Hello friends. Been a real hot minute since I’ve shared this space with you. But I’m here. Still alive and kicking. Just business as usual!
So birthdays are one of the special occasions that I get the honor of planning special trips for. Lots of trips for the older groups that have more time off work or are retired but I’ve also done my share of younger trips 21st birthdays, 30th birthdays and this year several 40th birthday celebrations.
Last year I celebrated a big birthday and my husband and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary so we naturally combined that into one trip….more on that trip in another post as I catch up. But this year several of my friends started also having big birthdays so I put my head into it and came up with some fabulous trips!
One of these trips was to the beautiful islands of Turks and Caicos. Curious…have you heard of it? Or never? Turks was one of the destinations I had my eyes on for our honeymoon but opted away from it. But I’ve long desired to go. So go I did! In June for 4 nights my cousin-friend and I, with the blessing of my husband and support of family for childcare, high tailed it out of Illinois. The water flying in was GORGEOUS. And the water there was just as beautiful.
Some fun facts about Turks and caicos airport. It’s super small. 1 runway. Meaning we circled the island for about 10 mins before given clearance to land. And when you take off, you go down the runway, turnaround, THEN takeoff.
When we arrived we entered the building and promptly had about a one and a half hour line to get through customs/immigration. At this point I want to say if you are considering traveling to Turks with a family and they are still in that tantrum throwing age-stage then by all means pay the extra money and do the VIP pass to get you through quicker and not have to stand in the heat and the long wait. Several planes arrived at one time…or within minutes of each other.
Once through there, we went out and a man asked if we needed a taxi. Saying yes he then ushered us to one that was going where we were going, so we hopped in and were quickly on our way. Taxi to our resort, West Bay Club, was about $12/pp and was only about 15 mins away. Taxi is the easiest way to get around on the island. You can drive/rent a car, but keep in mind they drive fast and on the other side of the road.
We arrived around 4:30 pm got to our beautiful furnished studio and headed to enjoy the beach for a bit. West bay club is owned condos, meaning some of the people there are owners and stay there awhile at a time. Each room is different decor based on the different owner’s tastes. If owners aren’t using their rooms then they can opt to rent them out. Breakfasts were included with our stay. There was one restaurant on site and it served up by the lobby or for lunch down by the beach.
From the beach in front of the resort you could get a massage (must be scheduled in advance and an offsite massage therapist comes to either your room or the beach canopy.) You can also get motorized activities. We thought the tubing option looked fun so we gave it a try. It was amazing and we laughed and bounced for about 15 mins or so.
It was a short getaway so we didn’t venture off the grounds much and I didn’t tour other properties like I normally would. However we did walk down the beach to Somewhere Cafe. This mexican restaurant was located by the Windsong resort and had some of the smoothest guacamole I’ve ever had, it was very good. Believe it or not I also tried my first fish tacos. We did this restaurant for lunch as walking on the beach at nighttime is NOT recommended for safety purposes. Overall we felt very safe on the island. I like to recommend clients discuss with concierge whats safe and not safe in their location.
On Thursday nights in the summer it’s recommended you go to the “fish fry”. It’s a large open area, market of sorts, that everyone comes and sells their souvenir and gifts to the tourists. And the local restaurants bring food trucks. You can have fish tacos, shrimp, conch fritters, daiquiri, and other slushee type tropical alcholic drinks. There is loud music and dancing. I mention the loud music because for some this would’ve been too loud and obnoxious. It was a great experience for me but once was enough. That said some will love this venue and some will prefer to stay at their quiet resorts. There are police there patrolling and taxis coming and going from this very busy section of town.
Let’s talk about West Bay Club for a bit. They have 1, 2, and 3 bedroom villas that are great for a family getaway. Located right on the magnificent beautiful beach and a hospitality staff that is outstanding. They worked hard to tell my cousin and I apart and call us by our first names. There are bikes on-site for your use as well as a kids club program for Littles. It’s not a huge resort so you run into very few people. Summer time is actually their low season and a slower time for them. Usually there was only about 4 ppl in the pool except the last day then there were more. Overall it was a very quiet resort.
Some restaurants we wanted to try but didn’t make it to…
Hemingways on the beach (B, L, D)
Marine room… fine dining.
lets talk ICE CREAM– the Patty place and Giggles were two ice cream places recommended to us by the staff at west bay. They were disputing which was better. We got to try giggles at the Thursday night fish fry but didn’t make it to the Patty Place
This is a very small list but you can check out a more inclusive list here. Remember I can make reservations for dining for a special event or occasion when I’m working with you to plan your trip.
A lot of people want to do all inclusive properties. West Bay Club is not that. But there are a few options on the island. The Alexandra, Blue Haven, Club Med Turquiose, and Beaches Turks and Caicos.
I’m asked frequently about Turks and costs to go there. Turks is/has grown in popularity in recent years. The pricing when I first started quoting it has changed quite a bit. It’s now one of the higher end islands I quote. Sometimes you can get a deal but generally for the all inclusive properties your going to pay more than in the past. Couple Turks growing popularity with the influx in air prices over the past year and prices are up across the board. Dining in Turks is also not cheap. Consider island destinations like Hawaii or in the Caribbean where alot of the food has to be flown in, thus, their food prices are higher than most islands. They have very little farming industry of their own on that island. To get there from our local area in Illinois you can get there from peoria but will have two stop overs. The nonstop flight to Turks are through Miami or the east coast…JFK or Newark I believe. So the best option is to fly southwest from midway with one stop in Miami or fly from ohare or st Louis with a stop in Miami likely.
Thanks for traveling along on this most recent jaunt! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if I can assist with any additional questions or needs regarding Turks & Caicos. Talk to you soon!
All My Passions 