First, thanks to all the Fodorites who helped make our trip the Turks and Caicos
a phenomenal vacation. We used a lot of the knowledge we gathered from the posts. Here?s a trip report to assist others who are planning to go.

A little about us; my wife and I are in our 30?s and 40?s respectively. We enjoy resorts vs. roughing it and look forward to enjoying local cuisine and activities.

We stayed at the Royal West Indies in an oceanfront studio. Our first room was 114 but moved when a third floor unit became available. Both were gorgeous. On the first floor we viewed vegetation to sand to beach. The third floor view was more panoramic. Personally I prefer the top floor. Also there are less mosquitoes the higher you go (more on bugs later).

I?ve read others say the views from other buildings are the same as ocean front and I don?t agree. While you could get an excellent view of parts of the ocean from the top floors of other buildings it?s a gamble. The only building that parallels the ocean is the ocean-front. The farther back you go the more that?s in the way. In addition, there are two one-bedroom and three studios per floor, so the alternate best-option rooms go quick. Each building is at an angle so they maximize the view as much as possible but even so, I think the money is well spent the get the best view possible. The grounds and beach are amazing. There?s snorkeling gear, beach towels, water wings and other beach gear available. There?s not much to see in terms of snorkeling but the beach is beautiful, white talc-like sand and clear water aqua blue water right off the beach. As a bonus the hotel has two Hobie?s available for the guests. You can sign up for a 45 minute block of time. There?s tons of wind out in the bay so novice sailors like me can have a blast. They also have bikes available to check out.

I?ve seen where people wrote noise was a problem and we didn?t have that experience. I sometimes heard a Jimmy Buffet-type singer entertain in the late afternoon but that was it. For us the noise was never a problem. The washer/dryer and refrigerator in the room was an excellent deal. The hotel provides little boxes of soap powder for your laundry needs. We will definitely stay at RWI again.

We never ate at Mango?s, the hotel restaurant but we often munched at the bar. The food there was always good, especially the conch (rhyme?s with bonk) fingers. Our first night we ate at Coco?s, right down the road from the hotel. We had a sadly interesting experience. The restaurant is in a beautiful setting, surrounded by romantically lit palms. When we arrived we were one of three couples. I noticed the other diners swatting mosquitoes on their skin. I?m not usually bugged by bugs but as soon as I sat down they started to feast. Soon the restaurant started fill up and the scene was straight out of a National Lampoon movie as diners were swatting the bugs on then and their table. Soon the proprietor, Eve, came around and showed us the ten cans of ?OFF? he placed in the center flower pot. He explained the island, like other Caribbean islands, are having an early rainy season and that activated the mosquito population. Soon the place was a haze of ?OFF? as everyone sprayed. I felt bad for Eve but I?ll never eat there again. As a note the food was Ok, not great and was moderately priced. We also ate at Calico Jacks, where on Friday night they had reggae music. The food was good and the band fun. Danny Bouy?s is an Irish pub/sports bar. OK pub food. Bambooz had ok food and moderately priced. My wife defined the décor as sports bar meets Miami nouveau with big screen TV?s amidst the bright red/yellow décor. The best food, by far was at The TiKi Hut at Turtle Bay. The Wednesday chicken and rib special was excellent. We also lunched there and both the French Dip and Mahi-Mahi wrap were great. Joan is the hostess and if you let her know in advance shell take good care of you. One other word of advice; there?s a restaurant section in the free magazine given out at most tourist locations. In the front of that section is a day-by-day breakdown of restaurant specials. If you see something call and make sure that special is really going on that day. Along with two other couples (hi Kathleen, Bob, Tim and Cheryl) we went to ?Hole in the Wall? for the Tuesday night seafood buffet. We arrived after a $25 cab ride we arrive to find out they decided not to have it that night. The normal food, lots of jerk chicken and pork, fried fish only appealed to half of us. And the food while tasty to me is an acquired taste, not for the adventurous.

Speaking of cabs, you cab everywhere. Most rides coast ten dollars each way, as long as you stay along the main restaurant/hotel road. We rented a car on the last day from ?Provo Fun Cycle?. It was a little four door. It cost $36 per day and was well worth it. When we return I?d definitely rent for two or three days. With our car we cruised to Chalk Sound and did other sight seeing.

While we were there we planned to do one or two resort dives but because of the water and the excellent instruction and planning by Dive Provo we ended up doing three dives. We?ve taken resort dives before and this was by far the best. A resort dive is where you get morning instruction in a pool then go to the ocean in the afternoon. You don?t need to do the pool dive if you decide to go again, later in the trip. The instructors, Lynn and Debbie were excellent. They?ll tell you what kinds of fish you saw and take you to little underwater crevices. We saw huge lobster, turtles and all sorts of colorful fish. You never go deeper than 40 feet so the light is really good. The boat staff was excellent also; Sam, Jules and Chris help you with your gear and generally make sure all is well. The other thing I?d highly suggest is the all-day sail with Sail Provo. That?s something we planned to do once and did twice. They sail a 52 foot sailboat to your beach to pick you up. Then you sail to Iguana Island (seen one seen them all) for a brief tour and then to a reef where you snorkel for an hour. They pick up anchor and sail to Fort George Cay (pronounced key). They feed you lunch then let you gather shell?s, of which there are a zillion. The water there is amazingly clear and there?s a sand bar that has ankle deep water that extends 50 yards into the surf. Truly fantastic. On the way back you stop again to snorkel. Skippers Jay and Dave seem to know where the best off-shore reefs are so they sail up-tide and let the anchor out and let you drift back. The crew, Chris and Natoo help with all the gear. Along with the lunch there?s soda and water and rum punch for the guests. If you go bring water socks (rubber booties) to make walking on shells easier. If you book in advance they?ll give you a ten percent discount. We also took the Glow Worm sail and that?s something I could have done without. The Glow Worms only come out during certain times of the month, right after the full moon. The sail starts before sunset, which you sail out to watch, then come back to see the Glow Worms. The problem is the Glow Worms start floating from near the mangrove forest. As you approach you swear you can hear the mosquitoes starting their engines. I counted fifteen bites when I got back to the hotel.

Other tidbits include food prices. The hotel has a shuttle to the IGA ($20 for two people), which I found was no great shakes. The food there was generally just a little more expensive than back home (San Diego).The beer prices, however, were a stunner. A six-pack of Heineken was $13 while a six-pack of Coors light was $14, so it was go Dutch all week. While we had the car we went to local grocery store and I thought that was a better place to shop.

We went snorkeling at Coral Gardens, which has a reef right off the beach. The snorkeling there was fantastic. We made sure we bought lunch and water there and the employees were very appreciative as many people just come and use the facilities. Ricardo is the head security guy and he said most people ask to use stuff and never say thanks. A little politeness helps.

That?s it for now, kind of long I know, if you have questions don?t hesitate.

Thanks for the great report. We were there earlier this year and plan on going back. As we too were shocked at the beer prices, where was the local grocery store you went to, and was the beer less expensive there than the IGA?
Thanks.

I'm planning a trip to Provo in September and I was wondering if the main highway construction is done yet. We were there Sept. 2003 and they were working on it. I think it's called Leward Highway-but not sure of the name. The IGA is on it. Where is the "local grocery store"? Would it be worth shopping there instead of the IGA?

Gin and Shirleyk; We stopped at two smaller stores but never bought beer as the frig was already stocked. The first was called 7-11 strangely enough. Of course it was nothing like our local 7-11. It's a small market located on the IGA highway, on the other side of the road. It's about two miles before the IGA. It's the end store of three stores in a long white build. The prices were less expensive than IGA. I bought Crackers, a couple large bottles of Gatorade and a can of Pringles for about $11, which I'm, pretty sure was less expensive than IGA. The second was a nicer, more local store, bigger with lots of locals. It said "GROCERY STORE" on the sign and is set back about 70 yards off the main road. It's more like what we see here. We stopped to check it out and buy water. It's on the same side of the road as the IGA but miles closer to town. My sense was this is where the locals shopped. As we cruised around I noticed several other stores, including a "Price Club" along the road. It made we wonder if the IGA didn't have some sort of sweetheart deal with the resorts.
The road construction is still going on, although there's a large portion of highway completed. Most of it is pretty nice.
We found out what really bad roads are when we drove to Chalk Sound. The first road we took was horrendous, a real rollar coaster ride. We took the way back on the parallel road and it was much better. But the one road that leads to the end of Chalk Sound is bad.
When we return we'll rent a car for at least the first couple day and cruise arounnd to do our shopping. At twenty dollars per trip not paying for the the shuttle from RWI almost made the car pay for itself. By-the-way the car price at Provo Fun Cycle was reduced (probably because of off-season) to $36 per day plus a one-time $15 fee. That was for a four door not the Jeep.

Thanks for the trip report. We went to RWI in May, and are planning on going back in November.

Interesting about the mosquitos, when we went, we hardly saw any. I know I wouldn't have appreciated eating a meal in a fog of Off.

We thought the shuttle was a pretty good deal compared to $50 for a car. Most of the rest of the time we walked places.

We also did the all day tour with Sail Provo and had a great time. And we were there for the glow worms, and had to do it at least once. We up at the front on the nets, and after seeing the worms for a while, just layed back on the net and watched the stars. It was pretty relaxing... so we got a sunset sail, the glow worms and just laying back watching the stars. Not a bad night.

Good idea to call ahead and make sure the special is on at the various restaurants.

Thanks again for the info... very handy for planning our next trip there.

Ken

If you stay at The Sands, the shuttle to the IGA is $8. Shuttle to restaurants is $5 round trip around Grace Bay and $8 further out.

ktebe, We will be arriving at Provo on July 2 and staying at the Sands at Grace Bay. This will be our first time in Turks and Caicos. My husband found a car for $199 for the week and we were wondering if this would be worth it.

Thanks.

jake11,
as I only rented the one day from one place I can't accurately comment on a lot of car rental places. The one thing that was important though, Provo Fun Cycle was very close to the RWI (and the Sands, also). The whole process of getting picked up, taken to PFC and taking off with the car took 20 minutes. Personally I would spend a little extra money not to be shuttled back and forth to an airport rental location. That total trip could take 60-90 minutes.
PFC prices had gone down for the off-season, $35 per day for the 4-door and $55 for a jeep, plus a one-time $15 fee. I can also vouch the car was a nice four door with excellent airconditioning. It was no hassle which I appreciate.
If your going to explore you really need a jeep. Definitly.
Maybe you could call PFC and get a better week price. I got a sense it wasn't their peak season. Their number is (I have the brochure) 649 946 5868.
Good luck.

Thanks for such a great report. We will be going to T&C for the first time in December and staying at Point Grace. Did you have the chance to see that small resort and if so what did you think? We are going with our teens who will be 15 & 18. I'm hoping that there will be other teens if not at the resort then nearby. Any comments, anyone?

Sorry, I'm not much help. The only resorts I really saw was RWI and Coral Gardens when we went snorkeling their.
Unfortunately we never saw a lot of teens as visitors. Lots of teens and early 20's working as crew, etc. You see them a lot at Danny Bouy's after hours.
As long as they like water sports there's so much to do it's hard to imagine they won't have a great time

Thanks for the report on T &C. We will be staying at RWI at the end of August. How far is Coral Gardens? Can you walk there? Can you just walk onto the property and use the beach for snorkeling? Is there a place there to eat or do you recommend bringing along your own food? Thanks

Very long walk from RWI to Coral Gardens--Probably about 3 miles. Better off driving. There is an access road (Penns Road) next to Coral Gardens where you can park and walk down a path to the beach and reef. There is a beach side restaurant/bar at Coral Gardens

I agree with Howard, it's a trek from RWI to CG. Not unwalkable but I wouldn't want to walk back after snorkeling. A cab cost $20 one-way, including tip, if memory serves. Seems it's a $20 cab ride to most everywhere as there are no meters and it sort of catch as catch can. I'll rent a car next time we're there.
The staff at the bar/restaurant was exceptional but the food was only so-so. I heard the more formal dining facility had great food. I'd bring a backpack with food, if it was doable but still try to purchase a little something from the bar as good will. They really appreciate it. So much so that after I bought lunch they came to the beach and said I could use CG's beach chairs that are reserved for guests only, as long as were chairs enough for their guests. It was amazing the number of people who snubbed the hotel after asking to use the facilities. Be sure to check out their brochure. The penthouses looked AMAZING. Three glass walls for a phenominal view. Kind of pricy, though.

to vkb2: You had a question about teens at the Point Grace. I have stayed next door at The Sands four times so I have walked by Point Grace often. I see very few people at all on the beach at Point Grace, and definitely no teens. But I have not been inside or at the pool, so maybe someone who has been there can respond. As I'm sure you're aware, Point Grace is one of the most expensive resorts on the island, so would not usually be a choice for families. It is also a small resort, so less people generally. The Sands is family oriented as seems to be Ocean Club and RWI, though I have never seen either of those two places.