Thinking-no excursions-what should we do, and how?

Hi,

Cruising to GT in April--so far none of the ship's excursions have screamed my name, so, I am thinking the husband and I (early 50s, traveling solo) may do what we did when we were in Roatan-hired a private driver...

Any ideas for hiring a driver, and what to see? We are beach freaks, so a trip to a good swimming beach is a must...we will be on GT from 9-5, so ideally, we'd like to be back on the ship by 3:30-4.

Thanks in advance! ;)

Read the first page or two of this board. There's not much to do or see in Grand Turk other than beach activities. There's a small lighthouse, a salt pond, an historical site for a space mission, and that's about it.

Your best bet if you like the beach is just walk down beach to left after leaving pier and just find a place you're comfortable at. We're planning to head to Jacks for a relaxing day, then maybe swing thru Margaretiville on way back.

I agree with the others and think this port is mainly a beach day. We've been to Grand Turk many times and the island is pretty void of "must-sees". Unless you're into diving/snorkeling, in which case you will want to take an excursion out to the wall which is a trench in the ocean that makes for great dives. We did a semi sub excursion once over the wall which was a nice compromise for those of us who don't want to snorkel or dive. We were able to see the wall and all the marine life underwater. We even saw a few barracudas and a sea turtle. It only lasted a few hours and left right from the pier area so left us plenty of time to relax at the beach and Margaritaville afterwards.

Personally, we usually give our wallets a break at Grand Turk though and just enjoy the free beach with chairs right to the left of the pier when you walk off the ship. There's plenty of shade and chairs, a roped swimming area, and you can walk over to Margaritaville to use the pool/loungers for free if you get tired of the beach. We may buy a drink or two at Margaritaville but will just pop back on the ship for a lunch break if we're feeling hungry (and cheap!). There is also a bathroom and changing area by the Margaritaville pool.

We've walked up the beach to Jack's shack before and thought the atmosphere was nice, the food was ok, but I'd just rather park myself in a lounger right by the beach at the end of the pier with a good book. :)

At the parking area by the pier you can hire a private driver.

You can see all there is to see in about three hours.

We went all around the island and stopped off at a few places including the light house.

Keith

We swam at the beach for a while. Then we went on the other side of the pier and walked down the beach away from all the action. You can find some quiet areas on that side with loungers and enjoy the view. This side is not developed for swimming though. However, we enjoyed just walking along the beach finding huge conch shells to take home as souvenirs. In fact, we wish we had went exploring on that side sooner!

Are you allowed to take the conch shells back on ship? There's nothing living in them[emoji15]?

Are you allowed to take the conch shells back on ship? There's nothing living in them[emoji15]?

No, there was nothing living in them. They had washed up onto the shore/rocks. We didn't have any problems carrying them back onboard. We're hoping to find more in April when we go again :)

There is actually an excursion in Grand Turk where you can dive for conch shells then they'll make you conch salad afterwards, and, you can take your conch shell as a souvenir.

Thank you

@keith10- what's an approximate cost for a tour of the island?

In Grand Turk, we took a taxi to town for $5pp- walked around town, went to the Museum, and took another taxi back on a different route. We saw much of the island this way and then just went back to the pier to enjoy the pool and beach.

If voluminous crowds off of the ship aren't your thing for a beach day, I would suggest taking a taxi to Pillory Beach(just North of the center Cockburn Town).

At the beach, there is a bar and restaurant at Bohio Resort. There are also a few places to eat in town(10-15 min. walk) to grab a bite for lunch if desired.

I would suggest John's Ocean View Bar & Restaurant. While the appearance is rather rustic, the fresh fried fish and conch fritters were very tasty and the Turk's Head beer was ice cold -- all at a very reasonable price.

Costs for the taxis on GT are based on zones. From the cruise center, it's $5 pp (one-way) to town and $8 pp (one-way) to Pillory Beach.

I've heard a lot of good things about the area around Jack's...but we also like going to quieter areas--so we will also probably check out the non-swimming beach to find conchs! (I have a RIDICULOUS shell collection I am always adding to!)

We decided to do excursions in St. Maarten and St. Kitts; no excursions in San Juan and Grand Turk....

You've all been great! Wanderers we shall be!

Can someone please tell me the name of the beach that is mentioned above, right off the ship to the left?

Thank you

I don't think the beach at the ship has a name.

We were in Grand Turk last summer and hired a golf buggy from Karibs rentals. You can see a lot of the island this way and it's fun. We stopped at presidents beach which is just a little further on than Jacks shack - the other side of the shipwreck. It was beautiful and best of all nobody else was there!

Oops - Governers Beach not Presidents Beach lol

If you want a beautiful beach with next to no one there, check out Governors Beach. It was beautiful! There was only one other family there the day we went (we rented golf carts and toured the island and stopped at a few beaches and Governors was our favorite of the day).

I have a complete review of Governors in my signature line. Just click on it and it will take you to the beginning of the review and there's TONS of pictures to show you what it's like there.

The only thing is, there's no vendors there. They do have showers and bathrooms.

Where do you all rent the gulf carts? What is the cost?

Where do you all rent the gulf carts? What is the cost?

I rented from Wet Money. You can look them up online and email them for pricing.

We used Karibs Auto Rentals. They are on social media and have a website. We were really happy with them

Regards

Chris

Good to know, I've booked with them as well...

We are a group of 5 and three of us are doing snuba or snorkel. But the other two, my my mom and mother-in-law, were hoping for shopping. But not the duty free and jewelry that is at every cruise terminal. I told them that I didn't think there would be much. Please tell me I'm wrong and how to find the shopping. Any other suggestions for ladies in there 70's who don't enjoy the water?

Thanks