There are two bars out on the water off Providenciales that you cannot drive to, walk to or book a table at. You arrive by boat, you tie up or anchor off, and you wade or swim the last few metres.
They are on our charter itineraries because guests ask for them, and because a drink standing waist-deep in the Caicos Banks is a genuinely odd and good thing to have done.
What they actually are
Both sit out on the shallow banks, well away from shore, in water you can stand up in. Neither is a restaurant with a wine list. They are open-air, improvised, sun-bleached structures with a bar, music, and people in swimsuits standing in the sea.
Noah’s Ark is a floating bar — a vessel moored on the banks that people swim or wade up to.
Captain Oak’s Tiki Bar is the other long-standing fixture on the same stretch of water, with the same basic idea.
Which one you end up at depends on the day, the wind, the route you are running and which one is actually open. On a private charter we will check before we commit the route to it.
The important caveat
These are independent operations on the water, not fixed attractions with published opening hours. Whether they are open on a Tuesday in September is not something anybody can promise you in advance.
We will tell you honestly on the day. If one is not running, there is always another stop — a sandbar, a reef, a quiet beach — and on a charter that belongs to you, swapping it out costs nothing but a decision.
Be suspicious of any itinerary that guarantees a floating bar. It is the kind of promise that ends in a disappointed group.
What it is like
You arrive, the boat anchors a short way off, and you get into water that is usually somewhere between knee and chest deep. You walk over. Sand underfoot, nothing but horizon in most directions, and a bar.
It is social in a way the rest of a private charter is not — other boats arrive, people talk, there is music. For some groups that is the appeal and for others it is exactly what they chartered a private boat to avoid. Worth deciding which camp you are in before you book.
Practical notes: bring a waterproof way to carry cash or a card, because you are wading. Leave phones on the boat unless you have a dry bag. Shoes you can walk in wet are better than bare feet, because the bottom is not uniformly soft everywhere.
Which charters go there
Noah’s Ark and Captain Oak’s are standard stops on:
- The half-day private boat charter, $1,450 for up to six guests
- The full-day private boat charter, $2,500 for up to six guests
- The half-day and full-day luxury yacht charters, from $2,500
All prices exclude 12% government tax. Routes and stops depend on weather, sea conditions and your trip duration — which is the standard caveat, and in this case a real one.
How to fit it into four hours
A half day realistically holds three stops. A floating bar is one of them, and it is usually the last before heading in.
A sensible half-day shape:
- Sandbar for a swim, twenty minutes out
- Reef stop for snorkelling, the longest stretch of the day
- Floating bar on the way back
If you want Little Water Cay as well, something has to give. Seven hours holds all four comfortably — that is the real argument for the full day, more than the extra distance.
Is it worth it?
If your group drinks and likes the idea of a bar in the middle of the sea: yes, and it will be the photograph you use. If your group is two parents with a four-year-old and a seven-year-old, probably not — spend the half hour at a sandbar instead, where the children can do something.
Tell us which you are. Drinks are included on board either way — island rum punch, beers, sodas, juice and water come with every charter, so skipping the bar does not mean skipping the drink.
Common questions
Do we need cash?
Bring some, waterproofed. These are independent businesses and we cannot speak for what they take on a given day.
Is it deep where we get off?
Usually standing depth, but it varies with tide and with where the boat can safely anchor. The crew will tell you before anyone gets in.
Can children come?
They can be in the water with you, and plenty of families stop. Whether it suits your children is your call — it is a bar, with a bar’s atmosphere.
Which one is better?
They are different on different days, and we would rather take you to whichever is open and in the right place for your route than tell you one is definitively better.
What if neither is open?
We swap in another stop and tell you before we set off, not after. Ask us about your date and we will give you a realistic picture.
