Tamara recently took a travel agent FAM trip to Turks and Caicos and spent two nights at The Palms and two nights at The Shore Club. She also visited many other properties and today she shares her insights into each to help you decide where to stay in Turks and Caicos.

Episode Highlights

• Turks and Caicos is known for its beautiful beaches and not for all-inclusives or as a party island
• Most of the hotels have great accommodations for families with 1, 2, 3-bedroom accommodations and up (including villa rentals)
• When arriving, be prepared for a long wait at passport control/immigration. Expect about an hour and longer on the weekends. When departing, leave 2-3 hours to get checked in and wait in the security line. There isn't a lot of room in the gate area but there is an area upstairs that has more space.
• To save time at the airport, you can pay for Fast Track access starting at $75 per person, each way.
• Private transfers from the airport are about $150 each way, but cabs can be $30+ per person for shared taxis. Taxis throughout the island are priced per person and are pricey.
• It is about a 15-20 minute drive from the PLS (Providenciales) to most of the hotels
• The Palms is on Grace Bay Beach (the most famous beach on the island). It is a luxury hotel with a lush, garden-like setting right on the beach. The style and decor is similar to Sandy Lane in Barbados, a colonial or plantation style.
• Tamara stayed in a one-bedroom suite oceanfront, which was huge with a full kitchen, living room, laundry, dining room, large balcony, bedroom with tons of closet space, and one and one-half bathrooms.
• They recently did a renovation at The Palms of rooms but also of the pool area and added a new pool/beach restaurant and pool bar (including a swim-up bar).
• The restaurants at The Palms were very good. Parallel 23 is fine dining and Sisi is modern Mexican.
• The Palms also has one of the best spas in the Caribbean
• The high season is during Festive (winter holidays) and President's Day weekend. The low season would be July-September
• Pricing in the Caribbean is quite high.
• The Shore Club is across the island on Long Bay Beach. There is a beach-to-beach package so that you can split your week vacation between the two properties.
• Long Bay Beach is breezy and very popular for kite surfing. The beach itself is narrow but long and The Shore Club has plenty of space to spread out. The water here is very calm and you can walk out very far, especially at low tide.
• Shore Club is also a luxury hotel and it has a sophisticated feel. There are villas and multi-bedroom accommodations that would be amazing for a girls' trip or multi-generational vacation.
• The one-bedroom oceanfront suite is huge and great for families with teens because there is a study that has a pull-out couch, full bathroom, and closets and a door that closes off from the rest of the space. There is another pull out couch in the living room.
• There is a sushi restaurant and a comfort food restaurant, plus pool bars and restaurants.
• There is a shuttle between the properties and also the four-star Sands property and guests have signing privileges for all the restaurants.
• The Alexandra Resort is a four-star, all-inclusive on Grace Bay next to The Palms with multi-bedroom suites and restaurants
• The Wymara Resort has a South Beach, sexy vibe that would be great for couples and honeymooners but the rooms are a bit smaller
• The Ritz-Carlton is a high-rise hotel with a smaller beach. The second tower is for Ritz-Carlton Residences and you can't use or earn points for the Residences.
• They are building an Andaz and St. Regis on Turks and Caicos now too.
• The H20 Resort on Long Bay Beach is a small boutique hotel that is good for people that are independent travelers and enjoy watersports as they have a kite surfing school and tons of rentals.
• Tamara is going back to Turks and Caicos in the fall for a Family Travel Association conference at Beaches Turks and Caicos (stay tuned!!)
• On Thursday nights there is a fish fry with food trucks, music, and artisans/souvenir vendors. The Junkanoo band performs and it is such a lot of fun.
• You can island hop by ferry or plane (but there is a separate terminal for domestic flights)
• You can also go scuba diving, snorkeling, charter a boat for fishing or island hopping, or boat out to the tiki bar off Long Bay Beach.