The Ultimate Luxury Traveler’s Guide to Turks & Caicos

Itineraries

Find pristine white beaches and barefoot luxury on the Caribbean’s most up-and-coming island. Savvy jetsetters have known about this 40-island chain in the Eastern Caribbean for years, but hotel renovations, buzzy celebrity guests and new direct flights have injected this island with renewed interest for luxury-seeking travelers.

When to Visit

With 350 days per year of sunshine, it’s hard to choose a bad time to visit Turks & Caicos. The high season runs from December through April. Temperatures are cooler than many places in the lower Caribbean during peak season—highs hover in the 80s with a light breeze—but as a general rule, the island is a year-round spot. Hurricanes have largely spared the islands; but cautious when booking in the ultra-low season, September and October, as many resorts close or undergo refurbishing projects during that period. It’s also the highest chance of rain. But in a year like this

What to Know (Before You Go)

Don’t let the guidebooks fool you. Turks & Caicos isn’t by far the most beautiful of the Caribbean islands – at least on the journey from the airport to your resort. It lacks the pink sands of Bermuda, the mountains of St. Lucia or the captivating culture of Antigua. The 161-square-mile island is mostly flat, dotted with scrub pine and small, single-level homes.

But don’t let that discourage you. Turks & Caicos is captivating in its austerity, letting its blindingly white beaches and crystal-clear waters do most of the talking. As an added bonus, service is decidedly more “on the ball” than many Caribbean islands, and the locals are among the friendliest we’ve met. Conveniently, the American dollar is the local currency and direct flights are available from most major East Coast destinations. The island is also one of the safest in the Caribbean—parking, and traffic violations are the police’s biggest hassle.

Stay Here

Well-heeled travelers have several options depending on their mood.

Our personal favorite is the barefoot luxury vibe of Parrot Cay by COMO, a 25-minute boat ride from Providenciales. The resort features a villa-style concept, with a series of private pavilions, cottages, and private homes scattered around the island. As much an eco-spa resort as a luxury destination, guests visit for the award-winning COMO Shambhala spa, healthful cuisine, and complete privacy. We’d suggest one of the beach villas, which offer private pools perched on top of a secluded white sand beach, as well as 24/7 butler service.

Many also love the Asian-inspired Amanyara, part of the ultra-luxury chain of Aman hotels and resorts. Located on the 5,000 acre Northwest Point Marine National Park at the far end of the island. The payoff is worth it. Serenity, discreetly attentive service and privacy abound; each room is freestanding and private with views ranging from lagoon and garden to ocean-view villas perched on top of a white sand beach. Highlights include exceptional fitness facilities (think a private boxing studio, Pilates studio, and multiple tennis and pickleball courts) as well as exceptional dining.

For more accessible luxury (and decidedly more family-friendly locales), choose from a number of high-end resorts right in Providenciales. Our top pick? The centrally-located Grace Bay Club. Opt for sprawling, condo-style residences in three buildings; choose from the family-friendly Villas, the adults-only Hotel and the luxuriously private Estates. Suites offer panoramic oceanfront views and large private terraces with spectacular sunset views. Coming in early 2022, the brand will open a new property – Rock House – which offers a sexy St. Tropez-meets-Caribbean vibe. Individual cottage-style accommodations will feature plunge pools, ocean views, and the resort itself promises fun features like a wine grotto and the longest pool on the island.

For a bit more streamlined style, we also love the Wymara property, which features spectacular multi-bedroom villas on the other side of the island that offer direct villa-to-water access from private over-water hammocks and docks – one even has a water slide, Maldives style.

The island also boasts a new Ritz-Carlton resort, complete with signature BLT Steakhouse and a Casino. It’s bound to be a traveler favorite, but truth be told, we prefer the more boutique options for our clients.

Where to Eat & Drink

Turks & Caicos has one famous dish—conch—and it’s served in varied preparations. Try it raw in ceviche or conch salad, breaded and fried like calamari in cracked conch, or mixed with dough into a hush puppy-like conch fritter. On cool nights, conch chowder also makes an appearance on most menus.

Get your fill at none other than the aptly-named Da Conch Shack, an open-air restaurant frequented by locals and tourists alike. Go on Wednesday evenings for their famed beach parties and live music or enjoy a lingering lunch any day of the week.

That said, our favorite option for the local vibe is the unassuming Mr. Grouper. Do yourself a favor and order the signature dish—coconut grouper with mango sauce—served with your choice of two sides. Choose the creamy mac n’ cheese and fried plantains. Not exactly healthy, but utterly delicious. These local haunts are a short cab from most Grace Bay area resorts.

Providenciales has its fair share of fine dining, as well, much of which is walkable or a short ($10-$20) cab ride from Grace Bay area hotels. No trip to Provo is complete without at least one visit to Coco Bistro. Make reservations early to dine under the coconut palm fronds at this ultra-romantic restaurant, where tables in high season often book weeks in advance. Savor Caribbean-inspired fare with global influence, like locally-caught tuna sashimi or tandoori-rubbed Mahi with an aromatic chickpea potato cake. If you’re lucky, you might even get a visit from the restaurant’s namesake, Coco the cat. Don’t miss the signature coconut cake for dessert.

The island’s luxury hotels also offer a number of upscale options. There’s no better place to watch the sunset than from the famous Infiniti Bar at Grace Bay Club.

Other standout choices for a night on the town include Stelle at the Gansevoort, which serves Mediterranean fare, and Grace’s Cottage, which is located at Grace Bay Club’s sister hotel, Point Grace.

Where to Play

If you can motivate yourself to get up from your lounge chair, you won’t be disappointed.

Divers and snorkelers have long known the Turk & Caicos Islands to be some of the world’s best. Calm, crystal clear waters, amazing coral reefs and a wide variety of sea life make diving here fun for any skill level. Wall diving is the preferred pastime; the Turks & Caicos island chain sits atop two limestone banks separated by the “Turks Island Passage” a 6,000-foot channel. If you can, schedule a night dive three to five days after the full moon, when the island’s glowing worms take to the water in a spectacular and somewhat bizarre light show—as the males finish mating, they die in a burst of phosphorescent color that must be seen to be believed. Dive Provo can help you plan an outing.

Leisure seekers should skip the scuba tanks and book a half-day tour with Island Vibes instead. Friendly captains pick you up right from your hotel for a four-hour excursion featuring rum punches, local Turks Head beer and a 45-minute break for snorkeling right along the reefs. Next, you’ll head to Little Water Cay, where you can spot some of the island’s most famous residents, some of the 50,000+ iguanas that populate the Turks & Caicos Islands. While you’re there, the team prepares a fresh conch salad from a just-caught bivalve. It’s the perfect light lunch before you head out again to bask in the sunshine and show off your athletic skills on the boat’s second-story diving board. You might even spot Jo Jo the Dolphin, the island’s unofficial mascot, a lone dolphin often seen frolicking near tourist destinations.

Want to try something out of the ordinary? Plan a visit to Potcake Place in the easily-accessible Salt Mills Plaza, an island-based dog rescue that specializes in puppies. Potcake is the name of the wild dogs of the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands. These pups were often fed “potcakes,” or the cake-like mass found at the end of the family’s rice and peas dinner pot. Show up around 10 AM to the shelter and the friendly team will let you borrow a puppy for a few hours—socializing the dogs and helping them learn basic commands is a key part of the pup’s “re-homing” process. All dogs at the shelter are available for adoption, and most go to U.S.-based homes.

Of course, relaxation is also on the agenda. There’s no better way to spend the day than lounging in a beach chair, cool beverage in hand, at the hotel spa, or swimming in the crystal clear water.

Take a stroll from your resort to spend a lazy afternoon browsing the small strip of stores at the Salt Mills Plaza or the Regent Village. Souvenir shops peddle the usual wares, including delicious local Bambarra rum; blend the coconut and dark together with your choice of fruit for a perfectly from-the-islands treat. If you can’t leave without a sparkly bauble, Coco, from the Grace Bay team, is the island’s signature shop offering beachwear from names like Camilla and 9Seed.

Your biggest problem? Once you’ve settled into the Turks & Caicos lifestyle, you may never want to leave.