Although I was fortunate to visit a number of tropical destinations growing up, my family never made it to Turks and Caicos. So, when my husband and I started planning a warm weather getaway for last year, Turks was at the top of my list. You may recall that this trip was supposed to happen earlier in 2018, but let me tell you, it was worth the wait!
Turks and Caicos is actually a series of islands, but the one with the most resorts and restaurants is Providenciales (or Provo). It’s only 38 square miles, but it has plenty of beautiful beaches!
We booked our resort through CheapCarribean.com, a favorite travel resource of mine. I consulted one of my best friends who has gone to Provo with her family for years. The place they have their time share has a resort that is part of the Turks and Caicos Collection, and we stayed at one of the sister properties, Blue Haven Resort. While most of the resorts in Provo are on Grace Bay Beach in the Northernmost part of the island, Blue Haven is located on the Easternmost edge next to a marina. Our beach was on the smaller side, but it was essentially private, which was amazing. There were also hammocks on the beach, which was a big plus for me, and we also got to check out the giant yachts as they came in…so fun!
We stayed in an “oceanfront studio” room and could literally see the ocean from our bed. I was really impressed with the amount of storage in the room, and the only thing I would have added was another chair.
Coincidentally, our friends were in Provo around the same time we were. We met them for dinner one night at Grace’s Cottage, part of the Point Grace Resort, but open to the public. The bar is located in the cottage itself (and is where this outfit ‘gram was taken), but most of the tables are outside. It’s beautiful, and the food was great! They gave me a little stool to put my purse on, which a couple of other places did later on, but it was very nice to not have to put it on the floor.
Blue Haven is an all-inclusive and has two restaurants and a beachfront grill and bar. Because it’s part of the Turks and Caicos Collection, we had access to the two sister resorts (Alexandra and Beach House) and their beaches and restaurants as well. There’s a shuttle that will take you in between, which makes it very easy to experience all three. All of the restaurants were pretty good, but we really enjoyed dinner at Fire & Ice on our resort (including s’mores on our last night!)
The one restaurant we heard about from everyone, whether they were locals or people who had been to Provo before, was Coco Bistro. If you can, make a reservation before you go because otherwise you’ll be having dinner at 9pm like we did. The silver lining of such a late dinner was that we went to grab drinks and a bite to eat at the Infiniti Bar at the Grace Bay Club. It’s gorgeous and everything was so good! (see above)
We almost wanted to stay at Infiniti the whole night, but we couldn’t miss Coco Bistro. The restaurant is set among the largest palm tree grove on the island and beautifully designed. Let me tell you, it totally lived up to the hype! I had a cocktail called the Caribbean Champagne Sunset, which I definitely need to recreate at home. We shared a salad to start, and then I had the Porcini and Caicos Coffee Crusted Beef Tenderloin with garlic mashed potatoes. It was one of the best things I ate on the trip. My husband had the Fettuccine a La Carbonara with Caicos Lobster, which he really enjoyed. Fun fact: we also had a minor celebrity and her boyfriend sitting at the table next to us. Unfortunately, they spent most of the meal fighting and didn’t really touch their food.
Another food experience I highly recommend happens every Thursday: the Provo fish fry! It takes place in a local park from 5:30 to 9:30 pm. More than a dozen restaurants from across the island come to share their best food, and there are several stalls of souvenirs too. The main attraction is obviously the fried fish. We tried fish fingers, fried conch (an island specialty) and lobster mac and cheese from a place called Froggie’s. The fish fingers were far and away one of the best things we ate the whole trip and my mouth is watering as I type this! There were also a couple of dessert trucks, plus a setup from the local brewery and a local rum distiller. Such a great way to support the local economy and eat some fantastic food!
Lest you think that all we did was eat, drink and lay on the beach, we did spend one afternoon shopping in downtown Provo. We also visited Potcake Place, a local dog rescue, to play with the puppies. I discovered this place before we were supposed to take the trip the first time, and I knew I wanted to visit. We’re not ready for another dog, but we always miss Bones when we’re away, so it was fun to have some dog time. If you’re going, be sure to check out the wish list on their Facebook page. There are some things that are very difficult and/or expensive for them to get on the island, and it really helps when people bring donations. I wish we could have brought more, but I’m so glad we could contribute and we got to spend time there with the adorable pups.
Those are the highlights of our trip! Turks and Caicos is such a beautiful island, and the perfect place for a relaxing tropical getaway. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments.
