Turks and Caicos gets booked for honeymoons because of the water, and then most couples spend the week looking at it from a beach chair. One day on it changes the trip.
Here is what we would book, in order of what we would book first.
1. The private sunset cruise — $900, two hours
If you book one thing, book this.
Two hours along Grace Bay as the light goes, on a boat with nobody aboard but the two of you and the crew. Complimentary rum punch, sodas, juice and water. The resorts turn gold on the shoreline and then the whole sky does something ridiculous and you sit there and watch it.
It is the cheapest way to have a boat entirely to yourselves in Turks and Caicos, and it is the trip honeymoon couples write to us about afterwards. The departure time moves through the year to follow the sunset, so we confirm the exact time when you book.
The luxury yacht version is $1,700 and adds an air-conditioned interior and shaded deck seating. For two hours in the evening, most couples find the standard boat is plenty and put the difference toward dinner. Both take 12% government tax on top.
2. The half-day charter — $1,450, four hours
If you want to actually be in the water rather than above it, this is the one. Four hours, the whole boat, up to six guests on the base price — so for two of you there is an absurd amount of room.
A typical honeymoon half day: out to a sandbar where the water is waist-deep and there is nobody for a mile, an hour snorkelling a reef, and a stop at a beach you have to yourselves. Snorkelling gear and refreshments are included, and the captain shapes the route around what you say you want.
Tell us it is a honeymoon. We will pick the quieter stops.
3. The full day — $2,500, seven hours
Worth it if you want the parts of the country most visitors never see. Seven hours reaches North and Middle Caicos, the Turks and Caicos Barrier Reef — the third largest in the world — and remote sandbars out on the banks.
A Caribbean meal prepared by a private chef is included: jerk chicken, steak and shrimp kabobs, grilled snapper, BBQ ribs, lobster when it is in season, peas and rice, plantains, salad and fruit, with margaritas and rum punch.
Seven hours is a long time in the sun for two people. If you are doing this, consider the full-day yacht at $4,700 instead, for the air-conditioned lounge and the bathroom. It is a lot of money; it is also the single best day we run.
If you are proposing rather than honeymooning
Say so when you book, and be specific about the plan.
We have done this often enough to be useful. Things worth knowing: the light is best in the last forty minutes, not at the moment of sunset itself. The bow is the better spot and the crew will clear it. If you want a photograph, tell us and somebody will be discreetly ready; if you want absolutely no one looking, we can arrange that too.
What we will not do is a surprise announcement over a speaker system. You would be amazed.
Picking the month
Turks and Caicos does not have a bad month for a boat, but it has different ones. Broadly: the driest, calmest, busiest stretch runs through the northern winter and into spring. Late summer and autumn is warmer, quieter and cheaper, with more chance of a weather day.
Honeymoons are usually booked around the wedding rather than the weather, which is fine — just build in a spare day. If the captain calls off a trip for conditions, we reschedule it, and having a second possible date means you still get your day on the water. Our month-by-month guide goes through it properly.
What it costs, all in
| Trip | Price | +12% tax | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset cruise, 2 hours | $900 | $108 | $1,008 |
| Half-day boat, 4 hours | $1,450 | $174 | $1,624 |
| Sunset yacht, 2 hours | $1,700 | $204 | $1,904 |
| Full-day boat, 7 hours | $2,500 | $300 | $2,800 |
| Half-day yacht, 4 hours | $2,500 | $300 | $2,800 |
All prices are for the whole boat. There is no per-person charge for two people and no minimum group size.
Common questions
Is there a minimum group size?
No. Two guests can book any charter we run, at the standard base price.
Can you arrange champagne?
Champagne is already included on the half-day luxury yacht charter. On other trips, ask — or bring your own, and we will have it on ice.
Can we have the boat decorated?
Tell us what you have in mind and we will tell you honestly what we can organise. We would rather set expectations than overpromise.
Which gives better photographs, sunset or daytime?
Sunset, by a distance — the hour before the sun drops is the one. Daytime gives you the turquoise water in photographs, which is the other thing people want. Couples who do both tend to book the half day early in the week and the sunset cruise on the last evening.
How far ahead should we book?
Sunset slots in high season go first, because there is only one of them a day. Send us your dates as soon as you have them.
