Hi!!! I’ve been away in Turks and Caicos and finally settled back in Los Angeles and catching up on the blog. I have so much content to share so it’s taking me some time to get organized. I wanted to share my experience, give you some recommendations when traveling to T&C, and share with you some of my favorite pictures. I’m also doing a Turks & Caicos Top Three feature for Haute Living, so be sure to check that out once it’s live on their site to see exclusive pictures and adventures from my trip! Turks & Caicos VLOG coming soon too…

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Known for it’s pristine beaches with beautiful turquoise water and white sand, Providenciales Island in Turks & Caicos is the ultimate beach lover’s vacation destination. I stayed for nine days which is a pretty long time to be on the island, but it gave me ample time to really discover the best the island has to offer. From visiting all the luxurious resorts, dining at the top recommended restaurants, and looking into all the excursions and activities offered, I left feeling accomplished, satisfied and rejuvenated.

I also went during peak season, March being the busiest month of the year, but the island still felt calm and not over saturated with tourists. The beach is the island’s best quality. Turks & Caicos is home to one of the most famous beaches in the world, Grace Bay Beach. The water was beautiful shades of blue and turquoise, and the silky white sand felt powdery under your feet. Even Grace Bay Beach didn’t feel overcrowded. There were areas when you felt as though you had the beach all to yourself. I was expecting to fight over a beach chair, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the beach felt quite empty. The beach is wide enough that it never felt crowded.

Turks & Caicos is one of the more expensive islands in the Caribbean. I found most restaurants to be over priced and mediocre, but I did discover a couple great finds with delicious food at a reasonable price. I’m not really a fan of going to the traditional “touristy” places, I enjoy going to spots off the beaten path with great local food. Although most restaurants recommended to tourists had great ambiance, (most of them being right on the beach), I found the food to be over priced and nothing special.

Take a look at my full Turks & Caicos guide below!

WHERE TO STAY:

The Amanyara-  To see my full review and pictures of The Amanyara (which was my favorite resort on the island), please check out my exclusive feature at www.hauteliving.com.

Grace Bay Club– If you want to be in the middle of all the action, Grace Bay Club is located in the heart of Grace Bay Beach among most of the other resorts on the island. GBC is a highly recommended resort on many travel guides. It’s a beautiful resort in a great location on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. If you don’t stay here, it’s worth a visit to have a drink at the Infiniti Bar, a 90ft bar stretching across Grace Bay Club to the shores of Grace Bay Beach.

The Gaansevort- Just like any Gaansevort, it’s “sceney” and felt very Miami. It has a great pool, and it is supposedly the place to be on Friday nights. (There is basically no nightlife in T&C, so Friday nights at the Gaansevort still felt pretty calm in my opinion, but I might just be too acquainted to Vegas, Miami and LA–ha). I did sit by the fire and have a Pina Colada while roasting marshmallows on the beach which was nice.

WHERE TO EAT:

Coco Bistro- Coco Bistro is rated one of the top restaurants on the island, and one of my favorite meals I had. To see my full review, check out my exclusive feature at Haute Living.

Mr. Grouper- Great local spot with Caribbean cuisine. The place is nothing fancy, in fact it’s a hole in the wall, but it’s great local food at a reasonable price.

Conch Shack- Although it’s touristy and overpriced, I think you have to visit Conch Shack while on the island. It’s a charming eatery right on the sand with tables looking out into the ocean. Wednesday night is a good night to go, it gets busy and they have live music. Serving traditional local cuisine, enjoy their wide variety of freshly caught Conch dishes (the conch fritters are amazing), try the “Johnny Fries” drizzled with black bean and pepper gravy, and the fish tacos are delicious!

Pork Shack & Turks Kabob– These were our best secret finds of the entire trip. Along a quiet road, lies The Pork Shack & Turks Kabob, two shacks right beside each other serving the best tacos and gyros. Both are different places, Turks Kabob serving Mediterranean, and the Pork Shack serving tacos and sandwiches. We stumbled upon these two places as we drove past it one day and decided to hop out and give it a try. We were pleased to find out that the tacos at The Pork Shack were only $3, and they were amazing! We found both these places the last two days of the trip and were kicking ourselves we didn’t find it earlier in our trip. We had been spending at least $40 a meal, and to find amazing tacos for $3 was like a slap in the face (ha). But I don’t regret trying all the other places, each had something to offer and I always want to try somewhere at least once. You order at a counter and sit at wooden tables outside, but don’t forget your bug spray, especially at night! Order the beef taco with cheese at The Pork Shack (the Pork Sandwich is good too), and the Gyro at Turks Kabob- it’s delicious. You can get one from each place if you can’t decide. You can walk there from the town, it’s just a short detour off the main street. If you like hole in the walls like I do, you will love it. It’s a great cheap option if you’re hungry and don’t feel like dropping a lot of money on a meal. Don’t think it’s anything fancy, they are both shacks with some wooden tables in the middle of nowhere, but that’s just my style 🙂

WHAT TO DO:

Horseback Riding on the beach– The highlight of my trip was horseback riding through the ocean. To see my full story and all my pictures, check out my exclusive feature in Haute Living!

Snorkeling & Diving- The beach being the main attraction of Turks and Caicos, water sports such as diving and snorkeling are an obvious choice for visitors seeking fun excursions. I snorkeled right off the beach at the Coral Gardens Resort and wasn’t too impressed- the best part of the reef is blocked off for conservation purposes. I recommend snorekling at Smiths Reef. It’s right off the beach, west of Grace Bay and there’s plenty to see. If you like diving, T&C is a great place to do it. My sister and friend didn’t want to dive and I didn’t want to go alone, so next time I’m in Turks & Caicos I’ll have to go.

Thursday Fish Fry– Every Thursday on the beach is fish fry where local restaurants set up and sell cuisine off a selective menu. There is live music and dancing and it’s a great place to try a bunch of food from different local restaurants around the island.

Danny Buoys– The night life in Turks & Caicos is pretty non-existent. There are a few bars that seemed pretty empty throughout the duration of my trip, but Danny Buoys was the most recommended for something to do at night. Depending on what night it can get busy with tourists. It’s open late and serves food late too. The french fries are really good!

To keep up daily with my travels and to see my outfit details, make sure to follow me on Instagram @NicoleIsaacs. You can also follow my adventures on Snap Chat! @nicole_isaacs. Stay tuned for my Turks & Caicos VLOG in the next post!