With its perfect climate, gorgeous white-sand beaches, and turquoise water, many associate Turks and Caicos Islands with luxurious celebrity vacations. Celebrity visitors have included Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Bruce Willis, Will Smith, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Prince, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Janet Jackson, Lebron James, Rhianna, Lionel Messi, and even more recently, the Kardashian sisters. Needless to say, this gorgeous island has earned its place as the top beach of 2018!
Grace Bay Beach, specifically, has earned the coveted first-place position as the world’s best beach (check it out here), so of course, we had to check it out! We traveled to Grace 
Bay for a quick 30-hour trip (2.5 hour flight from Charlotte, NC…we arrived at 11 a.m. Saturday, and went through customs, got a cab for a 15 minute ride, checked in, and was on the beach by noon!) in July of 2018, and while expensive, we could easily see why this was voted the top beach of 2018!
Grace Bay is located just 15 minutes away from the international airport in Providenciales, which is an island in the northwest Caicos Islands, a portion of the British Oversees Territory that spans all of Turks and Caicos. The beach itself is somewhere between 3-12 miles long, depending on who you talk to and how they measure. Grace Bay is often advertised as “12 miles long”, however, that 12 miles only applies if you measure the entire northern coast of Providenciales, or Provo for short. Regardless, the beach is very long, which is helpful in that it spreads out the guest population so that no area of the beach is too overly crowded – a huge plus in our book!
We stayed at the Coral Gardens on Grace Bay (check it out here) in Povo for our 1-day weekend getaway trip and were not disappointed! This boutique resort is a 
condominium-styled resort and was more than we had hoped for when we booked a last-minute trip – literally 2 days before our arrival date. We stayed in an oceanview suite condo that had a full kitchen, complete with Keurig, coffee pot, blender, stocked cabinets of dinnerware, and all kitchen appliances. If we had stayed longer than the 1 day we would have gotten groceries at the local store and made meals and drinks here to save money since it would have been so easy to do so. Definitely a good option to have! The full master suite included a king bed, a small bedroom “deck”, TV, and spacious bathroom, complete with a Jacuzzi tub. The condo also had a half bathroom down the hall, a washer and dryer, a fully furnished dining room and living room, and a breakfast bar at the kitchen counter, 
allowing for lots of space in the condo itself. The condo was fully furnished and included multiple TV’s and wifi, and we felt right at home. The best part of the condo, was, admittedly, the large balcony, which looked out over the pool and the ocean. Most of our time that we spent in the condo was actually spent outside on the balcony, relaxing in the lounge chairs or at the balcony table, taking in the views. Not only did Coral Gardens come with a beach (as a beachfront property), it also has 2 pools for guests to use – TWO! The office provides fresh towels, free book rentals, and a small selection of sunscreen and toiletries for purchase if you need it – convenient if you want to get on the beach ASAP and don’t want to waste time stopping at the store for sunscreen! (Pro Tip: if you’re checking a bag, throw sunscreen in there to bring with you – sunscreen is always WAY expensive on islands, like $25/bottle expensive!)
Even more perfect than the lodging was the location. Coral Gardens has probably the best location on the beach, hands down. Not only is it a quick 15 minutes from the airport (which is important when you only have 30 hours on the island), but it also is 
located right in front of a reef (The Bight Reef) that provides amazing snorkeling! You really get the best of both worlds in that you have this incredible, pristine, white-sand, turquoise-water, smooth beach, and then just 50 feet from the shoreline is an amazing reef that provides awesome snorkeling! You don’t even need to spend money to book a tour and spend time on a boat 
to get there! We brought our own snorkel masks and snorkeled for free, but it looked like they had rentals available on the beach as well. The reef itself is protected by buoys and you can’t go into the protected area, but you can swim around it and see lots of wildlife and coral. Even swimming around the area still means swimming overtop of the “unprotected” area without buoys, so you still get to dive down and get up close and 
personal – just don’t touch! Coral Gardens offers guests fresh towels and lounge chairs, and the beach attendant will set up chairs for you. He’s also the guardian of the reef, so if you go into the protected area he’ll blow his whistle at you – don’t say you weren’t warned 🙂 The good news is, we talked to the beach attendant who said he has been working at Coral Gardens for 12 years and had never seen or heard of shark sighting in those 12 years. There are small patches of reef closer to the shoreline too, so it’s a perfect spot for kiddos to learn to snorkel in shallow water too. Be sure to bring or buy sunscreen that doesn’t damage reefs!
All in all, the condominium location was perfect for us! While the accommodations were amazing as well, the location was really the sweet spot for us, and we would 100% return to Coral Gardens again and again! With only a quick 15 minute ride from the airport, ocean front views and access, and a protected reef it really was everything we could have wanted! We were also pleasantly surprised to find that it really wasn’t super crowded and we were really only sharing the beach with Coral Gardens guests. Coral Gardens is kind of off to itself, so we weren’t sharing the beach with resorts on either side of us because there were none 🙂
We would highly recommend Coral Gardens to anyone visiting Grace Bay. Pro Tip – go during “off season” when it is cheaper and less crowded. June-November is typically regarded as off season due to the potential for rain and hurricanes, so you do run that risk, however, when we went in July the weather was perfect and we had no rain. The temperature stayed around a perfect 88 degrees, sunny with a breeze, and amazingly refreshing water. For it being off-season the weather was pretty perfect!
If you’re headed to Turks, or thinking about heading that way be sure to check out Coral Gardens on Grace Bay in Providenciales! Their suite options include 1, 2, or 3 bedroom suites, all ranging from $260-$900/night depending on the room and season – truly something for everyone!
A few other things to note:
- As you have probably heard, Turks and Caicos is pretty expensive as far as islands go. We loved having the convenience of having Somewhere Café located right next
to Coral Gardens, and while we utilized that advantage, it was more expensive than the US. Since we were prepared for this it was fine, but it is something to note to be prepared for. At
Somewhere Café we had breakfast for $51 (before tip), which included a breakfast sandwich, burrito, side of potatoes, and 2 coffees. We also got virgin Pina Coladas for about $6 each and put our own rum in them. (Pro Tip – buy alcohol at Duty Free airport stores in the US before you leave…it’s WAY cheaper, and then all you have to pay for are mixers when you get to the island! We paid $16 for rum in the Charlotte airport, and then $2 on the island for every glass of coke we got to mix it with. Alcoholic drinks on the island looked like they tended to range between $12-$16 each.) - We had dinner down the street at Mr. Grouper for $78 (before tip), which included a coconut grouper plate and a coconut snapper plate, conch fritters, and 2 water bottles. Again, definitely a bit pricey, especially for a plate that doesn’t include steak or lobster.
- Taxis are typically large vans on Turks and Caicos. For the 15 minute ride to and from the airport we paid about $25 each time. For a ride home from dinner that was only a mile or two away it was about $14. The taxi from the airport was actually a shared taxi van with another couple, so don’t be surprised if they group you together when you get there for taxis.
- As mentioned before, we had a fully functioning kitchen with all the appliances. Had we stayed longer, we would have gotten groceries and made a few meals ourselves instead of eating out. Definitely a good option to have! Since we had a blender we also would have picked up Pina Colada mixes and made our own to bring to the beach with us if we had made a trip to the store – gotta take advantage of your options!
- Conch is a staple food in Turks and Caicos – they even have their very own conch
farm, which is the only one in the world! Be sure to check their conch out in some form while you’re there, whether that is conch fritters or ceviche or something else! Lobster is also big here, unfortunately, the season that we went was not lobster season, and as such, it was illegal to catch lobster at that time, so no restaurant served it. If you end up going to Turks and getting a chance to try it please let us know what you thought!
*This post was a collaboration with Coral Gardens on Grace Bay, but all opinions and photos are my own.
know anyone who had gone there…plus, we could hop on a plane in the US and land in Belize by 11:30 a.m., AND the flights were wide open, so flying standby wouldn’t be an issue. We knew we could get the beach on Ambergris Caye, and we love the Caribbean Sea, so that was a no-brainer, but neither of us had ever experienced a true jungle so we figured we’d get the best of both worlds and do it all! While the Belize Barrier Reef is the 2nd largest reef in the world, about half of the country also houses an incredible rainforest, 80% of which is protected by the government! As it turns out, Belize is SEVERELY underrated. The country was absolutely breathtaking…and WASN’T overrun with tourists. We got the best of the Caribbean Islands, mountain views, ancient ruins, and jungle adventuring all in one tiny country over the course of a week! If you haven’t heard of Belize you need to check it out and add it to your bucket list immediately!
the tourists that DO go to Belize end up at some point. The island has a very low-key vibe and offers just enough to do to not get bored, but not too much to the point where it’s crowded and super touristy. To get to the island, you have to either take a small little island-hopper plane, or a water taxi (ferry). We chose to do the water taxi since it was cheaper. We took a cab from the airport in Belize City to the water taxi terminal ($25), which was about a 20 minute ride. Once at the water taxi terminal, we bought tickets for a one-way ticket to Ambergris Caye ($28/person). There are scheduled departure times, so plan accordingly if you can, the schedule is usually posted online 
hands down! We went on a half day tour with Searious Adventures (check them out on 
a.m., did a few pickups from resort docks, and came back at 12:30 for a 4 hour total trip. The cool thing about the trip is that it’s (obviously) via boat ride, so you get see the island from a different perspective as you cruise by, so it’s kind of like getting a tour in and of itself just to GET to the snorkel site. Our guides Jose and Eddie were fantastic and we had an amazing time with them. They knew answers to everyone’s questions about the history and the sea life, and they pointed out all kinds of fish and coral and told us what everything was. They even got 
eels and turtles to come out of hiding and had lots of great stories to tell. Our group had about 12 people, which was then split into groups of 6, each of which followed either Jose or Eddie. It was really a great setup because you could stick with a guide and see everything he pointed out, or you could wander a bit and explore on your own as long as you are within eyesight of the group. During our half day tour we were able to see and swim with a sea turtle, eels, sharks, stingrays, lion fish, Spanish lobster, “Dory” fish, and all kinds of snapper and other types of fish and coral. As swimmers who have only ever snorkeled off the beach on our own, 
participating in an actual snorkel tour and seeing that much wildlife was an absolutely incredible experience. If you make it to Belize, I HIGHLY recommend checking out Searious Adventures for a snorkel tour….with Belize’s huge reef, it’s the best place to snorkel around! For those interested, Searious also offers a variety of other packages, including mainland tours of caving, zip lining and ruins exploration, and sailing excursions. Their snorkeling options even come as half-day or full-day trips, and have several different tour sites that you can choose from…check them out!
land through a drivable path within the last 2-3 years, before that it was only accessible by boat. Since we stayed “North of the bridge” in Tres Cocos (more about where we stayed 
depart. The airport and the water taxi dock is here, so you will inevitably be here at some point. It’s also the most 
touristy area and is where most of the restaurants and shops are located, so you’ll probably spend a decent amount of time here. There’s something around every corner – and half of the buildings are waterfront, so, even better! Would definitely recommend spending some time strolling through the streets and getting lost in the alleys.
the capital of Belmopan, which is right in the middle of the 
country. Our resort was the Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge (read that review 
located right outside the town of San Ignacio, which is right near Belize’s western border with Guatemala, so it is a bit of a drive unless you’re staying in San Ignacio. However, we loved the 1.5 hour drive from Belmopan because we got to drive straight across the country and see more of Belize, which was really neat. We had a rental car so we drove ourselves without a problem, but you can book tours that include transportation pretty easily. When you first arrive, you have to cross the river using a ferry. The ferry takes cars and walkers free of charge, but tips are appreciated, especially since it’s a hand cranked ferry. It’s not a large river and only takes a few minutes to cross. From there you drive (or walk) up a paved path until you see 
buildings and a parking lot. Bathrooms, gift shops, ad park services are located there, and you will need to pay $5/person as a park entrance fee, so make sure you have cash! After parking there is a quick 5 minute walk uphill to get to the ruins, which are pretty much all in one place. Be sure to bring sunscreen and water because it is sunny and hot in that main open area, and sneakers are recommended. It looks like most visitors hire a tour guide, which you can either come with if you booked a tour or you can hire when you get there. We didn’t get a guide because we were just wanting to breeze through and we were in and out within 45 minutes, but I hear that the guides are worth the money, especially if you want to really learn about the ruins and history. There aren’t any informational signs on the grounds as you walk through, so if you are really caring to know about everything
Belmopan, and was only about 10 minutes from our resort, so we stopped in to check it out on our way back from Xunantunich. It is only about $4/person to visit the national park, and offers several hiking and cave exploring options, but we didn’t have much time so we went to see the blue hole instead. This blue hole is a small jungle pool that is similar to the Mexican cenotes, if you are familiar with those. Don’t let the photo fool you, since we got there in the middle of the day it was pretty crowded when we arrived, so we went for a quick swim and then left. The water was definitely pretty cold, but we would have loved to come back and spent real time if it wasn’t so crowded and if we had had more time. Side note: this blue hole is NOT to be confused with the Blue Hole in the ocean that you can fly over or boat to that many visit to go scuba diving.
sure that you get some type of truck/SUV type vehicle that can handle uneven/unpaved roads. The resort is about 1.5 hours away from the main international airport in Belize City, and is smack dab in the middle of the jungle. It really is a mountain jungle retreat and it was absolutely incredible! In addition, the grounds are absolutely breathtaking and are beautifully manicured and well-taken care of. There are gorgeous flowers and plants everywhere and you really feel like you have escaped into an Eden oasis. We were originally concerned about the jungle being buggy, but April is the beginning of the dry season and the bugs really weren’t bad! They were definitely present, but we wore bug spray and didn’t have a problem at all!
view does come with a price. Not a steep one, and definitely not a deal-breaker, but there are about 4 flights of stairs to get up to that Mountain View building….a total of about 78 steps. It makes sense, as you normally have to get higher for a view, but it is TOTALLY worth it (attendants will carry your bags for you). The room itself was absolutely unbelievable….it included an enormous balcony with a private mini pool, a 2-person hot tub, and patio furniture set, complete with a balcony hammock. Most of the time we spent at the room was spent outside on our balcony. The room does not have WiFi or a TV, (none of the individual rooms do) in order to complete the jungle “escape”, which was actually really cool to fully unplug from the world. Both TV and Wifi are available down in the lobby building if you need them though!
a main lobby with TVs and WiFi available, free bike, kayak and paddleboard (SUP) rentals, amazing jungle hiking trails, and a ton of additional tours and activities available. Activities range from about $35-$175/person and you can experience anything from jungle safaris, cave expeditions, ancient ruins tours, horse riding, zip lining, rappelling, bird watching tours, and more! The resort will set all of these different activities up for you and arrange transportation if needed as well. We chose to go to the ruins of Xunantunich on our own since we had a rental car, which was about an hour and 45 minutes away (read more about that and what else to 
activities are fabulous! We took advantage of all the free options available at the 
resort as well, all of which were amazing! We did the Gazebo Hike one day to see the outstanding views at the top of the mountain. The hike only took us about 15 minutes, but was straight uphill, so we got a good workout. We were told it normally takes about 25-30 minutes to get to the top. It takes you right through the heart of the jungle, which is super cool. We were afraid it would be really hot and muggy, but it was surprisingly not – the foliage creates a canopy that shields you from the sun which was a lifesaver! We wore bug spray and were totally fine from bugs during the hike, so I would recommend planning for that. There was a secluded little gazebo at the top (we were the only ones up there) with spectacular 360-degree views of the Maya Mountains and Sibun River. This hike is a must-do while you stay at the resort – ESPECIALLY if you aren’t staying in a Mountain View Suite already! Another free activity that we loved was biking through the 
orange groves. The resort has their own orange grove on the premises at the base of the Sleeping Giant mountain, where they harvest and serve their own oranges. Their breakfast includes fresh-squeezed orange juice every morning that is absolutely INCREDIBLE that comes from their own groves. We borrowed the resort bikes and biked the 1-1.5 mile path to the end of the grove, stopping to pick fresh oranges off the trees for a refreshing snack. Something to note – this path is not 
through the 
jungle and therefore does not shield the sun, so be sure to wear sunscreen! We topped off our bike ride with a refreshing paddleboard trip up the Sibun River with the resort’s free SUP rentals. The river is safe to swim in and was clear all the way to the pebble bottom. The river runs right down to the base of the Sleeping Giant mountain, so you get that spectacular view the whole way.
down meal. The open-air seating area is on the top deck of the building, so you get to feel like you’re eating outside, and again, offers an incredible view. The menu features lots of local products, including cheese from the Mennonite community down the road, oranges from the resort trees, and veggies and herbs from the resort garden. Dinner is served at 6:30 and 7:30 every night. We tried coconut shrimp, mozzarella sticks, ribeye steak with onion rings, potatoes, veggies, shrimp bisque, papusa (an El Salvadorian dish of dough filled with beans/cheese/pork/shrimp and grilled), shrimp linguine, pollo asado (chicken/cheese), cheesecake, chocolate lava cake, and ayote en mile (traditional Belizean dessert of pumpkin slow simmered in 
cinnamon and spiced syrup). I know that sounds like a lot – but that was for 2 people for 3 3-course dinners 🙂 The continental breakfast buffet is about $12/person and includes a typical spread of eggs, bread, beans, potatoes, fruit, yogurt, cereal, and of course, fresh-squeezed orange juice. They seem to mix it up each morning by offering a different variety of eggs each day….spoiler alert: they’re all good! They also have a full bar that serves drinks all day, and are also available for some food throughout the day. Just a head’s up though, there is a 12.5% tax on all expenses, plus an additional 9% resort tax on all goods, so the bill will be a bit higher than what you expect unless you are factoring those additional taxes in on the front end. This restaurant is the only food option around unless you want to drive into town, but the prices were reasonable and we loved eating at Grove House every night so we didn’t feel the need to go elsewhere!
ourselves! There is a full bar on site that also serves food, complete with a taco bar that you just won’t be able to get enough of. We loved topping off our night with a huge ($7) plate of nachos, and starting the morning with their enormous footlong breakfast burritos ($6). They even have a reserve osmosis water system that filters and cleans the water so that you can drink it….it was the only place on the whole island where we actually drank non-bottled water.
Pilot Life for Me 