Here are our tips for visitors to the Turks and Caicos Islands and specifically the Island of Providenciales:

1. Bring your own ground coffee, sun screen, snacks for the first day and mild insect repellent. Usually shampoos, conditioners and bath gel are supplied where you will stay but not in adequate quantities. Unless you have preferred brands it is better to buy them at the grocery store while you are on Provo than to bring them with you in your luggage.

2. Do not fill your suitcases with food before you leave home. What you do bring in should be in sealed original packaging or TCI Customs may confiscate it. Please note that all forms of Cannabis are still illegal in Turks and Caicos and you may be charged criminally even for bringing in medical products. As for food and drink you can get almost everything you need at the Graceway IGA store here. Quality is good to excellent except for the coffee, but there are very good coffee shops in the central Grace Bay area. We especially like Lemon to Go which also has a flower shop and sells souveniers and quality tee shirts, etc. Groceries are more expensive than back home. The Graceway Gourmet in central Grace Bay is more suited to the needs of visitors than the larger Graceway IGA and the prices are the same for the same products. You can get smaller containers of items like mayonaisse, eggs and other staples at the Gourmet store. The well air conditioned grocery stores open at 7 and it is good to go early if you are walking before it gets too hot outside. At Coral Gardens we are close to the main IGA store and we have a full kitchen so you can save a lot by cooking many of your meals there.

3. Use bicycles to get around Grace Bay. Some resorts including Seven Stars provide bicycles for guest use. They do not have bikes at Coral Gardens unfortunately. You can rent bikes, e-bikes and mopeds that are of good quality near the Ports of Call or at the Salt Mills Plaza in Grace Bay.

4. If walking to a place nearby, the beach route is usually quicker, cleaner and more scenic. Walking along the beach at night time is not recommended due to lack of lighting and normal safety concerns. Early morning walks on the beach are wonderful and you may find some nice shells on your way.

5. Cabs are not cheap, but unless you are driving around a lot it is easier and cheaper to take a cab on occasion than to rent a car. There are many car rental companies but the most recommended one for service is Grace Bay Car Rentals which is the only one that has its cars right at the airport which will save you time over waiting for a shuttle. We recommend the airport hotel shuttle at $20 a person to get to and from the Airport to where you are staying if you do not have a rental car. Get a business card from your driver if you want to call him for a future ride. From Coral Gardens there is a need for a car as there are less things in walking distance than in central Grace Bay. Resorts have free guest parking. Driving on the left here with traffic circles is stressful until you get used to it. The stress of driving is much less outside of the busy season of December to April.

6. Avoid all inclusive resorts. Many excellent restaurants are in central Grace Bay such as Coco Bistro, Graces Cottage, Coyaba, Seven, Aziz, Le Bouchon, Caicos Cafe, Infiniti and Solana at Ocean Club West. For Coco Bistro or Infiniti you should make reservations online ahead of your trip. Walking north along the beach, at Ocean Club East just the other side of Club Med, there is Opus for beautiful fine dining. They also have the friendly Cabana Bar at Ocean Club East with good food (best fish tacos but be sure to request Red Snapper or Grouper). Pelican Bay Restaurant at the Royal West Indies Resort, on the other side of Club Med from Ocean Club East, is famous for its all you can eat Wednesday lobster buffet in season. Pelican Bay is good for 3 meals a day and you can get meals or appetizers at the bar. Every day from 5-7 there is a lively two for one happy hour and it is fun to be at the bar for it.

At the west end of Grace Bay Beach there is Somewhere Cafe right at Coral Gardens. From experience we caution against drinking Mescal or Tequila with your breakfast. Near Coral Gardens there are two nice restaurants at Windsong being the Dunes and JoJo’s Cafe. The magnificent top rated Indigo for fine dining is close by at Wymara Resort which also has the lively Pink Bar and for less formal dining the Blue Water Bistro. Between Wymara and the Hyatt Andaz the West Bay Club has Two West and The Drift restaurant by the beach. Rave reviews have been given and are deserved for the new Marine Room just across the street from Coral Gardens. We look forward to new places at the Hyatt Andaz about to open next to Coral Gardens including the Tamara restaurant. One of our favorites Magnolia just reopened March 27, 2026 high up on a hill (with amazing views) just before Turtle Cove. There is very high quality and value with authentic Italian food at the Baci restaurant right by the water at Turtle Cove not far from Coral Gardens. If you are looking for veal, Baci is the place to go. You can also go to Il Forno at the Indigo Hotel down the road for very good Italian food. Turtle Reef is also home to the informal and good, reasonably priced, extensive menu Mango Reef and the Shark Bite Bar and Grill. Above Turtle Cove there is a great sunset view from Magnolia to go with the excellent food and drinks.

7. See if your restaurant bill has a service charge on it. If it does still tip but tip more if it does not. In tourist areas where you are likely to be most or all of the time there is a sales tax on restaurant bills.

8. Unless you do not like lobster be sure to come during lobster season which is from August 1 until the beginning of April. The Caribbean rock lobster is very sweet and mostly tail.

9. Bring US cash with both large and small bills. People do not like to give you change. If you need more cash there are ATMs dispensing US dollars at Canadian banks on the island. There is no use in bringing Canadian dollars, Pounds or Euros, but you can convert to US funds at the bank. Visa and Mastercard are generally accepted. Do not rely on American Express which is not accepted in many places.

10. Do not try to do a lot on your first trip. You are likely to want to come back soon. Just enjoy the nice place you are staying at and the beach. Save big excursions for future trips. A sail or snorkel half day trip is the best excursion for a first visit and the sunset cruises are great. There are clear kayaks at the Leeward area for guided wildlife tours of the Mangrove area. If you can afford it take the Lady Grace sunset sail from the Ritz Carlton. It is worth the higher price because it is a great sail, with Ritz Carlton quality food including excellent sushi.

11. Do not pack a lot of clothes as we do have a washer and dryer available. You will not need formal or dressy clothes. Leave your winter coats and warmer clothes at home. Be sure to have one or two extra bathing suits. Do not bring much good jewellrey and if you do keep it in the safe along with cash and your passports.

12. If you are in Provo on a Sunday you can not buy alcohol products at the grocery store but no problem with restaurants or bars. To buy alcohol on Sundays, L & M Convenience in the Caicos Cafe Plaza, with our friend Mario, has a great selection and is open every day. Hotel gift shops may sell a limited selection of alcohol and they have Sunday sales too.

13. The French bakery in the Caicos Cafe Plaza is great, but go early as they do sell out of most items before noon most days. The Graceway grocery stores have very good locally baked bread. We especially like the multigrain and sour dough sliced loaves.

14. Talk to local people. They are mostly friendly, intelligent and helpful. Treat everyone as your equal.

15. Set your phone to Airplane Mode and Wifi unless you need it away from the resort or have an international cellular service plan. Set up Wifi calling so you can call and receive calls as if you were at home. Use WhatsApp for local calling in Turks and Caicos. Many restaurants take reservations on the Open Table App. Before your trip get a Coco Bistro reservation using the form at their website or book Infiniti on Open Table. It is never too early to book Coco Bistro especially if you want to go on a specific day for a special occasion. Download maps of the area from Google Maps before you go on your trip so you can access them offline.

16. Watch the sky for beautiful sunsets and it is very clear for stargazing too. You can not take too many sunset photos. Watch out for the “green flash” at the instant of sunset. Sunrise photos are great too but a rarity since most people are still asleep.

17. Visit other islands of the Turks and Caicos for day or overnight visits on second or later return trips to Provo. There is so much more to see and do. Middle Caicos is the ultimate destination with the main attractions being Dragon Cay and Bamburra Beach. You can take a ferry from Leeward to North Caicos and then go by rental car or taxi to Middle Caicos. If you wish to visit Grand Turk it is best to fly from Provo or take a cruise that stops there some other time. South Caicos is the place to go for serious fishing and a flight there is the way to go with a prearranged guide to take you bonefishing. If you fly from Provo to South Caicos you may have to connect with a stop in Grand Turk. Nothing wrong with that,

18. If you have a late flight home at the end of your trip and need to check out at 11, go to a restaurant for lunch such as Hemingways, Mr. Grouper, Bugaloos or Omars. You can trust a taxi driver to hold your luggage and pick you up to get you to the airport on time. They say you should be at the airport three hours before your flight which is excessive. On a Saturday when it is busiest get to the airport at least two hours ahead of your departure. The Duty Free shops at the airport are good. While you are at the airport waiting be sure to go upstairs where it is less crowded and you can go outside or to the bar.

19. Book your return trip accommodation a year or more in advance to get the best availability of preferred rental units unless you are coming back between May and November when it is less busy.

20. Write an online review for the place where you stay and places you visit. It helps others and you can learn a lot by reading reviews by other people, ahead of your arrival as well. When you see a lot of positive reviews and a few bad ones you can usually disregard the bad reviews, but if reviews are consistently bad on the same points take that seriously. Some places improve and fix problems after negative reviews are posted. Some bad reviews come from people who can never be pleased or people who have never actually been to the place.

21. Where to stay. Most hotels at Grace Bay are condominium units with individual owners and you can do better with rental by owner where it is allowed rather than through the hotel management company. We support using insured services like AirBnB and VRBO to find a place you like, and if you want to return you then have an owner contact for future direct rentals where you can save on the fees charged for the services. With rental by owner you usually have to be more self reliant. If you wish to have hotel services like daily maid service you should rent directly from a resort hotel, or rent from them using services such as Expedia, Trip Advisor or Priceline to possibly get a discount. If you have the money we recommend booking at some of the more expensive and spectacular places in Providenciales such as Seven Stars, The Palms, West Bay Club, Wymara, Windsong, Sailrock, Shore Club, Amanyara or Grace Bay Club. Rental by owner is not allowed at these places. For those on a small budget you can rent at hotels like Oasis or Ports of Call where you are not on the beach but have access to it.

22. The PLS airport is a very busy one for international flights and there is not likely to be a new airport or major expansion of it for several years. If you can, avoid travel on Saturday which is the busiest day, but Fridays and Sundays are also very busy. Arriving and leaving Monday to Thursday is preferrable if you can do it. An early or late in the day flight in or out is the best way to avoid the crowds and line ups with most planes arriving early afternoon between 12 and 2 PM and most planes leaving between 1:30 and 3 PM. Consider prebooking one of the services like Fast Track or Sky VIP to get you in and out quickly especially if you are flying on a Saturday. Our own experience is that we tend to arrive at a less busy time when we use those services but it is all chance and if it works out it could save you a lot of time waiting in line for arrival immigration or departure security check. Sometimes the lineup on arrival delays you an hour or more and sometimes you can get right through and it is hard to predict due to many unanticipated delays especially on flights in from places with snowy Winter conditions. When your are leaving check first to see if the flight arriving which will take you back is on its way before you head to the airport. If you see it is delayed leaving a little it usually will still arrive and depart PLS on time. Sometimes you really do need to arrive to check in 3 hours before flight time. While you are waiting go upstairs in the terminal where it is less crowded and you can go out on a deck.