(Originally posted on tripadvisor in Sep '10)

Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pflum21/sets/72157624808972710/

My wife and I stayed at the West Bay Club for 9 nights. The weather was great our entire stay at the end of August with only a few hours of cloudy weather during our entire 10 day visit. We both absolutely loved The West Bay Club. The beach at this end of Grace Bay is much wider, less crowded and quieter than the other parts of Grace Bay Beach. The 1 bedroom ocean front luxury room was perfect and the view from the room was breathtaking. We stayed on the 4th floor in room 404. We walked to both Blight Reef in front of Coral Gardens (10 min walk) and to Smith’s Reef (25 min walk). We saw a sea turtle at Blight Reef the very first time we snorkeled there. Both times we snorkeled at Smith’s reef we were the only ones snorkeling. I prefered snorkeling on Smith’s reef because we weren’t limited to snorkeling around a roped off area like we were in front of the Coral Gardens and at Smith’s reef we didn’t have to worry about running into other snorkelers.

To save a ton of money, my wife and I brought with us a rolling cooler, a large Coleman thermos, 2 large plastic cups with lids and straws, alcohol, and mix to make daiquiris, margaritas, and pina coladas. We would blend the frozen drinks, fill the thermos with the drinks, and then place the thermos inside the rolling cooler with ice. This kept our margaritas and other drinks frozen during the entire time we were on the beach. We also went to the IGA grocery store and bought sandwich ingredients and snacks and packed them into our rolling cooler. This way we both saved a lot of money and could stay on the beach the entire day.

We did three activities during our stay. The first activity was the two hour wine and cheese sunset sail with SailProvo.com. It was $140 for the both of us including all you could drink wine and rum punch. While my wife and I were sitting at the rear steps of the sailboat by ourselves, Jojo the dolphin came up within an arms reach to greet us. We both highly recommend this sunset sail.

The second activity we did was ride the ferry to North Caicos and rent a car to explore both North and Middle Caicos for the day. We left Provo at 10 am and returned on the 5:45 pm ferry. We visited Mudjin Harbor on Middle Caicos and ate lunch at Daniel’s café. Mudjin Harbor is a must see if you adventure to North or Middle Caicos. My wife and I relaxed on our own beautiful secluded beach just down the paved trail from Mudjin Harbor. This little beach could only be reached by walking through a small cave in the limestone and down a set of stairs. Lunch at Daniel’s café was $50. This included two catch of the day lunch combos and a very cold Corona for myself. We both liked the small local feel of Daniel’s Café and its beautiful setting. We stopped by the Flamingo pond on North Caicos which really requires a telephoto camera lens or a good set of binoculars to see the flamingos. Then just before returning to the ferry we stopped to check out Whitby beach. Whitby beach is nice, we had the entire strip to ourselves, but not nearly as nice as Grace Bay Beach. The cost for the rental car including gas for the day was $85 and the roundtrip ferry was $30 each.

The last activity we did was the full day CaicosDreamTours.com excursion. This trip was the highlight of our stay. We snorkeled at two different locations and hunted for conch that was prepared for lunch. Lunch was a beach BBQ including conch salad, grilled chicken, baked potato, grilled corn on the cob, and grilled lobster tail. Lunch was very good. While lunch was being prepared my wife and I snorkeled for sand dollars (found 4) and explored “Shell Island.” After lunch we visited Iguana Island and went for a swim on the back side of the reef in 7,000 ft. of water to experience “the abyss.” The trip also included all you could drink beer, rum punch, soft drinks and water. The cost for the both of us was $360.

We ate at a number of excellent restaurants while in Provo. My wife and I liked every restaurant we ate dinner at. One place you do not want to miss is Da Conch Shack. We went here for dinner and ate at a picnic table right on the beach with our feet in the sand. While we both ate the Conch combo and drank our Turk’s Head lager, we watched the sun slip below the horizon leaving a beautiful sky painted purple and pink. The cost for dinner including two conch combos, three beers, and tip was $60.

My wife and I have ranked the restaurants we ate at and included the price for two entrees, two glasses of wine, one dessert, tax, and tip. We enjoyed all of these excellent restaurants; however, we ranked them according to our personal preference.

1. Lemon Café ($96)

2. Grace’s Cottage @ Point Grace Resort ($144)

3. Bagatella Bistro @ Gansevoort ($144)

4. Coco Bistro on Grace Bay Rd. ($136)

5. Hemmingway’s @ The Sands ($80)

6. Magnolia Wine and Bar @ Turtle Cove Marina ($118)

7. Mango Reef @ RWI, 3 course special each plus 2 glasses of wine ($131)

8. Bay Bistro @ Sibonne Hotel ($106)

We both absolutely loved our vacation in Turks and Caicos and hope everyone enjoys their stay as much as we did!

Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pflum21/sets/72157624808972710/