Life on the beach in Turks & Caicos

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“Happiness comes in waves,” Anonymous

With winter upon us and the temperatures outside close to record breaking cold all I can think about are the beautiful beaches of Turks and Caicos. The crystal-clear water, the perfect weather, and being on the beach.

We went to Turks and Caicos to escape the winter and were not disappointed. We booked a condotel (yeah, I didn’t know what that was either) but it was the perfect choice. The place had only a few rooms, which consisted of a separate bedroom, bathroom, living room and a full kitchen and private balcony. We were right on the bottom floor so you could step out from you room and see lizards scurrying and exotic birds preening their beautiful feathers. Oh, and I can’t forget our daily visitor, the stray cat. Sigh.

Turks and Caicos is beautiful but let me tell you it can get pricy. If you want a drink on the beach, expect it to cost around $18 USD per drink and dining out for two is easily $100 USD. However, if you stay in a condotel, or other hotel with a kitchen, you have the opportunity to save some money on at least some of the meals by cooking yourself (which is what we did). I’m not saying you have to do this for every meal because of course you want to experience the amazing seafood but it takes the edge off the budget a little to be able to eat breakfast and lunches in your room.

This island has a lot to offer and being the outdoorsy type of people that we are we wanted snorkeling and lots of it. We discovered that if you are willing to walk for it there was a beautiful reef right off the shore close to Turtle Bay. We were staying right in Providenciales, to have access to stores, restaurants and the action so Turtle Bay was about an hour walk on the beach, which was fine for us. The first time we took a taxi and it was kind of ridiculous. We walked back after our initial go and it made more sense to us to walk on the beach, enjoying the feel of the fine white sand between our toes, admiring the sheer beauty of it all and just taking our time, than giving lots of money to a taxi driver.

The snorkeling in this area is incredible, I wish that at the time of this trip we had our underwater camera so I could show you just how incredible it was. You enter the water and within a few short steps you were underwater and circling a large tropical reef. There is a plethora of fish, corals and we did see a shark, which made me nervous but we kept going back regardless because it was just so perfect.

The water is like bathwater, you will never want to get out. And because we wanted to continue our water journey we signed up for a snorkeling excursion with Caicos Dream Tours. They took us out to a secluded area where we dived for conch, getting to keep our shells after they were done preparing the most delicious conch salad I have ever eaten. If you have never had conch they prepare it raw mixed with fresh veggies, lemon, salt, and some also incorporate fruit. It’s to die for! It’s pretty much all we ate while we were there, prepared in as many ways as we could find. My favorite was the conch fritters.

The conch was accompanied by rum punch that will sneak up on you if you’re not careful. The guides took us to Iguana Island after to check out these giant lizards close up and to sip on rum punch while we did it. This island is awesome! Especially for reptile enthusiasts like us. The island is completely deserted save for these incredible reptiles and some beautiful bird species. It’s a long tour and was worth doing because we got to see so much more and snorkel in other areas.

One of these other areas includes the barrier reef. The barrier reef runs parallel to the island shore keeping the waters around the beach calm and clear. The reef was teeming with life and some of the most magnificent corals I have ever seen. It left us wanting more. Which is why we continued to go back to our quiet snorkel spot in turtle bay.

We were never overwhelmed by tourists, and the snorkeling off the beach seemed to be virtually unknown to people. We may have encountered 2-4 people total in all the times we went there (which was pretty much every day). It’s like your own private underwater oasis. I recommend that anyone with an interest in snorkeling, whenever you visit a tropical island seek out these places because they change the trip completely and give you something special that’s pretty much all to yourself.

Other than snorkeling in Turks and Caicos, I highly recommend attending the local fish fry. This is where the locals have stands set up and restaurants show off some of their best seafood. There is rum punch served in coconuts, conch cooked in all ways, spiny lobster, fish (of course) and so much more. There was music and dancing and I had a blast. I am so glad we didn’t miss this. It is typically held on Thursdays so make sure to extend your stay long enough to check it out. You won’t find better food in any restaurant I guarantee.

Although, I will say there is a great restaurant called Coco Bistro. It’s a little bit of a walk outside of Providenciales but it’s worth it. It’s this cool refurbished house painted a bright orange, set back off the road surrounded by palm trees. There is outdoor seating with lights strung from the palm trees that become part of the ambience of the place.

They are always busy and they recommend a reservation but if you aren’t picky you can just grab some bar seating, which has some bar tables, couches and a laid-back vibe. You can still get all the same menu items as in the regular restaurant seating and it’s right next to the regular seating so the atmosphere is no different. The food was amazing to say the least. Try it, you won’t regret it.

Have you been to Turks and Caicos? What was your experience? Any other hidden snorkeling gems I should know about or other wonderful places to eat?

If your hungry for more Caribbean beauty check out this post by fellow blogger Fill My Passport, a collaborative post from fellow bloggers and yours truly!