I want to first thank everyone for their previous posts that helped us plan our first trip to the Caribbean and to Provo. Everyone’s posts were quite helpful and I hope that my comments will be equally as helpful.

Monday –

The US Airways flight from Charlotte to Provo arrived a head of schedule and boy was the view coming down to the island absolutely amazing! I have never seen so many shades of blue AND green! It took us about 20 minutes to go through customs and took a taxi to the Royal West Indies [about a 15 minute cab ride]. When you are in the airport definitely pick up the latest edition of “When Where How Tourist Guide”. It will be quite helpful when you want to decide what to you with your week in paradise! It was sort of chaotic when you get out of the airport with so many people around and the way they have the taxi system established was also a bit hectic. But hey, you are in paradise so we started enjoying our first trip to the Caribbean right then!

The roads in Provo are okay. There are some smooth paved ones and some that are not. The cab ride to the Royal West Indies went fine, a bit bumpy, but fine. As we were in the van [taxi] headed to RWI, we took notice of how desert like the island really is. It is not lush at all, but it sure did make up for what we were about to see from our balcony!

Pulling up to RWI was simply incredible! I feel like we went from a dry desert like environment to a lush tropical garden! As we were being shown to our room, the bellhop showed us the beautiful grounds and told us where everything was [pools, bar, beach access etc.]. When we entered our room, I almost fell over because of the incredible view we had from our balcony – an ocean front view for the next 7 nights, we definitely got used to that amazing view!

We then decided to go to IGA to stock up on breakfast and lunch items, although we did bring some items with us. So, we went to the main lobby and purchased 7-day passes for the GECKO. We ended up waiting a good 45 minutes for the shuttle to come, but the rest of the week it usually came within twenty minute [more on this later]. From previous posts, I was ready for sticker shock when I would see the food prices, but things were not that outrageous. As other contributors to the form posted, if you can buy the IGA brand of the item you want, you can save a few bucks. It is a great supermarket and has everything you need [even the lime tostidos we wanted!] even beer and liquor, so that you don’t have to make too many trips to other stores. My first recommendation to anyone planning to stay on Provo, but a lot of bottled water. Not because you can’t drink the water, but it is just easier to bring the bottles of water along with you anywhere.

The Rest of the Week –

We didn’t eat out too much, since we had an oceanfront view from our balcony [we could pass up that view every night?]. But we did have dinner at Sharkbite, Hemmingway’s, Calico Jack’s, and Mango Reef. All were great! Sharkbite, which is located in the Turtle Cove Marina, was great! We ate outside on the deck and watched the beautiful sunset and the boats that were coming in for the evening. It was fun and they had great burgers! Hemmingway’s was absolutely wonderful! We had live music on the Thursday night when we went for dinner. We ordered the conch fritters, which were out of this world! It was also displayed beautifully in a conch shell as well! We both ordered the shrimp pasta, which was delicious, very rich, but delicious. Of course since we were on vacation, I had to order dessert and decided on the key lime pie, very tasty and refreshing! Dinner at Calico Jack’s was ok. I was a bit disappointed with the conch fritters [I guess I was expecting something similar to Hemmingway’s fritters, nope, I guess I was wrong] and the sandwiches we ordered were a bit dry. But, later on that Friday night at Calico Jacks, that’s when the party got started! It was a great atmosphere to kick back and enjoy some drinks and live music with a great group of people! Finally on our last evening we went to Mango Reef and I was so happy to have saved the best and most romantic evening for last. We ordered a bottle of wine with conch canepolli [sp] as an appetizer. The hot appetizer was sort of like crepes with conch stuffed inside and baked with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. They were absolutely delicious. For the main course, I ordered the seafood risotto! I definitely made the right choice! The creamy tomato herb sauce they used was wonderful and the fish, scallops, shrimp, etc, were all so fresh. I think it is one of the best meals I have ever eaten! My husband ordered the seafood alfredo and he also enjoyed that immensely! I must say that service at each of the restaurants was excellent. The staff, waiters, waitresses, and bartenders in each of the above places were quite friendly and took care of us very well. Please keep in mind that some restaurants do include the gratuity already when they present you with the bill, so look carefully.

My husband and I played a round of golf at Provo’s only golf course. It was quite hot that day and quite windy as well. The course is beautiful and has much wildlife there. The course is short and tight, but well worth playing, if you have the time!

We also made the trip down to Coral Gardens from RWI! It was great! Yes, we did walk there and back, it was a heck of a walk [about 40-45 minutes], but well worth it, because of the view obviously! The ocean was a bit rough that day, so we were afraid to venture out too far, but it was a great adventure. We saw all sorts of tropical fish and even a stingray! On the way back from Coral Gardens, we decided to stop at the Bay Bistro for lunch – it was delicious and it had the best view of the Grace Bay! As we took this walk to and from, we checked out the many other resorts that are situated along Grace Bay. From what we saw, we were quite pleased with our choice to stay at RWI. First of all, the stretch of beach in front of RWI, is quite wide, therefore you do not seem piled up on top of the person next to you. During our stay, we did not feel that there were that many people on the beach anyway, maybe twenty at the most. Each day we even played frisbee in the ocean and that is how much room and space we had at RWI. When we went down to the Beaches area, it was quite crowded! There were beach chairs piled up high and there were so many people on the beach and in the ocean, you could not frolic in the ocean as much. Also, there seemed as if there were more reefs down by Beaches that at RWI. The pool-like ocean water at RWI seemed to go out to the horizon with the softest sand right under your feet! Beaches is mainly geared for families and seems like a great place for children, not really so much geared for honeymooners. In addition, there are quite a few construction projects that are taking root along Grace Bay. I am sure they will be gorgeous places in the end, but that means more people will find out about this Caribbean jewel! How unfortunate for the rest of us who already know about Provo.

Speaking of stingrays, right in front of RWI, we spotted a stingray and we were only in thigh high water! It was amazing and we also saw two starfish as well! Later on in the week, my husband spotted the infamous “Jo Jo” the dolphin! I have been to Hawaii, and I have never seen such beautiful lusciously colored waters ever! The many shades of blue and green were always amazing to see from our balcony and every morning walking on that soft as butter sand to get to the ocean are things we will never truly forget! Every evening after a beautiful day in the glowing sun, we would enjoy our own happy hour with an unbelievable view from our balcony and just enjoy life! The many sunsets were quite amazing to view though, mainly because each night the sky looked completely different. We took many beautiful pictures of these sunsets.

Overall the weather was absolutely perfect! We arrived on a Monday and we had blissful sunshine everyday up until Saturday, when we had a partly cloudy day. Sunday we had some showers around noon, but cleared up within an hour or so and we were back on the beach! But when showers do come in, make sure you have your camera ready! The sky as a backdrop to the beautifully colored water made for phenomenal pictures!

Overall, it was trip we will never forget! From the evening walks on the beach, to the wonderful restaurants and meals we enjoyed, to the happy hours on our balcony and wonderful conversations, to the welcoming and friendliness of everyone we met, Provo will be forever in our memory for a lifetime to come!

I would be happy to entertain any questions that you may have!

Nice report, thank you.

thanks so much for your report! we leave for our first trip to T&C in 11 days. Can't wait! We'll be staying at The Sands with 2 teens and our 9 year old. One question: Is the Sands close to Beaches? I know it's centrally located but hope it isn't next door. The Beaches atmosphere is just too much for us. Curious if there's much construction around the resort also. Thanks again for all the info!

hello karenfg -

the sands is not close to beaches - so you will enjoy a bit more quiteness and relaxation! there is some construction happening all along grace bay, but not directly next door to the sands, if i recall correctly. i hope this helps! have a great vacation - you and your family will love it!

We've been to Provo twice -- 1st stay at CCW and then at The Sands. Greatest beach and water we have ever seen.
Thanks for your excellent report.

Hi, Thanks so much for your report! We are not going untill next year but I keep scouting the reports for helpful info. Thanks. Did you do much snorkeling?

hello barginhunter -

we did not too much snorkeling, but there are a lot of areas on the island to do that if you wish - i just could not take my eyes of the water from my beach chair to do much of anything!

Thanks so much for your input. We are looking to go next June, how did you find the weather this time of year? Thanks once again..

hello barginhunter -

i thought the weather was just right - a tad hot, but i love the summer so it didn't bother me. however, it was a bit too hot for my husband. it was in the upper 80s with a light breeze. hope this helps!

Thanks for the great trip report. Which side of the plane did you sit on to see the water when you were coming in to the island?

hello travelenthusiast!

i believe we sat on the right hand side of the plane - great view coming in!