Turks and Caicos
Providenciales
Turks & Caicos was our 10 year anniversary trip, and our first visit to a Caribbean island. We stayed at the beautiful Grace Bay Club, located on Grace Bay Beach on the northwest side of the island of Providenciales. We loved our time on this island including the people, food, activities, and environment.
In preparation for this particular trip, Spencer got Open Water scuba certified, and Kristina took a refresher scuba course locally in Denver. We selected Dive Provo as our scuba operator, and they were exceptional. Their professionalism and communication was wonderful, and Spencer was able to complete his final 2 certification dives on our first day with Dive Provo. Then on the 2nd day of diving, we were able to simply dive as a normal part of the group, following the dive master.
Provo Ponies also provided a wonderful experience starting with a hotel pick-up and transfer to the stables, an organized check-in process, and a first-ever experience of riding horses IN the ocean! They were great in pairing us up with horses according to our ability and comfort level. The guide warned Spencer that his horse would likely do a big “move” upon reaching the sand, so Spencer was prepared when his horse gave a quick jump of joy and then raced into the ocean - we all had a good laugh at his excitement!
The food at the restaurants locally was creative and varied, though of course the specialty of conch was available nearly everywhere in some form or fashion. Our favorites were Coco Bistro, and the sister Cocovan (literally an airstream food truck next door) for a more casual environment and smaller, but still delicious, menu! We also enjoyed Hemingway’s restaurant - located at The Sands resort, also on Grace Bay.
Though we didn’t have a full kitchen on this trip, we did swing by the grocery store to know what we could expect for a future trip. The store was huge, bright, and well-stocked - very much like a mainland US grocery store. So, if you were thinking about doing an Airbnb type rental, groceries wouldn’t be an issue.
We dropped into Iron Shore Athletics (it was crossfit at the time), and were greeted by friendly coaches and locals alike. We also got a couple workouts in at the hotel gym, which was small but sufficient to get a good sweat!
The Grace Bay Club provided a true luxury experience, with breathtaking ocean views, stunning pools, great cuisine, and friendly staff. Since we didn’t rent a car for this trip, we took advantage of the free cruiser bikes available for guest use, although Dive Provo and Provo Ponies provided pick-up and drop-off services so we didn’t have to worry about transportation for those days. The location of this resort is second-to-none…you could easily spend every day bouncing between the long white sandy beach, and the multitude of pools. Grace Bay has numerous hotels/resorts along its shores, so any of them will have access to this pristine stretch of sand and ocean.
Since it was our anniversary, we splurged for a private on-beach dinner one night, and enjoyed a celebratory welcome with champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, and fresh cut fruit…a lovely treat upon arrival! Every meal at The Grace Bay Club was wonderful, and the atmosphere perfect, so you could really not even leave the resort if you were so inclined.
Summary
We would absolutely love to return to Turks & Caicos, and would recommend this beautiful island to friends! We would re-research hotel vs VRBO/Airbnb options and would consider renting a car next time, to explore a little further (since we’ve been there once). If you’re going for the first time and are happy staying in the Grace Bay area (or using vendor supplied transportation), a rental car is really not necessary.
“Once a year, go somewhere you have never been before.”
–Dalai Lama