Tour of Grand Turk

[Chexmix]

I have read several threads but have not foundwhat I am looking for.

 

I would like to know if anyone has found an individual to book with for a private tour or did you just get a cab? If the answer is yes to either of these questions could you please let me know the cost and what you did.

 

We don't want to do the hop on/hop off bus. It doesnt' sound that great from the reviews I have read. We are not interested in going to Margiritaville either.

 

We are looking for a way to see the island, enteract with the locals and eat local food. What's your best idea for this?

 

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[cwhlaw]

I just returned from a stop at Grand Turk abroad the Crown Princess. After getting off the ship we arranged for a private tour of the island with a taxi driver. He charged us $20.00 per person for a tour which lasted about 1 hour. Since there were 6 of us, this amounted to $120.00. Our tour consisted of a drive around the entire island. We drove through Cockburn Town and then to the far end of the island where we stopped for pictures at the lighthouse. To be honest, there isnt' a lot to see on the island. However, I didn't want to go stop at Grand Turk and spend the whole time at Margaritaville and not see the island.

 

After the tour we walked over to the beach on the opposite side of the ship from Margaritaville. It was a very nice beach a was pretty much deserted, except for a few other passengers. The water was great.

 

I hope this helps.

[RedHotCoffee]

Thanks for the review CWHLAW.

 

My wife and I are thinking about the doing the same. I can not see getting off the ship and just hanging out at Margaritaville the entire day. Taking a taxi around the island sounds much better then stopping by Margaritaville for a few drinks later in the day.

 

One question......what was the town of Cockburn like? Anything to do?

[jpg1747]

I have a snorkeling trip scheduled for the afternoon, but I intend to eat lunch in town beforehand. Is it walking distance from the ship?

[cwhlaw]

I didn't really see anything to do in Cockburn. We stopped at the post office so my wife could mail some cards, but I didn't see any shops. Other than Margaritaville, there isn't any commercialization of the island.

[twinkletoes4445]

There's really not much to do in Cockburn Town, but it was nice to walk around the area. In fact, one of the prettiest pictures we took was of a turquoise building that was next to the water right in the center of town.

 

We didn't know what to do while we were there. We didn't want to do a day at Margaritaville, but we did want to see the island.

 

We ended up booking the Hop-on, Hop-off bus, even though we'd read a lot of negative reviews, but we did end up enjoying this.

 

The bus took us to the Lighthouse area where we wandered around for a bit on the trails. There's also a small giftshop there, and there's also a snack bar (but I don't know what they sold, we didn't visit this).

 

The buses come along every 15 minutes or so, so you have no problem catching a bus.

 

Then we were dropped at Cockburn Town and we toured the prison (the price of this is included in the cost of the tour). Then we walked around the town area, and shoped at some of the local vendor stalls.

 

Then we caught the bus back to the port area. I think we paid $39 per person for this. If you could find a cab driver to do this for less, I'd probably do that.

 

This island is really pristine at this point. I think there is one B&B on the island. I didn't see a single hotel, but I could be wrong. It's nice visiting a place that's not completely overun with tourist traps.

[twinkletoes4445]

I have a snorkeling trip scheduled for the afternoon, but I intend to eat lunch in town beforehand. Is it walking distance from the ship?

 

I don't know how far Cockburn Town is from the port area, but it's too far to walk. It seems like it was several miles from the port.

[RedHotCoffee]

:) Sounds like something I might be into.....Nice layed back tour of the island.

 

Did you notice anyplace to grab something to eat and drink in the town of Cockburn?

[twinkletoes4445]

:) Sounds like something I might be into.....Nice layed back tour of the island.

 

Did you notice anyplace to grab something to eat and drink in the town of Cockburn?

 

I didn't notice a restaurant, but there could have been one. We just weren't looking for one. I do remember that some of the vendors in the stalls had Coke's and drinks like that for sale...

 

It was pretty laid back.

[RedHotCoffee]

Thanks again:)

[Chexmix]

Thanks for all that replied. I think we will just wing it and get a taxi to take us around the island. Making sure to stop at the light house.

 

If anyone could suggest a good local place to eat taht would be great.

 

Again thanks for your help.

[jpg1747]

:) Sounds like something I might be into.....Nice layed back tour of the island.

 

Did you notice anyplace to grab something to eat and drink in the town of Cockburn?

 

 

Frommer's lists a few different restaurants. check out the website. www.frommers.com and search for Grand Turk.

[seaisme]

Just grab a cab...not much to see except the lighthouse at the other end of the island. We elected to spend our day away from the maddening crowds at the pier at the Grand Turk Inn. They have day packages for cruisers. Wonderful lunch (yummy...best coleslaw I have ever had and they share the recipe!) and a QUIET, private beach. it's "in town"...so you can walk around town if you wish...but again, there's not much there. The beauty of Grand Turk is that you can enjoy it relatively unspoiled. In 5 years...it will have lost it's charm. Just enjoy the peace of the island.