Turks Head Hotel Cockburn Town

... local industry was destroyed. If it wasn't for the Princess Lines visiting, it would be a desperate situation for the locals. I have my sincere doubts that the economy of Grand Turk will ever recover unless they receive a lot financial help from somewhere. <br><br>I would not recommend getting off the ship at Grand Turk unless you just stay at the local beach and visit the shops and restaurants/bars at the dock area. Our table-mates did that and said they had a wonderful time.

... beating from Hurricane Ike that all but wiped out the tourism infrastructure on the island. Deb and I hadn't planned on doing a lot on the island...but we did want to go ashore and spend a little money in the pier market and have lunch at Margaritaville on the pier just to help out a little bit. The Half Moon Cay is really just a beach stop. Carnival Cruises, the corporation that owns Holland America Lines, owns the beach ...

... to get up before 7am for our excursion that began at 7:20, but we had to wait until 8:15 to leave the ship with our 3k passengers in the basement. The bus was ready for us as we got a tour of the Island. The drive through town was a bit run down and had to wait for cows to cross the road. The lighthouse needed painting, but we walked the nature trails and saw some beautiful scenery. We decided to stay on the bus as many others got off to visit the prison ...

... the small size). Wanted to get in a little more scooter time before we dropped it off at 9:15, so went down Front St., stopped at the P.O. an bought collector stamps for my "souvenir", pretty stamps with Turks and Caicos on them. On coming out of P.O. a considerable crowd had gathered to watch events unfolding in the water. A guy that everyone said was one of the island "crazies" had taken a kayak from Oasis Divers and was hand-paddling around in the ocean ...

Grand Turk was ok. Not a place I would choose to go back to. The port is very tiny (as is the island) and very nicely done and there is a very nice beach right there. We did a kyaking and snorkling excursion that was not too great - I think the best thing to have done here was just head to the beach and enjoy the beautiful blue water and soft sand.

... dominated the salt trade. The waterfront on Grand Turk has the best sights in Cockburn Town, including historic Turks and Caicos Islands government buildings surrounding a small plaza where a Columbus Monument claims cheekily that the explorer landed here in 1492. Nearby, four large cannons point to sea, where a nearby coral reef is protected within the Columbus Landfall National Park. It's worth nipping into the General Post Office to admire the Turks and ...

Our trip is now so long ago that I hardly remember it! Actually, the most memorable parts were underwater, snorkeling, and we don't have any pictures of that. Or they were inappropriate to share publicly (or at all). I DO remember the lovely views, and the gorgeous ...

... fed her. We became instant friends. We ate delicious food while in Provo. Our favorite was the Cracked Conch at Da Conch Shack. Talk about fresh. They are pulling the conch out of the water and cleaning it while we are there. We also enjoyed some beautul sunsets in Turtle Cove from Magnolia restaurant and wine bar. We went on some exciting adventures while on our trip ...

... amusing too when watching beginners! We have bars and restaurants at Turtle Cove Marina which is a 5 minute walk (or 1 minute drive) away. Red tape on the island is interesting... We spent 2 months-worth of our one day off trying to open bank accounts, get driving licences etc but the rules change every week for non-permanent residents... It took a total of 3 months to get a bank account, another 2 to get a 'checking' account... We spent a number of weeks looking for a car ...

I traveled to the Turks and Caicos Islands in June of 2004. There I studied coral reefs and made some lifelong friendships. We camped, SCUBA dived and explored all of South Caicos, in addition to travelling to Grand Turk and Salt Cay. I highly recommend ...