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What to do in Grand Turk & Tortola

John & Kay W

By John & Kay W,
in Holland America Line

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RuthC

RuthC

Posted
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In Grand Turk head off the ship, down the pier, through the shop area, then hook a left. There's a beach and a pool right there.

If you make it all the way out to the street you've overshot it.

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noblepa

noblepa

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Here is a link to the Grand Turk Cruise Center.

 

http://www.grandturkcc.com

 

Carnival built the pier and shops at one end of the island. This is where Margaritaville is located.

 

This site also has descriptions of some of the activities, including transportation around the island. We're going there on the Zuiderdam in April. It looks like it is small and unspoiled. To some, this means "nothing to do". To me it means getting to see a Caribbean island that hasn't been completely transformed by tourism... yet.

 

Hope this helps.

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noblepa

noblepa

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Thanks everyone for the suggestions. This is our 25th cruise and I can't remember stopping at either of these islands before. Hard to believe.

 

The Grand Turk Cruise Center and its adjoining pier has only been open for about a year. Unlike some islands, there is no natural harbor large enough to handle cruise ships, so I don't think that any large ships called there.

 

Tortola has been a cruise stop for only about ten years, unlike places like Nassau and St. Thomas, which have been hosting cruise ships since at least the sixties.

 

Our first real cruise was in 1998, aboard Carnival's Paradise, during her non-smoking period. One of the stops was Tortola. At that time, the pier was brand new and there was little tourist-oriented development. When we got off the ship, there was just a big, open gravel lot at the foot of the pier, where a few taxi cabs and "tour busses" (really just pickup trucks with special rear beds with bench seats) waited for passengers. The driver of our tour said that the local government was discouraging development of hotels and other businesses that would encourage visitors to stay overnight. They didn't mind taking our money during the day, but they apparently didn't want us staying late, drinking and causing trouble.

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Seago2

Seago2

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Just got off the Noordam and we had 5 ports of call. My advice: skip Grand Turk. I got off the ship and went to the beach for a bit (right by the pier) but I kept looking at the ship and thinking: I would be waaaay more comfortable on board... eating... by the pool... But DH took a long walk on Grand Turk. he liked it until he ran into a bull- no fence! So he gave it a shot but the ship is a much better place to be!

 

We stopped in Tortola on a Sunday- aside from looking at the roosters and baby chicks it's a dead zone. You could go to the beach but...

 

St. Maarten is AWESOME, beach-wise. We walked along the beach, up the hill a bit, and right through a bunch of condos to an excellent beach- right ahead of an RCI shore excursion that they probably paid $50 a head for (us: free).

 

St. Thomas is GORGEOUS- well, we went to St. John which was... GORGEOUS. The ferry ride was beautiful, and Trunk Bay??? beautiful. Charlotte Amalie was a great place to walk around- the entire port is excellent.

 

San Juan- you could have knocked me over with a feather. I had no idea it was so beautiful. We only had five hours but it was plenty of time to cover all of Old Town and walk around the fort, etc. I think you either need five hours or two days.

 

So, my point: Grand Turk is a waste of time IMHO, and if Tortola is a Sunday, another waste of time. I tan very well and even I was sunburned after the next three stops- so you might want to conserve your energy and $$ for the better ports and enjoy an empty ship at the other two!

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Island Dog

Island Dog

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It's easy to get a cab back from Governor's Beach. There is a road where cabs wait at the beach entrance. If there are no cabs its a two minute walk to the main road where cabs go by. Even if no cabs come (doubtful) it's just a fifteen minute walk back to the pier. It's a beautiful beach with good snorkeling offshore. As for Tortola, anyone who says it's a waste of time must not really like beaches. Cane Garden Bay is one of the best beaches ANYWHERE! Beautiful beach, plenty of bars and cafes and a beautiful view of Jost Van Dyke island offshore. The beach faces west so can anyone say "sunset"?

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la_croisiere_s'amuse

la_croisiere_s'amuse

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So, my point: Grand Turk is a waste of time IMHO

 

I have a different take on Grand Turk. I've spent several weeks there over the past couple of years, while my husband was working on a contract with their government. While I also enjoy St. Thomas, St. Martin and the other more developed ports, there is an unspoiled beauty to Grand Turk that I've never experienced anywhere else in the Caribbean.

 

That being said, you really need to get to the opposite side (west side) of the island from the pier area (east side). That's where the 'belongers,' or natives, live. Towards the south there are some lovely examples of typical Turks & Caicos architecture, and to the north there's a rather nice museum with displays on the geology, marine life and history of the Turks & Caicos archipelago. In between there's a whole series of B&B type hotels for the divers, and seaside cafes. If you're at all into scuba diving, you really MUST check out the infamous wall -- a few hundred yards from the beach, the sea floor drops from about 40 feet to several thousand feet. It's an amazing sight.

If you're interested, feel free to check out a small photo album I put together with some of the sights. Just click on the Grand Turk album:

 

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/la.croisiere/albums/

 

Happy sails~

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MacD

MacD

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My contribution may be small but what I can add is that for a beach lover it is so convenient step off the pier & you are lierally on the beach.

 

If you wish it to be a bit more lively then you take a further couple of steps & you are in Margaritaville with its nice pool cafe & swim up bar. Whilst it had a continual stream of disco/reggae music it was hardly mind numbing or ear bashing. Our travel companions who opted to ignore the beaches & do a little independent touring described the Town as rather quaint with nice architecture & the surrounding countryside as rather interesting with wild horses roaming. Having had a nice friendly conversation with a local Police Constable he informed me that crime was almost non-existent with a small amount of domestic & some motoring (speeding). Speed limit is probably in the region of 30mph so I suppose they must need some mechanism to maintain the Judicial system

 

Tortola is fabulous! No it is not St. Thomas! Thankfully it is somewhat different, a bit more of a British laid back attitude & the roosters didn't seem to be attacking on sight! I guess they were more concerned with staying off the dinner menu. Cane Garden Bay is a real paradise the finest beach we managed to visit on our recent Noordam cruise, with a wonderful drive over there with scenery which can only be described as awesome!!!!!!!!!!:)

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Seago2

Seago2

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So if you step off the pier and head for that beach, how far is it to get to where they have clamshells and some shade? :) :)

 

From the pictures, it looks very very crowded. is it more so than Hal's island?:confused:

 

It really is not a great beach- kinda sketchy all around and the pool is not great- but it wasn't crowded when we were there (Noordam was the only ship). It's kind of a nothing ventured, nothing gained beach. Go for a while and if you don't like it, straight shot to the Lido!

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seaisme

seaisme

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I have a different take on Grand Turk. I've spent several weeks there over the past couple of years' date=' while my husband was working on a contract with their government. While I also enjoy St. Thomas, St. Martin and the other more developed ports, there is an unspoiled beauty to Grand Turk that I've never experienced anywhere else in the Caribbean.

 

That being said, you really need to get to the opposite side (west side) of the island from the pier area (east side). That's where the 'belongers,' or natives, live. Towards the south there are some lovely examples of typical Turks & Caicos architecture, and to the north there's a rather nice museum with displays on the geology, marine life and history of the Turks & Caicos archipelago. In between there's a whole series of B&B type hotels for the divers, and seaside cafes. If you're at all into scuba diving, you really MUST check out the infamous wall -- a few hundred yards from the beach, the sea floor drops from about 40 feet to several thousand feet. It's an amazing sight.

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If you're interested, feel free to check out a small photo album I put together with some of the sights. Just click on the Grand Turk album:

 

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/la.croisiere/albums/

 

Happy sails~

WOW! thanks for the pics. can hardly wait to get there in April. How was the lighthouse area? we love lighthouses and try to see as many as possible when cruising. do we need to rent mopeds to get to the lighthouse, or can we get a cab?

 

any additional information you might have, or suggestions on what to do/see is greatly appreciated. We're looking forward to our day at Grand Turk and want to absorb as much of the island life as possible in a day.

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seaisme

seaisme

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Here is a link to the Grand Turk Cruise Center.

 

http://www.grandturkcc.com

 

Carnival built the pier and shops at one end of the island. This is where Margaritaville is located.

 

This site also has descriptions of some of the activities, including transportation around the island. We're going there on the Zuiderdam in April. It looks like it is small and unspoiled. To some, this means "nothing to do". To me it means getting to see a Caribbean island that hasn't been completely transformed by tourism... yet.

 

Hope this helps.

HI! come join our roll call board! we're sailing together. Like you, we have enjoyed the Veendam, Oosterdam, and Zuiderdam. Which is your favorite?

 

We are trying to get enough interest for a meet and greet...so we would love to have you join our group.

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la_croisiere_s'amuse

la_croisiere_s'amuse

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WOW! thanks for the pics. can hardly wait to get there in April. How was the lighthouse area? we love lighthouses and try to see as many as possible when cruising. do we need to rent mopeds to get to the lighthouse, or can we get a cab? any additional information you might have, or suggestions on what to do/see is greatly appreciated. We're looking forward to our day at Grand Turk and want to absorb as much of the island life as possible in a day.

 

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the pics. :) It really is a lovely little island. I should mention, though, that I made a mistake in my earlier posting: for some reason I was thinking that the pier area was on the eastern end of the south tip -- it's actually on the west, so all you need to do is head north.

 

I definitely recommend the lighthouse!! We rented mopeds, but I don't see why you couldn't take a cab. Unfortunately, it is on the far northern tip, so you have to cross the entire island. Of course, that only means seven miles! :D

 

As far as architecture and cafes, I think the best stretch of Cockburn Town is Duke Street, between the Osprey and the Water's Edge. That's where most of my pictures were taken. The downtown map on the cruise center website shows both of them (as well as our hotel, the Salt Raker). That's only a ten minute walk. If you keep going north, Duke Street becomes Queen Street and then Front Street, which is where the museum is . . . I wish I better remembered how far that was. I know we walked there from the hotel, and I don't remember regretting it -- maybe 45 minutes? ANYWAY, the good news is that if you're pressed for time, just taking the taxi from the pier area to the museum will take you down Duke/Queen/Front street. It's a very narrow road so cars have to drive pretty slowly, so you would get a nice view.

 

Unfortunately, you can't get to the lighthouse taking that route. :( It sounds like you're big lighthouse fans, so if you had to choose between the that and Duke Street, I would go with the lighthouse. But we always had very friendly, helpful cab drivers. I bet you could persuade one to take you the long way back. :)

 

Ahhh, now I'm getting all nostalgic . . . maybe I'll have to start looking for a cruise that goes back there! :D

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cruzlover56

cruzlover56

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We will be going back to Tortola for the third time this March and for the third time we are going on the Virgin Islands Sail away. Its a 4 hour Catamaran and Snorkel to Norman Island. I think its pretty good value as you get two opportunities to snorkel. Once from the boat in the caves and then a shore snorkel at the Bight. The first time we went we arrived fairly early so got to do the full two snorkels the second time we arrived at 3PM and only got to do one. Also with it being later in the day the amount of sea life was quite a bit less.

 

If you arrive at Tortola around midday I would recommend it, but if you arrive late in the day not so much.

 

On our first trip we saw a sea turtle, hundreds of tiny moon jellyfish and squid. On our second trip we ran out of light on the way back so they had take down the sails and start up the engines. Then we ran out of gas just inside the harbour and had to be pushed in. I honestly didn't care, there are a lot of worse places to be. :D

 

This time we arrive early so we should get the full meal deal.

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