When the news hit in early June that many Caribbean islands were starting to open up again, I conducted research to see which ones were welcoming Americans back this summer. The place that popped out for me was Turks & Caicos. Having already visited twice in the past, I was eager to return to the pretty turquoise waters that I feel are unrivaled from anywhere that I have visited-even the Maldives! Read on for all the deets on my week-long adventure!

Half Moon Bay

Boat Charter Island Hopping
We got out on the water with a surreal boat tour! Captain Mat chartered his catamaran ‘Slat Cat’, which had netted seating close to the water. We passed a ton of blue Laughing gulls flying above the coast and stopped at Half Moon Bay-a large sandbar exposed during an 80’s hurricane.

Don’t miss the Herron, marine birds, Juvenile lemon sharks feeding on little fish. Of course, take pics with the Turks and Caicos rock iguana that eat low lying shrubbery and eggs. They aren’t shy! For snorkelers, visit the marine life at Fort George Reef: the third largest reef in the Caribbean.

Me and the rescue dog, Dottie

Adopted a Pup for a Day

At the Potcake Puppy Place, you can take a “potcake puppy” out for a few hours from 10am in the morning until their lunchtime at 12:45. Normally there is a long line at 5am to take out a pup, but since COVID, there has been no wait time at all! I walked my chosen pup, Dottie along Grace Bay and she had fun playing in the sand and being shy of the water.

The organization is a great way for travelers to adopt a puppy and take it home with its shots and all, at no charge! A donation towards the organization is appreciated and JetBlue charges around $150 for the airline pet fee.

Prepping for my dive

Adventurous Diving
I hit up the Eel garden dive site in Northwest Point for the first dive of a two-tank dive. Dive Provo was extremely professional: the instructor had a board to write out what she saw underwater. The Eel garden dive site was ripe with lobster; arrowhead crabs; Caribbean reef sharks that followed us around the sea floor.

Coral stairway was the second dive stop and I went down to 71 feet and for almost 90 minutes. The place should have been called “barracuda alley” because of all of the barracuda that swarmed. You will also find Hamlet fish; reef sharks; grouper; and porcupinefish.

Sweet Stay at Beach Enclave

The perfect luxury villa vacay can be found in the Long Beach area of Turks & Caicos. Beach Enclave is a COVID-friendly accommodation for families, friends, and groups. It feels quite safe to be served by the butler in a mask and the cleaning crew comes every day to clean surfaces. Outside, colorful kiteboarders train in 4ft deep sand bank that stretches over a mile of waist deep water.

The outdoor shower was lovely, along with the private pool and quiet stretch of beach in front of the villa. On the one rainy day, we played Scrabble for a couple hours. Check out the Le Labo amenities in the bathroom and turndown service in the evening with the little pillow chocolates.