Getting my ‘License to Chill’ in Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos

From researching beforehand, I knew that Grand Turk, one of 40 islands in the archipelago of Turks & Caicos, was going to be smaller than our other ports of call including San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. However, I didn’t quite expect it to be this small. The whole island is only 7 miles long and approximately 1.5 miles wide, with the majority of attractions, restaurants and shops being right at the cruise center. This was convenient for me because I’m pretty sure that there are no wheelchair accessible taxis in Grand Turk. In fact, I only saw about three taxis during our entire time there. I wondered if Grand Turk would even be worth visiting since the only seemingly notable attraction there is a Margaritaville, but it actually turned out to be one of my favorite days of our trip. Even though there isn’t a ton of stuff to do, there is enough to have a relaxing and fun day in this little Caribbean paradise.

As soon as we got off of the cruise ship we saw crystal clear turquoise waters. I’ve seen oceans in many different parts of the world, but the water just doesn’t get better than in the Caribbean. Some have said that Grand Turk is one of the best diving destinations in the world, but I opted to stay on land during our visit. We were only on the island for 6 hours and it would probably take that long just for me to make it to the water since my wheelchair would get stuck in the sand on the way out. The struggle would have been real.

Some of the stores and attractions directly around the cruise center included Piraña Joe, Del Sol, Ron Jon Surf Shop, and my personal favorite, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. If you’ve been to other Margaritaville’s before then you already know that they have delicious Cheeseburgers in Paradise and killer drinks. This location had all of that and so much more. There are huge pools, cabanas, swim-up bars, and enough lounge chairs for pretty much everyone on the cruise ship to use one. My friend Kela and I found us the perfect spot and spent the next few hours lounging (and getting a pretty bad sunburn). Once we were about to have a heat stroke we packed up, bought a couple souvenirs, and made our way back to the cruise ship for some lunch.

Usually when I visit a new place I am the type of person who can’t just relax. I want to see everything while I’m there and it can end up being kind of stressful because I’m so worried that I’ll miss something. Grand Turk (thanks to the terrific margaritas at Margaritaville most likely) taught me that it’s okay to just relax and enjoy the moment. Traveling doesn’t always have to be about seeing everything. Sometimes it’s best to simply feel the sweet ocean breeze and have a drink or four.