One Week in Turks & Caicos: Full Travel Diary

I’m so excited to share with you how I spent one week in Turks & Caicos. I have always dreamed of turquoise waters on beach vacations but often disappointed with the reality. But wow, the beaches at Turks & Caicos are absolutely stunning and straight out of a post card.

When: March 2024
Budget: $3,200 CAD per person from Vancouver
Type of Trip: Couples trip

Day 1: Travel Day + Grace Bay

Since we live in Vancouver, there are very few direct flights to the Caribbean. We decided to take a red eye flight to Toronto and after a short lay over, we boarded another flight to Turks and Caicos. If you are flying from Toronto, sit on the right side of the plane to get a spectacular view coming into Turks and Caicos!

I’ve read horror stories about the Provincidales airport but we got through immigration and luggage in about an hour. We also had transfers set up with Air Canada Vacations so everything went surprisingly smoothly. Our hotel for the week is at Ports of Call Resort.

For lunch, we went to Tribe as it was right next to the hotel and we were pretty hungry. The sandwich was good but about $16 USD. After we got checked in and settled in our rooms, we excitedly walked over to Grace Bay Beach!

Tip: If it’s your first time in Turks and Caicos, I’d highly recommend staying in a hotel that has beach chairs on Grace Bay! We contemplated staying in an airBnB, but having beach chairs/umbrellas is a MUST!

Grace Bay beach is absolutely stunning! The waters are turquoise blue as promised and the sand was plush and soft on the feet. The waves are surprisingly strong which we did not expect! After walking up and down the beach, we went for an early dinner as we were pretty tired. We had cracked conch and fish tacos at Conch and Coconuts. While it was good, we had other restaurants we liked better (scroll to the bottom to see a list of our favorite restaurants in Turks and Caicos!)

Day 2 – Full day at Grace Bay

Grace Bay beach is definitely a highlight of Turks and Caicos so we wanted to spend a whole day just hanging out at the beach. After a free breakfast at Ports of Call Resort, we got back to our beach bum mode.

Tip: The walk from Ports of Call Resort to Grace Bay beach is only 2 minutes away and was definitely worth the savings! Beach front hotels are very expensive so if you want to save some money, stay at the hotels that are across the street

I alternated between reading my book, dipping my toes in the water, and watching my boyfriend float in the waves. I also got in the water a few times but I’ve recently become irrationally fearful of sharks lol. The water was really warm and comfortable and it was such a relaxing day without feeling bored.

For lunch we checked out a cheap eats spot called the Patty Place. The patties are about $3-4 each and you only need two to fill up! The shrimp and veggie patties were really yummy and a very different taste than the traditional beef patty.

For dinner, we went to cocovan and I’d highly recommend! Not only is the grounds unique and beautiful, the food was delicious too! It’s more of an innovative American cuisine but this is a must go! (No reservations required)

Day 3 – Snorkeling Tour + Fish Fry

We started off day 3 by going back to Grace Bay beach. It may be sounding repetitive to you now but once you’re there, you’ll definitely want two full beach days!

In the afternoon, we signed up for the 4 hour snorkeling tour with Caicos Dream Tours. I have a full recap post so take a read! Excursions are pretty expensive in Turks and Caicos but a snorkeling tour was very high on my to do list. This one was $125 USD per person. As a quick overview, we did about 30 mins of snorkeling, a 1 hour stop at Little Water Cay, had a sandwich and enjoyed unlimited drinks on board!

Since it was Thursday night, it was time to visit the Fish Fry! This is a very popular weekly event and a perfect chance to eat local food, check out souvenirs and watch the Junkanoo performance. The line ups for the food vendors were all super long but we picked Jerkey’s Kitchen. The entrees were $17 USD and came with two sides. We got a jerk chicken and a BBQ ribs and both were delicious! I also loved my fried plantain side.

This was a really nice activity and a good way to add some culture flair to your trip. However, if your accommodation is too far away, don’t sweat it if you do miss the Fish Fry. It’ was about a 30 minute walk for us but parking looked really difficult if you needed to drive. It’s only worth it if you can walk over as the parking situation looked very difficult.

Day 4 – Sapodilla Bay + Taylor Bay

At this point in our one week in Turks and Caicos, we had a rental car lined up so we can explore more of the island. There are two fantastic beaches on the southwest side of the island called Sapodilla Bay and Taylor Bay. Both of these beaches are known for their shallow waters that stretches out far into the sea.

Sapodilla Bay: There are a few food vendors at the entrance to the beach and also some beach chairs/umbrellas for rent. The going rate was $20 USD for 2 chairs and $10 USD for the umbrella. If you keep walking east, there will be areas without any beach chairs and you can feel free to put towels down there. There are no bathroom facilities.

Taylor Bay: The water here is SO shallow and clear. There are no food vendors and no beach chairs/umbrellas available for rent. There are some chairs that are reserved for the villas. I really enjoyed my time here and I think this beach is very unique and a must see in Turks and Caicos.

Tip: Driving in Turks is not as bad as some articles say. Although driving is on the other side of the road, it was pretty easy to adjust. If you have any hesitations about renting a car, don’t! A rental car gives you the freedom to explore the island and not be confined just to Grace Bay!

The food choices in this area aren’t that plentiful but I had the most delicious Cuban Conch (think coconut curry with seafood) at Que Bola for $24 USD.

Since we had the car, we drove out to Da Conch Shack which is one of the most well known spots on the island. As advertised, the spot looks beautiful with cute Instagram worthy wall murals, beach side tables, and string lights. However, the food was more expensive than other places and only tasted okay. I was also FREEZING because of the water breeze. Overall it was not one of the best experiences but I’d still recommend coming here for a drink for the quintessential Turks and Caicos experience.

Tip: The beach by Da Conch Shack is filled with Conch shells! You can feel free to take one with you at no cost!

Day 5: Long Bay Beach + Jet Ski

There are more beaches to explore! For this day, we visited Long Bay Beach which is known for wind surfing. Although we did not try ourselves, it was fun watching other people. This beach is not known for swimming and there are no beach chairs available either.

For lunch we visited MARKET at the Blue Haven resort. There’s a deli that makes sandwiches and it was DELICIOUS! Also, this cafe had the most affordable coffee + smoothies on the island. The icing on the cake is that there’s a beautiful patio that faces a marina. The water is unrealistically blue and there was even a cute turtle sighting!

The main activity this day was a Jet Ski tour with Mako Watersports. We choose the 2 hour tour and since all the tours are guided, it is a private tour which makes it a great value! It was my first time on a jetski and it was exhilarating to bump along the waves. You don’t need any special certifications/licenses to drive a jetski.

Our first stop was the La Famille Express Shipwreck. Then we cruised along to the little islands north of Turks and Caicos. And wow the water here is emerald green and looks so shallow! The scenery was spectacular and we couldn’t see anyone else on the water. After a stop at Pine Cay, we made our way towards Noah’s Ark. On the way back, our guide pointed out some turtles in the water and it was so cool to see! The last stop in our tour is the notorious Noah’s Ark made famous by Drake. This floating bar caters to a variety of clientele and although I was hesitant about it at first, it was a very unique thing to do in Turks and Caicos!

We wanted to take advantage of having a rental car so we drove out to Chinson’s Grill Shack for dinner! I had the jerk chicken and I’d highly recommend this spot! It’s affordable and the patio is surprisingly well decorated.

Day 6: Snorkeling at the Beaches

We’re going to end the vacation with another must do Turks and Caicos activity – snorkeling at Bight Beach! If you read my snorkeling cruise post, I was a bit apprehensive about snorkeling on my own without a life vest. But at Bight Beach, the snorkeling area is VERY close to shore and the water is quite shallow! It is perfect for beginners and you have nothing to worry about!

To find the snorkeling spot, search for “Coral Gardens Beach Access” on Google Maps. This is where you park and you can walk right to the beach in under a minute. You’ll want to look out for “Somewhere Cafe” and the reef is just straight ahead and slightly to the west of the restaurant. I could not believe how many different types of fish I saw! It really exceeded all my expectations!

We were originally also planning on snorkeling at Smith’s Reef but didn’t end up going back in the water. For lunch, we went to Mango Reef and I had a shrimp wrap which was so much more flavorful than expected!

By early afternoon, we headed back to our resort and walked along Grace Bay for sunset one last night! We went for a nice dinner for our last night and enjoyed ourselves at the Farm at the Seven Stars resort. I ordered a hanger steak asking to be cooked medium but it came to my table almost raw on the inside. I requested for it to be sent back and it came back medium rare. So the food was only okay but the ambiance was fantastic. The live music was beautiful and people watching was great.

Day 7: Last Morning at Grace Bay Beach

For our last day, we were originally planning on leaving the resort at noon to catch a 3pm flight. So we had a slow morning and went back to Grace Bay Beach. However, our flight got delayed which is a whole other story. Either way, we just enjoyed our resort and the beach and packed up after a sun filled adventurous week.

Favorite Restaurants in Turks and Caicos – Provincidales

I talked about a lot of different restaurants in this post but I thought I’d rank all the places I ate at! I did a lot of research prior to my trip so it was already a pretty filtered list! The only two that I didn’t love are Da Conch Shack and Conch & Coconuts.