Despite what a crazy, unprecedented, and unpredictable year 2020 has been, there was one thing I wasn’t going to let it ruin: our one year wedding anniversary celebration. Of course anywhere we would have celebrated would’ve been special, but we prefer to travel to places we’ve never been for the experience. We’ve always been big travelers; our first trip together as a couple was in Barbados (which was 8 years ago!), we went to Italy and Greece for our honeymoon, and we’ve traveled to many other places in between those trips too. We originally planned on going to Hawaii for our anniversary trip, but with complications due to COVID, we ended up deciding on Turks & Caicos.
At the time that we visited Turks & Caicos (late August into September), we had to obtain travel pre-authorization through the TCI Assured portal. We had to complete a health screening questionnaire online, scan our insurance cards and upload them (as proof of insurance), and provide a negative COVID test. The tricky part about the negative COVID test is that they’ll only accept it if it was taken within 5 days prior to travel! We took our tests on a Tuesday and flew out to Turks on that Saturday, so we just barely made it! It is a little nerve-racking, so you definitely have to plan as best you can and make sure you have all the proper documentation prior to travel. The airline won’t let you on the plane without it, so just plan accordingly and things should go smoothly. Some people may get a little overwhelmed by all of this and traveling right now in general (which I can totally understand), but for me personally, I’d jump through any hoop if it means I can be on a Caribbean beach.
Now onto the actual experience of traveling during COVID; it’s definitely a bit eerie and unlike any travel experience we’ve ever had. The cons are that many things are still not open. So for example when we were on our way to Turks we had a connection in Miami, and it was very early in the morning so all we wanted was some breakfast. We walked up and down our terminal until we finally found one spot that was serving breakfast (the Starbucks line was way too long to wait in). Not a huge deal but it’s small inconveniences like that that just make traveling a little annoying. On the other side of that, a big pro is that since there are so few people traveling, especially internationally, the beach in Turks was so quiet! We would be in the ocean and we’d look to our left, and then to our right, and maybe see 5 people total on the beach. It was like we had the entire beach to ourselves sometimes, which was surreal because Grace Bay was named the best beach in the world! I prefer very low-key, romantic, and secluded vacations, so it was really nice! It all just depends on your personal preferences; if you’re the type of person who loves crowded beaches and more of a lively party scene, then I’d recommend that you hold off on travel until things start to get back to normal.
We stayed at the Grace Bay Club and had a really lovely experience. The resort was beautiful, the staff were all very attentive and friendly, and best of all, the beach was STUNNING. If you haven’t yet, I recommend you look at the Turks & Caicos highlight on my Instagram profile. I have so many videos saved there of the breathtaking turquoise waters and the powdery white sand. I’ve been to 8 Caribbean islands, so I’ve seen a lot of clear blue waters and white sand, but this beach was unlike anything I’ve ever seen! It was truly breathtaking, and you really have to see it to believe it.
The one thing that didn’t blow me away was the food. I don’t mean that to say it was bad, I actually think Jon and I may not have ordered the best things on the menu, but what we did order was just average. The sushi, for example, was just okay, and I’m used to being blown away by the sushi I eat in the Caribbean because of how fresh the seafood is. The only food that was memorable were the tacos on the beach! It was at a pop-up bar on the beach called Just Tacos, and they were delicious! I’ll list out the other places we ate at below.
Just Tacos – Gourmet tacos right on the beach! They were amazing, definitely the most noteworthy food we had.
SUI-REN – Fine dining restaurant with a beautiful ambience. Loved the vibe at this place, although the sushi we had was nothing to rave home about.
Seven – We went here for our anniversary dinner and it was really nice. The service was excellent, all the staff really made it a special experience.
Infiniti – This was the restaurant at our resort. We had a few meals here and it was just average. The best thing about it is that it’s right on the beach, so the sunset views are stunning from every table.
We didn’t do any water activities or go on excursions during this trip. We spent all of our time on the beach; we’d float in the ocean, lay underneath a cabana, drink a few Coronas, grab a bite to eat, and walk the beach. Then we’d wake up the next day and do it all over again. It’s my idea of heaven, and I’d do it again a million times. We usually like to do water activities, our favorite is snorkeling, but during this trip it was nice to just relax and soak up the sun while we celebrated our very special, first wedding anniversary!
I received many questions on Instagram when we were on our trip asking where we were staying, how it was to travel, etc, so I hope this blog post was helpful in answering many of those questions. In case you have any other questions please feel free to leave a comment on this post or message me directly on Instagram!
Daphne says
Hello! Love your pics, T&C is on my list of next Caribbean island to go to! Would you be able to share where you got your black and leopard bikini??