The Turks and Caicos Islands are made up of roughly 40 different islands, located Southeast of the Bahamas Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Providenciales, the most popular of the islands, is known for it’s amazing white sand beaches and turquoise waters…and the beaches do not disappoint! It’s a pretty low-key destination with not a whole lot to do, aside from water activities and the beach. We spent a full five days there (plus a full day of travel each way to get there and back, especially from the West side of the US) over spring break in March when my kids were 15 and 12. We had three days of activities and two days of just hanging on the beach and relaxing. I’ve structured this itinerary to be five days like we did, but you could easily stretch it longer by adding more beach days. The weather is pretty warm and humid there all year round, however the rainy / hurricane season runs June through November, so I’d try not to go during those months. Grab your sunscreen and pack your snorkel gear for this week-long vacation to Providenciales!
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Here is a sample 5-day itinerary for the Turks and Caicos Islands, based on a trip with kids in March:
DAY 1: SNORKEL TOUR INCLUDING IGUANA ISLAND
Assuming you’ve had a pretty long day of travel the day before (fly in to Providenciales (PLS) and rent a car (there is no Uber or Lyft in Providenciales)), you might want to spend your first day just relaxing on the beach…I totally get that! However, many of the activities on this itinerary are weather-dependent, so I recommend booking them earlier in the week to allow time to reschedule activities that might be cancelled due to weather or rough waters.
As far as where to stay, Grace Bay is the most beautiful beach on Providenciales, so I recommend staying at a place along Grace Bay or with private access to the beach there. Beaches Resort is on Grace Bay West and is a very popular option, especially for families. It is an all-inclusive resort as well. Personally, I prefer something a little more low-key, so we stayed at the Oasis at Grace Bay. I can’t recommend it enough! It’s a smaller boutique hotel with a number of suites and villas (we had a 2 bed, 2 bath suite with full kitchen, living area, etc.). There are beautiful grounds with a small pool, and while not directly on the beach, they have their own stretch of beach right on Grace Bay with chairs, umbrellas, towel service, water, etc. There is a person always available to take you from the beach to the hotel by golf cart (just about a 5 minute ride). Since there are so few people on this stretch of beach, it’s so quiet and relaxing!
At some point in your trip, I highly recommend booking one of these half-day snorkel trips through Trip Advisor or Get Your Guide. They are a fun way to get out to see other parts of the island, learn a bit about the history and culture, and maybe meet some new people! We had some pretty rough seas most of the time we were in Turks and Caicos, so our trip wasn’t cancelled, but modified slightly to snorkel at a shipwreck (although the ship wasn’t under water – just stuck!), plus we made a stop on Iguana Island…eek!
At the shipwreck, we were able to dive for conch, which my kids loved. Once we got to Iguana Island, the boat captain did a demonstration about conch and the part that is edible, and then made us a fresh conch civiche that was delicious! The tour also included drinks and lunch, plus snorkel gear if you don’t have your own. All in all, in spite of some cool and windy weather, the water was still warm and it was a good day.
DAY 2: RESORT COURSE AND SCUBA DIVE
Travel Tip: Since we had the kitchen in our suite, we had purchased groceries the night of our arrival (another great reason to have a car) so that we could just have breakfast and lunch at the resort each day. This is a great way to save time (no need to shower, get ready, drive anywhere) and money so that you can enjoy nicer restaurants for dinner! It also maximizes your beach and relaxation time…
For Day 2, if you’re up for Scuba Diving (my daughter and I were not, so we stayed at the beach!) and aren’t certified, many dive shops like Dive Provo offer a half-day “resort course” to help you learn the basics of Scuba diving in a swimming pool, and then for the second half of the day you can go out and dive with a guide (just to certain depths). My son has done this here and in the Cayman Islands (he was 12 on this trip), and he absolutely loved it. Generally, Scuba Diving isn’t affected by weather since you’re under the water, but do note that you are not supposed to fly the day after Scuba diving because of the Nitrogen in your system. Be sure to schedule your Scuba trips at least two days before traveling home!
DAY 3: BEACH DAY (PLUS MY RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS)
If you’ve done a couple of days of tours in a row, you’re definitely due for a beach day. The water was generally pretty calm right off of Grace Bay, but we did have some fun waves one day due to storms at sea. It is possible to snorkel right off of shore there, so it is good to have at least a couple of sets of snorkel gear of your own (snorkel with mask and fins). We have found both kids and adults snorkel sets at Costco in the past, generally in the winter between the holidays and spring break time. They are nice quality and not too expensive. You can find them on Amazon as well.
For restaurants, there are a lot of really great options and a variety of types of food. We went out for dinner each night, and these were some of our favorite spots: Mango Reef for local flavors and seafood, Baci Ristorante for Italian, Hemingways for Oceanside Dining, and Skull Rock Cantina for Mexican. Also, check out Giggles near the Oasis for ice cream!
DAY 4: KAYAK OR PADDLE BOARD ECO-TOUR THROUGH THE MANGROVES
Again, this tour can be affected by bad weather, so I recommend booking earlier in the week. We booked this 1.5-hour Eco-Tour through Trip Advisor because we liked the option to choose between a paddle board and a kayak. There are also clear-bottom kayak tours now like this one that would be really cool, and run 3 hours. The tour we took included water to drink and a guide, and there were 6 of us on the tour – a nice small group. We paddled through the mangroves and were able to see all kinds of birds, fish, and jellyfish along the way. The water is very calm, which makes for easy paddling, all except for one part where you make your way across an inlet from the ocean…that part was a bit of a workout!
DAY 5: BEACH DAY / BACK-UP DAY FOR ACTIVITIES POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER AND OPTIONAL CHAMPAGNE SUNSET CRUISE
I always like to have a beach day on the last day of a vacation like this…soaking in those last few hours of sunshine and waves! If you need to reschedule a snorkel tour or other activity, you’ll have Day 5 available to do that as well.
Finally, if this is an adults-only trip, a Champagne Sunset Cruise is always a good way to end a beautiful vacation!