The islands are home to over 31, full time residents, and attract more than 1 million tourists annually. In the Turks and Caicos Islands welcomed 1,, tourists to its shores, with , being stop-overs and the remaining , arriving via cruise.
The US dollar is the official currency of Turks and Caicos. From November to May the average temperature is 80 to 84 degrees degrees celsius. Water temperature in the summer is 82 to 84 degrees degrees celsius and in winter about 74 to 78 degrees degrees celsius. A constant trade wind keeps the climate at a very comfortable level.
There is an annual rainfall of 21 inches on Grand Turk and South Caicos, but as you go further west the average rainfall could increase to 40 inches. In an average year the Turks and Caicos has days of sunshine. The expatriate population consists of British, Canadians, Americans, French, Bahamians, people from Hispaniola and virtually everywhere in the world.
The economy of the TCI relies primarily on the tourism industry, but also real estate development and the exportation of seafood. A wide variety of financial services are available, including company formation, offshore insurance, banking, trusts, limited partnerships and limited life companies.
The Financial Services Commission regulates, develops and promotes the industry in major world markets. Having an internal self-government structure, the head of the Turk and Caicos Islands government is the politically elected Premier, formerly called Chief Minister. The Premier heads up the slate of elected officials serving as representatives of constituencies and Ministers of key sectors in the country. Elections are held every four years in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
House of Assembly is located in the capital island, Grand Turk, and government offices and departments are found throughout the islands. The legal system is based on English Common Law.
Satellite television service is provided throughout the islands, with most major American networks available. As on many Islands, fresh water is precious, and dependent upon rainfall or desalinated water produced by reverse osmosis for the supply. For example, the predominant musical genre, ripsaw, is very similar to rake and scrape music from the Bahamas. This lively music gets its name from the fact that a knife is typically run along the teeth of a saw and is accompanied by instruments like the box guitar, the triangle, the drums and the accordion.
If you come to TCI, make sure to take in at least one performance of ripsaw music. You won't soon forget it! Popular sports in the Turks and Caicos include soccer, sailing, fishing and cricket, which is the official national sport.
Hats and baskets made out of straw are among the most popular locally handcrafted items, and they are sold in all of the most populated areas. Because the original inhabitants of the Turks and Caicos were enslaved and removed from the country by the Spanish, the territory doesn't have much in the way of an official, distinctive cuisine.
However, you can expect to run into a few common themes while visiting. Most notable is conch, which is served up in a variety of ways. Conch fritters and conch salad are the most popular examples. Jerk chicken, which comes from Jamaica, has gained a strong foothold here, and Bahamian cuisine is ubiquitous as well. Fresh seafood abounds, but there isn't much in the way of local produce due to the topography.
Therefore, most of the food is imported from elsewhere. The most common dishes enjoyed by locals include boilfish and grits, which is often served for breakfast, boilfish and johnnycake and peas and hominy. Not that long ago, the average number of annual visitors to TCI hovered around 87, That number has soared of late, with more than , visitors in This surge largely has to do with the fact that many cruise lines now include the Turks and Caicos as a port of call.
In , more than cruise ships paid visits to the islands. Most of them arrived at the Grand Turk Cruise Terminal, a state of the art facility with a variety of dining, shopping and entertainment options. Most vacationers choose TCI for its beaches, but the territory is also world-renowned for its amazing diving due to the fact that it has the third largest coral reef system in the world. You can take your pick from the usual array of options when it comes to getting around the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Rental cars are readily available, but you can also rent bicycles, jeeps, motor scooters and even boats in the more populated areas. Taxis are ubiquitous in population centers like Cockburn Town, and many drivers pull double-duty as tour guides as well.
This is a great way to get an insider's view of the local area, so be sure to ask which taxi companies offer this service. It should come as no surprise that the most popular activities in the Turks and Caicos revolve around the water.
Since the s, scuba diving has been wildly popular in the region. The most popular areas to scuba dive are off Grand Turk, South Caicos and Salt Cay, but numerous other sites are scattered around the islands.
West Caicos Marine National Park is also a very popular diving location. The coral reefs of these islands are truly stunning, and divers encounter huge schools of fish, gray reef sharks, nurse sharks, turtles, octopuses, eagle rays, gray reef sharks and all kinds of other critters. In addition to diving and snorkeling, popular activities in the Turks and Caicos include sailing, parasailing, gambling, golfing, shopping, dining and fishing.
Some of the most populated areas boast amazing spas and salons too. For being such a laid-back place, there's really never a dull moment in the Turks and Caicos. You can just as easily spend your entire vacation lounging on a gorgeous beach as you could keep busy with all kinds of fun activities. Either way, it pays to be familiar with the most popular attractions on the islands, and you can take your pick from a nice assortment of options.
Some of the most popular include:. You can take your pick from the usual array of accommodations in the Turks and Caicos. Lately, a few very upscale private resorts have been developed on uninhabited islands.
Parrot Cay is, without a doubt, the most popular and well-known of them all. Pine Cay is another example, and it really stands out with its gorgeous, 2. Of course, you don't have to splurge on a high-end, all-inclusive resort while visiting the Turks and Caicos. A large selection of restaurants , tour and boat cruise companies, spas , and boutique shops complement the places to stay. Many sites and activities are family-friendly, yet there are a few adult-only resorts as well.
The primary vacation attraction to the islands is our exquisite marine environment and unparalleled beaches.
A counterpart to the luxury tourism industry is the real estate and investment market in the Turks and Caicos, which has greatly expanded in recent years.
Grand Turk also features an international airport , yet only regularly sees domestic flights. Airports and airstrips can be found on nearly all other inhabited islands. The short flight times from many major U. Miami is under 2 hours away, New York, Charlotte, Boston and Philadelphia are less than 4 hours, and Chicago, Toronto and Montreal are just over 4 hours.
The British Airways flight to London is the longest route at 11 hours. Car rentals and taxis are the main forms of transport throughout the country. Road navigation is simple due to our small islands, and a simple map suffices as a guide.
Carnival Cruise Lines runs an expansive cruise center complex that features shops, dining and shore excursions. Grand Turk is a great cruise stop. On the typical Caribbean route, it offers the best beaches and is the best destination for simply exploring by rental car.
Grand Turk also offers a limited market for overnight stays, with small hotel and colonial villa rental options to choose from, which largely cater to the boutique scuba diving industry. Like many tourism destinations, the Turks and Caicos experiences predictable peaks and falls in visitor arrivals throughout the year. The Turks and Caicos experiences great weather year-round.
As the Turks and Caicos is near the Caribbean, it is effected by the Atlantic Hurricane Season in the summer and fall months. The main claim to fame for the Turks and Caicos are our spectacular beache s and crystal-clear ocean water , which are crowned by the world-renowned seven mile long Grace Bay Beach on Providenciales. The Turks and Caicos is also acclaimed for its exceptional scuba diving and is home to one of the finest barrier reef systems in the Atlantic Ocean.
The coral walls at Grand Turk , Providenciales and West Caicos , where the depth drops from feet m to over 7, feet 2. The environment of the Turks and Caicos is perfect for eco water sports such as kayaking , paddle boarding and kiteboarding. Extensive mangrove channels and shallow turquoise lagoons create the perfect landscapes to explore. Sport fishing is another major attraction in the Turks and Caicos. Every year, several tournaments take place in the islands, from the international Caicos Classic billfishing event held on Providenciales, to many smaller reef and bottom fishing contests.
The bonefishing found on the Caicos Banks shallows near Providenciales and the Caicos Islands is unmatched. On land, we have a top-rated golf course , natural and historical attractions, and some rather impressive Karst cave features. The Tainos also referred to as Lucayans , are thought to be the indigenous peoples of the Turks and Caicos and are believed to have migrated up through the Caribbean islands sometime around the year AD, possibly to escape persecutions by other warlike tribes.
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