We are going to the Turks & Caicos in February. This will be our first trip ever outside of the U.S. so I have been doing a lot of research. I am thinking ahead to souvenirs that I would like to b
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Cat:Caribbean and the AtlanticForum:0EE96865
Cat:Caribbean and the AtlanticForum:0EE96865Discussion:44d661aa-8535-4685-a065-ee7a6edc7c15
We are going to the Turks & Caicos in February. This will be our first trip ever outside of the U.S. so I have been doing a lot of research. I am thinking ahead to souvenirs that I would like to bring home and I am wondering what is/is not able to come home with us on the plane.
Are we allowed to bring things like beach sand, shells, and rocks home? I love collecting these items. Also, how many conch shells are you allowed? Some sites say two and others say three per person. Are you allowed to mail these items if they cannot come on the plane? Any information on this would be helpful. Thank you!
We've never had a problem bringing any of the items you described home. I have read that there is a limit on conch shells, but honestly I don't recall the limit. We have four or five TCI conch shells around our house, but we've been visiting for thirteen years -- never brought home more than one at a time.
Two things to remember -- The waters along Grace Bay on Providenciales are a protected National Park. It's illegal to remove any sealife, including live sand dollars, live conch, live star fish, etc.. Also, the last thing you want to do is pack anything that's still alive in a suitcase -- the smell is not a pleasant experience. ;-)
Thank you so much, this is very helpful! I really wanted to bring back some beach sand and shells so I'm happy to hear that you can. Thanks for the heads up about Grace Bay. I didn't know it was a protected National Park.
We often find large starfish in the shallow waters along Grace Bay. Our kids pose for a picture with them, then we snorkel out, and return them to where they came from.
If you find a sand dollar that's completely white in color, it's dead. However, if you find one that's grey-ish in color, it's probably still alive.
Enjoy your trip -- it's a beautiful destination. :-)
Many years ago I was in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and was snorkelling. I picked up a conch shell that had some other sea life attached to the outside of the conch shell and it stung my finger. Within a short while my finger swelled up as did the rest of my hand and I started to feel rather ill. I went to the resort doctor who gave me some medicine for the swelling and suggested that when I return home I see my family doctor. Well, that little sting affected me for 9 months after that. There was a filiment in my finger that they finally found at the travel medicine clinic. If you pick up a conch shell please be careful.
several years ago when i was in hawaii, i picked up a pretty snail-shaped shell and put it in my purse. later in the day while i was looking for something in my purse, i accidentally knocked the shell out of my purse and, much to my surprise, it scampered away. apparently a little crab was living in the shell - i had unknowingly taken someone's home. when picking up a shell, i will always check to see if something is living in there.
