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“I cannot believe you took me out of school on the last day to go to Turks and Caicos.” -Michael and Leo Colista (our children)

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Turks and Caicos

When we took this trip to Turks and Caicos the boys were 7 and 9 years old. My hubs and I are overworked professionals, and this was a trip we thought we might regret because the boys might not appreciate it, but we were wrong. We also took my 70-year-old mother on this trip with us. It was perfection from beginning to end. Worth every penny.

Here are our tips for traveling to Turks and Caicos with your family and the top things you should do while there.

1. Accommodations: Somerset at Grace Bay for the win!

 We were between the all-inclusive Beaches stay and Somerset at Grace Bay. Beaches is an all-inclusive resort so you will do everything on the resort, which this can really make for a relaxing trip. We were told this resort is busy with people, and this trip was taken the year after COVID wrapped and we did not want to be around a lot of people. We also decided we wanted to see the island and be out and about a bit, so we went with the five-star resort Somerset at Grace Bay. Breakfast is included and they also had a happy hour with drinks and appetizers one night, lunch and dinner are on your own. There are restaurants on site and a lot of island options very close by. Somerset was gorgeous, the pool and beach were not packed, and we felt like we could relax there. Our kids loved the pool and the beach, and we were well taken care of like royalty. They have a kids club too, so that is awesome. The resort is small enough that you feel like everything is right there.

We got a 3-bedroom garden apartment, and it was 3 floors and gigantic. The kitchen was really nice to have so we could cook. The resort has a few restaurants onsite, and we enjoyed the pool cafe the most since our kids could simply charge it to the room.

2. Excursions (Boat Tubing, Island Buggy Tour, Snorkeling the Coral Reef, and Eating out)

BOOK THIS BUGGY TOUR!!!!

We did a few excursions. We all loved the Buggy Tour which was fun for all ages. We got a close of view of Prince's hours (now owned by Drake) and other movie star properties. You drive the entire island, lunch is included, and it is a half day experience. It was a blast. They pick you up at the hotel on a van for this excursion which was great.

We also went ocean tubing. The kids went twice, once with mom and once with dad. This was exhilarating. The boat picked us up right in front of the hotel.

We went shopping in the fancy outdoor shopping center near the hotel on many occasions. We rented a car so getting around town was a breeze. We did this right from the hotel with the valet.

Lastly, we went and snorkeled at the second largest Coral Reef in the world. It was absolutely amazing. We actually took the snorkel gear from the resort and drove ourselves there, it was only about 1 mile from Somerset. We ate lunch right there since there was a ocean front cafe. We spent the entire day here. My mom had not been in the Ocean for about a decade, but since the water in Turks and Caicos is so calm and clear, she put on a life vest, and we could not get her out of the water when we were at this reef. It was amazing.

3. Flights: (Expedia will track price drops and credit your money automatically)

Get the direct flight to Turks and Caicos, you can leave in the morning and be there before noon. From Philly this flight was under 4 hours. This means you do not waste your first day traveling. You can take food, we recommend paying for a suitcase of food since food cost so much there, this will save you money on the back end.

4. Food

The cost of food is expensive because they have to import all food, so if you are taking this trip, you are accepting that. We would pay $150-$250 per meal for the family so that is for lunch and dinner. You can grocery shop and offset that a bit. In total we spent about $2500 on food for the 6 nights for the five of us. We did not do the all-inclusive because we felt we would be land locked there since you pay $11,000 upfront (meaning you pay for the food and entertainment and stay at the resort) with this price we would not have a budget to leave the resort. We felt we could stay at a five-star family resort and enjoy the island and have a better time and still save money, which we did. We saved about $4,000 in the end.

We ate at some of the best places on the island and I am so happy we did not feel like we could not leave the resort since we paid so much money for the all-inclusive. We ate out for dinner, a lot of places we simply walked up the beach. One night our resort had a big dinner party, which we paid per person for, but it was all inclusive and with entertainment and we so enjoyed ourselves.

In the end, this trip was magical. The water was crystal clear, my kids played outside for hours running back and forth from the beach to the pool. I never once worried that they would drown or the ocean current would take them under, the ocean is just calm as a cucumber and the clearest water I have ever seen.

The Best of Turks and Caicos-Prince's house

(Purple Rain, Purple Rain)

Packing list for Turks and Caicos

A Quick Packing List

• bathing suits (lots of bathing suits)

• sunscreen

• nonperishable foods (cereal, granola bars, fishies, pretzels, protein shakes, mac and cheese, pasta, bread)

• Extra suitcase for food

• bathroom items

• sun hat

• cute clothes

• books or magazine

• Cash

• deck of cards