Jenifer Toby: Turks and Caicos

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Turks and Caicos

We went to Providenciales aka Provo in Turks and Caicos this past weekend. It was great, however I felt that I didn't do enough research before my trip. We had to learn a lot of things the hard way. So here are some tips and pointers for you future travellers!

Stay: Best to stay in Grace Bay, they have the best resorts such as the Gansevoort Resort, Seven Stars, Alexandra Resort, etc. If you want exclusion (mind you that it's an arm and leg), then stay at the Amanyara Resort on the West side of the Island.

Transportation: RENT A CAR. Caicos Wheels is a great place to rent from. Every cab ride is ~30 to 40 bucks for a 5 minute drive. It's not worth it. Car rentals are about 39 to 50 USD a day. Even if you only drive to the market to pick up necessities, this is worth it.

Food: Bagatelle Bistro and Beach Grill at the Gansevoort Hotel or Mango Reef at the Alexandra resort. We drove to Da Conch Shack and honestly, I was quite disappointed as most reviews said this is worth your buck. I went home after dinner to eat frozen pizza. Not happy. =(

Nightlife: Nonexistent. You can go to Bagatelle at the Gansevoort on Friday, since there's a DJ. There's this club called 'Club Pillows' (looks shady to me) on Grace Bay, and lastly there's a casino called Casablanca (not so hot) , also on Grace Bay.

Ultimately, the trip was great. It's definitely very resort and nothing more than that. We tried exploring the 'local' joints and only found disappointments. The beaches are beautiful and romantic. We also rented a boat on Saturday and islands hopped to various cays around. We went to Parrot Cay (most celebs have homes here, i.e. Oprah, Donna Karen, etc), Dellis Cay, Fort George (my favourite, I went diving for sand dollars), Pine Cay and Little Water Cay (where you can find Iguanas). It was fun, islands hopping was probably the best part of my trip. Below are some photos for a sneak peek, I will need to develop some film before I can upload them here. TBC...