Most people travelling to the Island of Providenciales have some difficulty with the long hard to pronounce name which is usually shortened to Provo, but when it is, there can be confusion with Provo, Utah a well known American ski resort area. So people who fly to Providenciales (PLS) for a Grace Bay vacation, tend to say they are going to Turks and Caicos, which is like saying I am going to the United States rather than saying they are going to New York City, California or Miami Beach. There are about 100 islands in the Turks and the Caicos island chains including smaller islands that are called Cays.
Providenciales is the island which has the largest population and the most development in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It has the international airport PLS. About three quarters, or 24,000 of 32,000 Turks and Caicos Islands residents live on Provo. Providenciales is one of the Caicos Islands. It is not the capital city, having only started to develop since the late 1960s. It is quite highly developed now with local businesses, financial institutions and serving the large and still growing tourism industry. The island is known for its world class restaurants. Most of the wealth of the islands is on the island of Providenciales. This includes a number of services for international investors and people wanting a tax haven as there is no income tax. Provo is not a city, but there is a central downtown area, and it could be said that a person is going into town when they go to the busy central part of the Island. Outside of Grace Bay there are many great beaches and some resorts and developments, where the prices are usually lower than those at Grace Bay with some notable exceptions such as the very exclusive Amanyara Resort. Other popular spots for visitors that are less known than Grace Bay are North West Point and the quickly developing Long Bay Beach area. The beach is just under 5 kilometers long. In addition to a few very nice hotels there are deluxe villas and many homes being built in this area now. Providenciales is one of the Caicos Islands, which is an island chain containing some large islands.
Middle Caicos, also called Grand Caicos, is the largest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and it has a small population with beautiful undeveloped beaches and spectacular sites like Dragon Cay, the most beautiful beach spots, caves and rock formation in the islands. Bamburra Beach in Middle Caicos is as large and beautiful as Grace Bay Beach but you will hardly see a person on it. South Caicos is the fishing capital of the Turks and Caicos and also has a small population. It has the beginnings of resort development, and it is the place to go for serious fishing. The bonefishing is spectacular and a guide is essential to success. East Caicos is a large undeveloped and uninhabited very natural island, with some signs of previous occupation, including ruins of an old plantation. About half of East Caicos is flat saline tundra and mangrove marshes, with the remaining being the typical low dry brush common to the country. The Island’s north and east coasts are almost completely beach, collectively over ten miles. The southern half of the island is largely wetlands, swamp, and mangroves. Large parcels of land are now for sale at East Caicos and future development is a possibility. North Caicos has some excellent beaches on the north coast and growing quaint communities, which makes it a great getaway place for peaceful living in retirement or a quiet getaway vacation lifestyle. Many visitors to Provo end up buying or building homes in the less expensive and less busy island a short ferry ride away. West Caicos is to the west of Provo and is great for diving. Plans for luxury development of West Caicos have been in process for a number of years. There are many smaller Caicos Islands or Cays some with exclusive homes and resorts like Parrot Cay close to Provo, where celebrities live and vacation. Pine Cay is also close to Provo and has a number of homes and the Meridian Club, a resort established years ago. Little Water Cay is home to many of the iguanas of the Turks and Caicos and is a preserve for them visited regularly by tour boats in the area.
The capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands is Cockburn Town, on the Island of Grand Turk, which is the major island of the Turks island chain. Cruises to Turks and Caicos only stop at Grand Turk for day visits. It is a quaint older colonial style community which has a deep water port where cruise ships come on visits to the Turks and Caicos Islands. There are excellent beach and diving destinations at Grand Turk. There are arts and crafts and duty free shops for the many day visitors arriving from the cruise ships. There is also fishing and agriculture. The government is based in Grand Turk and provides a number of jobs, although many government offices are based in the larger Providenciales where there are more people to use Government services and available to work for the government. Grand Turk may have been discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, when he first made landfall in the West Indies, but that is disputed by other islands claiming that Columbus first landed there. We do know that the first man to orbit the earth, American Astronaut, John Glenn did land just off of Grand Turk on February 20, 1962 in the Friendship 7 Mercury Spacecraft. Grand Turk has a historic lighthouse built in 1852. The National Museum is on Grand Turk. The Turks chain of Islands also includes Salt Cay where salt from the sea was raked as a major industry from the 1600s. Salt Cay also has some secluded spectacular beaches. There are other smaller islands in the Turks chain.
For international flights, you arrive in the Turks and Caicos at PLS Airport, which is Provo, and few visitors leave the Grace Bay area. There are regular inter-island flights at a reasonable cost. There is now a causeway from North to Middle Caicos and you can take a ferry boat from Leeward on Provo to get to North Caicos and rent a car or begin a land tour with a guide there. There are regular ferry boats to some of the small populated islands and boat tours which can take you to other islands in the Turks and Caicos. There are nature tour outings in the islands including visits to the otherwise inaccessible East Caicos. On a first visit it may be best to just relax and enjoy the beautiful Grace Bay Beach but there is so much more for you to enjoy in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is easy to get around and see the sights of the islands if you have the energy and a sense of adventure.