Lately, Providenciales (more commonly known as Provo) has become the most popular of the Turks and Caicos Islands.  With the U.S dollar as the official currency, its easy to spend money, but here are some ways to cut back the budget but still enjoy in the island itself.
 

 
            If you are willing to look you can find places to stay for cheap on the island.  One of which is Turtle Cove Inn.  This 30-room inn is found on the waterfront at Turtle Cove Marina, a busy point for fishing, diving and snorkeling.  The “value rooms” go got $105 in the winter and $85 in the summer.  A 10-minute walk gets you to Smith’s reef, a prime snorkeling spot, and a bit farther is Grace Bay Beach, which offers a 12-mile stretch of white sand.
 

 
            When eating on Provo, you should try to love the conch (pronounced conk); a large mollusk and is served on just about every menu on the island.  When going to try the conch, the ideal spot is De Conch Shack, found just west of Grace Bay.  There, you can order them in conch chowder ($9), as conch fritters ($8) or as fried strips, or “cracked conk” ($12).  For a sit-down dinner, try the Tiki Hut Cabana Bar and Grill, which offers a menu of local specialties like Jamaican jerk chicken sandwich and conch, alongside burgers and pizzas (all well under $20), they even offer a conch pizza ($11).  And a last place to mention is Hemingway’s at the Sands Hotel, and open-air restaurant that overlooks Grace Bay Beach.  There you can eat seafood dishes such as spicy conch chowder ($7.75) and mahi mahi fish and chips ($9.95) while you listen to the saxophonist that plays poolside.
 

 
            By day on Provo you will have an endless list of things to do, such as scuba diving and kayaking.  Or, to take part in the island’s love of the conch, visit the Caicos Conch Farm, where $6 gets you in.  You can also take a trip to Little Water Cay (also known as Iguana Island).  This is a 116-acre island that is home to thousands of indigenous rock iguanas.  Admission to the island is just $5, but you need a boat to get there, and most companies charge $50 or more for the five-minute ride and back, so it’s recommended you make a day of it.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 26th, 2007 at 4:13 pm and is filed under Caribbean, Turks and Caicos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.