How to experience Turks & Caicos beyond its luxury trappings

Sarah Lee

Super yachts, white sand beaches backed by luxury resorts and boutique hotels with butler service come to mind when you think of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

This Caribbean tax haven attracts many celebrities, including sportsman Michael Jordan, musician Drake, who owns a bar in the archipelago, and rates the islands as his favourite place in the world, and late rockstar Prince, who owned a sprawling mansion on the island of Providenciales.

But away from the excess of the glitterati, this sunshine-filled British Overseas Territory is also somewhere where you will find escape into nature and even some healing. Here are seven reasons Turks and Caicos are more than a luxury haven.

Getting there: browse affordable fares to Turks and Caicos with British Airways^* (via a brief stop in Antigua) and Virgin Atlantic^* (via a change in Barbados), which both depart from London Heathrow.

Best beaches in the Caribbean

Two beaches in Turks and Caicos regularly rank among the best in the region. Grace Bay on Providenciales is where you'll find some of Turks & Caicos' finest resorts and boutique hotels, so it's perhaps little wonder that it is beloved for its fine white sands.

Despite that, it only secured tenth place in USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards in 2025. Taking the top spot was another of the archipelago's pure shores, the more remote Bambarra Beach, on Middle Caicos, accessible via a fast ferry from Providenciales.

There is something escapist about Bambarra. With none of the amenities of a resort beach, but plenty of space to place a towel in the shade of a casuarina pine, it has a long stretch of champagne sand shelving gently into still, clear seas.

It's great for those seeking escapism. Signs nailed to a tree give name to a few of those who have tried to stake their claim to this corner of paradise. The bay faces onto Pelican Cay, an uninhabited island about half a mile away that's a haven for coastal birds, including its namesake.

Coves & cays

Continue west from Bambarra and you'll reach Mudjin Harbour, a pristine three-mile stretch of beach shouldered by towering cliffs. The bay is so quiet, on this relaxed island, you feel like you've journeyed to a faraway land.

Make your way along the stone path to the clifftops for the energising blast of breeze off the Atlantic and absorbing sea views over Dragon Cay, an ironshore island resembling a sleeping dragon. You can also spot grey reef sharks on the barrier reef. Snorkelling can be exceptional here, but be aware that conditions aren't always agreeable and the sea can become rough.

Mudjin Harbour's sands are white with a hint of pink. But that isn't the main attraction. To find the real star of the show here, follow the path as it leads you underground, through a small cave and out onto a spectacular hidden cove perfect for pictures and picnics. Just don't get too close to the sea as sly waves can be soakers.

Holidays to Turks & Caicos: find luxury all-inclusive family holidays with Beaches^* as well as all-inclusive breaks for all with Club Med^*.

Cave carvings

See a different side of the islands' nature at Conch Bar Caves, a National Trust site that is part of the largest above-ground cave system in the Bahamas-Turks-and-Caicos archipelago.

With lakes and stalactites growing down to meet stalagmites, here nature reveals itself as a great architect, carving beauty even in the gloom. A section called the Nine Brothers, for example, has sculpted columns that wouldn't be amiss in a Renaissance city.

Take a guided tour of the caves to learn about their wildlife (four bat species live in their darkest recesses) and how they've played pivotal roles in the island's history; locals used to farm the bats' dung and also took refuge in the caves during hurricanes.

Get a taste of tradition

Though there is no shortage of places to enjoy Caribbean dishes and refined international cuisine, you can't beat real home-cooked food. And that is what you will find at Miss B's Island Restaurant in Bottle Creek, North Caicos.

Miss B isn't just a savvy cook; she's a fun, sassy lady with a cookbook of great Caribbean recipes for visitors to take away. You'll also dine from a menu that reflects the seasons with freshly caught lobster, snapper, grouper, plus Caribbean staples like peas and rice, macaroni pie, and fried plantains.

It's a great place to pause and refuel after a day exploring North and Middle Caicos. On Wednesdays, Miss B's hosts a fish fry with live music.

Bathe in sound

Take wellness beyond spa treatments with a beach sunset sound bath at Wymara Resort and Villas, Providenciales. Therapist Deep takes you on a meditative, spiritual journey through sound and vibration, accompanied by the resonance of nature; the crash of waves and call of tropical animals. It's an experience that leaves you feeling relaxed and very much centred.

Tiki party

It's not often you can sail across the aquamarine shallows of the Atlantic to land at a tiki-bar with a reputation as a party venue favoured by one of the world's biggest rap stars. That place is Noah's Ark, a marooned wooden platform where the hedonistic pleasures come in more than just twos.

Whether your idea of fun is leaping from inflatables, taking a laidback swing or swim in the sea, or dancing the day (and night) away to Noah's Ark's DJs with a rum punch in hand, you'll find your glee here. You may even spot Drake, who is a regular at this boatload - nay, ark - of sun-kissed joy.

Under the sea

Take time out from merely enjoying the beach and sea to learn about and assist in conserving it. Turks & Caicos Reef Fund (TCRF), in Providenciales, is a non-profit working to protect and restore the coral reefs that are the geological and economic foundation of the archipelago.

"The most important thing anyone can do is to be a responsible traveller," says Alizeé Zimmerman of TCRF. "Take time to learn about where you're going and how you can act responsibly. There's often a helplessness people feel with conservation, but the internet means we can all be informed and have the power to help."

Whether you want to help or just enjoy a fascinating, educational experience, visit TCRF's lab to learn all about the live corals in the tanks (feeding time is on Wednesday afternoons). Alternatively, become a volunteer and spend the afternoon planting corals or building moorings to deter boats from dropping anchor on the delicate reefs.

Climate in Turks & Caicos

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Maximum daytime temperature °C	27	27	28	29	30	31	32	32	32	31	29	27
Hours of sunshine (daily)	7	7	7	8	7	7	8	8	7	7	6	6
Days with some rainfall	11	9	10	9	13	13	16	16	17	17	12	12
Sea temperature °C	26	25	25	26	27	28	28	29	29	29	28	26

The above guide shows the climate in Providenciales. Find out more about conditions across the island in our complete guide to the climate in Turks and Caicos.

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Sarah stayed in a one-bedroom oceanfront suite at Wymara Resort and Villas in Providenciales. Find out more about the islands on Experience Turks and Caicos.

She flew with British Airways^*, staying at the London Heathrow Marriott Hotel^* ahead of an early morning flight.