newesttraveler

We have an opportunity to rent a villa on Providenciales next December, but know very little about the Turks and Caicos Islands. In the past we have stayed in the US and British Virgin Islands. Our favorite island is Tortola, BVI (less developed and less crowded - especially before the cruise ships arrived).

Will we find a similar atmosphere in Provo?

A_Traveller

Actually Provo and Tortola are as different as night and day. You know Tortola from your past visits so I won't waste words describing that island.

Provo is flat, scrubby and has little natural vegetation (think Anegada, if you've been there on your trips to the BVI's). There is one basic beach, Grace Bay, which has incredibly white sand and stretches for about 11 miles. Most of the resorts are located on this beach as are some rental villas. There are a few other small beaches on the island but you won't find any facilities and the majority of them, except Grace Bay, are accessible only by driving over some very bumpy unpaved roads and trails (you'll need a 4WD vehicle). There's very little natural shade on ay of the beaches so plan on taking a beach umbrella with you if you have a low tollerance for the sun - bring plenty of sunblock with a high SPF rating. There's only only 3 places (Coral Gardens and Smith's Reef on Grace Bay & Malcom's beach where you can snorkel directly from the beach. While the snorkeling at these places is good to very good the actual ares are rather small. There's no real shopping on the island other than the ubiquitous t-shirt and trinket shops. The island is rather pricey as far as food, drinks and accomodations are concerned. There's very little nightlife.

You don't mention where on Provo the villa is located (a great number of them are in the Calk Sound area.

There are a lot of Provo lovers on this forum so if you do a search for the Turks & Caicos or T&C's (most people use those terms when they really are referring to Provo) you'll find tons of information.

I, on the other hand, will tell you it's not one of my favorite islands. I prefer the BVI's (Virgin Gorda especially), Nevis and the Grenadines. Lastly, during our visits we found the locals to be less friendly when compared to BVIslanders and Nevisians.

dawnie9

newes, I do agree with A Traveller re: the island being very barren, desert-like, (strong sun & no shade) and that there are only a few snorkelling areas (though they are very good). However, I did find the people friendly there. I've been there 3 times but I went specifically for scuba diving which is amazing in Provo. The water is stunning and the beaches are beautiful, but if I wasn't going to dive, I'm not sure this island would be my first choice. I can't compare it to Tortola since I've never been there.
Hope this helps.

newesttraveler

Thanks for the detailed description of the island. It helps to understad that physical characteristics of the island are very different from Tortola. Even though I prefer the dramatic slopes and lush vegitation of volcanic islands, I was hoping Provo might still provide the slower pace and relaxing atmosphere we were looking for. The lack of shopping and nightlife is not an issue for us (not much of that on Tortola either), and beaches with no facilities sound just fine (helps to keep the crowds away).

The villa we are considering is one of the Ocean Point Villas. They are close to Chalk Sound, but on the south shore of the island facing the ocean near Sappodilla Bay.

We are very late in makeing reservations because we thought that most of our group would be unable to travel this year. But suddenly everyone is available and anxious to go, so we are scrambling to find a place to stay.

Thanks again for your help.

virginia

the ocean point villas are all really nice. (i stayed in one several years ago) the man the owns them - henry moog - built all the houses on ocean point and now has several on grace bay beach too. his villas are large!, nicely furnished and well cared for. all have pools and private docks. none are beachfront. the road out to sapodilla/taylor/chalk sound has been paved now.
taylor beach is extremely shallow and not good for swimming but the sand is the softest you can find. few people use this beach. dick clarks house is at the far end.
sapodilla beach is nice with deeper water. not crowded either.
some of the villas front a channel that mr moog dug and that is nice for swimming and some have platforms directly into the sea.
the pace of provo is definetly slow.
you will need to rent a car to stay at ocean point.
provo has some great restaurants.
provo IS one of my favorites so if you have any more questions ask away.
also if you plan a diving excursion they may come to your dock to pick you up. we thought this was very cool.

greenie

I've been to both and have to say that Tortola is a more beautiful island. Provo is def. easier to get around on (no steep hills) and has more restaurants.

Although I didn't do as much exploring on Provo...I have to go back and check it out.

Provo is easier to get to from Atlanta. For a quick getaway, hassle free, I'd choose Provo.

Peace, Greenie

mnag

I agree with greenie. Though Tortola is beautiful I was not too thrilled driving around those steep slopes. Provo has wonderful beaches. I would rate them higher than Tortola. It is relatively quiet. Especially in the area you will be staying. We loved Sapodilla Bay. It was completely empty when we visited last year. The water is shallow and great for little kids. If you are a beach person you will not be unhappy with Provo. The restaurants are much better in my opinion also on Provo as compared to Tortola.

newesttraveler

Thanks to everyone for the replies. With your encouragement, we have confirmed the one of the Ocean Point Villas for this December. I think we were very lucky to find something this nice at such a late date.

The villa faces east towards Sapodilla Bay and has a swimming platform/dock just as Virginia described. It looks as though it may even be possible to swim from the villa to the beach at Sapodilla Bay (Virginia, am I guessing correctly).

Several of you mentioned the great restaurants on Provo. I checked out the reviews on Fodor’s Destinations page, but I’d love to know which were your favorites.

blamona

they are 2 completely different islands from each other. I love Provo, I love BVI.

Since you will be in a villa, you won't feel the crowds.

Provo is flat, dry and scrubby, but the beaches are breathtaking-neon turquoise water, bright white sand, long (miles and miles) of stretches of beaches.

Provo will seem a little more Americanized to you-it does boast excellent restaurants (better than Tortola) with gorgeous settings.

To get a "feel" like Tortola, check out the restaurant/tiki bars of Blue Hills.
No cruise ships in Provo. Great excursions especially heading out to the cays.