An Introduction to a Turks and Caicos Holiday

[Cynthia Madison]

When it comes to holiday destinations, the TCI – short for Turks and Caicos Islands, is the perfect place to rest and recharge your batteries. For those who do not know, the Turks and Caicos are a British Overseas Territory which consists of two groups of tropical islands, namely Caicos Islands and Turks Islands. The TCI lie in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean (like the Bahamas, not actually in the Caribbean) and they are known for tourism and for being a great offshore financial center. Moreover, visitors choose the Turks & Caicos Islands because of their climate, sun, sand, and their atmosphere that can relax your mind and body.

One of the most popular islands here is Providenciales, also known as Provo – a top beach destination for people all over the world. There are miles of coral reef, breathtaking beachscapes, upscale resorts, and waterfront escapes – all making Grace Bay beach the perfect place for diving, snorkeling, and kayaking. Grand Turk is also a great beach destination which offers an amazing atmosphere, crystal-clear ocean water and a lot of shops and restaurants that are perfect if you are a shopaholic as well as a foodie. But there are a lot of things you can do while visiting the Turks & Caicos Islands, so if you want to know more about this heavenly destination, then just keep on reading.

Providenciales water sports and activities

If you are a fan of water sports or just sports in general, Providenciales offers you a variety of activities to choose from. So if you are fond of snorkeling, then a snorkeling cruise is the best way to spend some interesting and fun time here. Of course, in order to experience snorkeling at its best, it is recommended to wait for a calm and sunny weather. Moreover, if you want to have an amazing experience, then Bight Reef and Smith’s Reef are the best and most popular sites for snorkeling, and they are great for beginners too because they are centrally located, safe and easy to access. Provo is well-known for having miles of walls and barrier reefs, abundant wildlife as well as clear waters, and therefore, it is an astonishing place for scuba diving. Locations such as West Caicos, Grace Bay Beach, and French Cay are spectacular when it comes to scuba diving and there are many professional dive operators from which you can choose. If you plan to visit the Turks & Caicos during the peak tourist season, namely in December and January, you should reserve a dive boat in advance.

 

Other water sports include kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, jet skiing, kiteboarding, parasailing, freediving, Hobie cat sailing, wakeboarding, swimming, surfing, windsurfing, tubing, flyboarding, snuba, and last but not least, deep sea fishing. Moreover, thanks to the clarity of Providenciales’ water, there you can experience some of the finest parasailing, and, when it comes to kayaking, the best spots on Providenciales are Chalk Sound National Park, Princess Alexandra Nature Reserve, and Frenchman's Creek and Pigeon Pond Nature Reserve. Also, if you plan an activity such as deep sea fishing in the Turks & Caicos Islands, you should know that everyone over 15 years old must own a valid fishing license. According to the type of license you want to get, you will need to pay the fees for either a one day license or a monthly license.

 

Historic attractions in the Turks & Caicos Islands

Besides different kinds of water sports, there are also other things you can do in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Historical and natural sites such as the Grand Turk Lighthouse, the National Museum, the Boiling Hole, and the list can go on. For instance, it is said that on the south coast of Providenciales, in the mid-1700s, some shipwrecked sailors and travelers made rock carvings at Sapodilla Hill. This historic site is now a protected site and although some stones have been removed during a preservation project, you can find replicas of some stones at the Providenciales International Airport. Anyway, even though there is not much left to see, the Sapodilla Hill offers breathtaking views and is for sure worth visiting. Also, when exploring South Caicos, a great place to visit is the Boiling Hole, which is a subterranean underwater fissure passage. As a matter of fact, the Boiling Hole was formed in a natural way and it connects the main salina pond to the ocean. When it comes to historic attractions such as plantings, Yankee Town sisal and cotton planting lived the shortest and there is evidence showing that this business ended because of financial mismanagement. However, a few stone buildings, various wells and cisterns as well as the machinery and the railroad are the remaining proofs of a ruined and abandoned settlement.

 

When spending your holiday in the Turks & Caicos Islands, you should visit some natural sights at any cost. Thus, Middle Caicos has the Indian Cave, which is a large gallery cave with easy access, no entry fee, many skylights and openings. The short-leaved fig, papaya trees and many native plants – they all grow in this formation but there are dangers too. The rosary pea, which is found near the cave’s entrance, is a plant with highly poisonous seeds which, if ingested, it can be fatal. So pay attention, especially when there are children around.

Also, the Turks & Caicos Islands offer a lot of beautiful beaches and high limestone cliffs that can feel like heaven on earth, so sandy stretches such as Mudjin Harbor Beach, Grace Bay Beach, Long Bay Beach, Malcolm Beach, Sandy Point Beach, and Whitby Beaches are worth visiting. Finally, an important resort on Providenciales is the Princess Alexandra National Park, which is a protected area that includes Leeward Beach, Smith’s Reef, the Bight Reef, Bight Beach, Grace Bay Beach, Iguana Island, the rocks of Bird Cay and Lizard Cay, and other attractions worth visiting.