Planning a Trip

Visitor Information -- The Turks & Caicos Tourist Board (www.turksandcaicostourism.com) has an office in Grand Turk (Front St., Cockburn Town; tel. 649/946-2321) and one in New York City (Room 2817, the Lincoln Building, 60 E. 42nd St.; tel. 800/241-0824). Office hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

Getting To Grand Turk -- Your most likely point of entry into the Turks & Caicos Islands will be the Providenciales International Airport (www.provoairport.com). To get to Grand Turk or Salt Cay, you will be taking a domestic flight on one of the interisland airlines or a charter plane from the Provo airport into Grand Turk International Airport (also known as J.A.G.S. McCartney International Airport). Several daily flights between Provo and Grand Turk are offered by the domestic airlines SkyKing (tel. 649/941-3136; www.skyking.tc) and Air Turks & Caicos (tel. 649/941-5481 or 649/946-1667 on Grand Turk; www.airturksandcaicos.com). Global Airways charters (tel. 649/941-3222; www.globalairways.tc) also flies to Grand Turk. The flight from Provo to Grand Turk takes 20 minutes and costs approximately $135 round-trip.

As of 2006, Spirit Airlines was offering direct flights (Sun only) from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Grand Turk (tel. 800/772-7117; www.spiritair.com/welcome.aspx).

Getting Around Grand Turk -- On Grand Turk you can rent cars (as well as scooters, bicycles, and snorkeling gear) at Tony's Car Rental (Grand Turk International Airport; tel. 649/964-1979; www.tonyscarrental.com). Cars and jeeps rent for from $70 to $95 a day, scooter rentals cost $40 a day, and bike rentals are $20 a day. Tony's also offers scooter tours of the island.

Taxis are available, but there is no central agency to call. Your hotel can summon one for you, but taxis are always available at the Grand Turk airport. The fare is $10 to $12 from the airport to most major hotels. Drivers are more than happy to give visitors a tour of the island; expect to pay around $50 for a 45-minute island tour.

Fast Facts

Area Code -- The area/country code for the TCI is 649.

ATMs/ABMs -- First Caribbean (connected to the PLUS ABM network) has 24-hour ABM service at the main branch of its bank in Grand Turk. Scotiabank (connected to Cirrus) has an ATM at its main location on Grand Turk (open 24 hr. a day).

Banks -- Branches of the First Caribbean International Bank (tel. 649/946-2831) and Scotiabank (tel. 649/946-4750) are on Front Street in Cockburn Town.

Emergencies -- Call tel. 649/946-2299 if you need the police.

Hospitals/Medical Facilities -- Grand Turk Hospital is on Hospital Road in Grand Turk (tel. 649/946-2040).

Internet Access -- You can access the Internet at the Water's Edge restaurant (Duke St; tel. tel. 649/946-1680), or try your hotel. Costs are typically around $10 an hour.

Language -- The official language is English.

Post Office -- The Grand Turk Post Office is located on Front Street in Cockburn Town. It's open Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm.

Taxes -- The government collects a 10% occupancy tax, applicable to all hotels, guesthouses, and restaurants in the 40-island chain. Hotels often add a 10% to 15% service charge on top of the government tax.