During the time we visited, one of the largest resorts nearby, which also happened to be next door to the Alexandra resort where we stayed, was closed. That, hurricane season, and the fact that it is not a port for the cruise ships, made it feel very family-friendly, not overcrowded and cozy. The beautiful pictures that you see online - turquoise tranquil ocean with white sand beaches are not exaggerated, that’s exactly what you see and get. Simply mesmerizing.
It is interesting that not many people know about Turks & Caicos (often abbreviated as TCI). When telling friends and family about it, we often got asked where it was. Heck, not too long ago, I myself never have heard that name! Once I booked the vacation, only then I read more about it.
Turks and Caicos Islands are an autonomous British overseas territory consisting of tropical Caicos islands (larger ones) and Turks islands (smaller ones). The total population of all islands is 31.5K, with almost 24K residing in Providenciales, where we stayed.
We stayed for 9 days in an all inclusive resort called Alexandra. The Resort itself was a fairly small one, but clean, quite, had a beautiful beach, good food and friendly staff. It has two sister-resorts, one of which was closed during our stay there (Blue Haven) and another one being an adult only resort (Beach House), with free shuttle buses traveling between the resorts. Toward the end of our stay, we learned that next to the Beach House, there is a small but beautiful underwater reef, which is great for snorkeling. And what’s more, the Beach House offered free snorkeling equipment! Knowing that most of the beaches in Providenciales are public, we sneaked our kids, had some lunch at the Beach House and took turn snorkeling. Beautiful! Swimming with all sorts of fish, different schools of fish, and sea turtles - we could not get enough of it and only wished we found out about it earlier.
At Alexandra, the resort also offered complimentary snorkeling equipment, kayaks, paddle boards, water trampoline - and we tried them all! There were also bikes, but no carriages for children, which was a bummer. So one day, when the kids went to nap, I rode (5-7 minute ride) a bike to a nearby shopping area to get a book for boys. Riding a single speed bike, on the left hand side of the road (British territory, remember?!), and then get caught in the rain - fun stuff! Other fun activities included- themed dinner nights (Mexican, Italian, and my favorite- Caribbean!), water aerobics in the pool, chocolate bar night (all sorts of chocolate goodies!), karaoke nights - Lukas sang his first karaoke there (Baby Shark and Miss Mary Mack), live music, dancing (again, boys took the stage!).
I am guessing because it is a British territory island, the people where somewhat reserved. No pushy salesman, no locals eagerly sharing tips and information about the island. Also, no (funny ;) British accent. Locals were easy to understand. It is also an expensive island, I am glad we chose all inclusive option. Food was expensive, activities were expensive, sunscreen/ bug spray were expensive (what costs $4-5 in US, cost $15 in TCI), transportation was expensive. What was interesting about transportation is that there are no set pricing. People charge whatever they feel like. For instance, when we landed, the taxi ride from airport to the resort cost us $28. But when we were leaving, from the resort to the airport we were charged $42. Partially, because I broke my own rule to not site into a cab until I know what I am going to be charged.
Other Island attractions included renting a taxi for a land Island tour (approx. $45pp/h with a min of 2 hours), Island tour by boat (approx. $200 pp for a 4 hour tour and $50 per kid), parasailing, scuba diving (generally included in island tour by boat), snorkeling (included in the island tour by boat), visiting Iguana island (also, by boat), and whatever your resort offers.
Noah’s favorite thing was playing with sand on the beach - he could sit there for hours, pushing shoes, rocks, shells and plastic cups around and be very content.
Lukas was over “getting covered in sand” after a second day on the beach. His preference was the pool with a swim up bar. It was quite entertaining, actually, to watch boys ordering Pina Coladas, while the bartenders would give us confused looks as in “is this for real?”. Here is how Lukas would order it: “Can I have two Pina Coladas please? ………. for kids?” Then they would get their virgin version of the drink.
There was also a playroom for kids on the resort grounds. It had a couple of TV’s, boardgames and an air hockey table. There was a foosball table sitting outside, right by the entrance into that playroom. Lukas could not pass that section once without stopping by and scoring!
The water was warm too, both in the ocean and in the pool.
Most of the days were somewhat cloudy, and with applying and re-applying sunscreen lotion with SPF 50, we managed not to burn. Well, maybe a little after the first day, but Aloe Vera did the trick and I was good as new a couple of days later.
The weather was fantastic. 80’s and a little cloudy. Humid, but hey, you are on the beach! We had a couple of days where it rained, but it didn’t ruin our holiday spirits.
The pride of the Island is Conch. We got to taste Conch salad, soup and fritters, and were offered to buy Conch shells and jewelry made out of it. Derrick even pulled one out of the ocean while snorkeling on the resort beach! And, speaking of offers to buy - I was pleased that there were no pushy salespeople trying to sell us cheap jewelry, souvenirs and other knick-knacks or timeshares.
Another big island event is the Fry Fish Thursdays. This took place by the Beach House (the first time we smuggled our kids to Beach House). It is a small festival that happens every Thursday, mainly designed to attract tourists to buy touristy stuff, with live music, beer and fish tacos. This is where Noah said, “it’s too loud here, Papa”, so we looked around, bought Grandpa a baseball hat, two sea turtle necklaces for boys, and quickly left.
My favorite things? Other than the obvious (beach, sand) - unlimited champagne and baileys, cappuccino and smoked salmon for breakfast, and watch the boys enjoy their vacation and this beautiful island.
Oh, and we did toss the coins into the ocean… so expect us back, Turks & Caicos!
