Just celebrated my bday in Grand Turk which is part of the 40 islands and cays that make up the Turks and Caicos islands. Only 8 of them are truly inhabited.
Grand Turk doesn’t have many hotels and the infrastructure isn’t even close to Provo ( Providenciales), which is the main island you fly into. The hotel I picked was called The Osprey Hotel and although the rooms were modest, the 26 room hotel had a perfect beach & amazing view from every balcony. Sunsets were divine! This hotel has a bar and restaurant, refrigerator, iron & hairdryer in the room, but no TV service. I say that because there is a tv mounted but they do not have service at all. I personally like to disconnect from the world sometimes on vacations so I was fine with it. They have beach chairs, towels and umbrellas but no sundries on sight, so don’t forget your sunscreen and toiletries. However, there are a couple grocery stores if you need something.
It’s quiet on that side of the island and away from the cruise ships that come in almost daily. Although, the beach near the cruise ship dock is worth a visit as it is gorgeous and Jacks Shack restaurant is a great beach spot to get freshly cooked jerk chicken and amazing tropical drinks & buckets of beer.
Grand Turk used to be a big salt exporter but the museum was closed when we were there. There is a cool light house ($3 admission) to see and it has some interesting history. Also, many of the island houses around the hotel have signs with the unique backgrounds of the owners and/or establishments.
Grand Turk also has many wild donkeys, horses, and dogs that live on the island, which of course I loved:) They have amazing whale watching trips that go out Jan-Mar and dive shops a plenty nearby. You can also rent bicycles for $20 per day or $100 per week at the dive shop across from the hotel. If you don’t want to go out on a boat, there is snorkeling available in front of the hotel and the dive shop rents snorkel gear for $15 per day as well.
Beer lovers must try the local beer and if time allows, a trip to the brewery on Provo (5 mins from the airport) allows for flight tastings of various brews as well as souvenirs.
To get to Grand Turk, there are 2 airlines that you can chose for the 35 min flight. I took the inter Caribbean airways flight and it was perfect. They even allowed us to jump on the earlier flight and our luggage made it as well!
I like to allow some wiggle room in connections with different airlines so if there happens to be a delay, it doesn’t mess up the rest of your flights. A helpful tip for those liking to imbibe, buy a couple bottles at the duty free store on your way out of your home country (stuff is expensive…a 6 pack of Corona in the grocery store was over $18) but they must fit in your checked bag if u are island hoping. They will tell you differently at the duty free shop and they seal the bag if you are taking another plane but the commuter airlines didn’t subscribe to that policy. Luckily ours fit. You are allowed 2 bottle per person duty free.
I -Ain-Ga-Lie… This place is a hidden gem for those wanting to decompress.
A Girl on A Beach 