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Announcements

Announcing Our Spring Travel Package “Deal To Dive For”

The Sands at Grace Bay Unveils A 20% Discounted 4-Night Travel Package Featuring Luxurious Resort Accommodations Plus Two Full Days of Two-Tank Diving For Travel Through April 6, 2012! Travel Package Deal Features $350+ in savings!

The Sands at Grace Bay has partnered with Ocean Vibes LTD – a leading PADI dive and snorkel facility in Providenciales – to offer an incredible “Deal To Dive For” travel package for new bookings made at this popular Oceanside resort for travel now through April 6, 2012. The 4-night package features a 20% resort rack rate discount plus 20% discounted rates for two days of Scuba Diving. This travel package deal enables dive enthusiasts to score more than $350+ in savings at a luxurious resort coupled with a top notch PADI Dive operation, offering World Class Scuba Diving that explores Turks & Caicos, rated one of the world’s top 10 dive destinations.

The complete “Deal To Dive For” package includes the following:

  • 20% OFF 4-Nights at The Sands at Grace Bay in Studio Courtyard Accommodations Including Hotel Taxes & Service Charges.
  • 20% OFF Two days of Two-tank Dives offered through Ocean Vibes, which includes free hotel pick-up and drop-off, a scenic 45-foot boat ride that will transport guests to the best dive sites around the island, state-of-the-art, SCUBAPRO dive equipment including regulators, wet suits and BCDs and a complimentary lunch and snacks/refreshments.

 

This popular small group dive excursion takes approximately six hours to complete and all Scuba Divers are required to provide valid certification from a recognized training agency in order to dive. Ideal for both beginner and advanced divers, each day’s dive will be based on the local conditions and the skill levels and interests of the participating guests. Included in the total package price, dive certified guests will receive the special 20 percent discounted rate for the two days of diving for only $272 pp, including dive equipment rentals. Without valid certification, guests must first complete a “discover scuba” course with one of the Ocean Vibes instructors before they are able to dive on this excursion. For those without a valid certification, the discounted per person price of $340 pp includes a pool training dive session plus the two days of two-tank diving.  For more information on the Ocean Vibes Dive Packages, please visit http://www.oceanvibes.comor call Toll-Free at1-866-450-DIVE (3483).

The Sands at Grace Bay’s “Deal To Dive For” travel package is valid for new bookings made for four consecutive nights or more now through April 6th, 2012. The offer includes two discounted Scuba Dive Day Trip excursions offered through Ocean Vibes, with the option of adding on additional daily dive excursions.  This offer is valid for all room categories and rates will vary based on room type, additional night add-on’s and hotel availability at the time of booking. For more information about travel package rates or to book, guests must call the resort’s toll-free reservations line from the U.S. (877) 777-2637; or from Canada (800) 567-5327 and request the “SCUBA DIVE” travel package. Travel agents can only receive commissions on resort rates for this particular travel offer (commissions will exclude the scuba daily dive package excursion rates.)

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Turks Caicos Information

Encounter a dolphin at our Caribbean luxury resort

So you’ve decided to come and stay at our Caribbean luxury resort. If you’re very lucky, you may get a chance to swim with a friendly dolphin.

The British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos is spread out across nearly 200 different islands and cays in the Caribbean Sea, of which only 8 are inhabited. Long expanses of deserted white sand, such as Long Bay Beach, offer the most romantic honeymoon or special vacation in a private villa.

Providenciales, also known as Provo by its residents, is the most developed of Turks and Caicos islands, and features shopping and fine dining opportunities, as well as an international airport near Grace Bay that offers easy access to Miami. The convenience and sophistication of Provo is a perfect contrast to the isolated wildness of the territory – 80 percent of the Turk and Caicos are uninhabited and is home to wildlife that can be found in few other parts of the world. For example, dolphins have long been linked Grace Bay, and one dolphin in particular has prompted the government of the Turks and Caicos to establish 27 national parks and protected areas, in an effort to safeguard the country’s pristine shores and coral reefs.

The dolphin’s name is JoJo, an Atlantic Bottlenose who has visited the crystal clear waters of the Turks and Caicos Islands for thirty years, one of a rare handful of dolphins around the world who voluntarily interacts with human beings in the wild. These types of dolphins are known as lone, sociable or ambassador dolphins.

Loved by the islanders and visitors alike, the government has recognized JoJo as a National Treasure, and has appointed a warden to protect him. There is even talk of providing him with a luxury Caribbean villa with a saltwater swimming pool.

The friendly dolphin has become a symbol for the natural beauty of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Sparsely populated and so far unspoiled, the islands offer a special experience to all those who travel or live there.

This article was written by Charles Edwards for the Sands at Grace Bay, a Caribbean luxury resort on the island of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos.

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Turks Caicos Information

Turks and Caicos nature reserves and parks

Turks and Caicos nature reserves and parks
Courtesy Panoramio

Everyone thinks sun, sand, and, possibly, scuba when traveling to the Turks and Caicos, but there’s an entire natural world of wonder awaiting visitors.

TCI’s geologic past
Geographically, the Turks & Caicos Islands are part of the Bahamian island chain. The Turks and Caicos Islands consist of two banks of land which rise to a height of 9842 feet (3000 meters), with only the last 140 feet or so above water level. The Turks and Caicos Banks, like the Bahamas, are built on pieces of the continental crust that broke away when North America separated from West Africa. These remnants of continental debris are buried under thousands of feet of limestone rock which has been formed by the decomposition of skeletal remains from marine organisms and precipitation of calcium carbonate material.

Natural places to visit on Provo

The result is a unique ecosystem that has remained largely intact, even after millenia of human habitation and more recent settlement and development.

Chalk Sound National Park
Quite close to downtown Provo, Chalk Sound National Park features beautiful views of turquoise waters and brilliantly white islets topped with emerald foliage. Interesting carvings from shipwrecked sailors can also be found on the beach.

Sapodilla Hill Area of Historical Interest
Sapodilla Hill is at the southernmost tip of Providenciales, next to the anchorage at Sapodilla Bay. Since at least 1760, visiting mariners have been making inscriptions on the rocky face of the hill to mark their visits. In 1999 the National Museum sponsored the making of plaster casts of the site to ensure preservation of the inscriptions which are on display at the airport.

North West Point Marine National Park
Northwest Point Marine National Park includes nearby reefs and several saline lakes that attract breeding and migrant birds, and offers easy access to diving and other water sports.

Princess Alexandra Land and Sea National Park
Princess Alexandra Land and Sea National Park features seagrass beds, barrier and patch coral reefs, sand banks, fringing mangroves, beach and low dunes, and seaside vegetation, and is a must-see for visitors and locals in Providenciales. The park offers easy access to some of the better beaches and near shore coral reefs in the island. Most of the hotels are located along the beach providing good ocean views, and convenient access to watersports and beach activities.


Pigeon Pond and Frenchman’s Creek Nature Reserve
The Pigeon Pond and Frenchman’s Creek Nature Reserve is a time capsule of TCI’s natural history, and features hundreds of acres of pristine tropical woodlands represented by hardwoods, orchids, perching birds and reptiles some of which are found nowhere else on earth.

Charles Edwards has a special interest in Turks and Caicos nature reserves and parks

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Things To Do In The Caribbean

Grace Bay things to do: watersports

So you’ve made it to Grace Bay and your Caribbean vacation. For most, it’s enough to sit on the white sugary sand of Grace Bay Beach and gaze out at the beautiful azure tones of the Caribbean, or perhaps relax at the pool, in the private seclusion of gardens of tropical plants.

Others, however, get itchy feet, and need to relax by actually doing something. If you’re looking for things to do in Grace Bay, we recommend these 2 watersports.

SNUBA
Want to witness an amazing 7,000 foot drop off and stunning coral reefs, but don’t have a scuba license? SNUBA may be for you. For all intents and purposes scuba diving, SNUBA is a system that provides you with air underwater, but does not require special technical training. You’ll be able to spend more time underwater discovering superb sites and underwater marine life. In the last decade on Turks and Caicos, divers have begun to discover some of the finest coral reefs and walls in the world. From the legendary walls of Grand Turk, West Caicos and Provo’s Northwest Point to the historic wrecks south of Salt Cay, a dozen world-class walls have become Mecca for the serious diver.

Kayaking eco safari
Experience the beauty and tranquility of the Turks and Caicos as you paddle a glass bottom kayak through gentle, shallow waters surrounded by seaweed meadows. See various plants, birds and an impressive Osprey nest. The clean bottom kayak will allow you to see the marine life that lives in the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Great for bird watching, this is a true eco safari.

Always a source of Grace Bay things to do, Charles Edwards frequently blogs on Caribbean topics

 

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Things To Do In The Caribbean

Things to do in the Caribbean: Splashdown Grand Turk

things to do in the caribbeanIf you’re looking for an unusual something to do in the Caribbean (in this case the Turks and Caicos), why not check out Splashdown  Grand Turk? As its name implies, this attraction is located on the island of Grand Turk, about 20 minutes by plane from Provo, the Sands at Grace Bay’s home island.

Splashdown Grand Turk is a free exhibit located at the Grand Turk Cruise Center that features exhibits, replicas and memorabilia from the Mercury Space Program, specifically the Friendship 7 mission, which ended when John Glenn splashed down in his capsule in the Atlantic, just a short distance from the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Splashdown Grand Turk also features a lot of cool stuff, such as a 20-foot-tall replica of the Atlas rocket that carried John Glenn into space, plus a reproduction of John Glenn in his space suit, and a life-sized model of the Friendship 7 space capsule itself.

There’s also a lot of other cool stuff to see, including more space memorabilia, lots of detailed models, and displays that talk about the past, present and future of space flight.

The attraction is perfect for families with young children, and can be reached by air, cruise, charter, or even your own sailboat.

Charles frequently posts about things to do in the Caribbean