There's no need for Match.com down at Club Med Turkoise -- just go eat! It's no wonder so many singles come to Club Med. During the three designated mealtimes, there is actually a roped off section of the dining room for those looking to meet people.…Read More

There's no need for Match.com down at Club Med Turkoise -- just go eat!

It's no wonder so many singles come to Club Med. During the three designated mealtimes, there is actually a roped off section of the dining room for those looking to meet people. After you have filled your tray with goodies from the buffet (Note: all meals at Club Med Turkoise are buffet style), proceed to the "Singles" dining room where, Club Med Matchmakers, ahem, I mean hostesses will seat you at a table of other GMs (Gracious Members, as Club Med visitors are known). It's a win-win situation. If you hit it off with your tablemates, so much the better. If not, there's always the next meal! Okay, so I may have had to suffer through a meal or two trying to avert the affections of some horny specimens from New Jersey. But by my second dinner, I started meeting guys who at least I wanted to join for a drink later at the bar! ,p> Of course, it always helps that beer and wine is free with every meal . . . Although, I can't vouch for the quality of the mealtime booze. My recommendation is to save your drink tickets and go for the bar drinks after dinner.

While the food selection is adequate, and there is substantial variety in the daily menus, don't go expecting four-star cuisine. Remember, you're at an all-inclusive resort and there's a reason it's BUFFET style. But, treats like the chocolate and white-chocolate bread and the seafood-laden Grand Buffet dinner make Club Med dining enjoyable -- even if that Marketing Executive from Toronto didn't float your boat.

I feel I must say something about the native islanders, who call themselves "the belongers". With one or two exceptions, as there always are, the belongers are not very friendly. We were told by others who live on the island that they see the "white…Read More

I feel I must say something about the native islanders, who call themselves "the belongers". With one or two exceptions, as there always are, the belongers are not very friendly. We were told by others who live on the island that they see the "white man" as a threat. It is understandable once you see the conditions in which they live. With the exception of the wealthy, the belongers do not live in nice homes on the beach. They live in shacks, literally shacks (envision feed the hungry children commercials), which thankfully are not extremely visible from most tourist areas. Most of them also work several jobs...you will notice that you will have the same person drive your taxi, serve you in a restaurant, and work in your hotel on different days (sometimes the same day).

Groceries are very expensive here as well ($6.00 for a bag of chips!) and there is no public transportation (most belongers do not have cars) so they do a lot of walking in the hot sun. We were also told that there is no minimum wage in the islands and that most people make very little. So all said and done, it is easy to understand why the belongers are not very fond of tourists. We noticed that the pricier a place you stayed in or ate at, the better attitude you received, but we never received overly attentive service or helpfulness. Don't expect them to go out of their way to help you or be friendly and you won't be too disappointed. One can't help feeling like an "outsider" here, it is just the nature of the island, so don't take it personally.

Beaches is an all inclusive resort for families in the Turks and Caicos islands. This vacation was paradise. Let me start by saying that Beaches is a top notch all inclusive. You arrive at the beautiful resort where the lobby is grand and classy. They…Read More

Beaches is an all inclusive resort for families in the Turks and Caicos islands. This vacation was paradise.

Let me start by saying that Beaches is a top notch all inclusive. You arrive at the beautiful resort where the lobby is grand and classy. They bring you champagne or sparkling soda as you arrive. The staff is friendly and helpful. The acres of grounds are beautifully landscaped.

The most wonderful thing about the vacation (besides the tropical beauty) is that you never have to carry a purse or wallet. All-inclusive means "all" inclusive. You are not even allowed to tip. Even drinks are included.

There are six pools and four have swim-up bars in them. The beach is pristine and you can walk right up the beach and snorkel right from the shore. The sand is white and the water is crystal clear.

The food is plentiful and great quality with nine restaurants to choose from. The food is around the quality of food on a cruise.

They have activities catered to the kids going all day long and into the evening. They have a restaurant that the kids love with open soda fountains, endless nachos, burgers, chocolate chip cookies, and all kinds of great kids foods.

One pool even has water slides. All the water sports are included as well. You can take the boat out to snorkel, learn to scuba dive, go out on water bikes, and many other activities.

My family and I loved it so much we are going back this year. We went in June and the weather was perfect. It really was relaxing and wonderful.

Even in Paradise things go wrong. My husband did become ill with a violent gastro-intestinal flu. I have to commend the medical services provided by Dr. Stephan Bourne at his clinic. In spotlessly clean facilities, he and his efficient and helpful staff provided…Read More

Even in Paradise things go wrong. My husband did become ill with a violent gastro-intestinal flu. I have to commend the medical services provided by Dr. Stephan Bourne at his clinic. In spotlessly clean facilities, he and his efficient and helpful staff provided the IV and other medical interventions which were required. Thank you Dr. Bourne!Close

Truth be told, the beach at Grace Bay has topped many travel magazines best beach lists and there is a reason why: it’s seven miles of white sand beach skirting a stunning bay of light blue. Grace Bay is ideal for strolling, jogging, frolicking,…Read More

Truth be told, the beach at Grace Bay has topped many travel magazines best beach lists and there is a reason why: it’s seven miles of white sand beach skirting a stunning bay of light blue. Grace Bay is ideal for strolling, jogging, frolicking, or proposing to an intended. . . The crescent beach goes on for as long as the eye can see. If you need a rest, stop into any resort cafe or restaurant along the way. The one and only downfall is the lack of a reef for snorkeling offshore.Close

No fear of crime on this island. Very laid back. I love to look at architecture. Lots of second story balconies, stucco, etc. The main street along the waterfront was being repaired due to washout.…Read More

No fear of crime on this island. Very laid back. I love to look at architecture. Lots of second story balconies, stucco, etc. The main street along the waterfront was being repaired due to washout.Close

The island doesn't have an over abundance of night life, but two hours for dinner and enjoying the stars outside and a few drinks are enough after a busy day. The scenery is almost picture post card anywhere you look. Water and island…Read More

The island doesn't have an over abundance of night life, but two hours for dinner and enjoying the stars outside and a few drinks are enough after a busy day. The scenery is almost picture post card anywhere you look. Water and island are just gorgeous. We love the beaches and snorkeling was fantastic in front of Coral Gardens and a couple of other reefs (Smith Reef). By far one the of prettiest islands we have seen and we have been all over the caribbean all the way to Tahiti. We'll go back again. And I have a trip to St Croix in February and Tuscany Italy in May, would enjoy coming here next year.Close

Activities- We did a lot of relaxing on this trip, but still managed to fit in some activities. We spent a lot of time on the beach at the West Bay Club and took a few beach walks in either direction. My…Read More

Activities- We did a lot of relaxing on this trip, but still managed to fit in some activities. We spent a lot of time on the beach at the West Bay Club and took a few beach walks in either direction. My husband enjoyed the kayak, although he said it wasn’t that easy because the water was choppy.

Snorkeling Boat Trip- I wanted to go out with Dive Provo, but they were not doing a snorkeling trip the week that we were there. We ended up doing a half day snorkeling trip with Big Blue instead where we were supposed to be gone until noon and have 3-4 snorkeling spots. It was a bit expensive, at $115 per person (compared to Dive Provo’s half day which I think was $55). It was an adventure. There were only 5 passengers on the boat—our group of 3 and another couple—which I thought was great because I prefer small snorkeling groups. The first place we snorkeled was a bit too rough—but if it had been calm I would imagine it would be phenomenal because there was a lot to see. We then made our way to the mangroves in search of calmer water, but it was too murky for snorkeling. We went to another spot- again it was really rough, but a lot to see. The next stop was the roughest and our adventure began— the captain put the anchor down and then later drove the boat with it still down. I’m no boat captain, but I don’t think you’re supposed to do that! The anchor got stuck, the boat was moving and the bow broke! The captain had to jump in the water to break the anchor free, then we had to try to steer the boat so it wouldn’t hit the coral or hit the captain (and we were unsuccessful unfortunately and hit the coral). With a broken anchor and bow, we made our way back to shore, about an hour early. They did give us a $15 per person discount for the trip being cut short. We were not in a mood to argue as our nerves were shot, but I really wish we had asked for more of a discount since we essentially missed out on a third of the trip. I would try a different company next time.

Semisubmersible- Since my parents are not big on snorkeling, they took the semisubmersible. It went out on Smith’s Reef. They enjoyed the one hour trip and saw a few turtles, stingrays and many fish. This was a good way for them to enjoy the underwater world without getting wet.

Glow Worm/Sunset Cruise—I had really struggled as to whether this would be worth the cost before we went—but we thoroughly enjoyed it. We were lucky to be there at the right time, since the glow worms only do their thing once a month. We went out with Outback Adventures. The boat was a double decker which afforded great views. The captain was a bit eccentric, but entertaining for the most part. The cruise left from Sapodilla Bay and you had to walk in the water to about knee deep to get on the boat—so make sure to wear shorts! We cruised around a bit and looked at some beautiful homes on the shoreline, a boat wreck, and a gorgeous sunset. We then made our way back to Sapodilla Bay to watch the glowworms. It was an interesting site, and we enjoyed watching them from the top deck which I think gave a better, more panoramic view. I would definitely recommend this trip since it’s something a little different that you can’t see everywhere.
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Beaches- We did not get to do as much beach exploring as I had hoped because we were just plain lazy! We spent most of our time on Grace Bay. We also visited Taylor Bay which was calm and beautiful. This…Read More

Beaches-
We did not get to do as much beach exploring as I had hoped because we were just plain lazy! We spent most of our time on Grace Bay.

We also visited Taylor Bay which was calm and beautiful. This would be a great place to take kids since the water was very shallow, really far out. We also briefly visited Sapodilla Bay, but preferred Taylor.

We visited Blue Hills for the Conch Shack, but there is a lovely beach there as well. And conch shells everywhere!

Although not a beach, Chalk Sound had some of the most beautiful water I have ever seen. We had lunch at Las Brisas (see more in my restaurant list), and the view of Chalk Sound from there were amazing.

Snorkeling-
We took quite a few walks down to Coral Gardens on Grace Bay for snorkeling. The snorkeling was much better than I had expected. Saw lots of barracuda (including Elvis who was huge! Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of him.), file fish, trumpet fish, lots of parrot fish (I have seen parrot fish often, but never so many of them together), jacks and many others. One day I also saw a glimpse of a large shark. I was coming back in and had already taken off my mask when I heard a guy yelling that there was something large in the water. So I quickly put my mask back on and a large shark swam right by me. I only got a quick glimpse, but I think it was a reef shark and possibly 4-5 feet. I have swam with sharks before, so it didn't scare me. I wish I had been quick enough to get a photo of it! About an hour later I saw my parents walking on the beach and as we were all walking back to our hotel, we saw a large shark swimming in the shallow water along the beach. I am guessing it was the same one.

We saw some stingrays near the West Bay Club (also on Grace Bay), but that was about it. I was disappointed not to see any turtles.

We drove down to Smith’s Reef one day. The water was calmer here than Grace Bay which made for some good snorkeling. Saw sea anemone, an eel, more barracuda, a colorful queen angel fish and many other beautiful fish.
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Our first visit to Grand Turk was a magical one. The pristine beach, the crystal blue water and the clear sky made it the perfect setting for what I was about to do; propose marriage to my girlfriend. So on November 27, 2008…Read More

Our first visit to Grand Turk was a magical one. The pristine beach, the crystal blue water and the clear sky made it the perfect setting for what I was about to do; propose marriage to my girlfriend.

So on November 27, 2008 (Thanksgiving Day), I got down on one knee and offered her my heart and a very nice blue diamond ring. After she finished jumping up and down with happiness I received my "Yes". It couldn't have gone any more perfectly than it did; the right weather, the right location and the right lady.

Less than a year later we got married on the island of Provo right on Grace Bay Beach during sunset. Again the setting was incredible with the soft sand beneath our bare feet, the crystal blue waves and the amazing sunset. We spent two weeks of our honeymoon basking in this island Paradise.

Since our first trip to the TCI, we have returned amost twice a year to relive our magical memories and create some new ones. Close