Pine Cay
 

My husband and I are planning to rent a skiff in Provo and cruise up to Pine Cay and the surrounding areas. I know it's a private island -- will we be able to anchor our boat and go explore the island/beaches, or can only those who are staying there do that? Also, are there any good lunch spots on Pine Cay or the areas around it? Would you recommend lunch at the Meridian Club?

Are you an experienced boater? If you're not, I would not recommend venturing on your own-the waters going up the cays are extremely shallow and/or have corals-even people used to navigating those waters get stuck all the time. It will also cost alot more to get a boat without a captain because of it. There are plenty of places that have private excursions, that include lunch, or that can set up lunch for you on an isolated beach.

The beaches themselves are all public-meaning you can stop at any beach, but you can not venture off the beach at any of the cays/islands, because then the land becomes private. Some are National Parks, and require a fee beyond the beach, some are private, such as Parrot Cay and Pine Cay, and you can not go past the beach area.

Pine Cay has a lunch place, you definately have to have reservations. The reservations you make include the boat trip to Pine Cay-and are around $130 per person. If the resort is full, they may turn you down. If you have children under 12, they are not allowed on the property.

Parrot Cay pretty much the same thing, you must make previous reservations, and if the resort is full, they will turn you down. If they allow you to reserve for lunch, it's $50 per person for the boat ride, and an ultra expensive lunch. The beach, especially at Parrot Cay is extremely shallow, the boat docks for both cays (Parrot and Pine) are in the back of the island, and private property.

There are other islands, where renting a boat to explore on your own is great-Virgin Islands, Abacos, Exumas, for example. For T&C, at least the first time, you should really go out with someone familiar with tides, sand bars, corals. Tourists also swim far out, and there are "paths" as a boater you must following.

If you decide to go ahead with it, you're better off bringing lunch and drinks, as you can not venture off the beach.

Really your best bet is finding a "guide" that will bring you out and provide food for you. They can take you to see any beach you want, or to snorkel on the reef. It's actually cheaper to have a guide than not because of liabilities.

Blamona, thanks so much for that info -- very helpful. That's too bad, because putting around in a boat on our own like we've done in the Virgin Islands and Bahamas is one of the things we love to do most on vacations, and I was under the impression that we could do that in the T&C. I spoke with someone at Windsurfing Provo who said it was not a problem to navigate up to the cays in their skiffs, but maybe we didn't get the whole story. What we're looking for is to find some pretty beaches where we could also maybe do some bonefishing off the beach, on our own. We're not interested in doing a full or even half day bonefishing charter -- just to be able to do a little bit here and there. Are there some good spots for that around Provo? I've heard about Flamingo Lake and Turtle Lake, and Five Little Cays (?) -- are there any other areas we could drive to with some navigable flats off the beach? Someone mentioned that the south side of the island would be best for that.

We rented a skiff right next to Ocean Club.There is a water sports shack there.I believe it was a sixteen foot boat.Very reasonably priced & took it down near Pine Cay & went to Turtle Cove area (Smith's Reef)& did some snorkeling in both areas.Rented the boat for four hours & I believe it was about $125.00 & gas.I don't know about docking the boat though.We just cruised.We also took the skiff down the canals at the marina.Very enjoyable.

ksmith-- I think we found the same place -- did you rent from windsurfing provo? It's in front of Ocean Club. Was the trip up to Pine Cay and navigating around the reefs/flats pretty smooth/easy? My husband is an experienced boater, so i think we'd be fine. Was it worth it in your opinion to venture off of provo and up to pine cay for half a day? I've seen pictures and it looks beautiful -- and we've been looking forward to exploring on our own a bit. Sounds like you'd recommend it.

We loved renting the skiff. Yes,It was right in front of Ocean Club. Very easy navigating to the cays.They gave us a map & cooler with ice.You could rent it longer than four hours if you want.Be very careful though even with sunscreen I got quite the burn.No bimini on the skiff.There are many pretty beaches you can stop at.We saw a couple that a boat dropped them off with a cooler for lunch.I think this was much better for we were on our own.You can't take it out if it is windy & he does ask you to not go to far out for if you ever broke down difficult for him to come get you.Oh we also got a walkie talkie from him for the trip.

Oh,one other thing,you could take the skiff to Turtle Cove for lunch & I'm sure you could dock it there.

You can NOT dock at turtle Cove. There is an overnight charge for using a slip, and the public dock has too much movement. It's hard to even get gas at the public dock, always someone waiting their turn.

I looked up the website & it is Windsurfing Provo.Very nice man that runs it.When you rent the skiff ask him where you can dock for lunch.I'm sure he would be able to help you.

Thank you all very much for the helpful info! We leave next week and can't wait!