Client Chronicles: Turks and Caicos Itinerary Review

I’ve just returned from our girls trip to Turks and Caicos, and am reaching out to thank you for your expertise in planning our trip, and to share some feedback that might help others with their perfect getaway.

Airport Pickup (Private Car): Reuben, our driver, was outstanding – punctual and courteous. At $120 for a roundtrip, the rate was quite reasonable. Our ride to Ocean Club Resort was a quick 15-minute drive.

Ocean Club West: In the heart of Grace Bay, this resort was perfect. Its cleanliness and the friendliness of the staff were remarkable. The beachfront rooms, amenities like kayaks, bikes, and tennis courts, and the mosquito-netted outdoor patio were great. Not super fancy but beautiful and inviting.

Taxis: Without Uber on the island, we relied on the Ocean Club West’s reception to call taxis. Response times varied – sometimes it was quick, sometimes not so prepare ahead of time to avoid being late. We mostly walked, as many places were just 10-minutes from the resort.

Mobile Therapeutics by Shanique: We each indulged in the Lomi Lomi Hawaiian massages right in our room. Shanique’s warmth, and skill provided a deeply relaxing experience – all at a fair price of about $390 for two.

Dining and Shopping: Stick with me here because this is a long one

Grace Bay IGA Gourmet-we visited this grocery store on day 1. It is a quick walk from the resort. Some items were expensive, others were reasonable. Got milk, one container of juice and a few other things. Bill was $48. 6min walk from Ocean Club West.

Thursday Night Fish Fry-we saw the Junkanoo band play and had a sampling of the local food. We both had the BBQ ribs, mac and cheese, and plantain. Food was awesome and just $15 a plate. You can buy local souvenirs here as well. Gets very crowded so it can be difficult to find a place to sit and eat your food. We took ours to go. 6min taxi ride from Ocean Club West. Taxi was $7 per person. It is too far to walk there.

Patty Place-a must visit for authentic beef patties (or chicken or vegetable). Great pricing $2.50 a patty and so so yummy. We bought extra for the plane ride home! We visited here several times during our trip. They also sell delicious ice cream too! Ice cream for an 8 ounce was $7.00 and they really packed a lot in those 8 ounces. They are closed Aug 29-Sept 10th for renovations. About 5min walking distance from Ocean Club West.

Mamas-along the same block like Patty Place is Ports of Call souvenir shops. There you will find Mama and her excellent priced souvenirs. We got shirts and other souvenirs and spent way less than other stores. If you pay in cash you get an additional discount. About 7min walking distance from Ocean Club West.

Castaway Conch Bar and Grille-great food. We had the pumpkin soup and the lobster bisque. Just wish the serving was bigger since it was so tasty. For dinner, I had the cheeseburger and sweet potato fries and my daughter had the jerk chicken with rice and peas. The food came out fast and was tasty. We drank bottled water. There is live music every Thursday-Sunday. 11min walking distance from Ocean a Club West. Our bill was $87

Solana-this restaurant is on the Ocean Club West property. It overlooks the beach. About a 1min walk from our room. One day, we tried the conch fritters (6 pieces) and bbq wings (6 pieces) for lunch. That bill was $34. A little pricey but tasted ok. For dinner another night we had the Rasta pasta with chicken. That dinner with just the pasta was $78 way overpriced but delicious and convenient to our room.

Island Scoop-really great breakfast! We both had waffles with bananas and caramel and fresh strawberries topped with ice cream just $15 each. They make great lattes too for just $7.50. Our total bill was $41. The workers were very nice. About 10min walk from our resort.

Pelican Bay Restaurant-this restaurant is located at the Royal West Indies resort. Food came out quick and the staff was friendly. I had the oxtail risotto ($18) and my daughter had the oxtail stew ($34) and we had bottled water ($7 was shocked about the water) food tasted good. Total bill $71.98. 11min walk from the Ocean Club West.

Excursions:

Konkawonka Bus Tour-this 4 hour tour was $149 a person (plus taxes) and picks you up in an air conditioned bus at the Tourist Board office in Regent Village by the Renaissance resort. Be careful, the tourist board moved locations so my taxi dropped us in the wrong place and our bus had to wait for us. Attractions for Mon/Wed/Fri are the Cheshire Plantation(great guided tour) Chalk sound national park (quick picture of the water, we spent about 5min there), Turks Head Brewery(we really had a chance to see the production side of the brewery and tasted 4 beers), full lunch at the Conch Shack(staff was friendly, service was a little slow. Had the sirloin steak and baked Mac and cheese with the jerk tacos. Food was good but the flies made it extremely difficult to eat. I’m used to the flies being that this is an island but this was excessive. Ended up just bagging the food to go back to the resort), and drinks onboard the bus. The pickup area for this tour is 11min from Ocean Club West.

Five Cays Jet Ski-Nardo our tour guide took us on our 30min jet ski adventure and he was patient and friendly. Only $90 per jet ski for 30min. You can get a taxi to their location or be picked up for a fee.

Every place took credit cards, used cash for the taxi and to buy souvenirs. Beautiful place. You will feel relaxed and happy you visited. I hope all of this was helpful. Wishing everyone safe and happy travels!

If this itinerary sounds appealing or you want to customize your own Turks and Caicos getaway reach out to your Curated Travel advisor or visit http://www.curatedtravelco.com/about today!