My wife and I recently vacationed on Providenciales which is the most developed island in the archipelago. TCI is located about 575 miles southeast of Miami; its closest neighbors are Haiti and Cuba. The land itself is primarily flat limestone that resembles a cross between a limestone quarry and a desert.

Sounds attractive - huh? Why did we pick TCI?
1. Grace Bay Beach
2. Awesome water
3. Awesome weather in February
4. Low crowds (for now)
5. Easy flight from Indy

Now that we are back - How did it measure up?
TCI was exactly what we expected. The beaches were phenomenal; the water was gin clear and free from “floaties” and “ick”. The weather was mostly sunny with a few poofy clouds for character, and the crowds were light. We caught ourselves staring at the water trying to figure out how it could be so beautiful. It just didn’t look real! The palate of colors displayed on TCI is like no other. The range of blue and turquoise colors was unlimited.

Our room at the Alexandra was very nice, clean and conveniently located. We went through vrbo.com and found alex3303.com. We were very impressed with the responsiveness of the owner to our questions, etc. There was considerable construction going on 2/2007 and I’d expect that to remain the case for several months. The noise didn’t bother us since we were out and about most of the day. The noise from the beach was minimal, while the noise from the pool was considerable. We attempted to eat lunch at the on-site restaurant (Orchid) one day and left after waiting 15 minutes for a menu.

Snorkeling right from the beach was one of the most memorable moments of the trip. A 15-20 minute walk from the Alexandra is Bight Reef. By far the best “free” snorkeling that we have ever done. The coral is amazing as is the fish life. I was genuinely surprised to see so much life that close to shore. Eagle rays, turtles, barracuda, brain coral, etc., etc. More later.

Hits
Great snorkeling from the beach
Water is amazing
Beach is clean and gorgeous
Eco kayak tour with Big Blue
People at Big Blue (Donnie, Mark, Paul, 3 ladies)
Room Alex3303.com
Fried Conch from Barefoot Cafe (Jimmy’s Dive Bar)
Jerk chicken Wrap from Barefoot Cafe
Lamb from Caicos Cafe
Chocolate cake from Caicos Cafe
Grilled lobster from Smokey’s ($22)
Turks Head Beer
Crab Wantons from Coco Bistro (good but 4 for $13)
Atmosphere at Coco Bistro Restaurant was over the top
Bella Luna Restaurant

Based on our research we were aware of 2 things that had the potential of detracting from the perfect vacation. The amount of construction on the island is impressive for its diminutive size. Mid-rise condo/resort structures are going up like mad. There are a couple of main roads that are paved, but the side roads are primarily stone/dirt. In fact, the paved roads are relatively new. We were told that they were less than 3 years old. Some people call this progress while some declare that the island is being mined for its beauty. When the dust settles, all that will remain is a concrete coast devoid of anything indigenous.

The second expected deficiency was the food. While doing our research, we found as many people that were not satisfied by the food as there were rave reviews. Overall, the food was mediocre. There were some high points and some fairly low points. One thing’s for certain, food is expensive on the island. Oddly enough, some of our less expensive meals were much more satisfying than the so called gourmet places. More on the food later.

One unexpected disappointment was the fishing or more appropriately the fishing guide. I’ve been fishing since I was 5 years old. Mostly solo, but a fair amount of guided trips. I understand that there is nothing guaranteed when it comes to fishing. I hired a guide for their expert local knowledge of the targeted species, not simply a boat captain. AJ with Silver Deep was about 10% fishing guide and 90% boat operator. The entire experience with Silver Deep was disappointing and expensive. I made arrangements to fish with Arthur Dean and learned the morning of the trip that there were 2 Arthur Dean’s. Apparently, the father was unavailable; however his son AJ was available -surprise-.

Misses
Construction noise-dust, impact on island
Silver Deep charter Bonefish
Box lunch from Top of the Cove Deli ($50 for 2)
Price for food
Bay Bistro for Breakfast

Turks and Caicos Travelogue

Day one - Saturday
Travel day
TCI runway 1 strip – u-turn at the end
No paving, no signs around Avis

Dinner
Sharkbite, $63
Grouper sandwich and signature almond grouper
Conch fritters
Rum punch
Fair food quality
slow - laid back service

Day two – Sunday
beach - beach - beach
Bella Luna for dinner, $135 + tip
A glass of Chianti each and some flat water from Italy
Linguini Tuttomare - lobster and shrimp tossed in spicy marinara
Rizzeccho di Mare (special) - lobster, shrimp and Mahi in marinara
olives and pinenuts with a very tasty veggie medley
Delizia alla Banana per Due - Banana caramel pie

Day three – Monday
island touring via car
Chalk sound and Sapodilla Bay beach
snorkeling at Bight Reef - eagle ray, turtles
Tried to eat lunch at Orchid - Left after waiting 15 minutes with no recognition whatsoever
Dinner - Barefoot cafe – (Jimmy’s Dive Bar) $58
Conch fingers - awesome
Grouper sandwich
Jerk Chicken wrap - awesome
3 beers
Stars on the beach were amazing

Day four - Tuesday
Bonefishing trip with Silver deep
Box lunch rip off (wrap, chips, 1 cookie, granola bar, cole slaw 18.99 EACH)
Dinner - Da Conch Shack - $48
Cracked conch
3 rum punches

Day five - Wednesday
Island touring and photos
Smoothies at Smoothie Cafe at The Saltmills ($6 each)
Souvenirs at Mamma’s at Port of Call
Eco-tour via kayak with Big Blue – awesome
Dinner at Smokey’s on the Beach (thanks for the tip, Donnie!) $64
4 beers - lobster dinner ($22ea)
Ice cream at Island scoop - not bad, fairly cheap $3 each

Day six - Thursday
Island touring and photos - Long Bay Beach
Starfish, conch shells, The hole
Afternoon of snorkeling with Big Blue
Dinner, $150
Caicos Cafe - turned away from Coco bistro and Hemmingways (thanks again, Donnie)
3 drinks
Conch salad, Ceasar salad
Sea bass
Lamb
Chocolate walnut pie, flourless chocolate cake

Day seven - Friday
beach - beach - beach
breakfast at Bay Bistro, $26 - terrible
French toast - juice
Eggs, meat, English muffin, pancakes - juice
Snorkeling at Smith’s reef – (a little hard to find, looks like a construction site)
Descent for near shore
Sapodilla bay - not as nice as the first visit due to churned up water
Grace Bay beach to watch the sunset
Dinner - Coco Bistro, $160
3 drinks
Crab Wantons
Blackened mahi-mahi (NOTHING comes with this except a salsa)
Grilled lobster, rice, green beans
Chocolate crème brulee

Day eight - Saturday
Travel - long line to check-in, plane late - first flight, missed connection in Miami
Routed through Chicago - plane late - home around 9pm. Total about 7 hours later than
expected.

Overall impressions
Food at IGA and restaurants is very expensive
Bread, milk, beer (more than double from the States)
Service on a whole is ok, varies from place to place.
Some places have a $25 minimum for credit card usage (IGA, souvenirs)
Lots of construction
Water is unbelievable
Grace Bay Beach just edges out Siesta Key, FL
Rental car required (394 miles) $250 +taxes made the car $300 for the week (still cheaper than taking taxi everywhere)
Lots of road side trash; however, efforts are being made to clean it up
Dusty - due to lack of paved roads, construction, some commercial places
No paved drives/parking
Bugs were fine - tolerable and expected
Very little shopping
Mediocre food for the price
Tax and gratuity at restaurants – government tax 10% and sometimes the ‘service tax’ is included at 10-15%. We read this gratuity is shared with the kitchen, etc. so we
added more tip if the service was good. Not sure what the deal is with that.

Tips
Rent a car from Avis - 4×4 if you intend to go to NW point or do much exploring
Buy gallon jugs of water at IGA - bring sport bottle
Eat breakfast & lunch in room, splurge on dinner
Make reservations for the upscale joints
Use the map from the free real estate book and the dining guide to explore TCI. It included street names and made our navigating much easier

Would we go back? YES! We would definitely go back now that we know a little more about the place, food and how to get around. Remember to leave your watches at home; here, you don’t need them!