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I want to take this trip, what details should I know? Details and Trip Planning
About
The big trip this year was a visit to the Turks and Caicos. Specifically the island of Providenciales and a stay at the wonderful "Sands at Grace Bay" resort.
What do you do when your girlfriend has a major birthday? Plan a trip to the islands of course. Many years ago I had visited the Turks and Caicos and I always thought that "someday I'll come back and stay at one of the super fancy places". Well, now seems like a good "someday".
Ok, so off the bat, this is going to be a bit unusual from my normally "What's the best value I can find" and more "Let's find something with some WOW factor"
The trip was great and I can highly recommend both the room and the resort. We had a bit of weather issues but you really could not plan for a dust storm in Africa sweeping across the ocean causing some overcast skies. Luckly it was the worse at the beginning of the trip and we got better and better skies each day of the trip.
The Sands at Grace Bay
Did you ever get the room that is the one from the brochure? Well, we did.
One Bedroom Suite Oceanfront
The Sands at Grace Bay
This was meant to be the star of the show, and it did not disappoint. Am I going to be spoiled forever now? Likely, but it's worth the risk. A gigantic screened in porch with views for miles and more space that you could figure out what to do with. Yes the living room was great and so was the kitchen, bedroom, and bath, but the star of the show and why you get this room is for the balcony.
I'll let the pictures do the talking.
 The View |
 The View |
Fancy Dinning
So much fancy dinning but the stand out restaurant was the ocean view dining at the Ritz. They have some kind of issues with naming rights so the restaurant is called "Coralli" during lunch hours and "Casa Nonna" at night. We went there for both and the views were stunning, the food great, and the service. I could not recommend this place any higher. Heck even the outdoor bar next to it was a great place to sit for a beer.
No complaints about the view, food, or service at The Deck at Seven Stars and the "Hotel Dining" at the Sands was called Hemingway's and likewise was great.
About the only letdown was the actual steakhouse at the Ritz. We were in the mode for some air conditioning and with the slam dunk of Coralli/Casa Nona we didn't see how it could go wrong. Not cozy, rushed, and overpriced. This place is a pass.
But back to the great and have you tired conch? It's great. I've not seen it offered outside of the Caribbean and get it every time I can. It's for sale everywhere and just wonderful. And yes, a Pina Colada a day keeps the frowns away.
 Casa Nonna at the Ritz |
 Casa Nonna at the Ritz |
 Casa Nonna at the Ritz |
 BLT Steak at the Ritz |
 Outdoor Bar at Coralli |
 The Deck at Seven Stars |
 Hemingway’s at The Sands (Conch) |
 Hemingway’s at The Sands |
Activities
We're really not sit at the beach people, so some excursions were in order. A sunset champagne catamaran was a perfect start. Followed by a snorkel tour and then some Parasailing to top it off.
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Sunset Cruise
You can't go to the Caribbean and not take a ride on a catamaran. So what better way than to take the Sunset Champaign Sail? A perfect way to start the trip with some light sailing, some drinks, and a great sunset.
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Snorkel Tour
I would modify this one and skip the snorkel. Just do another boat tour. The snorkel reefs offshore have really seen better days and the current was too strong to have a good time. There were almost no fish and not much to see. Afterwards we were off to walk around half moon bay but in truth the short stop we did at an unnamed beach before was more interesting. There were tons of fish near the shore and some interesting scenery. But hey, a day on the ocean in the Turks is still a fun day.
 The Boat |
 Fish |
 Unnamed |
 Unnamed |
 Half Moon Bay |
 The Reef |
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Parasailing
First time. Will not be the last time. We waited until the last day hoping the weather would clear a bit and it did. The first time parasailing for both of us and we had a blast. Grace Bay is a great place to parasail as you can really see the coral once you get up. They more or less fly you like a kite and drift you over some sections of coral that are too shallow for the boat itself to sail over. When you get to the highest altitude you can even see across the entire island and the color difference is wild. Highly recommended.
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