1.Lots of mosquitos. They had heavy rain 2 weeks before arrival and we were eaten alive even with repellent. Barely finished our round of golf. Quieted down by the time we left Provo. People said it was unusual but they had screens on most of the decks in the hotel rooms on the island.
2.Miles of beaches with resorts in between. could be another Cancun in the future. Talked to a resident and he said they are raising the height of hotels to 5 stories from 3.
3.roads are bad everywhere including the main road through the island. You drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the left. No stoplights. Some round abouts. Need to be careful looking to the right last at intersections before entering traffic. Had a couple of close calls.
4.We had good food but expensive. Didn't mind paying the price as long as it was good. Wine lists included wine from all over the world, suprisingly. Even Oregon where we are from.
5. US dollar is the currency. Used VISA everywhere but at a gas station which wanted cash. $6 a gallon. Texaco and Shell Stations. We used a car for 12 days and drove everywhere for $47 for gas in a Ketona jeep-like car.
6.Hemingways at the Sands was best for sunset and food was good. Grace Bay faces North so the sunsets down the beach. It can be seen from all the reorts. No green flash in early May it sets over tiny bit of island.
7.Restaurants that we ate at were: Mango Reef, Gecko Grille, Hemingways, Seaside Cafe, Tiki Hut, Magnolia, Cuba Bella.
8.Best view of Turtle Cove - Magnolia Restaurant up on hill
9. Best bar view of Turtle Cove - Shark Bite & Banana Boat (limited by yachts). Tiki Hut somewhat.
10.Clothing Optional - 300 yards past the Coral House past the Ocean Club there is an arch in the limestome cliffs where it starts. We did a eco tour kayaking trip with Big Blue to secluded beaches. There are plenty of places in Turks and Caicos that you can make your own CO beach. They have trips to secluded islands but we kayaked by a lot of the palces people pay to be on a deserted island by themselves. It cost us $60 for 5 hours. We had a collapsable cooler (a must)with Turkshead.
11.Malcolm Road - very rough road. Debatable if worth the effort. Glad we did it but wouldn't do it again. Deep ruts were evident after the rain the weeks before. A car was broken into while we were there. Rear glass window was broken and a wallet and camera taken. Tiki Huts larger than seen in internet photos. Pretty broken down but scenery was great. The beach here is nice but no nicer than some of the other beaches.
12. Beach Cruise to Iguana Island, snorkeling, and Halfmoon Bay (favorite beach) - great trip however one could kayak to Iguana Island ($5 entrance fee) and to Halfmoon Bay for $20/ hr.
13. Dock at Club Med has school of fish that are herded by bigger fish. Brown pelicans dive into the school every morning around 8 AM. Saw stingrays here too.
14.Beer is TurksHead and Rum is Lucayan.
We missed the whale migration in March and Glow worms under a full moon
15.No cruise ships!!
16. Land expensive when on Grace Bay. Leeward area has beautiful homes on canals. We heard that North Caicos still had cheap land and great beaches.
17. Golf - nice club house with great view of 18 with its conch shell logo in the sand trap. The course was hard to evaluate because the mosquitoes were bad. They affected our every swing. Quite a bit of water. A lot of the water was stagnant and dark brown so possible breeding areas for the mosquitos. A lot of holes looked narrow off the tee but widened up where your ball landed. I was excited to get an eagle on a a par 4 from 180 out.
18.Small shells all along Grace bay tumbling in the surf. You can find a lot of variety of shell at low tide. Yes, there is a tide here - more than I have seen elsewhere in the caribbean.The shell beach we went to wasn't any better for shelling than Grace Bay.
19.Long Bay had rocky dirty roads to get to and wasn't worth the drive. The beach is not very wide and has lots of rocks and debris on it. I wouldn't spend any time on the beach there.
20. Snorkeling I thought was very good. Smith's Reef had nice coral but not many fish. We had thimble size jellyfish wash up there and they were rampant out to 50 yds. one day. We snorkeled anyway. They didn't bite but were disconcerting. We saw an Eagle Ray lurking in the rift between the coral patches and also a barracuda. Coral Gardens had nice coral and more fish. If you start on the the left side of the circular buoy arrangement and go around 3/4 of the way around you will see the best UW life. Farther out is good too. Malcolm's Road Beach has some snorkeling to the right about 500 yds. from where the road T's at the beach, which is OK, but not a developed reef structure. The water was the clearest here. All of these areas are great for beginners and I would encourage any one to try them expecially coral gardens.

I forgot Bugaloos! A must visit. Lots of conch on display. We had conch fritters and conch salad (conch ceviche?). The best we had anywhere. They went to a pen in the water and pull out two huge lobsters. We were stuffed on what we had so didn't indulge. There are lots of similar places along the road that have conch but Bugaloos is the mnost famous and most colorful

Hi Mpmellum,
Thanks for all that great info. We are leaving for T&C this coming Wednesday. I hope you can help answer a few questions.
I am a bit concerned about the mosquito situation you described. Did it quiet down considerably but the time you were leaving?

You mentioned that you saw Stingrays by Club Med, are we allowed to snorkel in that area or is only diving allowed? I am a beginner snorkeler and would love to see some stingrays and fish during my stay in Provo. Any suggestions?

Regarding the kayaking trip you took that was $60/5 hours. Was that price per person? Can you tell me how I can find out more information about it?

Also, you mentioned that you took a beach cruise. Can you tell me where they took you for snorkeling? You also wrote that people could kayak to Iguana Island and Halfmoon Bay for $20/hr. Who can we book that through? Does Halfmoon Bay offer good snorkeling?

Thank you in advance for all your help,
Katie

Take a lot of bug spray. The condo's in most of the resorts had screen enclosed lanais, patios or decks. That should tell you something. It did die down by the time we left but we still got bitten. My wife gets welts where they bit so she kept me plenty aware of the situation. I don't get affected hardly at all. I still felt they were pretty bad when we first got there. They really come out around sunset. However they were really bad at the golf course. The Leeward area is where we rented the kayaks from the Big Blue Limited just to the left of Gilleys bar and Restaurant. The cost is $20/hr. for 2 or $60 for 5 hrs for a two person sea kayak. We had a collapsible cooler full of beer and water and had just eaten so we could spend a lot of time exploring. You go over water that is only 2-3 feet deep and there are sting rays and sharks swimming around in the shallow water near the mangrove swamps. We also found conch in the sea grass in that area that were alive. Leeward is a gated type community but you can esily pass by the guard station (unmanned). The Beach cruise was by J and B Tours also just to the left of Gilleys and Big Blue . They take you snorkeling, to Iguana Island and halfmoon Bay between Little Water Cay and Big Water Cay. They have brochures all over the island and can be reached on the internet. The snorkeling on their trip had everything supplied but was a little advance that day because of white caps in the area.
The best begining snorkeling is at Coral Gardens around the red roped buoys. Smith's Reef is good too. It is found by going around Turtle Cove to the right and following a dirt road around the marina. It is not well marked so you'll have to explore. There is an entry area about 5 feet wide that is the easiest way to enter the water in the middle area of the reef. If I was a beginner I would start at Coral Gardens ti is beautiful and has lots of fish and coral. Smith's has beautiful coral and plumes but lacks a lot of fish. I wouldn't bother with Malcolm's Road Beach. Grace Bay in front the Club Med, OCE, OCW, Allegro is just sand. However under and around the Club Med dock there is a daily school of fish you could snorkel with. We saw the sting ray from on top of the dock. We watched the brown pelicans from the sand. They roam around that area and when they get hungry they dive into the fish for a big gulp and swim away to digest tham. We saw them around 8 AM. Hlf Moon Bay is in between Little Water and Big Water. It is the most spectacular beach we saw on our trip. you have to go there by boat or kayak. Mike

Mike,
That was very helpful. I appreciate your fast response.
Thank You.

Mike,
i just want to make sure: Did you do a private 2-person kayak trip through Big Blue or did you do their GROUP kayaking excursion?

Thanks.

We did our own thing. They had a map where the mangroves are located (2 inlets). Across the bay from the inlets is Little Water Cay with the iguanas. There is a Nat'l Park shack there where you pay $5 to see them. If you go to the right about 1/4 mile you'll see a beach. If you put in there and hike the 100 yds across the island you will be on Half Moon Bay (gorgeous!!).

They offer you a dry bag so you can take cameras etc. and keep them dry. We had a two person kayak and didn't go with the group. Pretty hard to get lost. Make sure that you go with an incoming tide if you can because we did get stuck in the shallow water a couple of time. Aqua socks or sandals with backstraps would be nice because we did step on some conch shells and small coral walking in the sand. What made it easier for us was that we had already done the Iguana island beach cruise, but it isn't that big a deal to have them tell you where the iguanas and halfmoon Bay are. You can almost see them from where you start kayaking.

We are going to OCW June 19th for 7 days. Are there any snakes on this island? What kinds of sharks did you see while snorkeling? Did you see any dolphins? Finally, does OCW have ice available for our beach cooler?
Thanks

We just returned from a week at OCW.
on April 23, I got a couple of little
bits one evening at when ate at Turtle Cove. Been to alot of Islands and this was a great Vacation, I would really hate to see T&C end up like Cancun. No big hotels more condos and not a big night life so I hope even with the land developement it stays
this way. The food was very good at Coco Bistro, Cacois Cafe. The food was also very good at OCW, the owner also owns a more casual place the Shark Bite. I would definately go back.

Mels

no snakes, didn't see dolphins (JoJo is overhyped) - talked to a belonger and he said he hadn't seen JoJo is 3-4 years. The sharks are small 2-4 feet and harmless. The guy at Big Blue said that they were baby nurse and lemons. We have beeen around 12 ft. lemons before and they are scary, but these weren't. JoJo apparently got hit by a boat and is reluctant to come back. There is an icemaker in the freezer along with ice trays. Didn't see any ice machines on the property. You can get ice at the IGA store. Owner is John of the Seaside Cafe and Sharkbite - very personable. He comes by your table and makes comments. Nice guy. Wanted to go to the Coco Bistro (pretty place) but the mosquitos were so bad they weren't open. Mike

Don't mean to discourage people about the mosquitos. We have been to many Caribbean islands and this is one of the best overall. It doesn't have a music scene like Jamaica. Or scenery like St. Lucia or Jamaica. But the water and beaches compare to Anguilla, Aruba and Cancun. Food was very good everywhere. Off shore snorkeling was very good and easy to get to. The people were marvelous , intelligent and friendly. We had a super time and will definitely go back again. OCW has great rooms, nice landscaping and a nice staff. They gave us a package over the internet of 3 dinners, lunches and breakfasts along with drinks, two day car rental and a $25 gift certificate on the property. We liked that better than an all inclusive in that we could try other restaurants. Also we had the choice of going to the Ocean Club restaurants and the ability to use their facilities. Mike

Hi Mike! The information you shared has been very helpful. My husband and I will be in Provo for 2 1/2 days. We will have limited time as we are scheduled for dives on two days. We should be returning to our hotel each day by 2pm. Could you recommend a couple of "don't miss" activities and/or sights?
Thanks for your time!

I would go to Hemingways at the Sands for drinks, sunset and dinner. The next night Mango Reef in RWI for dinner then to Anacoana at the Grace Bay Resort for a cocktails. 2 PM makes it hard to take a tour or boating excursion. Bugaloos is a ways to go but a fun spot. This island doesn't have much for Caribbean music. You could rent a hobie and sail. Kayaking is fun but may be a little exhausting. Parasailing? Sailboarding? They are offered up and down the beach. Walking the beach is fun, looking at people and the different resorts. The new Renaissance Resort has a great pool. A drink at the golf course Club house over looking the 18th is scenic. There is no downtown or sorts. The Bamboo Art Gallery or Anna's Gallery are small but interesting. Mike

Just to ease the mosquito fears - left The Sands 5/23 and didn't have any problem with them the week we were there. Maybe one bite and I wasn't even wearing bugspray at night. Maybe I'm just not a mosquito lure but I don't think other people were bothered much either. The earlier crop of them must've come and gone...

They told us they don't have a problem when we were there but they were bad. I have seen people who were there before and after us say they didn't have a problem so maybe we were there at an unfortunate time. I know we weren't "anal" about this because we saw people moving indoors at the Gecko Grille and at other places swatting away at the little buggers. Off was sold out at IGA the whole time we were there and all off the restaurants had it readily available and out on the tables. Cuba Bella had citronella buckets lit up under our table. Most of the resorts had screened in lanais which suggest bugs. I have never been anywhere in the tropics (Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico, Southern Europe, or South pacific where the majority of hotels or resorts have screened in decks. Would I go back --TOMMORROW!!!!

I was in TCI the last week of April into the first week of May...and the mosquitos were horrible!!!! I got eaten alive. Absolutely the worst part of the vacation; however, did find comfort in knowing that it is not like that all the time.
The mosquitos will not keep me from returning to TCI...already starting to think when can we go next?