Just back from a weeks stay on Turks and Caicos (The Sands). Hope the following info. will be helpful to other travelers as this board was a big help to us!

Overall, the Sands was a lovely place for our family (two teens and a 9 year old in tow). We rented a 3 bedroom oceanfront deluxe condo which was perfect (room 3206). I can't imagine there's a better room on the property. The screened in porch was HUGE -- like having a separate living room on the beach! There was also a private porch area off the master bedroom and a separate, private porch off one of the bedrooms. The main porch area was so large it looked directly out onto the Caribbean and the pool as well. A beautiful, panoramic view all the way around!

The beach at The Sands is also picture perfect. For families, it's a perfect mix: not crowded, but not desolate. There are hobie cats and kayaks to use free of charge. Other water activities such as parasailing, banana boating and general cruises (sailing, snorkel charters, etc.) will also pick you up at the beach right in front of The Sands. If you plan on jet skiing, however, that is done at Leeward Marina, about a 10 minute drive away ($89 per hour unguided, gas not included and staying within a certain boundry; $139 guided with gas,and a much better ride). The Sands has a small "Activities" booth at the pool, so booking various outings is very simple. We booked a private beach cruise/snorkel charter with J&B Tours which was out of this world!!! Heading out to Shell Island was paradise, and we've been to many beautiful Caribbean beaches. This particular stretch of water and sand is now #1 on our list. This practically deserted stretch of beach is simply breathtaking. Our captain, Sean, was also fantastic. Once we pulled up on shore, there wasn't a single soul anywhere. Miles and miles of the most crystal clear water and white powder sand we've ever seen. My husband walked out about 50 yeards (a sandbar makes this possible), dove in and brought up a beautiful conch shell; a gorgeous sting ray floated right by us. The only thing you could hear was the ripple of the waves hitting the shore. The beach is filled with millions of shells as far as the eye can see. If you're looking for that beach you always see in the magazines, this is it!

The island itself is much as eveyone has mentioned on this board: very flat and arid. You definitely go for the water; the island itself is nothing much to look at (not being mean here, just preparing other travelers). We've been to Jamaica, the Caymans, USVI, BVI's, Cabo, Hawaii, etc. and T&C is probably the least attractive as far as inland sights go, but that water is wonderful!

Speaking of....I personally think all the new construction on Grace Bay probably takes away from the beauty that once was, at least when walking along the small street behind the resorts in this area. Walking along the beach itself is fine; the construction didn't detract from the beach area, and surprisingly, i never really heard much construction noise at all as I walked this lovely stretch of beach, but streeside it made a difference, IMHO. It was amazing the number of tourists who were down there discussing investment opportunites. Seems everyone wants a piece of T&C! In 3 years, this will be a much different island. The upcoming developments i read about every day were jaw dropping. Such as...

The Leeward Marina (where most charters such as Silver Deep, jet skiis, etc. are located) has a Jimmy Buffet feel right now. It's very quaint down there, rather simple. However, i read in 2 years, this will be long gone. Huge, upscale condos, boutiques, restaurants and even a cosmetic surgery center 0) are already planned. Good for some, i suppose, but not what we look for in our Caribbean vacations.

Overall, T&C at this point in time is still what i consider to be a sleepy little island compared to others we've been to (but i'm sure not so sleepy anymore to those who've been visiting for years!), but that's what makes it stand apart. The cab drivers will still wait for you while you shop; you can't NOT relax because there is literally nothing else to do but enjoy that fabulous water. Our two teenagers DID enjoy themselves despite the lack of activity, which is saying something! They rank T&C in the middle of the pack of islands we've been to. They might have preferred a little more to do (more shops to visit to buy souvenirs, more natural island sights, etc.), but they absolutely loved the water. Our 9 year old thought the water and shelling was fabulous. Perfectly content.

Don't want to reiterate much about restaurants. Pretty much as everyone had commented. The $$$$ restaurants are Coyaba, Bella Luna, Grace's Cottage and Anacona. We ate at Coyaba and Bella Luna. For 5 of us, the bill was mid $300's at both. Pay attention to gratuities. At most nice restaurants, there is already a 10-15% tip already included. The food at Coyaba was fabulous, but the atmosphere a bit pretentious (and we like nice restaurants). Then again, we had kids in tow so that makes a difference. We LOVED Gecko Grille. Good food, great service. Our waiter, Anthony was a riot, so that also made a difference. Tiki Hut is great for families. Very nice setting on the water at Turtle Cove. We also loved Baci just around the corner at Turtle Cove. Very sad we couldn't get reservations at Magnolia (up the hill, panoramic view at Turtle Cove). Everyone we talked to said it was their favorite. Some decent restaurants in the Salt Mill and Ports of Call area just down the road from The Sands (10 minute walk), but when i'm on an island, i hate eating at places not on the water or at least with a view or nice setting. These two areas are basically small, stip mall areas, and while perfectly fine, not my first choice. Just a personal thing.

The roads are as everyone says: bad After a rain, there are pot holes big enough to swallow a hummer! But, the island is small so it never takes long to get anywhere. We took cabs, for the most part. $2.50 per person to the Salt Mill area (we usually walked); $4.00 per person to other resort areas like Coral Gardens or the IGA supermarket; $8.00 per person if you wanted to go to Bugaloo's, 1 way! Don't have much of an opinion about the Gecko shuttle. It never arrived when we needed it to, so we usually just got a cab. The front desk at the Sands (where cabs show up), will call one for you anytime you need one.

Other resort comments, for what they're worth: The Palms: from the beach, i thought "what's the big deal?" I then walked up to the pool area and entryway and 'got it.' Very luxurious, but very desolate. Practically no one there. We talked to a couple staying there and they said it was great, but felt like they were the only ones there. It has a sort of Miami Beach/very hip feel. I wasn't that thrilled about their beach location. New construction next door (though not much noise from what i could tell), and not that far from an open public beach area (even though all beaches in T&C are public). The pool area, however, is phenomenal, and i'm sure the rooms are superb.

Coral Gardens: All i can say is, it seemed very dated to all of us. We almost booked Coral Gardens and i was glad we didn't after i saw it. We went there to snorkel and the staff were very rude. I called in advance to see if we could rent snorkel equipment, telling them we were guests at The Sands. The person on the phone was very nice and said, "of course!" When we got there, what a different story! The snorkel room was closed, and when someone finally decided to help us, he was less than happy to hear we weren't staying there. Normally, i would understand this because guests of Coral Gardens SHOULD get preferential treatment; but since i had called in advance and spent the money to take a cab there, his snotty attitude was a bit offsetting. Oh well!

Point Grace: Beautiful! It sits next to The Sands, but there is open property between the two resorts, so it's not directly next door. I walked around the pool area and just loved the place. It, too, seemed rather vacant compared to The Sands (i only saw 2 people on the beach), and probably isn't quite as family friendly as The Sands, but nonetheless, it seems to be a wonderful property.

Beaches: NOT MY THING! very crowded beach, dozens and dozens of lawn chairs (if not more) lined up in a row, lots of noise and activity everywhere, but if that's what you're looking for, i'm sure it's great. We talked to a few people staying there and they really liked it. To each his own!

Before i forget...Sunday's on the island seem to be the "down" day. Lots of things closed so keep that in mind.

Bugs: pesky little bugs called 'no see 'ems' that are almost transparent, but are everywhere if you leave any crumbs on your porch, etc. Not sure if they're sand bugs or what, but by the end of the week, i was ready to be rid of them!

One last thing about The Sands: Hemingway's (the restaurant on the property) is such a beautiful spot at night. Palm trees lit with white lights, candles on tables, directly on the beach next to the pool....it makes for a perfect setting. From our porch, we could see it to our left, and the dull hum of people enjoying their evening while i could hear the waves in front of me was sooooo relaxing. Just a perfect little spot which gave flavor to the resort.

Sorry this is so long! If anyone has any questions feel free to ask. Not sure if any of this helps, but i always got at least something out of the trip reports i read before we left! Enjoy T&C if you're heading that way...and hopefully hurricane Emily will stay out of your way

THanks for sharing such a detailed trip report. Sounds like The Sands and Provo were very good choices for your family.

Thanks for that detailed trip report. We're heading to Provo for the first time in one week. We have an 8-month-old baby. Although we're staying at a villa, and we plan to eat our breakfasts and lunches there, we do plan to venture out to a few restaurants for dinner in the evenings. Of the restaurants you mention (or others you don't mention), which ones are the most baby-friendly? By that I mean, if he starts crying in the middle of our meal and we have to take him away to comfort him, in which restaurants would that sort of thing be least disruptive to other patrons? Thanks.

Tiki Hut is very kid friendly. Hemmingways is outside beachside, so that one wouldn't be as disruptive either.

I agree...Tiki Hut, Hemmingway's and also Sharkbite are all fine with kids -- even if they start to cry! Coyaba is definitely out! Bella Luna might be fine...the place is very chopped up as far as rooms go (it used to be a private residence). It's also big enough that there are plenty of places for you to walk around with the baby away from actual dining tables (it sits on a large lot with a winding sidewalk out front on the property). Baci would be fine too. Since it's on Turtle Cover Marina, you can easily walk around the dock area if you need to duck away. We didn't get a chance to go to Bay Bistro (which was at the property next to the Sands), but since it sits directly on the beach at Grace Bay, you could always walk the beach if you needed a baby break. I hear it's a great restaurant. Hope this helps!

karenfg,

Very nice, informative trip report. Bella Luna sure looks inviting, but when I stopped by there, they said they didn't allow children under 12. Oh well.

Again, thanks for reporting back.

Enoyed your report - it brought back fond memeories of our stay at The Sands! We really loved the place -- especially Hemingways - Korna the bartender was a lot of fun!

I, too, enjoyed your report. We spent a week at the Sands (without kids) in the summer of 2003. Agree on Gecko Grill, we had a terrific meal there and not too expensive (the one downside of T&C is it's pricey). Tiki Hut was fun and a real bargain, I think they had a $10 meal or something like that, a one night/week special. Hemingways was fine and easy to do. We rented a jeep and drove around. We found several deserted beaches, including one on the western end which had the ruins of tiki huts used in a French TV game show in the 80s (or so we were told). We, too, couldn't believe anyone would stay at Beaches. Strange that the beach there was so crowded ... and all you had to do was venture 25 yards away and you had a big chunk of sand to yourself. Maybe someday we'll return with our kids.
--Kate

I loved your trip report! We became hooked on the area back in 2003 when we took that same day trip with Sean to that same desolate area for shells and sand dollars. So glad you enjoyed your vacation!

your trip report was very helpful! Thanks!!

Thanks for the trip report! My husband and I plan on going there in November and we've convinced some friends to come along. None of us have children and really don't want a lot of yelling and screaming on vacation. You said that the Sands was "family friendly". I've asked this question before of other people, so I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself. Were there tons of children running around? Were there quiet couples at the hotel keeping to themselves? We like the look of the Sands and the price is right for us also. Would we be foolish to go there?

In our opinion, The Sands is ideal with OR without children. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to someone looking for a very relaxed, quiet vacation spot sans children. Even though there were other families around the resort, it was always very quiet and laid back--day and night. The complex is spread out enough and the beach so long and lovely that we never had to worry about others being too close or too loud (and no one was loud even if we WOULD have been close to them!). We literally had water and sand pretty much to ourselves anytime we wanted it. I'm a very picky traveler (we typically rent private villas) and did extensive research before i booked The Sands. While the condos aren't out of this world luxurious, they are certainly very, very nice, and the stretch of beach at The Sands combined with the ambiance of Hemmingway's is a super combination. The only other resort I saw that caught my eye more was Point Grace, but i believe the Sands is a better property for the money. Good luck!

Great trip report.. Thanks so much for following up your trip with very helpful info. The shell island excursion sounds really nice. Was there snorkeling on that trip as well? Thanks again for all the info.

yes, we did a snorkel stop on the trip to shell island. There is a huge reef straight out from Grace Bay with some good snorkeling. The excursion started at the Leeward Marina where we picked up our passes to head over to Iguana Island. That little trip only lasted about 20 minutes but was fun for our 9 year old. From there, we headed out to the reef and snorkeled for about 45 minutes. We then boated to Shell Island which to me, was the most incredible part of the trip. Boating right along the shoreline to get to Shell Island was spectacular; the most breathtaking, unspoiled beach scenery I've seen. Even though there is very little to do on T&C and the island itself lacks any kind of scenery, the trip to Shell Island was truly phenomenal. I highly recommend it to anyone going to Provo!

Did you happen to see Villa Renaissance?
It isn't as big as the Sands Resort - Doesn't have restaurant I realized but was
interested in hearing more about it.

Villa Ren. was a few properties to the east of the Sands and it looked nice. I never walked around the resort though so can't give any details. It's very close to the Salt Mill area (right across the street, although the resorts sit pretty far back in off the road so it's not directly behind). It would be very convenient to walk to Salt Mill stores/restaurants from that property. Someone on this board posted some good info on that Villa Ren. prior to our booking our trip. I know she loved it. Sorry i don't have much more info than that!