Did you know the Turks and Caicos islands is an archipelago of about 40 low lying coral islands, of which only 8 are inhabited? As the country name may suggest, the island chain consists of two distinct island groups: the Turks Islands and the Caicos Islands. The Turks and Caicos has six main inhabited islands: Providenciales, North and Middle Caicos, South Caicos, Grand Turk and Salt Cay.

PC : Agile LeVin/Visit Turks and Caicos Islands

If you are headed to Turks and Caicos, chances are you will most likely be staying on the main island of Providenciales. Provo has a ton of beautiful beaches which are all easily accessible by car when you are staying on the island. However if you want to find those idyllic secluded beaches on uninhabited islands, dreamy sandbars, see iguanas or stingrays and some truly incredible waters + tropical landscapes you would need to venture out beyond Provo! Most of these are only accessible by boat and going on a boat tour will take you to these uninhabited cays, beaches and reefs that define TCI’s amazing marine environment.

Our boat with Caribbean Cruisin , docked at Little Water Cay

We chartered a private tour with Caribbean Cruisin TCI and this was most certainly my favorite day of our trip! Caribbean Cruisin has many tour and excursion options to choose from in both public and private tours. Whether you choose a half day or full day island excursion, a snorkeling tour to explore the reefs, a fishing expedition, jetski adventures, free diving for lobster and conch, or a tour to enjoy some beautiful white sand beaches – you are guaranteed an incredible time with them as they have a very experienced crew! A full day tour also usually includes lunch so its a great way to spend the day exploring the local isles and waters in TCI. For group trips they also usually offer free pick up and drop off from the Grace Bay Area! This full day Island Excursion with Beach BBQ is one of their most popular excursions.

Glorius Half Moon Bay! My favorite!

What I loved about going on a private tour is that we could customize it to our liking based on the spots that we wanted to go to! We primarily wanted to visit some stunning beaches and sandbars so we opted for a half day private excursion with them. Even if you are a small family or group I would recommend doing a private charter – Besides the obvious aspect of being able to choose who is on your charter, the primary advantage of a custom charter is that you’ll get to spend the day at the sights and attractions of your choice, be it beach, reef, or historical site. Another consideration is your group size – shared half day charters start at about $100 per person, so large families and parties may even save money by going with a custom private charter!

The Turks and Caicos really does offer a spectacular marine environment, and by taking a charter or two – you’ll be able to see a tiny fraction of it! Based on the weather your captain would recommend what spots might be ideal. While we were there, the waters were a tad bit choppy so we couldnt dock at some of the spots that I wanted to go. Here are a few spots between Provo and North Caicos that are super popular on boat trips. I included spots that we hit + some spots that we weren’t able to go (cos of the weather) to but were super high on my list :

• Little Water Cay : is a beautiful and uninhabited nature preserve island, and an important sanctuary for critically-endangered Turks and Caicos Islands rock iguana. The island also has some incredible beaches!

• Water Cay : I was so bummed to miss this as it is handsdown one of the best beaches in all of TCI because of the weather and tide. On a clear day the water here is very calm and boats can easily take you right upto the shore. It has two miles of low white limestone cliffs interspersed with secluded beaches with the most exquisite sands and calm blue waters. Check out this video to see how insane this spot is!

Water Cay – a must visit! // PC : Agile LeVin/Visit Turks and Caicos Islands 

• Half Moon Bay : My personal favorite beach from our TCI trip. We were literally the only ones on this heavenly three quarter mile stretch of beach and it was so so incredible. This pristine spot is between Little Water Cay and Water Cay. On the north side of this area is a wide and scenic beach, and on the southern side is a sheltered and shallow lagoon.

One of the most beautiful stretches of beach we have seen!

• Fort George Cay : another popular island in the chains of cays between Providenciales and North Caicos. The northwestern end of Fort George Cay features exquisite sand bars, and is one of the more photogenic spots in the Turks and Caicos!

Sandbar at Fort George Cay! 

• Pine Cay : We stopped at a few sandbars near Pine Cay and they were drop dead gorgeous! A must visit on your boat excursion in TCI!

• Dellis Cay

If you are interested to venture beyond these Caribbean Cruisin also operates the TCI Ferry and offers tours to islands in the North and Middle Caicos, so if you are interested in that definitely ask them about it.

Here is a photo diary from our incredible day on the water!

We were the only ones on so many of the beaches we visited!

This is why you need to charter a boat – to discover the most pristine unspoilt beaches of TCI!

Above and below : views of Half Moon Bay on a clear day!

PC : Agile LeVin/Visit Turks and Caicos Islands

Above and below – Fort George Cay

PC : Agile LeVin/Visit Turks and Caicos Islands

Best day ever – thanks to Caribbean Cruisin TCI!

Photo Credit : All photos are mine unless mentioned otherwise. Thanks to Visit TCI for additional imagery.

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If you are headed to TCI, I highly recommend Caribbean Cruisin TCI for any boat tour or excursion to check out the beautiful islands and little cays of Turks and Caicos. Here is my travel guide to Turks and Caicos and this is a quick video recapping our boat day :

Thanks for stopping by! xo

Jyo

Thank you to Caribbean Cruisin TCI for hosting us for a boat tour during our recent trip to Turks and Caicos. As always, thoughts and opinions are my own.