Providenciales -- a few questions, please

Old Jun 22nd, 2014, 04:49 AM
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Providenciales -- a few questions, please

We're going to TCI for our first time in July, and we are very excited!

Well be staying on Grace Bat at the Alexandria Resort. We've had a crazy, stressful last few years, so we really want to relax. We plan to spend a lot of time relaxing under an umbrella at the beach, but we do enjoy snorkeling and boat trips, also.

We've thought about not even renting a car, but now not so sure. Thoughts?

What are some good restaurants that we could walk to from our resort? We don't really care about fancy food. In fact, a picnic on the beach of ribs and corn on the cob was one of our favorite meals in the Caribbean.

If we do get a car, what are some other good restaurants and snorkeling areas?

Best boat tour? ? We like The Wild One for an exciting trip. Might also try a boating/snorkeling excursion.

Thinking about having a boat drop us off at a beautiful beach on one of the other islands for several hours. Any suggestions?

Thank you!!
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Old Jun 22nd, 2014, 05:38 PM
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Some dark spots from Alex, taxi cost more than car rental, I say car rental

Majority of restaurants are fairly upscale and expensive. From Alex, setting not great, but casual food at Middle Caicos Cafe. Bugaloos and Da Conch Shack are great shacks on beach places, both require car.

Nice do not miss restaurants, Coco Bistro and Bay Bistro. Wings at Tiki Hut or Big ALS are terrific.

Flamingos close to Ocean Club is local and a little more casual. Won't find "picnic " food on that beach though.

You can walk to snorkel or drive. coral Gardens walking distance, Smiths Reef requires car

Great boat tours-- Island Vibes excursions or Caicos Dream Tours are my favs.

Ultra expensive to be dropped off on isolated cay-- maybe upwards of $700? Boat excursions all stop at those Cays too for much less
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Old Jun 23rd, 2014, 08:29 AM
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Thank you, blamona! What do you mean by "some dark spots from Alex"?
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Old Jun 23rd, 2014, 11:37 AM
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Some blocks walking that are dark, and while nothing has ever happened to me there, make me uncomfortable even in a car, I certainly wouldn't walk it myself.

Others will say they feel perfectly safe walking these dark spots themselves, until there's a rash of robberies then everyone gets quiet for a while.

Not trying to scare you, I find TCI one of the safest destinations in Caribbean. But why take a chance walking a dark block in a foreign country just to save a couple bucks not renting a car?

Silly to me,
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Old Jun 23rd, 2014, 12:41 PM
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I agree with Blamona. Nothing has ever happened to us, either, but I wouldn't advise walking the beach by yourselves once it's dark.

And yes, definitely get a car. I avoided it the first few times until I realized how much we were paying in taxis! Just to give you an idea, last January the typical charge was $15 per person round trip to either the grocery store or area restaurants.

Anyway, we found it much easier to drive than I anticipated. Not much traffic on most of the roads. We're going back in January and renting this year from TROPICAL AUTOS, which seems to have cars with the steering wheel on the left. Also- so far- a better experience than we had last year with GRACE BAY RENTALS.

Right at your resort, is MANGO REEF, which is a popular restaurant. We've had both excellent and mediocre dinners there, so it seems to depend on the night.

We really like BAY BISTRO at THE SIBONNE HOTEL. Really good food and if you feel like springing for a special occasion, you can pay extra to be set up under torchlight on the beach.

We also lovelovelove SOMEWHERE CAFE, right next to CORAL GARDENS. Amazing Mexican food and mixed drinks. We go there almost every day (!) when we visit Provo.

If you do rent a car, don't miss TAYLOR BAY on the other side of the island. It's shallow forever, and a gorgeous place to watch the sunset. If you want to make a day of it, you could have lunch at LAS BRISAS, a Spanish and American style restaurant with very good food that's right on the water.

Have a great time! We always do!
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Old Jun 25th, 2014, 09:58 AM
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Thank you so much for all the information! We will think about renting a car, but really, we mainly just want to relax and take it easy on this trip, aside from snorkeling. We tend to eat earlier than most for dinner (even though we're not old!!!) so maybe we could walk to some places and even get back before dark. If we are somewhere and don't have a car and it's dark, we would definitely call a cab.
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Old Jun 25th, 2014, 11:17 AM
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Most places don't serve until 6pm, you might have light until 7:30ish at most, so might need one to return.
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