling.. beach lounging.. shopping? Thanks for any input.
I'm thinking of going here on my Honeymoon and here are some links that may help. Providenciales Visitor Information TC Safari Villa Rentals Villa Palermo Blue Nautilus Villa Gecko Bus Tour & Map: Not sure if the Gecko bus is still in business but the map will give you an idea of where everything is located. T&C Villa Rental Paradise Properties Villa Rentals Calypso House Point Grace Resort The Sands at Grace Bay Resort Turks & Caicos Club Grace Bay Club Regent Palms For our honeymoon, we are looking at Grace Bay Club or Regent Palm. We are heavily leaning toward the Regent Palm because of the swimup bar. This should get you started.
I've been to T&C once, but didn't stay in a villa so I can't help you there. We stayed at the Sands at Grace Bay, and Grace Bay was as good a beach as I've seen. For laid back snorkeling, there is a reasonably large reef about 10 yards off the beach in front of one of the hotels (I want to say Coral Gardens, but I could be wrong). We spent several hours there alternating between lounging on the beach and snorkeling. The snorkeling was much better there than on the snorkeling trip we took. We also saw a huge ray at this beach. There are a lot of good restaurants at T&C, but don't forget your wallet. It's a very expensive island.
Anyone been to Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos? I wouldn't normally consider a Beaches or Sandals Resort but this resort is ranked in the top 10 best beach resorts in the Caribbean by the Travel Channel. Food and drink in the T&C is suppose to be expensive, so this may be the way to go. Beaches Turks and Caicos Travel Channel Top 10 Caribbean Resorts
Ive stayed at Grace Bay and Club Med. Club Med was bad ***...great food, great beach, my own personal barracuda (every time i went snorkeling that punk would follow me).
Look forward to the report. Also, right now. American has round trip tickets from DFW to Turks for $600 in October.
lol. nah.. Sandals is not known for being "swinger friendly." Now the "Desire" resorts in Cabo and other places... now that's a different story. Am booking our air fare to T & C this week!
I'm leaving on Sunday! Can't wait--staying on Grace Bay. Will report on restaurants and the activities there come a week from Sunday.
Hawk, can't wait to hear the report back. DC.. We aren't going until October 17. As for "all inclusive".... with us, we don't eat a big breakfast or lunch. It's pretty much, a lot of water with a bit of pure orange juice in the morning. Since she doesn't drink (her vices lie in other areas), all inclusive doesn't make sense to us. And... how often are you actually at the hotel, other than to sleep and have sex? Sometimes, the food is not all that great at all inclusives (for the most part, definitely edible and sometimes very good.. but). can't wait>....
Lots of great information nycLonghorn. My fiancee and I do not expect to have gormet dinning in T&C, we would rather find a very casual place where we can hang out, eat and drink thats not increadibly expensive. We may actually shower and dress for dinner 2 of the 10 days that we plan to be there. What are drink prices like in T&C? How far is the IGA from the Regent Palms and does the Palms allow you to have outside food and beer in your room? Thanks again for all the information.
I second Hemingway's. It's at the Sands (where we stayed). The Tiki Hut was also good, and there are usually some great boats at the marina. I would add that I'd consider renting a car. The cabs are expensive, and other than the resorts right on Grace Bay, the island is pretty spread out. The IGA, town, etc are all a decent drive from Grace Bay. One of our most memorable meals there was a barbecue at some dive on the water, but outside of the main area. I'm sorry that I can't remember the name, but it was recommended by some locals and it was very good. It was mostly locals, us and one other tourist couple. I think if you'll ask some of the locals where they recommend, you'll find some restaurants that you're looking for.
Thanks for the info cbs. The map of Grace Bay made the IGA look like it was within walking distance. I wonder if the Gecko Shuttle is still running? I could not tell by their website whether they shut down for good or for the season. I like to talk to the locals to get an idea of where the really good off the beaten path/hole in the wall bars and restaurants are located. I prefer to hang with the locals than other tourists.
Perhaps there is a new IGA. It's been 4 years since I was there was a lot of construction. The IGA we went to was on the main road between Grace Bay and town. For reference, it was a few minute walk from the Sands to Si Bon (where we went to dinner one night). There is also a comfort suites as you are coming from town to Grace Bay (the CS isn't on the beach). I'd think that is at least a quarter mile and perhaps half a mile. We also went to Coral Gardens. It was a few minute drive and much further than I'd want to walk (particularly with any groceries). I don't know about any shuttle service. Have fun. The beach is beautiful, and the locals were very friendly.
we stayed at Sibonne on Grace Bay. It's basically like a B&B/boutique hotel and very nice and cheap - we got an "internet special" room for $99/night! It was perfectly fine - I was there for the beach! The nicer rooms are actually pretty nice, although there's not much of a pool, no room service, etc. Anyway, the restaurant at Sibonne is called Bay Bistro, and it's fantastic. Probably one of the best restaurants on the island, or was when I was there several years ago. I also enjoyed Hemingway's. Bay Bistro is pricey, but has a beautiful view on the beach and worth it for the food. Have fun, go snorkeling! We did a trip with Silver Deep (I think that was the name) and it was really awesome. Went on a boat and snorkeling a few places, then went to an island and had a picnic with freshly caught conch.
NYC - I keep looking at the pictures of The Regent Palms on Trip Advisor and I swear every other picture had a kid in it. Where there a lot of kids at the Palms when you stayed there? We're trying to stay away from the kids, especially since its our honeymoon. What annoyed me the most were pictures of kids in the "adult only" pool. Also looking at Point Grace, anyone have any info.?
I just got back last night--wonderful time and I'll give a more detailed report shortly. I'm uploading some pics and I'll try to share a couple to add some flavor to the report.
Ok, sorry about the delay in reporting. I immediately had to head back out of town and didn't get a chance to update on my trip. I also can't figure out how to post pictures which I've uploaded on my facebook, so I'll just give you the verbal for now. First off, flying in over the islands is amazing. It's your first insight on just how beautiful everything is. The water is so clear, and it goes for great distances off the coastline. The airport certainly could use some updating, and as quickly as the island is renovating, it probably is going to get a makeover fairly quickly. Okay, let's get the bad out of the way first. I rented a car (a Ford Windstar van, because there were four of us and with all the luggage and the fact the girls are grown teenagers, I thought we needed something more than a mid-size car). I'm thinking this was a mistake, as it cost me about $600 for the Sunday to Friday rental. Mind you, it was good for going to the grocery store and to all the eating places, but even at $25 each way in a cab twice a day, I wouldn't have hit $500. Some of the resorts will even provide a shuttle to various places, but if you plan on staying near the resort and only leaving for meals or maybe an excursion or two, best to just stick with the cabs. Check with the resorts before booking to see if they provide any type of shuttle service. On to the resort. We stayed at Grace Bay and it definitely did not disappoint. Absolutely gorgeous beach, clean, white sand, no seaweed, no jellyfish (or any other fish that i noticed), no shells on the beach itself to poke holes in your feet. As I said, the water is extremely clear. No waves as the island is basically totally surrounded by a barrier reef, which makes for great scuba diving, but little else in terms of wave sports like surfing. You can get some great skimboarding done on the Grace Bay Beach. And an added bonus--I saw lots of VERY attractive women roaming topless on the beach. Looked Brazilian or Portugese. This was the low season so the beach was not heavily populated. Very windy there also--constant 15-20 mph winds blowing from the southeast. Also hot--90 degrees at least every day, but not unbearable (but the concrete and the sand can cook your feet very easily). I also fried my skin, and I lathered up pretty well every day. Grace Bay resort was awesome. Had a two bedroom with an ocean view and was one of the nicest places I had ever stayed. Very nice touches throughout--the staff was extremely helpful and friendly and the pool was very nice. Not a lot of kids running around, but it was the low season so that was expected. There are so many resorts being built along Grace Bay right now it's hard to keep track of all of them. Seven Stars opens this month and looks pretty nice. There's also some Italian Village resort going up next to Beaches which will probably rival Grace Bay. My girls parasailed one day ($150 for the tandem plus $40 for my wife and me to be on the boat) and we took them on a catamaran cruise ($63 per person on a 3 hour cruise). They did not want to scuba so we mainly hung around the resort, played tennis, drank and ate. Places we ate: Anacaona at Grace Bay rocked my world. GREAT, GREAT seafood--very fresh, my daughter even tried some veal and she loved, and she is very picky. VERY expensive, so be warned. We also tried the Tiki Hut--meh. Pretty blah tasting food, so avoid if possible. Baci Ristorante--excellent Italian food on the marina in Turtle Cove. Highly recommend this place. Gecko Grille--very nice dinner--I had filet and my wife had grouper, both of which were done very nicely. Hemingway's--I had heard a lot about this place and so I thought we would try it because the web site makes it look so appealing, but in my opinion it is overrated. The food was okay, but not spectacular. Plus we had the added bonus of a band of rogue cats (at least nine) running around the tables of the restaurant (it is mostly outdoors on the beach). The view is great, especially at sunset, but it's not worth the cost, imho. The other meals were mainly poolside or in the room from food we picked up from the grocery store (IGA--has a pretty good selection of most foods, prices are not incredibly high, but the riff-raff factor hanging out in the parking lot is a bit off-putting). There is a movie theater there (3 movies, all first-runs), in the event you get caught on a rainy day (we didn't). Also a golf course for those of you who play golf, but it'll run you $150 plus, especially if you have to rent the clubs. The island reminds me a great deal of Grand Cayman--the beauty of the beach with some extreme poverty off the beaten path. But the people are friendly and the resorts are a dream. Comparing the two, I'd say the food is better in the Caymans but the resorts are nicer. I cannot recommend this place highly enough--I will definitely go back some day. I know this is a bit long and I don't know if I gave you what you were looking for, but if you have questions, just let me know and I'll elaborate. And anyone can tell me a good way to post pictures, I'll put some pictures up to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.
