Fast Tips About Travelling in Turks & Caicos:
- Tipping is customary unless a 15% service fee is included in your restaurant or hotel bill. If you take a taxi, a 10% or 15% tip is expected, though.
- Turks & Caicos is home to the 3rd largest reef in the world, which is a huge pole of attraction for snorkelling and diving enthusiasts.
- All the beaches in Turks & Caicos are free to the public, so you won’t find any private shores. Also, almost all the places provide free car parking.
- You will not come across any supermarket selling alcohol on a Sunday. It is served across bars in Turks & Caicos, though.
- Expect supermarket prices to be (potentially) quite higher than in your home country, since Turks and Caicos import the overwhelming majority of everything it needs.
- The schools in Turks & Caicos do not have access to many books related to the environment, the preservation of the aquatic environment, and sea life. For that reason, travellers are invited to bring such books to the Sandals Foundation or a Beaches Sandals resort so they are passed along to the students.
- Turks & Caicos has eight airports in total. However, the only islands that can cater to international visitors through their airports are Grand Turk and Providenciales.
- The Providenciales International Airport (PLS) with a nearly 3-kilometre (9,199 feet) runway is the only airport in Turks & Caicos Islands receiving 100% of international flights arriving in the country.
Avoid Travelling on the Weekend
The Providenciales International Airport (PLS) receives the entire volume of all international flights to the Turks & Caicos Islands. This means that a small airport with fewer staff members than needed to handle the workload is called to find a way to manage the large influx of aircraft landing on its grounds during the peak season.
Given that the highest volume arrives during the weekend, which means longer queues at Immigration, it might be best to come to Turks & Caicos during the weekdays, when the airport is much less crowded.
Even if you have signed up for a concierge service provider that enables travellers to fast-forward the overall Immigration and Customs process, there is definitely some serious waiting during peak transit times, which could be avoided by choosing another, less congested, day to travel to the islands.
Money-saving tips:
- Travel costs increase during the peak tourist season (from December through March). So, you might want to visit the islands not only during the weekdays but also during less popular times. However, if you want to fly to Turks & Caicos over the holidays, you could ensure you make all of your bookings ahead of time. That way, you may find exceptional hotel and flight deals.
- Instead of looking for accommodation deals at Providenciales, the most tourist-popular island, you could shift your focus to South Caicos or Grand Turk (or another of the seven inhabited islands in the region), which might get you better discounts than the most touristy areas across Turks & Caicos Islands.
Know When to Ask for Conch, Lobster, and Grouper!
The Nassau grouper and the Caribbean spiny lobster are two of the most popular, beloved, and locally-caught seafood. To help protect the local populations, these two are fished only at specific seasons (from mid-August to mid-Match for lobster and between December and February for Nassau grouper). In other words, do not expect to find lobster or grouper dishes served at restaurants outside of the open season. As for conch, the open season is from mid-October to mid-July.
Money-saving tip: If you are planning to visit the Turks & Caicos Islands with a large group of friends or your family, consider the available all-inclusive accommodation options to help minimise food and drink-related costs.
The Advanced Autism Centre Designation at Beach Resorts
At the moment of this writing, the Beaches and Sandals resorts are the first to have been designated an Advanced Autism Centre (granted by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards) in the world. In plainer words, children with special needs or autism can easily be accommodated by expertly trained staff members with anything from sensory toys to private check-ins. At the same time, the facilities provide beach wheelchairs, wheelchair-friendly bathrooms and room doors, and even water sports that are accessible to individuals on the spectrum.
Festivals and Special Holidays
Probably the biggest celebration on Turks & Caicos Islands is Junkaroo, which comes from the name “John Canoe”. This huge event is a big deal that takes place during the holiday season and draws the undivided attention of everybody on the islands at that time. Expect lively festivities, including vibrant street parades that remind of the days when the enslaved individuals on the islands were given only one day to celebrate and rest. This is a long-lasting event, whose festivities spike on January (Boxing Day).
Another equally popular event is the Queen’s birthday, which makes sense, taking into account that the Turks & Caicos Islands remain a British territory. This event happens on June 11th. Commonwealth Day comes right after the Queen’s birthday celebrations in popularity, on March 12th.
Tip: Joining the street parades and the celebrations is a great and cost-effective way to have fun in Turks & Caicos, considering that it’s an expensive destination for various reasons. These events are free for the public, while also enabling you to experience the local culture and its vibrancy.
Getting There
The Providenciales International Airport is the only destination for all international flights (and connecting flights) to Turks & Caicos and is located on Providenciales Island. Once you arrive there, Grace Bay, probably the most popular local attraction and tourist destination, is only a quick taxi ride (around 15-17 minutes).
Now, for travellers that would love to visit other nearby Turks & Caicos islands, except for Middle Caicos and North Caicos which are connected by a road causeway and have no ferries connecting them, the North Caicos ferry travels between Bellefield Landing, Sandy Point Marina, or Heaving Down Rock Marina in 30 minutes or so (each way).
Fast Tips About Travelling in Turks & Caicos:
- Tipping is customary unless a 15% service fee is included in your restaurant or hotel bill. If you take a taxi, a 10% or 15% tip is expected, though.
- Turks & Caicos is home to the 3rd largest reef in the world, which is a huge pole of attraction for snorkelling and diving enthusiasts.
- All the beaches in Turks & Caicos are free to the public, so you won’t find any private shores. Also, almost all the places provide free car parking.
- You will not come across any supermarket selling alcohol on a Sunday. It is served across bars in Turks & Caicos, though.
- Expect supermarket prices to be (potentially) quite higher than in your home country, since Turks and Caicos import the overwhelming majority of everything it needs.
- The schools in Turks & Caicos do not have access to many books related to the environment, the preservation of the aquatic environment, and sea life. For that reason, travellers are invited to bring such books to the Sandals Foundation or a Beaches Sandals resort so they are passed along to the students.
- Turks & Caicos has eight airports in total. However, the only islands that can cater to international visitors through their airports are Grand Turk and Providenciales.
- The Providenciales International Airport (PLS) with a nearly 3-kilometre (9,199 feet) runway is the only airport in Turks & Caicos Islands receiving 100% of international flights arriving in the country.
Avoid Travelling on the Weekend
The Providenciales International Airport (PLS) receives the entire volume of all international flights to the Turks & Caicos Islands. This means that a small airport with fewer staff members than needed to handle the workload is called to find a way to manage the large influx of aircraft landing on its grounds during the peak season.
Given that the highest volume arrives during the weekend, which means longer queues at Immigration, it might be best to come to Turks & Caicos during the weekdays, when the airport is much less crowded.
Even if you have signed up for a concierge service provider that enables travellers to fast-forward the overall Immigration and Customs process, there is definitely some serious waiting during peak transit times, which could be avoided by choosing another, less congested, day to travel to the islands.
Money-saving tips:
- Travel costs increase during the peak tourist season (from December through March). So, you might want to visit the islands not only during the weekdays but also during less popular times. However, if you want to fly to Turks & Caicos over the holidays, you could ensure you make all of your bookings ahead of time. That way, you may find exceptional hotel and flight deals.
- Instead of looking for accommodation deals at Providenciales, the most tourist-popular island, you could shift your focus to South Caicos or Grand Turk (or another of the seven inhabited islands in the region), which might get you better discounts than the most touristy areas across Turks & Caicos Islands.
Know When to Ask for Conch, Lobster, and Grouper!
The Nassau grouper and the Caribbean spiny lobster are two of the most popular, beloved, and locally-caught seafood. To help protect the local populations, these two are fished only at specific seasons (from mid-August to mid-Match for lobster and between December and February for Nassau grouper). In other words, do not expect to find lobster or grouper dishes served at restaurants outside of the open season. As for conch, the open season is from mid-October to mid-July.
Money-saving tip: If you are planning to visit the Turks & Caicos Islands with a large group of friends or your family, consider the available all-inclusive accommodation options to help minimise food and drink-related costs.
The Advanced Autism Centre Designation at Beach Resorts
At the moment of this writing, the Beaches and Sandals resorts are the first to have been designated an Advanced Autism Centre (granted by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards) in the world. In plainer words, children with special needs or autism can easily be accommodated by expertly trained staff members with anything from sensory toys to private check-ins. At the same time, the facilities provide beach wheelchairs, wheelchair-friendly bathrooms and room doors, and even water sports that are accessible to individuals on the spectrum.
Festivals and Special Holidays
Probably the biggest celebration on Turks & Caicos Islands is Junkaroo, which comes from the name “John Canoe”. This huge event is a big deal that takes place during the holiday season and draws the undivided attention of everybody on the islands at that time. Expect lively festivities, including vibrant street parades that remind of the days when the enslaved individuals on the islands were given only one day to celebrate and rest. This is a long-lasting event, whose festivities spike on January (Boxing Day).
Another equally popular event is the Queen’s birthday, which makes sense, taking into account that the Turks & Caicos Islands remain a British territory. This event happens on June 11th. Commonwealth Day comes right after the Queen’s birthday celebrations in popularity, on March 12th.
Tip: Joining the street parades and the celebrations is a great and cost-effective way to have fun in Turks & Caicos, considering that it’s an expensive destination for various reasons. These events are free for the public, while also enabling you to experience the local culture and its vibrancy.
Getting There
The Providenciales International Airport is the only destination for all international flights (and connecting flights) to Turks & Caicos and is located on Providenciales Island. Once you arrive there, Grace Bay, probably the most popular local attraction and tourist destination, is only a quick taxi ride (around 15-17 minutes).
Now, for travellers that would love to visit other nearby Turks & Caicos islands, except for Middle Caicos and North Caicos which are connected by a road causeway and have no ferries connecting them, the North Caicos ferry travels between Bellefield Landing, Sandy Point Marina, or Heaving Down Rock Marina in 30 minutes or so (each way).