Turks and Caicos VS. Aruba

glamorous0813 · August 2012

Has anyone ever been to either of these places? I'm down to deciding between either of these for our HM destination. Which island is more beautiful and safe?

jewigg6649 · August 2012

I would highly recommend the Turks and Caicos, we got engaged over 4th of July and spent 7 days. Super super clean beaches, always felt very safe leaving items on the beach to go swimming and lot of activities to do. Great snorkeling and tour companies to go with (ocean vibes).

We are returning for our honeymoon!

Lisa50 · August 2012

H and I have been to both islands, Turks & Caicos once, Aruba three times (including our honeymoon). Both are beautiful. The sand is stunning in Turks & Caicos, almost the consistency of baby powder. Amazing!

In Turks & Caicos, we stayed at The Someset at Grace Bay (http://www.thesomerset.com/). In Aruba, we stayed in the Tara Beach Suites at the Bucuti Resort (http://www.bucuti.com/). Honestly, both are wonderful islands and these are both fantastic resorts. Clearly, we have a preference for Aruba, but that goes hand-in-hand with the resort. The staff is amazing; they treat us like family. Guests return year after year for decades.

You cannot lose with either! Good luck, enjoy!

Ctrossello · August 2012

I have never been to Turks and Caicos - however I have been to Aruba 2x (once with my FI and once with him and another couple). Based off my FI and I loving Aruba our good friends honeymoon'd there and loved it as well. So much so, that when our mutual colleague was looking for a place to go, we both reco'd Aruba and she went - and LOVED it.

Both times I stayed at the Westin. It is located in the high-rise section. The hotel was fine. It was nothing spectacular, but absolutley nothing wrong with it. In my opinion, other hotels are prettier, Hyatt is my favorite (but pricey). You also have the low rise section of the island. Both my friend and colleague stayed at Bucuti for their honeymoon and really enjoyed it. The low rise section is more low key and offers more privacy. The high rise section is a line of hotels. What I liked about the high rise section is you have the beach on one side of the street (w/ hotels) and then restaurants and shops along the other for the entire length of the hotel section. My FI and I really like to walk around, get dinner, grab a drink, etc so we prefer this area. But it's more crowded.

Getting around Aruba was easy. Everyone speaks English and you do not have to exchange your money. Cabs were moderately priced, the cabs all have sheets that outline the fares. The island is tiny so it is broken into sections. If you want to go from Section A to B it cost X amount of dollars.

Safety - I am big on this b/c I have never stay at an all-inclusive resort. I like to explore. My FI and I always felt safe on the island. You are in a different country so of course use common sense. But I never had that "feeling" like I had in other caribbean islands of being un-safe. (Again, never been to Turks and Caicos so it could be just as great!).

Food - was AMAZING!!! Like really good. We aren't huge foodies but we know a good cooked meal when we get one. I will forever tell anyone going to Aruba - don't do all inclusive, get out and try the restaurants they are amazing.

The island itself is actually not very pretty - it is dry. There are no rain forests or waterfalls, etc to see. By the hotels it is nice because of the landscaping. That is one of misconceptions I hear about the island alot - I think some may go in thinking it will look like St Lucia and unfortunately it does not. Otherwise, hands down it is my fav island

Sorry this turned into a novel, but if you have any questions feel free to PM me!

vbjoanna · August 2012

Turks & Caicos (Providenciales) is also safe. English is the official language, although a lot of resort staff are from Haiti and speak Creole and other languages in addition to English. I've been to T&C a number of times, and always stayed at the Club Med -- it's closing in Oct for a much needed renovation; when it reopens, it'll be a family "village" instead of adults only. Still likely to be on my list of resort destinations.

You might want to look at airfares as you make your decision about where to go. I've never been to Aruba or looked at airfares to there, but I imagine it's a much longer flight. Turks and Caicos is about a 2.5 hour flight from Charlotte, Atlanta, and Miami; non-stops are also available from Philly and NYC (and Montreal). Unfortunately, the cost to get to T&C went up to $650 each when the gas prices went up in 2008, and they've not come back down. the last few times I went, we paid as much per person for a week at the resort as we did for our airfare. Took some of the fun out of it!

BeachLover2885 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_turks-and-caicos-vs-aruba?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:4f44f677-fff2-400f-a05a-88d8a0e412e6Post:883465b6-a90f-4159-84e3-992afeca8c33">Re: Turks and Caicos VS. Aruba</a>:
[QUOTE]I would highly recommend the Turks and Caicos, we got engaged over 4th of July and spent 7 days. Super super clean beaches, always felt very safe leaving items on the beach to go swimming and lot of activities to do. Great snorkeling and tour companies to go with (ocean vibes). We are returning for our honeymoon!
Posted by jewigg6649[/QUOTE]

<div>Definitely agree with all of this. We took our HM to Turks and Caicos and loved every minute of it. Beautiful beaches, great food and very safe. </div>

abussen · August 2012

Aruba is safe as well..... the only crime in the last 20 years was what we all heard about on the News a few years back. Just has to add that in.

SD210 · August 2012

My FI and I went to Turks & Caicos Islands in January - - we LOVED it. We are doing Hawaii for our honeymoon next year, only because I have never been, but TCI was a close second. Just last night we were talking about how we wanted to go back there.

We flew to Providenciales direct from Boston on Jet Blue - - easy flight, not as far as Aruba. We stayed at Ocean Club West, which is a condo-resort. It is professionally managed like a hotel (housekeeping, towels, etc), but we stayed in a 1 bedroom condo with a full kitchen and 2 private patios. It was a full size apartment and we loved the indoor and outdoor space.

As others have noted, the beach at Grace Bay in Provo is AMAZING.  We felt safe whereever we went.  Everyone speaks English and the American dollar is their currency (no need to exchange money). They drive on the "wrong" side of the road (the left side, like in England), but there are cabs everywhere if you are worried about driving. Also, where we stayed, we didn't need to rent a car, as we could walk to lots of restaurants. We relied on cabs at night to get home (mostly because we like to drink lots of wine with dinner, ha ha!)

Here is my review from Trip Advisor with pictures of the condo and resort.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147399-d209615-r124452774-Ocean_Club_West-Providenciales_Turks_and_Caicos.html

Overall, TCI is quiet and not a party island - - very relaxing, laid back,  lots of amazing restaurants, but not really any dance clubs (at least, not that we found.)  So if you are looking for a young "party" atmosphere, you may be disappointed with how quiet it is.   That is not to say there isn't stuff to do - - wonderful snorkeling and diving tours on the island. Lots of paddle boarding (very clear and smooth water in Grace Bay).

As for Aruba, I have only been there off of a cruise ship and it was a rainy day (a rare thing down there). So I can't really speak to the island - - I have friends who love it there. We may try it again sometime based upon everyone's reviews, but for now, we are in LOVE with Turks!

allychase · August 2012

In Response to Re:Turks and Caicos VS. Aruba:[QUOTE]I have never been to Turks and Caicos however I have been to Aruba 2x once with my FI and once with him and another couple. Based off my FI and I loving Aruba our good friends honeymoon'd there and loved it as well. nbsp;So much so, that when our mutual colleague was looking for a place to go, we both reco'd Aruba and she went and LOVED it.Both times I stayed at the Westin. nbsp;It is located in the highrise section. nbsp;The hotel was fine. nbsp;It was nothing spectacular, but absolutley nothing wrong with it. nbsp;In my opinion, other hotels are prettier, Hyatt is my favorite but pricey. nbsp;You also have the low rise section of the island. Both my friend and colleague stayed at Bucuti for their honeymoon and really enjoyed it. nbsp;The low rise section is more low key and offers more privacy. nbsp;The high rise section is a line of hotels. nbsp;What I liked about the high rise section is you have the beach on one side of the street w/ hotels and then restaurants and shops along the other for the entire length of the hotel section. nbsp;My FI and I really like to walk around, get dinner, grab a drink, etc so we prefer this area. nbsp;But it's more crowded.Getting around Aruba was easy. nbsp;Everyone speaks English and you do not have to exchange your money. nbsp;Cabs were moderately priced, the cabs all have sheets that outline the fares. nbsp;The island is tiny so it is broken into sections. nbsp;If you want to go from Section A to B it cost X amount of dollars. nbsp;nbsp;Safety I am big on this b/c I have never stay at an allinclusive resort. nbsp;I like to explore. nbsp;My FI and I always felt safe on the island. nbsp;You are in a different country so of course use common sense. nbsp;But I never had that "feeling" like I had in other caribbean islands of being unsafe. nbsp;Again, never been to Turks and Caicos so it could be just as great!.Food was AMAZING!!! nbsp;Like really good. nbsp; We aren't huge foodies but we know a good cooked meal when we get one. nbsp;I will forever tell anyone going to Aruba don't do all inclusive, get out and try the restaurants they are amazing. nbsp;The island itself is actually not very pretty it is dry. nbsp;There are no rain forests or waterfalls, etc to see. nbsp;By the hotels it is nice because of the landscaping. nbsp;That is one of misconceptions I hear about the island alot I think some may go in thinking it will look like St Lucia and unfortunately it does not. nbsp;Otherwise, hands down it is my fav island :Sorry this turned into a novel, but if you have any questions feel free to PM me! Posted by Ctrossello[/QUOTE]

She took every. Single. Word. Out of my mouth haha. 100 agree on everything. Ctrossello did you by any chance go to barefoot restaurant ? We were there in October and omg it was amazing. Totally agree about not doing AI there are soo many wonderful restaurants!

kjerl · August 2012

vbjoanna- do you have any other details on Club Med? We are actually planning on going the last week of Oct for our HM.

Ctrossello · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_turks-and-caicos-vs-aruba?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:4f44f677-fff2-400f-a05a-88d8a0e412e6Post:07e2aee5-5cbf-4f6b-b126-41287ad86788">Re:Turks and Caicos VS. Aruba</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re:Turks and Caicos VS. Aruba: She took every. Single. Word. Out of my mouth haha. 100 agree on everything. Ctrossello did you by any chance go to barefoot restaurant ? We were there in October and omg it was amazing. Totally agree about not doing AI there are soo many wonderful restaurants!
Posted by allychase[/QUOTE]

<div>Hey! No we didn't go to Barefoot. Our first trip we went to the Flying Fish Bone. It was a bit far away from the hotels but I really liked it, great sunset! I think my favorite restaurant is a tie between Madame Janette and the open air italian restaurant in the high rise section (for the life of me I cannot remember the name!!!). Both trips we ate their twice, it was so so so yummy.</div>

vbjoanna · August 2012

Yes Kjerl, what would you like to know about Club Med Turks and Caicos? You can learn a lot by visiting their website clubmed.com and searching for or selecting "Turkoise". I also just learned from the travel agent who books our Club Med trips that the Club isn't closing for renovation until at least May 2013, rather than Oct this year as I'd thought.

Club Meds have different purposes, and the Turks club is an "active" club med. So if you want, there are tennis lessons and tournaments (complete beginners through advanced players welcome), there's sailing (catamaran), windsurfing (again, complete beginners welcome!), flying trapeze (yes, really, absolute beginners welcome), basketball, beach volleyball, pool games, aerobics, yoga, snorkling, etc. included in the price (scuba diving and certifications are extra, but they have packages if you're interested). Or you can sit on the beautiful beach or at the lovely pool, you can drink, not drink, eat, not eat. It's all-incusive, and that's all food and drink. Food and drink are basically available 24/7. I'm not much of one for staying up late and dancing, but they have parties every night that can go til the wee hours. I've never had trouble falling or staying asleep due to noise, however (the buildings are made of concrete block for hurricanes, so sound isn't really an issue). The windows don't have screens, and the mosquitoes can be brutal, so I leave the windows closed.

If you're interested in a luxurious 5-star fancy schmancy resort stay, Turkoise won't be the right place for you. But if you want an all inclusive, with access to a variety of no-extra-fee activities, with comfortable lodging and good food (sometimes it's great, but it's always at least good), friendly staff, friendly guests, and adults only, then Club Med might be the right place. Turks and Caicos is so beautiful, I was surprised to meet two couples on our last trip who were actually day visitors to Club Med -- they owned condos down the beach, but after a week or two would get bored and come to club med for something like $125 for the day, snorkel, do trapeze, sit by the pool, drink drinks, then go back to their condo after dinner and dancing. There is also access to excursions such as paddle board tours or conch farm tours that are available for extra money. I haven't done an excursion from Turkoise, but did one from the Club Med Cancun to see Mayan ruins, and that was fabulous.

The Club is sometimes booked out for special events, but I think you'll be safe the last week of Oct. I think a Volleyball Vacation is scheduled for the first full week of November this year. I've been on it before, but I prefer the regular weeks. (For one, the special week is a lot more expensive, but if you don't like the special things, regular club med activities are still offered.) I love the Club Med in Turks -- so much so that although there is so much of the world that I want to see, I still find it hard not to spend my vacation money to go back there.

Turks and Caicos VS. Aruba

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