I recently had the pleasure of visiting Beaches Turks and Caicos. I went primarily to attend the annual Social Media on the Sand conference hosted by Beaches Resorts, but I also took some time to explore the island and got to enjoy the sun, sand, luxury, and entertainment Beaches has come to be known for.
With two of my closest friends in tow, we had a blast visiting Beaches Turks and Caicos. I can say that the vacation experiences I have had at Beaches resorts have been some of the most fulfilling of my life and I wholeheartedly recommend their properties for anyone who wants to enjoy an island getaway with or without your children.
If you’re already looking to visit Beaches Turks and Caicos, here are some things to know before you go.
Visiting Beaches Turks and Caicos: 15 Things to Know Before You Go
Credit: Laura Dee Photography
Locals call the island TCI.
Turks and Caicos is a British Overseas Territory buy they use American dollars as their currency.
And, English is the official language.
Drinking age is 18.
So, if you take your 18 year old and you’re not down with that, you should probably have a for real talk about it before you go. Otherwise, expect them to get all the rum punch their young hearts desire.
The Beaches Resort is serious about safety and supervision.
Entirely wired with CCTV and monitored by human security 24/7 as well, there’s not much that slips past the Beaches crew. It’s particularly awesome and reassuring for those traveling with children—you can rest assured that your child won’t be able to leave the resort or find themselves in any unfamiliar, scary situations with outsiders (or insiders).
The kids center, known on the resort as Kids Camp, requires a check in and check out procedure and is staffed by several child care providers at all times. They do move the kids around the resort quite a bit—taking them to the beach, the water park, and other on-property events—but they are always well supervised and interacted with.
They provide childcare services by certified nannies for children of all ages, including infants, and children with special needs.
Pro Tip: Lots of cameras means that bright idea you had to go skinny dipping in the hot tub at 1 am with your hubs is maybe not as intimate of an experience as you’d hoped. Just FYI.
Turks and Caicos is one of the safest islands in the Caribbean.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be extremely cautious, particularly if you decide to leave the resort as we did. Armed robberies and burglaries of your vehicle or villa are significant threats to be aware of especially when off resort or on the beach at night.
You can learn more and find safety tips here: Turks and Caicos Safety and Crime Info
Exactly what all inclusive means.
Basically, all of the meals you eat at the 21 on-site restaurants and the booze you drink, including the good stuff, is included in the price of your resort stay so you won’t need to pull out the cash much while you’re visiting Beaches Turks and Caicos. Some of the activities you want to enjoy, like will be included too.
Because all-inclusive doesn’t mean GO WILD EVERYTHING IS FREE!
There are excursions, upgrades, and experiences, like treatments at Red Lane Spa and adventure tours by Island Routes, among a few other things, that you may have to pay extra for.
You can check out all of the inclusions you get to enjoy when visiting Beaches Turks and Caicos here: what’s included at Beaches Turks and Caicos
This exciting tidbit: there are no tips to worry about at Beaches.
In fact, tipping isn’t even allowed so don’t even try it.
Beaches has removed the element of unequal service that can be caused by tipping by eliminating the practice all together.
I hate carrying my wallet around the beach and pool and, as someone who is always awkward and uncertain about tipping, it’s nice not to even have to worry about it.
They place a $400 hold on your credit card when you arrive.
So make sure you’re prepared for that. It’s just to cover incidentals you may charge back to your room, and otherwise, it’s released when you leave.
Credit: Laura Dee Photography
Providenciales is considered the tourism center of the Turks and Caicos islands.
But even it isn’t super developed like some of the other Caribbean Islands you may have visited so don’t expect to hop off the plane and see a KFC by the airport. There are 40 islands that make up Turks and Caicos, and only eight of them are inhabited by humans.
They say it’s totally worth it to visit some of the other islands because each is so unique, but the way my bank account is set up, I haven’t been able to do that yet.
People love visiting Beaches Turks and Caicos.
Beaches Turks & Caicos has been voted Top 25 Hotels for Families in the World by TripAdvisor® more times than I care to count. They’ve been named the World’s leading all-inclusive family resort band by the World Travel Awards for 21 straight years. Countless other travel ranking sites and publications, including Conde Nast, Travel + Leisure, and Family Vacation Critic, have all awarded the resort for various tidbits of awesome.
And everyday people (like me!) agree that Beaches Turks and Caicos is an all-time family favorite vacation destination. There are families that travel their year after year because they can’t find a single other place they love to visit more.
Credit: Laura Dee Photography
You can eat whenever you want.
There are no meal rotations, no restaurant or seating assignments, and limit to how much you eat when visiting Beaches Turks and Caicos. If you want hibachi every night, do you. Want to gorge yourself with sushi? Go right ahead, eat it every night. Personally I am more a fan of variety and the adventure one can have by eating at each of the 21 different restaurants on the resort property, but you go ahead and vacation however you like.
Pro tip: After you work up a late night appetite getting your dance on at Liquid, grab a bite at Bobby Dee’s. They’re open all night until 6 am for the late night party goers. Also, get the onion rings… SO GOOD.
And they even have food trucks in the water park.
You don’t even have to dry off to grab a snack from the Mr. Mac Food Truck or Curls ‘n Swirls ice cream truck.
Technically, the pools never close.
But they are not staffed by lifeguards after a certain time so swimming will be at your own risk.
Your teenagers will love it too.
In case the Sesame Street characters that live at Beaches Turks and Caicos wasn’t evidence enough, I think it’s safe to say that your young children will love the resort. That said, it’s important to note that your tweens and teens are going to love it just as much. Beaches Turks and Caicos has plenty for the older kid crowd to enjoy as well. The Pirates Island Water Park, the Xbox Play Lounge, nightly beach parties, a teen centered game room, and more, are enough to ensure your older kids are going to have plenty to keep them busy while you spend the day by the beach with a rum punch or two.
You can learn every thing there is to know about visiting Beaches Turks and Caicos by checking out their site here: Beaches Resort.