Just came back from vacation in Turks and Caicos (TCI), where I planned a birthday celebration for a dear friend whose birthday fell on 8/8/08. I’ve always shunned traveling to the Caribbean in the summer, in the middle of hurricane season. Thanks to a multi-million dollar, global advertising campaign featuring the new first lady of TCI, Lisa Raye, Turks & Caicos was the chosen spot for this girlfriends getaway. We couldn’t change our friends birth date, so despite being smack-dab in the middle of the hurricane season, we made our reservations to TCI for the second week of August, and the trip was picture perfect! The resort, Tuscany (thetuscanyresort.com), was almost empty, so no problem getting beach chairs. The island’s hot spots, like Nikki Beach (nikkibeachhotels.com/turks/), were hopping, but not crowded and out of control. It was easy to get restaurant reservations and get around the island. Everyone had a great time, and was very pleased with our accommodations and the special little details I planned throughout our trip. So, I figured I would share some of my trip planning resources.
Next trip, a jazz festival in the Caribbean sometime between December and February to celebrate my husband’s birthday (but don’t tell him, it’s kind of a surprise J).
I have had great success renting villas, houses and condos in Palm Beach, FL, Jamaica, W.I., and Turks & Caicos through these 2 services: islandhideaways.com and vrbo.com. Both have great truth in advertising, and the locations turned out to be even better than I expected. How do I do it? I look at the details in the pictures and ask lots of questions. I cross reference other rental websites to see if the owners have their place listed for the same (or hopefully) lower price anywhere else. Sometimes other websites have more pictures of the unit, and/or a more detailed description. When I’m renting a vacation home, I want luxury, so I look at how the house is furnished, and read between the lines of the descriptions. Was that formica I saw on the pictures of the countertops? Surely that was not linoleum tile in the bathroom. Just like other real estate purchases, look for the best place you can afford in the best neighborhood for the lowest price. And NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE. Particularly in the off season, everything is negotiable. Is maid service included? Can the resort send a car to pick us up? Can we stay for less than the 7 night minimum?
When you’re staying in a luxurious place, you don’t really need or want to leave, so I arranged for a caterer and a masseuse to come to us on 2 separate days. For a special treat, a chef came to our condo to surprise the birthday girl and cook us a delicious 4 course dinner. I found them online, and again researched lots of options. If you want to try this for your next trip, Google wedding websites and destination wedding planners in your desired location for references. The resort may also have some ideas and referrals. If you’re ever on TCI, contact Doug and Tito at Caicos Catering (caicoscatering.com/home). They were professional, the food was delicious and they left the kitchen looking cleaner than it was before they came!!
As for the masseuse, this tradition started in my first villa trip to Jamaica in 2002, and now my friends want this service on every vacation. In TCI we used the relaxing services of Spa Tropique (spatropique.com). They only charges $20 to provide mobile spa services. A steal!
Another special treat is to have the condo stocked with all of your favorite foods before you arrive, so you relax as soon as y0u check-in. Terria at the Tuscany arranged this for us for only a $20 service charge, which when you figure the time and gas it would take to do it ourselves once we got the island, this was money VERY well spent.
So, after a great trip, and despite the handful of named storms and hurricanes currently swirling over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, I’ve decided that travel to the Caribbean in the off-season (at least through the 1st weeks of August) has its benefits. With a little insurance, and help from Mother Nature, you too can have a great off-season Caribbean getaway.
Happy travels, and send me pictures.
S-
