Mar 05, 2023

Our Grand Turk Experience

In June 2022, My boyfriend and I went on our first cruise through Carnival. I am a travel agent, and a Carnival partner. We sailed on the Carnival Sunrise that was scheduled to go to Nassau, Bahamas, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, and Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos. This post will specifically highlight our time in Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos.

The Beach

Turks & Caicos is well known worldwide for its beautiful beaches with white sands and crystal clear waters. We spend almost 4 hours enjoying our time in the water, while drinking authentic rum punches from the snack stands on the beach. Our ship, the Carnival Sunrise, ported right at Margaritaville. Many people from our ship went to Margaritaville, but we chose to partronize the snack stand. Also, FYI, if you cruise to Grand Turk - partake in the water furthest from the ship dock. The water closest to the ship dock is very rocky underneath and it is really hard to work without hurting yourself. This is due to the consistent porting of the cruise ships. The further away from the dock, the smoother the ocean floor.

Driving on the left

We love to explore whenever we take trips. Grand Turk was no exception. We decided to forgo the Carnival-suggested activities and rent a car tp explore the island ourselves. Through much research, we decided to rent a car through Wet Money Tours for a total of $119 for the day (taxes included). This was so much fun!!! All of the instructions in the car were in Japanese, LOL. However, you do not need a GPS to get around on the island. We asked a few people for directions and they were happy to help. It was also FUN to drive on the lefthand side of the road.

Jack's Shack & The Grand Turk Lighthouse

During our rendezvous on Grand Turk Island, we stopped at Jack's Shack and The Grand Turk Lighthouse. Jack's Shack is a beachside restaurant that serves up Caribbean favorites, like jerk chicken and fried conch. It is located about a mile from the cruise port. However, the location is very unassuming from the road. From the street, Jack's Shack looks like someone's house until you walk down a set of stairs on the side of the building. The view of the beach at Jack's Shack was amazing! The food and drinks were good too. We were told that Jack's Shack is a bit of a tourist location, but we stopped there because we were hungry from spending 4 hours at the beach. We also get authentic conch salad from a food truck before returning back to the boat. Now, the Grand Turk Lighthouse was an interesting sight. I've never been that close to a lighthouse before. We paid about $13 to tour it. The lighthouse is no longer operational, but it is a great sight to see. It is also located on the opposite end of the island from the cruise port, so driving to the lighthouse gave us an opportunity to really see real life on the island. We got to see the pink waters from the former salt mines, Queen street, kids getting out of school, beautiful houses, meet some nice people, and we got to get gas to refill our car before turning it in. Unfortunately, many of the stores on the island were not open for the day yet. They were truly on island time.