My husband and I are celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary with a trip to Turks and Caicos for a week in December. Anyone have suggestions or tips for our trip? Mostly, we plan to relax and possibly do 1-2 excursions, and one special dinner. Thanks for suggestions!
Posted by
154 posts
I would recommend that you reconsider going to Turks and Caicos unless you've already booked your trip. The State Department recently issued a travel 2 advisory for those islands especially Providenciales as there has been an increase in crime.
My family and I went 3 years ago and of all the Caribbean islands that we've been to this is our 2nd least favorite with Aruba being the 1st.
When you're there especially in Providenciales, the vibe feels more like Florida than a Caribbean island. The Caribbean islands that we've really liked have been Grand Caymans, St Maartens, Curacao and Grenada.
However, if you're still going, we stayed in Grace Bay which has one of the best beaches in the world. We went on a catamaran to snorkel and visit Iguana Island. We also went kayaking on a clear bottom boat through mangroves and saw sea turtles. Many of the restaurants in Grace Bay are overpriced and not that good.However, we had a really good meal at the restaurant at the Seven Stars Hotel but it was expensive. Avoid Skull Rock Cantina.
Posted by
Chicago
5 posts
T&C wouldn't be high on my list. Yes there are some wonderful, safe properties but depending on location, when one cannot safely go out at night or has to be constantly looking over their shoulder no matter what time of day it's not my idea of a relaxing time.
To be fair, the issues in T&C are usually between the locals (drug-turf disputes) and tourists are not usually involved.
Posted by
Vermont, USA
837 posts
We visited Turks in August of 2022 and absolutely loved it. However, since then, it has become more prone to crime, and for that reason, we have not returned. It is my understanding that now it is really only safe for tourists to stay on Provo in the Grace Bay area (which was not our favorite part of the island, tho' the water is spectacular), so hopefully that is where your plans are taking you.
Here is my trip report from our vacation:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147395-i212-k14083697-Tripreport-Turksand_Caicos.html#114808578
We didn't have any "nice" dinners, but all of the food was outstanding. Again, this was 3 years ago and most of the places we went were outside the Grace Bay area, so you'd want to do some research to find out how safe it is now to travel around.
I hope you have a wonderful trip!