Tourist attractions in Turks and Caicos Islands: what to see

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The Turks and Caicos islands are an archipelago of 40 paradisiacal islands located just over an hour’s flight from Florida. The islands extend over 616.3 sq km. These islands are a British overseas territory located southeast of the Bahamas, and north of the island of Hispaniola. The Turks and Caicos islands, which are composed of eight main islands and about forty smaller islets, geographically represent a continuation of the archipelago of the Bahamas islands. Only 10 islands of the archipelago are inhabited. The islands are low and flat of limestone nature characterized by the presence of mangroves, marshes and beaches. The tourist attractions of Turks and Caicos are the beaches and the sea.

The weather is generally sunny and relatively dry, but hurricanes are frequent between June and November. Temperatures are constant and hot throughout the year and remain on average between 23 ° C and 31 ° C.

The main airport of access to the islands is the Providenciales International Airport located on the island of Providenciales in the Caicos Islands. The airport has frequent flights to several cities in the United States and Canada. But there are also direct connections to London and other Caribbean islands. Altogether in the Turks and Caicos islands there are seven airports, located on each of the inhabited islands. The island of Providenciales is also an important stopover for the large cruise ships that sail the Caribbean waters.

BEACHES AND SPECTACULAR SEA

The island of Providenciales is the most popular with tourists, here is the magnificent Grace Bay beach, which stretches for about 10 km along the north coast of the island. The beach formed by soft white sand is also excellent for children’s swimming. If you are looking for underwater life, there are some good snorkeling spots along Grace Bay beach such as Coral Gardens or Smith’s Reef. Other activities that can be practiced are scuba diving, rowing, kayaking, bird watching, sailing, windsurfing, fishing.

Scuba diving is also among the main tourist attractions of Turks and Caicos. The islands are important for their biodiversity, there are many endemic species including lizards, insects, snakes, plants and marine organisms. The islands are also an important breeding area for seabirds. Here are endemic iguanas and the smallest boa in the world, the dwarf boa of Caicos, which is an endemic specie of the archipelago. The underwater fauna is spectacular. Here you can admire turtles, sharks, manta rays, rays, dolphins, whales. Within the islands there are more than 30 protected natural areas.

The Turks and Caicos are famous for their shells, one of the symbols of the islands is the Strombus gigas (Lobatus gigas). A shell that can reach 35 cm in size. Stunning specimens of these shells are visible at Conch World (Caicos Conch Farm) on the island of Providenciales, where these shells are bred. In conclusion on the island of North Caicos there are also some interesting caves formed by water. The islands of North Caicos and Middle Caicos are connected to each other by a bridge.

The climate of the Turks and Caicos islands.

The official page of the tourist office of Turks and Caicos.