The Best Beach in the World!
Grace Bay Beach on the Island of Providenciales (known as Provo), in the Turks and Caicos Islands, is generally considered to be the best or one of the best beaches in the world. In 2016 Trip Advisor rated Grace Bay the number one beach in the world and in 2017 it was number two to a beach in Brazil. The two beaches traded ranking again in 2018 and Grace Bay was #1 in the world again and back to #2 again in 2019 and 2020. It is again the #1 Beach as proclaimed in 2021 and 2022. When you visit Turks and Caicos you will still find other beaches of equal and arguably better quality than Grace Bay, but for a developed beach where many visitors regularly stay it can not be beat. The calm water is crystal clear and ideal for divers and snorkelers. The shallow walkout from the beach into calm water is great for small children. Just before Turtle Cove on the south end of Grace Bay Beach there is a public snorkeling reef called Smith’s Reef and the Bight Reef is right in front of the Coral Gardens Resort, where the Somewhere Café and Lounge is also located. You can snorkel just steps out from the beach and the reef is there with many sights. Our direct rental from owner unit is on the second floor with a large balcony facing the beach at Coral Gardens The sand on Grace Bay Beach is soft white and powdery. The sand miraculously never gets hot on your feet despite the regular hot sunny days. Looking out at the usually calm waters of Grace Bay from the beach you are looking west and spectacular sunsets are frequent.
Water Sport choices are many on the island of Providenciales. There are half day and full day boating and sailing trips many with snorkeling included. It is also a scuba paradise where there are trips to amazing reefs and other close islands such as West Caicos and Frenchman’s Cay. Most boat trips go along the west coast where it is calm and all the Grace Bay resorts are there. It is an adventure to take a boat trip along the rougher east side where you will go by the Shore Club on Long Bay Beach, see the spectacular homes and villas on luxurious Turtle Tail and see the Kiteboarders off Long Bay Beach. Most trips leave from Leeward where the Blue Haven Marina and Resort is north of Grace Bay Beach. Some boat trips leave from Turtle Cove at the south end of Grace Bay Beach where you will also find good reasonable price restaurants like Baci, Sharkbites and Mango Reef. From Leeward you can go on a clear Kayak excursion of 2 or 3 hours into the mangroves area which is a protected zone near the boating area where you will see turtles, live conch and also two varieties of shark plus bonefish. You are not allowed to go into the area with motor boats and fishing is prohibited.
The Caicos Royal Suite is just north of the center of Grace Bay Beach, next to Club Med’s sprawling beachfront property, at the Royal West Indies Resort, which features the Pelican Bay Restaurant and Bar, on its lush well manicured grounds. There are 8, three story residential buildings on the 5 acre beautifully landscaped property. Each unit at the Royal West Indies Resort is a privately owned condominium apartment which is either a one bedroom or a studio and those units can be combined to form a two bedroom unit. Most of the rental units are rented centrally through resort management. In 2017 we opened for rental by owner the one bedroom Caicos Royal Suite on the ground floor of the only beachfront building, which is Building 1 of the Royal West Indies Resort. The Royal Suite is royally equipped and decorated, and it is wheelchair accessible. In May of 2019 we will be renovating the bathroom to put in a walk in shower in place of the deep bathtub. In June of 2020 we added in the Studio unit next door and the two units with a common entry door from outside may be combined or rented separately. YOU MAY BOOK THE ROYAL SUITE DIRECTLY FROM THE OWNER OR THROUGH Home Away’s VRBO or Trip Advisor’s Flipkey service or AirBNB.
Each of the travel booking services has a listing with photos and detailed information. If you book through any of them you have rental protection and insurance which comes with their fees. If you are comfortable booking directly from the owners without that coverage you can save on the fees. Cleaning is included in the rate. Local tax is included at AirBnB and added at VRBO. When booking any unit at RWI from the owner you also save the 10% resort fee and you still get to use all resort facilities.