Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom
a pristine beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom

The Turks and Caicos Islands are home to the world’s third-largest barrier reef and breathtaking sheer walls. The Island’s reefs teem with countless types of marine life, such as Caribbean reef fish, corals, and sponges. Let’s take a closer look at the marvels divers can look forward to when they explore these beautiful islands.

Geography of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, the Turks and Caicos are a British Overseas Territory situated in the Lucayan Archipelago in the northern West Indies. Divers will find the Turks and Caicos Islands on an expansive underwater plateau at 7,000 feet (2,100m) above the ocean floor. Most of the islands here lie on the plateau’s northern edge. They house sandy beaches that surround low, flat limestone, large marshes, and mangrove swamps.

Providenciales (Provo)

The island of Providenciales (or Provo to the natives) is the most developed area among the inhabited islands of the Turks and Caicos. You’ll find various accommodations and other amenities on this island, aside from its numerous dive sites. Providenciales has three main islands: Grace Bay, West Caicos, and French Cay.

Grace Bay

This major dive site on Provo’s northern side can be accessed through a 15 to 20 minute boat ride from Turtle Cove. Once you’ve reached the area, you’ll see a 14-mile long barrier reef surrounding it. Small walls and deep coral canyons abound in the different dive sites within Grace Bay. They’ve also seen reef sharks, turtles, snappers, barracudas, and the occasional manta rays.

West Caicos

West Caicos is an uninhabited island on Provo’s southwest side. Whether you’re a novice or a pro diver, you’ll find numerous dive sites that befit your skill level. Endless varieties of marine life flock to its walls, which also teem with stunning hard and soft corals.

Some of the corals you’ll see in this Turks and Caicos dive site include barrel sponges, staghorn corals, and the elephant ear sponge. Groupers, blue tangs, grunts, snappers, and other wonderful types of marine life abound within West Caicos.

Gully

Named after a cut in the reef with two different sections and a vertical drop-off below them, the Gully has a wall that starts at around 50 feet. You’ll also see a dense coral reef above this wall, which houses plenty of cleaning stations. From this cut, you can take an 85-feet drop onto the wall.

Sponges, black corals, and anemones with long tentacles surround the undercuts on the Gully’s vertical wall. You might even witness a red-banded lobster sighting at around 75 feet, should you be so lucky.

Yankeetown

Yankeetown gets its name from a community that lived in West Caicos during the late 1800s to the 1920s. The reef’s top part lies between 50 to 55 feet and features coral heads all over its fairly even surface. Large tube sponges, star coral, and plate corals lie among these corals. Nassau groupers, porcupinefish, honeycomb cowfish, puddinglifes, and trumpetfish come here as well.

French Cay

Situated on Provo’s southern side, this tiny inhabited island has a 2000-meter vertical wall with an abyss lying below its drop-off. Eagle rays, reef sharks, turtles, and moray eels often drop by the French Cay. And if you’re lucky enough, you might spot the occasional humpback whale, hammerhead shark, or manta ray swimming around the area.

Half-Mile Reef

A well-known site among divers, Half-Mile Reef lies within a large bowl on the reef wall. Barracuda and mahogany snapper sightings are frequent here. The area also houses a pair of large elephant ear sponges at 85 feet.

West Sand Spit

This dive site is a sandy area in the open ocean with around 50 feet of sand. It only appears and dries up at low tide. The wall has a 60-feet starting point and a roughly 150-feet drop. The West Sand Spit is home to a large school of goatfish and other species. It teems with large stingrays as well. In fact, the 1996 REEF Survey discovered over 120 fish species in the area.

Pelagic creatures such as sargassum and ocean triggers frequent the West Sand Spit all year round. The area is also healthy and colorful, thanks to recurring currents and its remote location.

Grand Turk

Grand Turk is the second most populated island in the area and even served as the historical and political center of the Turks and Caicos for many years. Grand Turk is the main location for the Columbus National Marine Park, its largest protected area.

The island offers a great diving experience as it has clean and sheer walls in its dive sites. You’ll also see small hotels and Turks and Caicos dive resorts here, which contribute to its laid-back diving culture.

The Aquarium

This dive site on Grand Turk’s northern end is a favorite among divers. It features several sand canyons under sharp reef ridges. The Aquarium also teems with healthy boulder star corals, sea rods, brain corals, and sponges. There are regular sightings of large Nassau groupers, longspine squirrelfish, black durgon, and green turtles as well.

McDonald’s

Another favorite dive site of visitors who have dived in Grand Turk, McDonald’s is popular due to its impressive arches. Divers are free to roam the area and look at its bright corals and sponges as they’re several feet wide. A cleaning station lies near the arch and this is where groupers and parrotfish gather. Divers have also seen green moray eels and eagle rays swimming around McDonald’s.

Salt Cay

Salt Cay situates itself within the Columbus Passage, the channel that divides the Turks and Caicos islands. It’s also one of the islands that make up the entire area. The island is ideal for spotting humpback whales coming from the Dominican Republic during winter.

Salt Cay is the most remote island in the Turks and Caicos. The island’s remote location features pristine coral reefs, beautiful marine life, and perfect wall dives.

Endymion

The Endymion is a fifth-rate 44-gun warship from Britain that sunk near Salt Cay in 1790. It eventually became the name for the location of the shipwreck. Endymion Rock is the most popular wreck dive site among divers who visit the Turks and Caicos. It’s 40 feet (12.5m) deep and features the anchors and chains from the wreck.

Marine Life

Your scuba diving adventure in the Turks and Caicos wouldn’t be complete without taking the time to appreciate all the colorful marine life. Here are some of the great sea creatures and plants you might encounter during your visit.
  • Nassau groupers - Named after its large population in the Bahamas, this predatory fish can be found in the Caribbean’s coral reefs and the bodies of water near them. It preys on fairly large fishes and invertebrates. Nassau groupers have a reddish-brown color and vertical light bars across their heads and bodies.
  • Humpback whales - These large whales have black or grey-colored bodies with white undersides to their flukes, flippers, and bellies. They migrate to feeding grounds in high latitudes during the summer and low-latitude mating grounds in the winter. Humpbacks in the Caribbean usually come from Iceland, southern Greenland, Norway, Svalbard, and the eastern seaboard of Canada and the United States.
  • Mahogany snappers - Divers can spot mahogany snappers throughout the Caribbean, including the Turks and Caicos. They pass by large coral heads and gorgonians on their own or in large groups. Their food includes cephalopods, crustaceans, and fish.

Other Attractions

The Turks and Caicos offer more than just diving sites. Don’t forget to drop by the following locations on your next visit:
  • Chalk Sound National Park - Hundreds of tiny rocky islands make up Chalk Sound National Park on Providenciales. Rock iguanas, bonefish, barracudas, lemon sharks, and stingrays abound in this lagoon. Adventure-seekers can participate in stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking.
  • Caicos Conch Farm - This farm east of Providenciales offers educational tours for visitors, where they can learn about a conch’s usual lifespan. Tourists will also get a glimpse of the farm and their day-to-day operations.
  • Local Fish Fry - The Bight Children’s Park plays host to the island’s Local Fish Fry on Thursdays. Tourists and locals socialize with each other during this event. The Fish Fry brings many food vendors, entertainers, and cultural acts together for a wonderful night.

How to Get to There

By Air
Many airline companies offer direct flights to the Turks and Caicos from different cities in the United States. Flights coming from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and Antigua are available as well.

Entering the Turks and Caicos requires a valid passport and a return or onward ticket. Tourists from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom won’t have to get a visa for entry purposes. But it’s best to check if you do need one before flying out to the islands.

By Sea
You can either take a cruise ship or a yacht if you’re traveling to Turks and Caicos by sea. Cruise ships dock at Grand Turk since it’s the only island that has an actual port. The islands in Turks and Caicos also have marinas, which makes the area perfect for yacht and cruiser travel. Providenciales and Grand Turk have some of these marinas, while the North and South Caicos each offer a single marina.

Getting Around
If you want to go around the island, rental cars and taxis are the main modes of transportation. The Turks and Caicos don’t have any public transport services, buses, or trains.

Best Time to Visit

Diving in the Turks and Caicos happens all year round. However, the period between mid-December to mid-April is considered to be the peak dive season in the islands. You’ll get calm weather and good visibility at the tail-end of summer, but do keep in mind that hurricanes usually occur during this time. The islands also experience rainy weather from October to January.

Required Trainings & Certifications

Before embarking on a scuba dive trip in the Turks and Caicos, you must finish a certification course from any scuba diving certification agency, such as PADI. You’ll need your own certification card as well. PADI’s Open Water Diver course is a recommended course for most divers.

Divers can also take PADI’s Discover Scuba Diving and Scuba Diver courses before diving in the Turks and Caicos. The agency offers both courses.

Miscellaneous Information

Currency
The Islands only accept US dollars. Tourists should exchange their country’s currency for US dollars in any of the local banks.

Language
English is the official language of the Turks and Caicos. Haitian Creole and Spanish are also spoken among Haitian and Dominican immigrants.

Time Zone
The Turks and Caicos observe Atlantic Standard Time or the GMT -4 timezone.

Driving Side
Natives on the islands drive on the left-hand side of the road. But the imported vehicles on the islands feature right-side steering.

Calling Code
+1 (649) is the local area code for the Turks and Caicos. Making calls to the Islands is the same as making calls to the United States. However, you’ll need to dial the full international area code if you’re making an international call from the islands.

ISO 3166 code
The ISO 3166 code for the islands is TCA.

Internet TLD
.tc is the top-level domain for the Turks and Caicos.