Active Pursuits in Providenciales and Caicos
Pamela Ewing's Favorite TCI Experiences
Pamela Ewing is a Belonger (a native-born Turks islander) who knows just about anyone and everyone on the islands -- which makes her job working for the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board a perfect fit. Like most Turks and Caicos Islanders, Pamela puts great stock in hanging out with family and friends over food in a laid-back atmosphere. Here are Pamela's favorite TCI experiences:
- Going to the Children's Park on Lower Bight Road on Grace Bay with the kids and enjoying the beach and a good picnic or a cookout, with local foods such as conch fritters, fish with rice and vegetables, or souse (chicken).
- Going to the caves on Middle Caicos and doing a cave safari on a day trip. This involves an all-day boat trip to Middle Caicos. On the way you can swim and snorkel and then you visit the caves and have lunch.
- Fishing off the docks.
- Visiting North Caicos, to places like Wades Green. It's best to take a boat, rather than a plane.
Kayaking
An increasingly popular activity on the TCI is kayaking. Big Blue (tel. 649/946-5034; www.bigblue.tc) offers kayaking eco-tours in the Caicos Cays, North Caicos, and Middle Caicos.
Kiteboarding & Windsurfing
Kiteboarding -- also known as kitesurfing -- has really taken off on the Turks and Caicos. Conditions for this sport are excellent: The calms waters are protected by a coral reef, the seas are uncrowded, and winds can be very cooperative. You can get kiteboarding and windsurfing lessons and/or equipment rentals directly on Grace Bay beach from Windsurfing Provo (in front of the Ocean Club East resort; tel. 649/241-1687; www.windsurfingprovo.tc; Windsurfing rates are $40/hour and $150/day). Also recommended is KiteProvo (tel. 649/242-2927; www.kiteprovo.com), with IKO- and PASA-certified instructors Mike Haas and Terri Tapper. Both Windsurfing Provo and KiteProvo offer 3-hour Kiteboarding Fundamentals lessons for $225/per person an hour. Big Blue (tel. 649/946-5034; www.bigblue.tc) also offers windsurfing and kite-boarding expeditions, lessons, and rentals.
Parasailing
You won't see jet skis blazing across Grace Bay, but you will see billowy parasails skimming the clouds. It's a thrilling sight, the colorful parasails casting shadows on the aquamarine seas. Call on Captain Marvin's Water Sports, Grace Bay (tel. 649/231-0643; www.captainmarvinswatersports.com). A 15-minute flight over beautiful Grace Bay costs $75. You can also take a banana-boat ride at $25 per person or go water-skiing for $275 per hour ($250 per hour for more than 1 hr.).
Sailing
Sailing excursions are offered by many charter groups, most notably Sail Provo (tel. 649/946-4783; www.sailprovo.com/contact.htm). It sails 14m or 15m (48-ft. or 52-ft.) catamarans on half- or full-day excursions. One of the most frequented is a sailing and snorkeling trip for $63 that's offered on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and includes a tour of Little Water Cay, or "Iguana Island." A full-day cruise Tuesday to Friday costs $124, including a lunch buffet served onboard. Sail Provo also offers sunset cruises and glowworm cruises.
A retired rumrunner, Atabeyra, is owned by Sun Charters (tel. 649/231-0624; www.suncharters.tc). Happy hour sunset cruises cost $39 per person. Customized private charters can be arranged for half- or full-day trips and include food, drinks, snorkeling gear, and sailing down the chain of Caicos Cays, perhaps following an ocean trail blazed by Columbus. A kid-pleasing 3-hour Pirate Cruise goes to Treasure Island and costs $49 to $59.
You can also sail aboard the catamaran Beluga (tel. 649/946-4396; www.sailbeluga.com) where Captain Tim Ainley leads small, personally tailored beach excursions or private charters for romantic beach barbecues.
Stand-up Paddleboarding<?p>
The Turks & Caicos have ideal conditions for stand-up paddleboarding, one of the fastest-growing board sports in the world. It's pretty much what the name implies: You are standing up on a thick surfboard and propelling yourself through the water with a long paddle. You cruise along in calm, flat waters along the shoreline or through peaceful mangrove channels. It's a total body workout -- as well as a balancing act. Big Blue, always at the forefront of eco-sensitive activities, offers stand-up paddleboarding expeditions and rentals (tel. 649/946-5034; www.bigblue.tc). (Parrot Cay also has stand-up paddleboards.)
Fishing
The fishing is excellent in the Turks and Caicos, whether bonefishing, reef fishing, deep-sea fishing, or bottom fishing. A number of reputable boat-charter companies offer fishing expeditions; go to the "Caicos Watersports Operators: Master List," earlier in this chapter for contact information. Silver Deep (tel. 649/941-5441; www.silverdeep.com) offers fishing excursions, with both half- and full-day expeditions, usually for bonefishing or bottom fishing. Tackle and bait are included.
For those who'd like to venture farther afield -- and pay a lot more money -- half- and full-day deep-sea fishing expeditions are available, with all equipment included. Catches turn up wahoo, tuna, kingfish, marlin, and even shark.
In Middle Caicos, Cardinal Arthur (tel. 649/946-6107; cellphone 649/241-0730) is a one-man fishing charter. The sixth-generation Middle Caicos native can take you fishing for snapper, grouper, grunt, or barracuda.
Golf
From a country that currently has only two golf courses (on Provo and Grand Turk), the TCI golf scene is somewhat limited. However, rumors persist that the Northwest Point area will get a golf course in the near future.
Provo Golf & Country Club, on Grace Bay Road (tel. 649/946-5833; www.provogolfclub.com), is one of only two golf courses in the country (the other is on Grand Turk). The 6,560-yard, par-72, 18-hole course was designed by Karl Litten of Boca Raton, Florida, and is owned by the Turks and Caicos Water Company. It is powerfully green and -- because Provo is one of the driest spots on the globe -- it takes an extraordinary amount of water to keep it that way. Young palms and bougainvillea, as well as rocky outcroppings and powdery sand traps, help make the course a challenge to the serious golfer or a lovely day on the links for the beginner or novice. Four sets of tees allow golfers to tailor a game to their level of expertise. A driving range and putting greens are also available. Inside the newly renovated clubhouse is a full-service restaurant and bar called Fairways Bar & Grill.
Greens fees are $165 per person for 18 holes. The price includes the use of a shared golf cart, which is mandatory. Golf clubs can be rented for $30 to $60 per set. The course is open from 7am to 7:30pm daily. The course also has two lighted hard tennis courts . Inside the clubhouse is the Pro Shop, a fully stocked store with golf and tennis equipment as well as tennis and golf shoes, collared shirts, tailored shorts, and hats.
Tennis
Many of Provo's hotels and resorts have on-site tennis courts, including Beaches, Club Med, the Grace Bay Club, the Ocean Club, the Palms, and the Sands at Grace Bay. The Provo Golf & Country Club has two lighted hard courts that the public is welcome to reserve ($10 per person per hour; reserve 24 hr. in advance; open daily 7am-7:30pm).
