Curated by: Lucas Santos & Ben Dumas
Travel Period: April 2015
Traveled With: Jack & Paula Dumas, Zack Dumas, Caitlin Dumas, Sam Dumas, Lyle Maltz, Maria Goretti
Typical Weather: Hot, sunny and a bit humid, warm nights.  
Getting There: NYC – PLS, direct flight just over 3 hours.  
Getting Around: We rented a car for the week, everything was relatively close and easily accessible in Providenciales.

Every other year the Paula and Jack Dumas plan a family trip together, switching from beach to mountain to please all the kids. This time around, we landed on Turks and Caicos - mostly because there were easy direct flights from NYC and Boston and because there were a number of options for house rentals that could accommodate our group of 9. We spent one night in the main hotel strip in Grace Bay, while we waited for the other folks to arrive (can you tell we like to squeeze out as much time as we can away?) This entire week vacation was an amazing, relaxing, sun-filled time with the best company. Since we stayed in such an incredible house, we wanted to take advantage of it and enjoy it as much as possible. The days were spent on the beach or pool and the nights were spent dining together, either at the house or at some of the below restaurants. There is a fun casino in the island that we hit up one night for some fun. Turks & Caicos is an easy getaway from NYC and so beautiful. 

STAY

Villa Shambhala – This beautiful home located on Long Bay Beach, just outside of the main strip, was our home base for the Dumas family vacation in Turks Caicos.  Found on Luxury Retreats, this five bedroom and six-and-a-half-bathroom beachfront home comfortably sleeps 10 and was the perfect spot for us.  The spacious house has two master bedrooms on opposite sides of the villa, connected by two other oceanfront bedrooms, and a large open living area & kitchen.  Each room in the house opens up to a private terrace and has views of the pool and crystal clear ocean water.  The infinity pool is just a few steps from the sand, making it hard for us to even want to leave the house at all. 

Other Recommendations:

• Grace Bay Club: Beachfront luxury at its finest.  This is one of the staples on the main Grace Bay Beach and you really can’t go wrong with one of the modern-beachy-style suites.  
• Amanyara:  This very modern Asian inspired hotel contains a bunch of private villas that are absolutely stunning, although very pricey.  We stopped by for a sunset drink to check out the property and enjoy the amazing views.  
• Gansevoort Hotel: A more urban take on beachfront hotel living – great pool area.

SEE & DO

• Grace Bay Beach: This is the main beach in Providenciales, where most of the major hotels are located.  
• Long Bay Beach:  On the opposite (southeast side) of the island, this much less developed and even more beautiful beach is where Villa Shambhala was located.  Our house had no homes in sight on either side and the only people we saw each day were riding past the house on horseback. If you want to book a beach horseback ride, just contact the house manager. 
• Catamaran Rental:  Our favorite day in Turks and Caicos, and one our favorite days of all time, was the day we charted a boat in Turks.  We did a 4-hour private catamaran rental through Kenard Cruises.  The captain toured us around the island, took us snorkeling in the clearest waters we’ve ever seen, and served up rum cocktails while music was blasting and we danced like fools.  As you can tell by the pictures, we didn’t hold back at all. 
• Casablanca Casino: If you’re looking for a little nighttime action, this small island casino was a blast.  We played roulette as a family and Maria was a huge winner – which always makes gambling more fun.  Chips for all!    

EAT & DRINK

• Coco Bistro:  Top restaurant on the island with the best food we had in Provo.  Make sure to make a reservation and ask for a table outside on the patio, which is set in a lush palm grove.  
• Magnolia Wine Bar and Restaurant: Beautiful sunset views and delicious cocktails.  Our favorite was the sesame crusted seared tuna dish.   
• Da Conch Shack:  This no frills lunch & dinner spot had the freshest local seafood, and conch of course, which you can enjoy on a picnic table outside with your feet in the sand.  You can watch the locals demonstrate the difficult process of getting the conch out of that massive shell.  They also serve a delicious, but deadly, rum punch by the pitcher full – watch out!