Enchanted Princess at the dock in Grand Turk

Grand Turk is the largest and capitol island of the Turks and Caicos, a British overseas territory. Divers come to the island for spectacular wall dives on its nearly 7000 foot wall. Tourist attractions on Grand Turk include an 1852 lighthouse, 1823 church, a salt museum, and Cockburn Town. Feral donkeys roam the island, descendants of those who once worked the salt ponds.

shops at the Grand Turk cruise port

Cruise ships dock right at a nice sandy beach. You have to go through a duty-free shop to get to shore. Only people from the cruise ships can go through the door on the dock side of the duty-free store. You have to have your ship ID to pass through security there. The port has some of the usual cruise port shops, some other shops, and a crafts market.

swim-up bar in Margaritaville

The most popular hangout is Margaritaville, which has a pretty extensive shallow pool with swim-up bar. There’s also an indoor bar there where people can get drinks without getting wet.

space exhibit at the port

The port has a little historical exhibit with space stuff from the 1962 apollo splashdown there after John Glen became the first American to orbit the earth.

whale statue

There’s also a whale statue on the beach. Most people pose briefly for photos with it then go someplace else, but the guy in the picture stood there obliviously forever so I gave up on him ever leaving and took a photo anyway.

whale statue and Enchanted Princess

The whale statue is conveniently located where you can get pictures of it with the ship in the background. When we went back to the statue later the guy had finally left.

flowrider

The port has a flowrider, which people can go on for a price.

last minute tour booth

The port area also has a taxi stand where people can get island tours or taxis. Tram tours are available there too.

things to do at the beach

The chairs on the beach on the far side of the dock from the main beach were free, but all of the ones on the main beach had a charge to use. There are a lot of little beach bars along the beach just beyond the cruise port area, each with its own set of chairs. A sign at the edge of the first one advertises all sorts of things people can do for fun. They all cost money of course. Other bars down the beach also have chairs available and stuff to do.

fish at Grand Turk

It’s free to put a towel on the beach to sit on, and to swim in the roped-off area allowed for swimming. If you have your own gear you can snorkel there for free too. If not you can rent it at the beach. There’s not much in the way of coral, just tiny bits here and there. There is a lot of rocky structure though, and fish like structure. Near shore the fish are small, but out deeper they get bigger. The biggest ones are out beyond the area where people are allowed to go.

fish

On our visit to Grand Turk on the Enchanted Princess we hung out at the beach, which turned out to have the best snorkeling of that trip. The water was nice and clear there so the fish were easily visible. The next time we went to Grand Turk on the Nieuw Amsterdam there were some trampoline things in what had previously been the best snorkeling area so the snorkeling then was pretty limited. On the plus side there were more free beach chairs that visit, but all of them were out in the sun.

Margaritaville pool

It’s a good port for people who just want to get off the ship and hang out. The beach is right there for anyone wanting a beach day, or the pool at Margaritaville for anyone who prefers pools. Plus with shopping, bars, and restaurants it has stuff to do for people who don’t want to get wet.

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