Located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, the Turks and Caicos Islands are a collection of forty islands and cays. The Caribbean-like climate and sandy beaches offer the perfect relaxing getaway for solo travelers, couples, families, and girls’ weekends. The biggest islands are Providenciales and Grand Turk, which are both fun places to visit although they have quite different personalities.

Providenciales caters to the growing tourist crowd and is a popular gateway to explore the whole island system. Providenciales is a recently uncovered secret in the tourism industry. You’ll find it sometimes quiet and sometimes loud, but always with plenty of hotel rooms available and new hotels springing up as if from nowhere.

Grand Turk is a far quieter island that you can access via cruise ship or by flight from Providenciales. On Grand Turk, you’ll find secluded beaches, diving adventures, and bicycles to rent. The island maintains a small town feel where locals fish on the beach and big resorts are far from common. Grand Turk is proud of one thing that might make it famous though: Friendship 7, the spacecraft in which John Glenn became the first human to orbit the Earth, splashed down off the coast of Grand Turk (you can see a replica of Friendship 7 on the island).

With plenty of beaches for taking long walks on, the Turks and Caicos Islands are a dream for your honeymoon or a romantic getaway. If you want to up the classic cheesy (but wonderful) romance of it all, you can go horseback riding on the beach. Several companies offer very gentle horses for new riders, but you can still get them up to a canter on the sand if you’re more experienced and looking for a thrill.

The many resorts on the islands offer luxurious honeymoon suites where you can relax over glasses of wine from room service or spend the day at the hotel pool. Elegant restaurants offer dinners of fresh Atlantic seafood with spacious patios for enjoying the sunset with your meal.

Or perhaps you like a little adventure with your romance? You could learn to SCUBA dive, go fishing, or snorkel with your significant other before heading back to that luxurious room for a good night’s sleep.

On these islands, it is all about the water. You’ve got to get in, whether you just dip in your toes while walking on the beach or don SCUBA gear and dive deep under the surface. Check out the snorkeling trails at Bight Reef to see the vast expanses of colorful coral, some of the brightest coral in existence today.

Grace Bay, located on Providenciales, is the most famous beach with many resorts, pure white sands, and a big blue bay to snorkel, dive, and swim in. Since it is so popular, Grace Bay can get a little crowded, but there are many other nearby beaches on Providenciales and beyond. Even if you decide to stay at Grace Bay, you can hop a small cruise boat to another beach for a more secluded day in the sun.

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