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Jack's Shack or Margaritaville?!


SkersCruiser
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Hi!

 

Just wondering which of these two places we should plan on spending all, or most of all of our day at? I'm reading great things about both. Hubby and I are both very social and like to be in the mix of things. Jack's Shack sounds great, but I'm now reading that it might be a lot more quiet than I was expecting it to be. Also, I'm assuming Jack's has cheaper drinks than Margaritaville...am I correct in that assumption?

 

Thanks for your input! :)

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We were in Grand Turk on a cruise last May and although I can't recommend one over the other to you, I'll give you a description of each. We are definitely big Jimmy Buffett fans and will hit a Margaritaville any chance we get - gotta have the T-shirts, beer huggies, and etc. (which we got). Neither hubby or and I are into crowds (and the waits that go with the crowds) so after shopping at the Margaritaville store, we headed to Jack's and spent a couple of hours there - but we did walk around the pool at Margaritaville first.

 

Margaritaville can get crowded but they have a lot going on to keep everyone entertained and it's more of a "party" atmosphere. Of course, there's the restaurant where you can get food (same as found at any of the Margaritavilles) in addition to the drinks. They also have the pool (huge) and swim up bar. There are chairs on the beach in front of Margaritaville but don't know if they have bar service there or not (maybe someone else will know for sure). It's also very close to where the ships dock and is located in the cruise center.

 

Jack's Shack is located further down the beach (about a 10 minute walk) and is definitely more laid back and quiet. It get's busy but doesn't get the massive crowds like Margaritaville does. It's is a smaller beach bar & grill that has a nice deck with tables with umbrellas and chairs and is right on the beach, but there is no pool. They have beach chairs & umbrellas for a set up fee (prices are in another thread but I can't remember if it was $5.00 for chair/$10.00 for umbrella or vice versa). Some people just lay their towels on the beach. We didn't eat there but have read here on CC that the jerk chicken is awesome & believe me, it sure smelled and looked good. They have some great tunes they play from an i-pod. Yes, drinks are cheaper at Jack's (I think $6.00). They were very good and on the strong side, which we didn't mind one bit. If I'd have had one more, I'd have been crawling back to the ship.

 

I'm attaching pictures of both Jack's and Margaritaville so you can actually "see" what's described. If you have any other questions I'll try to answer them as best as I can for you. Hope this helps.

 

View of Margaritaville and pool from the ship

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Pool at Margaritaville

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Pool/swim up bar - Margaritaville

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Jack's Shack from the beach

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Jack's Shack - the bar

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Jack's Shack - the deck

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Edited by pghsteelerfan
spelling - oops!
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Hey again, I forgot to add that we were the only ship in Grand Turk that day and before heading to Margaritaville, we headed down to and around the "point" and the conch "graveyard" and spent a while there before heading to Margaritaville. I'd say we got to Margaritaville's pool about 2 hours after our ship arrived. If you get to Margaritaville right when you get off the ship, I'm sure you could get prime location - whether it be a beach chair or a seat at the swim up bar. Had we gotten there earlier, I'm sure we'd have had a better choice of seats/location instead of having to bypass it.

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Are there lockers to rent at Margaritaville for your valuables?

 

I'm not sure about that one since we really only walked by the pool area, saw all prime seating was taken and headed down to Jack's. Hopefully someone else will be able to answer whether there are or not. Sorry I couldn't help you with that one.

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Thanks for the photos, pghsteelerfan. I have a question: is the beach pretty much open for walking as far as one would like? Can you walk all the way around the southern point of Grand Turk? Thanks.

 

Hi InitialD,

 

I tried posting the answer to you about an hour ago, but my answer didn't post. Hopefully it will work this time.

 

Yes, you can walk around the southern point as far as you want. We did that last May. You won't believe the number of big, empty conch shells on the beach there, tons! :) To go north, you'll have to head up to the road at the pier that is just north of Jack's Shack. There is a fence blocking farther access. Once you get past where that fence is, you can get back down to the beach. I'm pretty sure that is Governor's Beach. I don't know if there are access paths to get back to the beach from the road after going around the pier since Jack's Shack was the farthest we went. I also tried posting a picture of that pier, but I don't know if it's the internet or our computer - but something isn't right, but it keeps locking up. If you are on the ship and facing Grand Turk, that pier above Jack's will be on the left. There is another small pier on the right, towards the point.

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Was there 2 weeks ago. BOTH are awesome. Just 2 different scenes. You can lay back chill have a convo listen to great music at jacks shack and a lot of the crew goes there and then you can get down at Margaritaville. If I went back I wouldn't rent the jeeps or well maybe I would but I would spend half the day at Jacks then the later part of the day at Margaritaville!

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It was a blast seeing you guys pull up in the Jeeps Stephan. I agree, check out both places, both offer something different.( But only Jacks has Topher, the digging dog). And at Jacks you can get a "Sandy Vagaina", Right Stephan.

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Would it be fairly easy to bounce between Jacks and M'Ville? I went to M'Ville last year but didnt get to see the distance to Jacks as we left for an excursion.

 

Just asking in case we want to eat/drink at Jacks and maybe take a dip in the pool at MVille.

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Would it be fairly easy to bounce between Jacks and M'Ville? I went to M'Ville last year but didnt get to see the distance to Jacks as we left for an excursion.

 

Just asking in case we want to eat/drink at Jacks and maybe take a dip in the pool at MVille.

 

Jack's is about a 10 minute walk down the beach from Margaritaville. If you're on the ship looking at Grand Turk, Margaritaville is in front of the ship (in the cruise center) and Jack's will be to the left of Margaritaville and right before the smaller pier.

Edited by pghsteelerfan
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Jack's is about a 10 minute walk down the beach from Margaritaville. If you're on the ship looking at Grand Turk, Margaritaville is in front of the ship (in the cruise center) and Jack's will be to the left of Margaritaville and right before the smaller pier.

 

Great thanks!

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My .02 cents....do both. Jacks is more relaxing and more of a real island feel. Margaritaville is a big packed party. Its night and day between the 2 places. take the 15 min walk down to jacks shack and spend an hour or 2 there, relax and have a drink.

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Jacks shack is the place.Margaritaville is very corwded and noisy. We walked down the beach, pass about 5 pink cottages then you are there at jacks. very nice. rent chairs and umbrellas. eat lunch the jerk chicken is delicious. tons of conch shells in the water. tho dont ask the guys that works there. i asked where are the shells he said they are deep. well after just snorkeling a few minutes we were pulling them out of the sand. small gift shop which ended up to be better than all the shops over by margaritaville. and the family that owns it is very nice.

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  • 4 years later...
Can you take a golf cart to Jacks? We are thinking of renting one and going to the Lighthouse, downtown then Jacks Shack after. Just wondering if we should return it and walk or if we can drive it there.

 

Yes, you can bring your cart to Jack's. There is a parking lot for your use.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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