Mr. Ericka and I were due for a weekend getaway, and being short on vacation time, we opted for the 4th of July. We were craving some beach time and thought of the Turks and Caicos as a way to stay close to home but guarantee ourselves beautiful beaches and water, and some nice off-season rates.

FLIGHTS
We flew US Airways first class from CLT to PLS. The service was good enough but the equipment was old, and the seats were uncomfortable and had no head support. Each first class passenger was given a blankerchief (a see-through blanket of questionable cleanliness) and was allowed to select a packaged snack item from a passed basket. The flight was basically a very sad version of domestic first, but it got us to our island paradise on-time so there wasn’t too much to complain about.

TURKS & CAICOS
We flew into Providenciales, the island with most of the major resorts (including Amanyara and the Grace Bay Club). For a small, 3-gate airport, it was efficiently run. It’s nothing fancy but fast enough to get through, making resort transfers that much easier. With USD currency, 110 AC voltage and daily flights from New York, Miami and Charlotte, it’s no surprise that most of the tourists we saw were Americans.

The sand throughout Providenciales was the white talcum-powder consistency like that found at Amanpulo, and no matter how long the sun beat down on it, it never became hot. In July, the temperature topped out around 90 degrees but the ocean breezes kept us comfortable. We took all of our meals outside.

Heeding the warnings of fellow flyer-talkers, we packed two bottles of Deep Woods Off (the most serious, highest deet-containing mosquito repellant allowed in the US). But we never used them. Mosquitoes?.... What mosquitoes? Perhaps we were there during an unusually dry period, or maybe the resorts were spraying more aggressively than in the past.

Lastly, for those that like to plan trips last minute, it’s worth mentioning that weather.com and wunderground.com forecasts for the island of Provo almost always show showers and storms (and are notoriously wrong). This is because there is rain….somewhere. And it can rain for a few minutes and be over just as quickly as it started. Don’t let the weather forecasts deter you from traveling.