Turks & Caicos Islands

It's hard to believe that it was only 4 days ago that I was in Turks & Caicos with Carina! It was amazing and exactly the kind of vacation I didn't know I needed until I was there. First of all, I finally got to scratch my travel itch and fly somewhere for the first time in 2+ years. Secondly, when I think about planning my next trip, destinations in Europe are what usually come to mind rather than beaches and resorts. And that is why this girls getaway ended up being so perfect. Aside from the necessities (plane, hotel, spa, dinners), we didn't plan a single thing other than knowing we wanted to eat, lay by the beach/pool, and shop. So when we got there, I truly got to put work and personal stress behind me to just completely rest, and not worry about anything or anywhere to rush off to. 

We flew in early Tuesday morning and left on Friday so we basically had 2.5 days of vacation time (we definitely should've extended our trip by one more day - now we know for next time!). 

Tuesday

Aside from needing to be at the airport three hours ahead of our flight (which, in our case, meant 5AM), the flight to Turks & Caicos was a breeze! There were no COVID mandates going to the island since we were both vaccinated and we chose to wear our masks for the duration of the short, under three hour flight. 

We booked a shuttle ahead of time to Seven Stars Resort & Spa, which I highly recommend doing (I've become paranoid about just getting into a taxi in a foreign country so I'd rather book things in advance and that way I can read reviews too). And once we arrived at the resort, we were completely taken care of! The hospitality service was spectacular and we loved every minute of our stay. There are three pools (kiddie, family, and adult only), three restaurants (The Deck, Terrace, and Seven -- plus breakfast is free!), a spa, on-site COVID testing center, tennis/basketball/bocce ball courts, and it's right on the beach. We immediately grabbed lunch at The Deck while we waited for our room to be ready and once we had access, we changed into our swimsuits and headed straight for the pool. 

Since we didn't want to be walking around when it was dark out, we had dinner every night on the resort and booked reservations days before our trip for each night. Again, highly recommend doing this, especially for Seven. Our first dinner ended up being at The Deck again but the food was good, so we didn't mind. 

Wednesday

The first thing we did on our second day was go to the beach! The view was beautiful but since I can't swim and the waves were pretty rough, I just ventured into the water up to my knees, which was more than enough for me. There's something about being near the water and hearing the waves crash that I find so soothing. We walked up and down the beach too and relaxed under our umbrellas for a bit. (The sun is pretty strong so if you go, make sure to bring a high SPF, sunglasses, and a hat if you can.) 

After a couple hours on the beach, we went for our spa appointment and we both got the 80 minute "inner calm" massage. Was it pricey? Yes. Was it worth it? 1000% percent. In fact, if we had an extra day of vacation, we would've gone back. It was the most relaxing massage I've ever had and they really tailored it to my problem areas (which are many since I sit at a desk all day). 

From there, we walked off the resort to explore and again, the location was perfect. To our right and under a 10 minute walk were a bunch of plazas (ie. Regent Village) for shopping and eating. Of the places we stopped at, my favorites were: The Studio by Island Organics (soap/jewelry/candles), Lemon 2 Go (I got lotion but didn't get to try food), Beans and Leaves Cafe (Filipino-owned coffee shop), and Island Scoop (ice cream!).  

Once we were done walking around, we went to the pool again (aka how we spent most of our late afternoons) and decided to do room service to eat on our balcony. 

Thursday

Our last day was a bit of a mixed bag because it rained on and off during the day and then it started to come down really hard in the afternoon. But it was no less relaxing and we made the most of it. We started off at the pool again but once it started drizzling, we ventured off the resort for lunch at The Patty Place (which is a must and a 2 min walk from where we stayed!). We walked around to the other nearby plazas, like Ports of Call, but none of the stores appealed to us except Atelys, a beautiful local jewelry designer (I walked out with a bracelet). 

We went back to the room to wait out the rest of the rain (I took advantage of that time to finish my book) and once there was a slight lull in the rain, we sat near the beach to further wait it out, and as soon as the sun came out again, it was back to the pool! 

For our last night, we had dinner at Seven, which a little dressier, and the food and service was so, so good. I ordered grilled octopus (delicious!) and we shared beignets and coconut creme brulee for dessert. It was the perfect dinner to end our trip on.

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Before I sign off, I wanted to mentioned a few things about COVID and flying home so skip this section if you're not interested ☺

We had to test negative for COVID one calendar day before our trip so it was super convenient to do that on-site and for free (it's $50 if you're not staying at Seven Stars). We made an appointment ahead of time and the whole process took less than 15 minutes. They scan your passport, do the test, and prepare the necessary paperwork for you. All you have to do is sign it and show it at the boarding gate. We also had to fill out an online attestation for JetBlue the night before to confirm we tested negative and didn't feel any symptoms but they didn't ask to see it at the airport, which surprised me because their email said to have it ready. Testing negative was the only thing I stressed about for the trip since we obviously didn't want to get stuck there and quarantine. We both got travel health insurance prior to the trip as a precaution (Seven Corners is my go to!) and I packed 4 COVID tests in case we did start to feel symptoms, which we luckily did not. But I had a feeling we'd be okay because for our stay was spent outdoors and almost everywhere we went was well-ventilated. 

Other tips for the trip home: (1) even if you check in on the app, their airport requires physical boarding passes, which you can print from a kiosk, (2) there's no TSA, and (3) the international area was quite packed and while we would've liked to venture to the second level for more space and food, they only had stairs which was pain for us since we both had carry-ons. 

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So that was our trip! We loved it and we're seriously considering making this an annual besties getaway, which I am totally down for!