Globe Corner Blogs

A number of times on our vacation last month in Turks and Caicos, we looked around the beach, and saw no one. Really, no one. Just some crabs, and some birds, but that’s it.

We embarked on this vacation with Thoreauesque goals: not so much transcendentalism or  civil disobedience, but just to get the heck away from people. We hardly had to try; even on the main island of Providenciales, all we had to do was avoid Grace Bay, and we found deserted stretches of white sand and strangely blue waters.

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We opted not to stay in Grace Bay, the main resort area with some of the most beautiful beaches on the island, but instead followed our solitary path out to Northwest Point, part of Provo known for the diving and the Marine National Park. There are only two resorts at this end of the island: the super-swank Amanyara and the very mellow, laid-back Northwest Point Resort (where we stayed). At either place, the beaches are empty and great for walking or some low-key snorkeling.

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If you’re looking for a bit of adventure, try the drive out to Malcolm Roads Beach, on the western side of Northwest Point. It’s a 30-minute, somewhat harrowing drive from Grace Bay, but at the end of it, you will be rewarded with oddly blue water, dramatic, crashing waves, and fun (if somewhat dangerous) swimming. This is not a beach for kids, unless you wrangle your way down into Amanyara’s area of the beach, where there are plenty of swimmers around and many of the rocks have been cleared.

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The road to this beach is downright cantankerous, with jagged areas of limestone jutting out here and there that are enough to bring visions of flat tires to one’s mind. At one point, going over a small hill, the road squeezes down to just the width of a car, and the sides of the road rise up to window level. Enormous potholes make cars shake from side to side like an amusement park ride, but as it approaches the beach, the road calms to a sandier version, and the blue of the sea rises over the tops of the scrappy vegetation. Consider making this trip for sunset, as this beach faces  almost directly west; you may even spot the green flash that all the guidebooks talk about.

Also off the beaten path, but wonderful to see, is Chalk Sound National Park. To get to this area, we passed through the island’s industrial zone, filled with cement mixers, loading zones with shipping crates, and other miscellaneous reminders of the real world.  Once passing through this, and onto the paved road leading by the sound, curiously blue waters began to peek into view. In this shallow sound, the limestone bottom turns the turquoise waters to a milky hue, and hundreds of tiny islands jut out of the blue surface.

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Turks and Caicos has a really easy, laid-back feel about it without being too fancy, touristy, or uptight. We loved being able to hop in our car and just search out beautiful beaches without any hassle, and driving on the left-hand side of the road always made the journey just a tiny bit more exciting (especially when the car would  blink symbols at us in Japanese). Just an hour and a half from Miami, this is a great getaway from the Northeast, with direct flights from NYC.  For more info on Turks and Caicos travel, check out the island’s helpful website, our selection of guidebooks, and this fun blog I found, which also seems bent upon leading people to deserted places.

Read more: Beach Travel, Caribbean, Travel, Travel Tips and Resources, turks and caicos


Kate lives and works in Chicago, IL. Her interests include fine arts, food and wine, and baseball.

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