By Jack Bradley

The island of Providenciales in Turks and Caicos has everything you want in a beach vacation location, from delicious food to beautiful sunsets. The north side of the island is the best place to watch the sun set, down right over the beach and into water. The sun creates a beautiful pink and orange in the sky over the blue ocean and the white beach. On one side of the island, you have calm, crystal clear water, and on the other you have moderate waves. On the south-east side of the island, people kit surf and windsurf. To get to Providenciales, you have to take at least two flights from the East Coast. We usually leave from the Richmond airport and head to Atlanta, and from there we take a three-hour flight to Turks and Caicos, which is worth every second of the trip. 

Photo credit: Wikipedia user RoadTripWarrior.

I have been going to Turks and Caicos ever since I was three years old, and the beaches of Grace Bay and Grace Bay West is where my family has spent most of our days. Turks and Caicos is our family’s favorite vacation destination, but we have not been in a couple of years due to the pandemic. On the Grace Bay side of the island, the ocean has flat, clear water. When you first put your feet in the sand, you get a feeling of relaxation. The sand is smooth, with little to no shells. The sun is shining almost every day, and it rarely rains.

The Turks and Caicos Islands have a population of approximately 38,000 permanent residents. Before Turks and Caicos earned their independence in 1962, the island was a part of the Bahamas colony. The culture come from a mix of influences, including “French & Spanish explorers as well as African slaves.” Today, the tourism industry attracts thousands of visitors and millions of dollars each year. 

What can you do in Providenciales? You can go snorkeling, scuba diving, parasailing, fishing, diving for sand dollars, kite surfing, and so much more. SNUBA is also a possible form of scuba diving where air tanks are above the water, on some sort of raft, which are connected to your regulator. My mother Kim Bradley and brother Ryder (’25) have tried SNUBA, and said they enjoyed every second of it. Ryder said, “the experience was wonderful, I could not have loved it more.”

While they were doing this, my father and I were scuba diving. We went diving with Flamingo Divers off of West Caicos. When I first put my head under water, the sight was breathtaking. We saw a bunch of species of fish and some amazing coral. We saw barracudas, lionfish, Queen angelfish, reef sharks, and more. Turks and Caicos has some of the best dive sites in the world. 

Parasailing. Photo credit: Ryan Bradley.

Another enjoyable moment I shared with my family during one of our trips was parasailing. If you’ve never been, it’s where a sail with seats is attached to a line, which is let out while a boat is moving. The moving boat keeps the sail in the air for people to savor the view. We went out on a boat one afternoon with six other people.

As I watched the first group of three go up in the air, I was terrified. Seeing the group in front of us being dipped into the water made me think, What if a shark bites us? Another thought was, What if I fall out of the harness? As they were reeled back into the boat, it was time to conquer the fears of my 11 year-old self. As my brother, mother, and I were harnessed into the seat of the parachute, my heart was pounding. They reeled us out, and as soon as I was at the maximum height, probably 500 feet above the surface of the ocean, I was not afraid anymore. The sight of the ocean, the island, and the blue sky around me was like a beautiful image in a magazine. The view was worth every minute of the parasailing trip.

Photo via Flickr.

During another trip, we got up at eight in the morning to go on a fishing boat with a captain named Sugar Ray, whom we had been out with multiple times in the past. Though it was a fishing boat, we weren’t on the boat to fish. Sugar Ray took us to a sand dollar dive area, where we dove 15 feet underwater to retrieve sand dollars from a spot filled with hundreds of them. He then took us to a coral area close to the shore, where we snorkeled and dove for conches. We brought the conches back onto the boat, where Sugar Ray would cut a hole in the conches and pull them out. Sugar Ray made each of us our own fresh conch ceviche. The salad was filled with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and raw conch. Sugar Ray squeezed lemon and lime juice onto the salad. The fresh conch with the vegetables and squeezed fruits was full of flavor and one of the best salads I have ever had. 

The restaurants in Providenciales are phenomenal. Some restaurants I would recommend are Bay Bistro, Somewhere Café and Lounge, and Da Conch Shack. The best part about these restaurants is the fresh sea food and the view of the ocean. Being able to have a beautiful meal and look out into the ocean is magnificent. When we go to Somewhere Café and Lounge, we always go snorkeling first. We follow a rope around the area looking at fish and coral. The restaurant is an outdoor area with seating and a bar. My favorite sea food to get while in Providenciales is conch. My family and I will always go to Da Conch Shack while we are down there. We love being able to get freshly cooked conch fritters served by the ocean.

Satellite view of Turks & Caicos. Image via flickr user Riccardo Rossi. 

Providenciales is life-changing. The people and island provide tourists with so many opportunities. The food, beautiful scenery, and wonderful times we have had makes our family come back each year. I would have no doubt recommending Providenciales to anyone as a vacation destination.