Useful Facts

AS THE NAME SUGGESTS, the Turks and Caicos are two groups of islands. The Turks Islands comprise Grand Turk and Salt Cay. The Caicos Islands comprise Providenciales, West Caicos, North Caicos and Middle Caicos, South Caicos, and the Caicos Cays.

Providenciales is the main tourism island where the majority of visitors go, along with the location of the Providenciales International Airport (PLS), the main airport. It’s home to most hotels, resorts, villas, and restaurants, and also Grace Bay Beach. It’s common to visit the the Caicos Cays on a boat cruise, and North and Middle Caicos (which are joined via a causeway) and South Caicos on a day trip.

Grand Turk is home to the country’s only cruise port. It’s also the capital and seat of the Government.

The islands have a population of 47,720 (2022 estimate)

The U.S. Dollar as its official currency. There are no Foreign Exchanges or Bureau de Changes at the airport or anywhere apart from local banks, and currency should be exchanged before arriving in the islands.

Local ATMs can be found at the airport and main grocery stores. Unfortunately, local ATMs are frequently out of service, and if you are running low on cash and see a working machine, you are advised to use it. A broken ATM will typically remain broken for the duration of your stay.

Making a cash withdrawal at a local ATM will likely cost less than using a local bank to exchange currency, but you are advised to check with your card issuer and bank as to what the rate is.

The TCI is on Eastern Standard Time, and daylight savings time is observed. This is the same as New York.Same as the United States. 120v, 60Hz and U.S. style power plugs.