Turks and Caicos and the Sailrock Resort in South Caicos
Sunday to Thursday.
Expenses 198k of chase ultimate rewards and around 100 in cash.
53k chase points for flights. 145k chase points transferred to Hyatt for the hotel.
We picked Sailrock because we had a large stash of chase points so that basically narrowed it down to any Hyatt. We were not interested in one of the huge all-inclusive resorts which are basically all Hyatt offers in the Caribbean. Also, my wife is a great cook even on the go so food was not a requirement, so Sailrock was an easy choice.
We packaged all our food to look like it was commercially packed and for good measure placed USDA stickers (bought off Amazon) on all the meat and chicken. And placed them in that cooler Dan always raves about, which did live up to the hype, it kept everything frozen all day without ice. And brought two Betty Crockers.
We flew from JFK to PLS on JetBlue on the 630 a.m. flight, so we would have as much time as possible on the main island Providenciales (a.k.a. Provo). Also, we wanted to get there before their airport got busy. We almost missed our flight because we were trying to check in a cardboard box with our food (so the way back we wouldn't have to schlep an empty suitcase) but JB doesn't allow boxes on international flights, so we had to run around the airport to buy a suitcase.
The plane drops you off right in front of the terminal. The airport in Provo is the only problem in Turks and Caicos, it is tiny and old I don't think there was a.c. It is also not run efficiently at all. I can definitely see how it can ruin someone's trip but with a little bit of planning, you could avoid most of the issues. We were on the first flight of the day and we hustled off the plane so we got thru customs with no problem but if this place is busy it can be a nightmare.
They did not open a single person's suitcase, so all that packing for nothing, but better safe...
We then walked "all the way" to the other end of the airport (a 1 minute's walk) to check in our suitcases and our carry-ons for our inter-island flight. This part of the airport does not have walls it's just open directly to the street!! They handed us our tickets for the flight they were hard plastic and reusable which reminded me of the hall pass in elementary school.
With them holding all our stuff we were free to explore Provo for the next 4 and half hours which was plenty of time because We were up most of the night before our flight so we wanted to see the island but not actually do anything and the island is not large at all 20 minutes across at most.
I reserved a car thru Grace Bay cars for $50, they are right across the street from the airport and could not be more quick convenient, and friendly. I downloaded google maps before so I didn't need a GPS or phone service.
They are a British territory so they drive on the left, which was way easier to do than I expected (the roundabouts were a drop disorienting).
Provo is a mix of nice hotels and mansions and tiny huts which look like they do not have running water, the island is "third worldish" like a guy was selling whole fish out of a bucket on the street, and the gas stations are ancient and there are old junk cars piled up near chalk sound, but not a dangerous vibe at all.
We went to get drinks and eat (our own) lunch at Bugaloos it's a beautiful restaurant/bar on the beach with tables in the water, it was empty because it was early. The national food is conch (pronounced conk) which comes from those huge beautiful pink seashells (technically conch shells) so the empty shells are everywhere!!!
We then drove along the road by Chalk Sound it is the nicest water you will ever see it looks fake, and the mansions there are nice too.
We then drove to see Grace bay beach since it is known as one of the nicest beaches in the world. it did not disappoint it was everything you could want on a beach just perfect. We found some beach chairs and we took a well-deserved nap.
We returned the car and checked in for our short flight over to the island of South Caicos.
The flight is on a small 8-person propeller plane. I did not tell my DW before the trip that we would have to go on one, so that added to the fun
. It was us and 2 other couples who were also heading to Sailrock Resort. it is a half-hour flight with stunning views of the turquoise water and the islands, and these small planes are a real experience. And the flight is covered by the hotel, which is always nice.
The resort had a van waiting for us by the airport, which is just a tiny runway and two shipping containers one used as an office and one as a bathroom.
You are welcomed by the staff with a free welcome drink. They stored all our food in their freezer which we labeled by day.
We booked a "ridge top suite" thru Hyatt. they gave us the farthest one so we had tons of privacy. It is huge and modern with 15-foot ceilings and a kitchenette with a large fridge and a Nespresso coffee machine which was a nice surprise. It also has a bathtub and a shower. The best part is the porch it is a wrap-around porch so you can see the Atlantic and the Caribbean at once, which means you catch sunrise and sunset!!
We went directly to the resort's infinity pool which throughout our whole trip was always empty probably because all the villas have private pools.
DW made supper on the betty crocker we got an early night.
Monday-beach day;
Every morning I used our 40-dollar breakfast credit for a lot of raw eggs and kosher orange juice and almond milk and a ton of fresh fruit which is like gold here because they have to fly it all in daily. they supply you with unlimited bottled water. The service is excellent and you communicate thru WhatsApp.
We went down to the "Cove" which is on the Caribbean side, you get driven down on golf carts. On the way, we saw wild donkeys roaming around and even got woken up by the hee-hawing in the middle of the next night.
The cove is perfect they have comfortable beach chairs, hammocks, a great bar, kayaking, glass bottom kayaks, and snorkeling. And the sand is white, and the water is a blue I have never seen before. I can not say enough how perfect the Cove is.
We stayed till noonish. The hotel serves lunch by the cove so that's when guests start coming, and we went back to our room for another betty crocker meal.
we returned to the cove and kayaked around the mangroves and found a lot of fish and hundreds of upside-down jellyfish which are like normal ones just yep upside down, they don't really sting. While we were there a baby shark swam up to a guest which was very entertaining
.
Tuesday;
We kayaked to an inhabited island that was a mile offshore, the wind was against us so it was a good workout. Technically we could have walked there because the water does not get deeper than 4 feet for miles in each direction which is a really cool feeling being able to stand and walk around in the middle of the ocean. We enjoyed a real private island with no living creature on the island besides us, not counting the iguanas which we chased around for a while and then watched an eagle do the same. They were much more afraid of the eagle than us.
The staff by the beach got nervous about us so they sent a Hobie Cat to pick us up. We put our kayak on the back and we got back to shore the lazy way.
After lunch, we took the complimentary mountain bikes and headed towards the northern point of the island to see the really secluded mansions there. My bike pedal broke off going up a hill so I biked back with DW's bike and got a golf cart to pick her up, we then got a tour of the rest of the island the lazy way again.
We returned to the cove for sunset which was unbelievable, however, the mosquitoes come out then but still worth it, its unforgettable.
Wednesday;
We borrowed the hotel's snorkeling gear and got a ride in their jeep to a spot on the island called Jerry Camp which I think used to have a naval base.
Jerry camp is another small beach facing 3 more uninhabited islands, that are known to have amazing sea life. The hotel has a few kayaks there but nothing else and zero people around so it's very secluded.
The snorkeling was amazing there were tons of tropical fish hiding near the mangroves and some coral. The highlight was that there were humongous sting rays like 4 feet long all over the place!!!! They hide under the sand to catch fish, so they just appear out of nowhere. They are really majestic creatures, the way they just float thru the water. I forgot that Iphones these days are water proof so no pictures
.
We explored the other islands. and then chilled the rest of the day by the infinity pool.
Late at night, we went for a walk to do some star gazing, and since it was pitch black the stars were incredible. Hard to believe they are there every night and we just can't see them.
Thursday;
Our short flight out was delayed which was perfect for us since our JB flight was only for later in the day, so we didn't mind spending the time in the hotel instead of that terrible airport.
The short flight was beautiful again. By check-in, for the JB flight, I got randomly selected and they went thru my bags. I got lucky because I actually caught a baby upside-down jellyfish to bring home to my younger brother who loves animals, but at the last second, I set it free.
This is the worst airport I have ever been in, it's small and crowded, and not enough seats and the intercom announcements are extremely loud and annoying. You just have to mentally prepare yourself and remember you just had an amazing vacation. We sat on the deck which is overlooking the airplanes which was cool.
We Baruch Hashem didn't get delayed, and we were back in no time.
