I’m currently on my flight back to Boston from Turks & Caicos (I wrote this on Saturday). We had the absolute BEST trip. So good that we actually decided to stay an extra week. 😱
This was our second time to Turks & Caicos (read about last year’s trip to Turks & Caicos here). I loved our trip last year, and after everything we’ve all been through in the past 8 months, this trip felt even sweeter. I would 100% go back to Turks & Caicos again. It is an extremely easy trip from the East coast. Distance wise, Turks & Caicos isn’t much further from Florida – it’s only about a 3 ½ hour flight.
The number one question in my Instagram DMs while we were in Turks & Caicos was around whether we felt safe. The answer is YES! We felt incredibly safe the whole trip. The Turks & Caicos government is doing a wonderful job handling COVID. They have very few cases and everyone from locals to tourists were taking the precautions very seriously. Truth be told, we actually felt much safer in Turks & Caicos than we do at home in Boston. This, combined with the island having very few visitors right now kept us at ease the entire trip!
Turks & Caicos October & November 2020 Travel Guide
COVID-19 Precautions in Turks & Caicos
LOTS of hand sanitizer is being used here. From the minute you get off the plane and walk into customs at the airport on Providenciales, employees are spraying your hands with hand sanitizer and checking your temperature. Masks are required at all times within the airport, walking into stores, restaurants, grocery stores (all establishments). There’s also sanitizer at the front of every establishment we went into. In fact, many grocery stores actually had an employee working at the front of the store and requiring everyone to use the hand sanitizer.
What’s Required to Travel to Turks & Caicos Right Now
This was the second top question in my Instagram DMs. So what exactly is required to travel there right now? I say right now because as you guys know, travel guidelines are changing frequently. I recommend re-checking the guidelines prior to booking and leaving for your trip to make sure you have everything you need in order!
A Negative COVID Test Less Than 5 Days Before Travel
One of the reasons we felt so safe traveling to Turks & Caicos right now is that they’re requiring all travelers to have a negative COVID test (must be the PCR test) less than 5 days before travel. Going into our trip, we knew that every person on our flight had tested negative for COVID recently which made us feel safe.
For my Bostonians, a friend recommended the COVID testing site at Assembly Row through Cambridge Health Alliance and I highly recommend! I’ve been tested 3+ times over the past few months and this location was by far the most seamless. You can make an appointment ahead of time and once you get there, you just stay in your car, roll down your window once it’s your turn, and an employee tests you. It’s also completely free! My biggest fear was not getting our test results back in time for our trip. Happy to report that we received our test results within 12 hours! We’ll be going back again shortly to get tested now that we’re back home.
COVID-19 Insurance
To travel to Turks & Caicos right now, you also need health insurance that covers COVID-19 medical costs and full hospitalization as well as an air ambulance (which is basically a helicopter lol!). We both have health insurance, but it does not cover this, so we purchased the TripAssist Family Care Plan policy through Allianz. It was about $199 for the week for both of us. When we extended our trip for another week, I was worried we would have to cover the $199 again, but you don’t. It was good for our entire trip.
If you’re thinking about skipping the insurance, you can’t. Everything I’m outlining in this post is 100% required and is checked at the airport you fly out of, again when you get to the airport on Turks & Caicos and is required to be uploaded online as well.
TCI Assured Status
This website is the best. I have used it so many times during our trips to Turks & Caicos for everything from restaurant recommendations to inspiration on things to do, and is also where we gathered info on what we needed to do prior to our trip to Turks & Caicos.
The last step (other than making sure you have a valid passport!) is getting TCI Assured Status (info here). This is easy and is essentially just a health questionnaire. You’ll also be required to upload PDFs of your negative COVID test results and proof of insurance. Once these items are uploaded, you’ll submit everything and are required to be ‘approved’ prior to travel. Once you’re approved, you’ll be emailed a certificate. You’ll need to print this and bring it with you. Our status was approved in 30 minutes!
A Passport
And obviously a valid passport is required to travel out of the country to Turks & Caicos. This is nothing new; thought I would include so you don’t forget!
IMPORTANT PRO-TIP: Make sure that the name you give when signing up for your COVID test matches the name on your passport, which matches the name on your insurance, which matches the name you give for TCI Assured Status. Your name on everything MUST match up. You don’t want to get into a situation where they reject you at the airport and it throws your entire trip off.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT PRO-TIP: Make it easy on yourself and print off all of your documents. I saw a couple people fumbling through their phone to find all of their documents and it’s a million x easier if you have all of your paperwork tucked into your passport – and makes it faster for everyone. Airport staff will appreciate this.
Easy Checklist of Documents to Have Printed and On Hand
- Negative COVID-19 test results
- Proof of insurance
- TCI Assured Status Certificate
- Passport
Note: There is currently a curfew from 12pm – 5am. Just keep in mind when out and about (noting this could be updated again in the coming weeks – when we were there, the curfew started at 10pm).
Where We Stayed on Turks & Caicos – Nutmeg Cottage Via TC Villas
We went back and forth for weeks about where we should stay. Should we do a hotel, should we do a villa…. Last year we booked a room at the Oasis at Grace Bay and loved it. It’s a newer boutique hotel with bungalows and 2 shared pools (you can read more about our stay there here). It’s great!
But…. with COVID going on, this year is different. The more we thought about it, the more we decided we weren’t sure how comfortable we felt sharing a pool with other people, needing to wear masks our entire trip (I don’t want this comment to get misconstrued – I’m 100% a mask wearer… but we wanted our time on the island to feel more like a true vacation where we could relax in a pool chair or hang out outside without wearing a mask and potentially feeling unsafe).
Prior to getting to the island, we weren’t really sure what it would be like or how many people would be on the island. We wanted privacy and our own space and also didn’t want to be around a lot of people. Because of this, we decided to book a villa through TC Villas. I am SO happy with our decision. 🙏🏻🤗 This was one of the best vacations I’ve ever been on.
Since I know I’ll get questions, we booked Nutmeg Cottage which is a 1 bedroom villa through TC Villas. It’s in the Turtle Cove area of Turks & Caicos. Nutmeg Cottage has its own private plunge pool with a deck and pool chairs, a hammock, an outdoor shower, and an observation deck. Inside, Nutmeg Cottage has a full kitchen with a full sized refrigerator, an oven, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer, a king sized bed, wifi, etc. Everything you could possibly need!
One of the best parts about Nutmeg Cottage is that you have tons of privacy (there’s lush greenery all around the house and pool area so no one can see in). And my favorite part – the right of way to the beach. It’s only about a 1 minute walk to Grace Bay Beach and is right next to Smith’s Reef – known to be the best snorkeling on the island! We didn’t snorkel, but we did see fish and one night at sunset, a sting ray swam past us! So cool.
Nutmeg Cottage was also incredibly clean! Items such as remote controls were kept in plastic bags stating that they’d been sanitized. They also had a bin waiting for us that included wipes and sanitizer. I loved this extra touch so that we knew not a single item had been missed. TC Villas also cleans your villa on a day of your choice during your stay – such a nice perk!
We went back and forth between booking Nutmeg Cottage or booking Little Plum, also through TC Villas. They’re both on the same street and not far from each other. They are very similar villas! Next time maybe we’ll try Little Plum – but we also loved Nutmeg Cottage so much that it would be hard to stray from it! If you have a larger group, check out some of their other villas on their website here. By the way, none of this is sponsored in the slightest – just an incredibly happy customer! You can book a stay with TC Villas here – let me know if you decide to book with them! 💗
this is the beach area that’s just a 1 minute walk from Nutmeg Cottage!
Where We Ate on Turks & Caicos
We cooked most of our meals at our villa, but we also went out to eat a few times! Quite a few restaurants are not open right now (including one of our favorite dinner spots from last year, Coyaba, and a lunch spot, Jack’s Fountain), but enough restaurants are open that you’ll still have an amazing time!
We picked up groceries at the IGA (closest to our villa) and Graceway Gourmet. Graceway Gourmet is a little bit of a longer drive, but we prefer this grocery store to the IGA. Heads up – food and groceries are incredibly expensive on Turks & Caicos. Our first grocery trip which was really just for essentials (3 bags of groceries and some beer) ran us $375. We were prepared for it because of last year, so just prepare yourself for this going in and when budgeting your trip, make sure to account for this! 🙂
Insider Tip: Turks & Caicos does not sell alcohol on Sundays so plan accordingly 😉
Coco Van
We love Coco Van and ate there last year (read about it here). Coco Van is an outdoor airstream that serves tacos, sandwiches, etc. I remember their menu being much more taco-focused last year. This year, they also had items such as fried chicken sandwiches and burgers. We loved the Fried Fish Tacos, the Spicy and Crispy Steak Tacos, the Spicy Falafel Tacos, and the Fried Mac and Cheese Balls with Truffle Oil. All delicious!
Coco Bistro
Coco Bistro is on the same grounds as Coco Van and they’re sister restaurants with the same owner. Coco Bistro is known to be the hot spot on the island for dining. We didn’t get to go last year, so I wanted to make sure to go this year! We actually went twice – once for Geoff’s birthday and then again on our last night when we met up with Geoff’s co-worker who is working on a project on Turks & Caicos and his wife.
They have delicious drinks (try the peach marg!) as well as amazing seafood dishes. Get the Lobster Spring Rolls, the Lobster Fettucine Carbonara (huge portion!), the Blackened Grouper, and the Grilled Caicos Lobster Tail (Geoff got this and it seriously came with 4 lobster tails).
The drink prices are super reasonable here compared to other restaurants on the island. The atmosphere at Coco Bistro is wonderful – we loved the palms surrounding us and the area of the restaurant covers a large amount of square feet – we never felt too close to other tables which made us feel good! Coco, the cat, also wanders around the grounds of both Coco Van and Coco Bistro and is cute to see.
Grace’s Cottage
This was a new spot for us this year as well. Grace’s Cottage is located at Point Grace Resort and has an amazing atmosphere. All of the tables are outside, while some of the tables are located on the beautiful porch, open-air style (dining in Turks & Caicos is almost exclusively outside or at least open-air which we love, especially during a time like this!). We loved the ambience of Grace’s Cottage – it’s romantic while also being cozy.
Mango Reef
We went to Mango Reef right after we checked into our villa for a casual lunch. It’s located right in the marina in Turtle Cove and was walking distance from our villa. Get the cracked conch!
Enjoying wine at our villa!
I’ve only ever seen Summer Water sold on Winc, but they sell it in all of the grocery stores on Turks & Caicos!
Bay Bistro
Bay Bistro was another new-to-us restaurant that we ate dinner at. Bay Bistro is located at the Sibonne Beach Hotel and has outdoor tables overlooking the beach. There are also tables on their deck which is open air. We both got the Coconut Grouper special. Delish!
Mr. Grouper’s
Mr. Grouper’s is one of our favorite restaurants on Turks & Caicos and it’s very close to Nutmeg Cottage. This is said to be where the locals go. But really, everyone should go here because the food is incredible! They serve authentic Caribbean cuisine. Definitely get the Coconut Crusted Grouper – I get it every time! We were excited to see they’re currently expanding their restaurant.
What We Did on Turks & Caicos
We kept it very low key this trip and just went to the beach every day! Check out this post from my trip last year for ideas for things to do. The one exception is that we went back to Water Cay with My Time Tours via their Water Taxi. I’ve gushed about this before but it’s incredible and very affordable – it’s only $80 per person. If you book anything while you’re on Turks & Caicos, book this! They technically advertise as only doing this on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, but you can negotiate. We went Wednesday and again on Thursday (for Geoff’s birthday!) since they were willing to accommodate us. And… on Geoff’s birthday, a dolphin chased us back from Water Cay near Grace Bay – so fun. I was hoping we would see one while there!
Water Cay!
We opted to get dropped off at Water Cay – you can also go to Little Water Cay (Iguana Island). We haven’t been to Little Water Cay, also known as Iguana Island, however, based on photos, Water Cay is a bit more beautiful. You can’t go wrong with either! We had the entire island to ourselves – we only saw a few boats go by. With the Water Taxi you can set the time you’d like them to pick you up. We did 8:30-2!
I hope you guys enjoyed this post! You can read my other travel guides here. Have you been to Turks & Caicos before? Did you book a trip based on my post? I love chatting travel – feel free to leave a comment letting me know!
