Turks & Caicos advice / review

skideeppow · Since 26 Aug 2011 518 Posts Addicted

I'm here now, staying at Windhaven. Haven't had wind for the entire trip. Pretty shitty to travel this far and get shut down.
Oh well. Moving to th gorge in Aug for a month, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

jerp · Since 22 Feb 2013 450 Posts Obsessed

yep, felt bad for the Wind haven folks that arrived last week right when the wind got shitty. according to the locals January is normally a lot better. isn't that always the way. I stayed in the house right beside Wind haven

jerp · Since 22 Feb 2013 450 Posts Obsessed

I second the earlier comment on booties. I cut the hell of my foot when I was there. also, uncovered something called a fire worm when snorkeling right in front of wind haven. apparently stepping on one is about as fun as a bullet wound .

jerp · Since 22 Feb 2013 450 Posts Obsessed

skideeppow - when long bay was dead a few days ago I think the wind was okay at true West side of grace bay . where the Thursday fish fry is held. might be worth checking out if you are skunked at long bay.

soona · Since 27 Sep 2009 72 Posts

Highly encourage kiters to get scuba certified, if they're into that sort of thing - seems like a natural fit when you go to beautiful tropical locales and the wind shuts down.

The diving was amazing in TCI!

burton420 · Since 19 Aug 2007 38 Posts Kelowna,BC,Canada

we're heading there in april and i am hoping to foil most of the time but will also use the skim board if need be.

let's see some pictures jerp!

thanks to everyone who posted. some good info.

jerp · Since 22 Feb 2013 450 Posts Obsessed

In the interest of future travelers being informed I thought it best to do a followup review of Turks and Caicos.

Kiting:

As others have said the wind in TCI is on the light side . I stayed for 2 weeks and rode about 9 days or so. I weigh 195lbs and pretty much rode my 12 RPM 70% of the time (in some cases underpowered) and the remaining days I rode a 15m LF solo (others were on 17s).
- no need for a WS, the water is pretty warm
- little to no swell even on windier days
- the further north east you go on Long Bay beach the less rocks and conch shells there are in the water. Something to keep in mind when launching and walking around in the water. I stayed south of Wind Haven resort which is right where it starts to get rocky.
- On light wind days the strongest wind I found to be early in the morning...6am early
- I would bring a LW twin tip if possible in addition to a normal TT
- at low tide the water is waist deep and for about 1 mile out to sea. There is a ship wreck offshore that my wife and I kayaked to and the water depth the whole was out was waist deep
- wind direction is on shore to side on.
- check out the secret spot opposite Blue Haven resort. You need to rent a paddle board to get to it or do a tour with Big Blue Unlimited.
- for sure do the Long Bay to Bugaloo's downwinder. I spoke to a guy that did it and he said it was incredible. Both Big Blue Unlimited and Kite Provo offer DWers. I missed out as the wind died and stayed dead at the end of my trip. I would book it the day you arrive in TCI.
- There is a surf shop located in GraceBay that carry Kite gear

Non-kiting: There is a lot to do and see in Turks. Regarding tours I would plan ahead of time as tours can get booked out quickly. Tip - if you have a snorkel trip booked it will get cancelled if there is wind (visibility too low) at no cost to you.

- snorkel tours. We went with Big Blue Unlimited (they are right beside the Blue Haven Resort). Good crew and the rum punch they bring is more rum than punch..lol.

-snorkeling - we brought our own gear with us which I highly recommend. Check out Smith Reef on the south west end of GraceBay . Local tip - when you reach the beach at Turtle Bay head out directly opposite the three wooden pillars.

- there is killer scuba to be had I was told. If I go back again I'm coming with my cert.

- Paddle boarding. Big Blue Unlimited and go explore the mangroves right in front of their office (wife saw a reef shark which was cool). Kite Provo also rent out SUPs and they will deliver for a fee.

- most places you rent on Long Bay provide kayaks

- Thursday "Fish Fry" is worth checking out. Lots of music, beverages and great food. It starts at like 5.30 and its by the Childrens Playground on the south west end of Gracebay.

Eating Out

- Mango Reef. Hands down the best place we ate at for dinner. Best for location, best for food, best for drinks, best for service... incredible. Its located in Turtle cove. It is expensive but worth it.
- Bugaloos. Pretty cool setting, great food and a great way to end a DWer.
- Conch Shake. Excellent food and a truly beautiful setting. Its pretty close to Smith Reef
- French Bakery. We went here a lot for coffee, sandwich's and pastries. Also, really good food and run by the nicest lady. As you come into Grace Bay and hit the roundabout head right. Its in one of the little complexes on the right about two blocks up the road.
- Turks Kebab. Great food and the most reasonable place we found. The lady that owns it is super nice. Its right on the road from Leeward to Gracebay.

Important items to note:
- yes, the island is expensive but doable if you pay attention to pricing. We shopped at the IGA in Gracebay mainly and really you just need to keep an eye on the tag.
- Unfortunately you can shop all you want but beer is still like 18bucks for a six pack. We just hit the Rum for the two weeks instead.
- You need a car. It cost me just over 1k to rent something the size of a clown car from Hertz for two weeks. I just brought straps with me to attach the kite bag to the top of the car.
- if you do stay at Longbay and like to going running be careful running on the roads. I was almost mauled by two stray dogs. I $hit you not, I had to kick one of them in the neck as it lunged for me and then grab a 2*4 that just happened to be on the side of the road. For sure hit a new personal best for the 100m dash Smile

- There is no such thing as a private beach at least according to the locals. The land surrounds beach can be private but not the sand. This is important to note when dealing with beaches covered in exclusive resorts and multi million dollars homes.
- The people of TCI are really kid friendly. Everywhere we went people were super nice with our 2yr old.

With a toddler in tow we opted to not check out the other islands so unfortunately I have no information on these locations.

as I think of more stuff I will update this post. more pictures coming, need to pull them off of the gopro (typical !!)

kwalshpc · Since 24 Oct 2014 142 Posts Stoked

Good review. That lines up with my experience there.
Pros: It is really pretty there

Cons: 1. it's expensive 2. when there is wind, it is more likely light

I was shut down for the majority of my trip there. My main takeaway was "why did I go somewhere that when it is "windy" I'm on a 12?" That is just not good enough IMO. If you go to learn - maybe - but there are lots of other places to get that done that don't cost as much.

No plans to return

jerp · Since 22 Feb 2013 450 Posts Obsessed

soona · Since 27 Sep 2009 72 Posts

How about the wind direction? When we were there it was light (to dead) and close to straight onshore. Regulars said it was unusual on both counts but I don't know.

My GF picked TCI because she was learning then and liked the waist-deep water a mile out part. Like a nicer SPI. But because of the direction, she'd launch and then have to walk it way out, which was very tiresome esp when the tide was a little higher, bouncing in waist plus water while flying a kite and trying to get as far out as you can.

Then when she started riding, if she didn't stay upwind (and she was learning remember), she'd end up back towards the beach pretty soon.

If it was a little more side-on it would have been a lot better.

jerp · Since 22 Feb 2013 450 Posts Obsessed

it was on shore to side on. my wife had the same issue as she is also a beginner. She did much better once I explained a few things about kiting when it's on shore. she would body drag back up wind which workd better. yes it can be exhausting by no different than learning at the sand bar in Hood River

jerp · Since 22 Feb 2013 450 Posts Obsessed

terrible edit but thought I would share - with most of my gopro footage it either sits on the SD card indefinitely or during video editing I get bored or distracted so I move on to something else Smile

https://vimeo.com/170737456?ref=fb-share&1

there is not much kiting in the video as the wind was super light to non existent for most of the trip

Slappysan · Since 13 Jun 2012 308 Posts Obsessed