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Time: Grand Turk is on EST. Daylight Savings Time is observed from April to October.
The U.S. dollar is the official currency of the Island. Most hotels, restaurants and shops accept traveler's checks that can be cashed at local banks. Most credit cards are accepted and banks offer ATM's as well as cash advances on credit cards.
FORWARD: Early on a September Sunday, Sep 7, 2008, Ike hit Turks and Caicos Islands, leaving a trail of devastation. The powerful storm destroyed homes, scattered power lines, uprooted trees and tossed cars and small trucks around like toys. Nearly every building, including the airport control tower and pastel colored colonial buildings, sustained some damage in the Category 4 hurricane. Rain and wind caused an estimated $5-$10 million in damage to the cruise terminal and the grounds around it -- ripping out some 500 palm trees that were planted just six months ago. Gone are the poolside cabanas. The pier itself, built to withstand a Category 5 storm, was thankfully unscathed. Before the storm, Grand Turk was expected to receive a record 400,000 cruise ship passengers that year, mostly from lines operated by Carnival. When it is opened November 1, it might have reached 350,000, Carnival Cruise Lines was eager to resume operations on the island--not only to assist the islanders--but to re-coop some of their investments.
The basic information and photos in this website were taken before the devastating storm. Hopefully, one day soon, it will be restored to the quiet, friendly island it once was. (I've also included some photos of the total destruction of the island taken just after the storm HERE) In the meantime, cruise ships continue to dock at this ravaged little island. Carnival is providing financial and logistical assistance to local shore excursion operators to enable them to resume their businesses. Cruise passengers and crewmembers, alike, are provided the opportunity to participate in volunteer-oriented excursions for those who wish to assist in the island’s recovery effort. When you visit Grand Turk, think not of what you are missing... but what you are giving to the people of this friendly island who have gone through so much. Stop by the local restaurants and other establishments and buy food, trinkets and souvenirs to help out the islanders.
Grand Turk |
GRAND TURK
Grand Turk is a British territory located 575 miles southeast of Miami, Florida and 30 miles south of the Bahamas and is one of 40 islands that form the Turks and Caicos archipelago. The name Turks is derived after the indigenous Turk's Head 'fez' cactus, and the name Caicos is a Lucayan term 'caya hico', meaning string of islands.
It is the largest island in the Turks (not the Caicos) and contains the territory's capital, Cockburn Town and the JAGS McCartney International Airport. The island is the administrative, cultural and financial center of the territory, and has the second largest population of the islands at approximately 3,700 people. The island's primary language is English.
Grand Turk Island
is a treeless, brush-covered island
seven miles long and 1.5 miles wide.
However, there are nice beaches on Grand
Turk at Cockburn Town, Waterloo and
White Sands Beach.
Only eight of the 40 islands are inhabited. Even though
it is the governmental and financial
center of the Turks and Caicos, most
tourists opt instead for the upscale
resorts and nightlife on Providenciales,
the most developed island in the chain.
Though Grand Turk is now a part of
Eastern Caribbean cruise itineraries, it
is interesting to note that the Turks
and Caicos are not a part of the
Caribbean at all -- each island is
surrounded on all sides by the Atlantic
Ocean. And though it's only about 30
miles south of the Bahamas, it's not a
part of that chain of islands, either.