Caribbean cruise to Turks and Caicos

Hi! Can my husband and I get around the island and get to a beach (just to walk) on our own? Thanks

There is a beach right at the pier.

Grant turk island is only about 6.9 sq. miles. That's about 6 miles long by about 1 mile wide.

You could literally walk around the whole island in about 2-3 hours.

There are some interesting sights, such as the lighthouse at the top of the island, but, it is really just a desert island with nice beaches and a lot of sand and grasses with a few hotels and shops.

There is an interesting museum there too that has a lot of info on old ship wrecks.

Do some research and check it out.

The Ruby is there right now. You can see how close the beach is on the bridge cam.

Governors Beach is just a 20 minute walk down the road if the cruise port beach seems too crowded.

Hi,

I visited Grand Turk in September 2014 during a cruise on the Caribbean Princess. The island is very small and there are beaches on both sides of the pier. There is a very nice cruise center with a large pool, restaurant, bar and shops at the end of the pier. This is an enjoyable port. In fact, I have booked another cruise that visits Grand Turk.

Chuck

Love that beach near the pier.

We went to another beach about 5 miles from the pier with a great little snack shack type restaurant. Now I can't remember the name. Had some great Conch fritters. :)

Off the ship and left up the coast.

Took a taxi there and got brave and walked back. Close to sailing and we finally had to hail a tour guide about 1 mile away. The traffic was dwindling on the road and the ship was not getting any bigger. We walked for a goood 2 hours.

Thanks everyone for all the great information here as we sail Royal Princess in a week and stopping in Grand Turk. Never been there before and was wondering what all there was to do. Love the fact that it is a small island and a beach and recreation area so close to pier.

Thanks everyone for all the great information here as we sail Royal Princess in a week and stopping in Grand Turk. Never been there before and was wondering what all there was to do. Love the fact that it is a small island and a beach and recreation area so close to pier.

I'll be on a Princess Turks & Caicos 4 day cruise at the end of February. I had signed up for a trip to Governors' beach, but received an email from Princess that the beach will be closed for renovations. It's hard to understand why a small (and relatively poor) island would close its beach in February at the height of the Caribbean tourist season, but they did.

Grand Turk is one of our favorite islands because it's NOT real "touristy".

We rented bicycles for $15 each (I think) & rode to the light house, explored some dirt roads....helped some guy catch his horse, & ended up at a secluded beach for a couple of hours before riding back to the ship during a rain storm. It was a 'grand" time.

Can't wait to return. (you can also rent a golf court if ur not up for bicycles). :)

Here are a few pictures I took at Grand Turk...they start about halfway down this album when you see the airport tower/shipwreck/Coast Guard cutter:

:D

Here are a few pictures I took at Grand Turk...they start about halfway down this album when you see the airport tower/shipwreck/Coast Guard cutter:

 

 

:D

Thanks for the Pics.

GT was by far my favorite stop on our Caribbean cruise last November. The water was as clear as any I have ever seen! We rented a scooter as we left the cruise center and had a blast running all over the island and out to the lighthouse. We didn't reserve it ahead of time, we just did it on the spur of the moment. We ended up at Governor's beach, where we just relaxed and I collected sea glass. It was an inexpensive and perfect day!

One warning, though, if you are there until evening, take mosquito repellent or be back on the ship by sundown. I don't know if it was just the day we were there, but the biting bugs came out in droves when the sun started to set. I think they breed in the large pond in the middle of the island. But don't let that scare you away - it's a beautiful place!

From my Ruby Princess cruise review, March 2012:

"Grank Turk was a top 5 all time beach day. We walked off the cruise dock, turned left past Margaritaville - which is incredible but really crowded, probably great for teens & 20's who want to meet people & party - and headed down the beach 1/4 mile to Jack's Shack. Nothing fancy there, but the beach wasn't crowded, beer was cold, and we just laid on our 2 rented chaises ($5 each), swam, and tanned all day. Perfect."

Jack's Shack has a Facebook page as well with photos & info. Enjoy your day!

It's also one of the few places that still has free internet in a couple of locations near the dock.

Jack's Shack has a Facebook page as well with photos & info. Enjoy your day!

...and wi-fi!

We're doing the CB 4-day to GT and doing Jack's Shack as well. DH found some lots of info on Jack's at their website. We were suppose to do GT a few years ago but do to a late season hurricane didn't make it so this is a good way to go and also get out of the cold weather. Less than a month away!!!:D

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville! Swim up bar with the best margarita in the Caribbean. Right off the pier. Always our first stop. After that we beach comb up the beach to the right as you come off pier. Undeveloped and a little trashy but Beautiful. Good snorkeling right off beach to left of pier. The big time snorkeling is offshore reef you can do by excursion. Jack's Shack is favorite beach bar to left of pier down beach about a mile. Enjoyable stop. One time at sail away ship stopped after pulling out and we watched fireworks for a local holiday. Ship blew horn at end and off we went. Was really fun.

GT was by far my favorite stop on our Caribbean cruise last November. The water was as clear as any I have ever seen! We rented a scooter as we left the cruise center and had a blast running all over the island and out to the lighthouse. We didn't reserve it ahead of time, we just did it on the spur of the moment. We ended up at Governor's beach, where we just relaxed and I collected sea glass. It was an inexpensive and perfect day!

 

One warning, though, if you are there until evening, take mosquito repellent or be back on the ship by sundown. I don't know if it was just the day we were there, but the biting bugs came out in droves when the sun started to set. I think they breed in the large pond in the middle of the island. But don't let that scare you away - it's a beautiful place!

They're called no-see-ums, and come out at sunrise and sunset. They aren't as much of a problem during mid-day, but hit the road before sunset or have your mosquito repellent handy.

Yes.... Get off the ship & you'll see the beach right there. Yes you'll have Margaritaville & music, but you'll also have the entire ship there too.

ALSO CAUTION!!!! You'll see plenty of Blue beach loungers over there, but it's really crowded and the ocean is filled with rocks. We are talking about stub your toe, ouch, you should really be wearing a pair of crocs in the ocean, broken boulder, kind of rocks.

Follow the shoreline & Keep walking down. Keep walking, keep going down till you see the small shack (which is Jack's Shack) on the right side that's the place with the conch fritters, bar, food, bathroom and the ocean there is crystal clear with a smooth sandy bottom. Small crowd, peaceful.

That's where you want to be!

Ohhhh! And GT is like two doors down from H*LL & it is super HOT! Sunscreen sunscreen sunscreen!

You can see the photos below.

Enjoy your cruise!

Jacks shack

Here is the port map. The pool is Margaritaville. Happening place, but overcrowded for my taste. Jacks is another 5 min walk to the left off the map.

Once you're at Jacks here's your view...

Yes.....

 

Follow the shoreline & Keep walking down. Keep walking, keep going down till you see the small shack (which is Jack's Shack) on the right side that's the place with the conch fritters, bar, food, bathroom and the ocean there is crystal clear with a smooth sandy bottom. Small crowd, peaceful.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Forgot, Jacks no longer serves conch fritters. You can get those at Margaritaville. (A bit greasy.) Jacks specializes in jerk chicken. Here's the menu.

They're called no-see-ums, and come out at sunrise and sunset. They aren't as much of a problem during mid-day, but hit the road before sunset or have your mosquito repellent handy.

There may have been no-see-ums too, but what we were battling were definitely mosquitoes. I only bother to make the distinction because of the diseases that mosquitoes can carry, so it's important to be forewarned. We got several bites but didn't come down with anything, so we either lucked out or chickungunya, malaria, etc isn't an issue on GT. Just use bug repellent and you'll be fine.

Thank you, Pompeii.

Great picture!

Great picture!

We were at Jacks 3 years ago with that dog! He was a riot! Always felt like he had to be digging. Great day.