Some Highlights of The Turks and Caicos Trip

[Jewild]

Beautiful Beaches,
Wonderful weather,
Great Food and drinks
Great time with my wife,
Great sailing/snorkling spots,
and a visit to the Rolex Shop.

Visit the Island if you can !!!!

[MonBK]

Very nice

[mws222]

Very nice! Where'd you stay? I'm considering a trip in Feb...

[CoachRolexRyan]

Very Nice! That's the best wrist shot I've seen in a while! On my list of places to visit,...looks amazing!

[jbshaffer]

removed...please see following...

[jbshaffer]

Anyone considering a trip to the Turks Caicos may want to consider this---->


Currently the Turks are experiencing major immigration (both legal and illegal) from the Dominican Republic and Haiti. When these immigrants reach the Turks they are faced with minimal wages, if any at all. The commodity prices in the Turks are among the highest I have witnessed. Just for example a gallon of milk exceeds $11, while local caught fish starts at $15-$20 a pound and goes up from there. Many immigrants are forced into criminal activities just to stay alive. Prostitution is rampant on the west side of Provo, while general lawlessness abounds elsewhere. When we mentioned to our Dive Master that we intended participate in the Island Fish Fry we were cautioned not to attend, but if we chose to, to not display our money.

We arrived on the island at the start of Hurricane Cristobal, for a two week visit. After four days we were able to leave our home only to be faced by severe flooding. Although Provo has an abundance of multi-million dollar homes, there is no infrastructure to support them. eg: no storm water control, no sewer systems and no developed roads. After the flooding, the septic tanks overflowed and the mosquitoes began. Diving was fulfilling, however outside of Grace Bay most dive trips required an hour or so to reach.

As I mentioned earlier, the prices are overwhelming, which creates desperation in all ready desperate people. At 2:AM in the morning, on our final Friday, we were the victims of an armed home invasion. The thugs used a crowbar to smash their way in through a sliding glass door, assaulting my son in the process. Upon finding we had no cash they attempted to kidnap us and take us to an ATM. We resisted and the thieves left with my Son's computer, my Wife's purse, my watch and our rental car. To date there has still been no information regarding the circumstances of this incident. Shortly after our incident there were two armed holdups of two couples, walking down the street, in Grace Bay, and one forced home invasion. Criminal acts, particularly upon tourists, continue on Provo to this day. Please caution your readers, before they chose an island, to do their research. Read the local papers and review the international advisories. I made the mistake of not doing so and paid the penalty.

[ssultan]

Lovely pics! Thanks for posting.

[Jeffex]

I Have been to Turks & Caicos 6 times!
Amazing time every time we go.
Have purchased all 3 of our Rolexs from my good friend Dino @ Jais.
Great service, great prices!
I strongly recommend that you go see Dino @ Jais in Turks & Caicos.

[ssultan]

Thanks for the warning jbshaffer. Food for thought. Glad your family is safe ...that must have been a terrible ordeal.

[jbshaffer]

Originally Posted by ssultan

Thanks for the warning jbshaffer. Food for thought. Glad your family is safe ...that must have been a terrible ordeal.

Thanx!! We called the police and a report was filed. I have tried to follow up on whether there has been any investigation of the burglary because there were several items stolen which indicated an "inside" job. NO one in authority bothers to answer my inquiries. It seems as if American tourists and their losses are of NO INTEREST to anyone in Government or the police department. It is as if they think that we should just accept that tourists may be victims of crime and that is your bad luck. If you have a problem in Provo, do not expect that the police or the government will assist you. Not one person from the police or the tourist office has contacted me after I inquired about our "case". They may value tourism, but not individual tourists.

[tkerrmd]

great pics and watches

[Jewild]

Originally Posted by jbshaffer

Anyone considering a trip to the Turks Caicos may want to consider this---->


Currently the Turks are experiencing major immigration (both legal and illegal) from the Dominican Republic and Haiti. When these immigrants reach the Turks they are faced with minimal wages, if any at all. The commodity prices in the Turks are among the highest I have witnessed. Just for example a gallon of milk exceeds $11, while local caught fish starts at $15-$20 a pound and goes up from there. Many immigrants are forced into criminal activities just to stay alive. Prostitution is rampant on the west side of Provo, while general lawlessness abounds elsewhere. When we mentioned to our Dive Master that we intended participate in the Island Fish Fry we were cautioned not to attend, but if we chose to, to not display our money.

We arrived on the island at the start of Hurricane Cristobal, for a two week visit. After four days we were able to leave our home only to be faced by severe flooding. Although Provo has an abundance of multi-million dollar homes, there is no infrastructure to support them. eg: no storm water control, no sewer systems and no developed roads. After the flooding, the septic tanks overflowed and the mosquitoes began. Diving was fulfilling, however outside of Grace Bay most dive trips required an hour or so to reach.

As I mentioned earlier, the prices are overwhelming, which creates desperation in all ready desperate people. At 2:AM in the morning, on our final Friday, we were the victims of an armed home invasion. The thugs used a crowbar to smash their way in through a sliding glass door, assaulting my son in the process. Upon finding we had no cash they attempted to kidnap us and take us to an ATM. We resisted and the thieves left with my Son's computer, my Wife's purse, my watch and our rental car. To date there has still been no information regarding the circumstances of this incident. Shortly after our incident there were two armed holdups of two couples, walking down the street, in Grace Bay, and one forced home invasion. Criminal acts, particularly upon tourists, continue on Provo to this day. Please caution your readers, before they chose an island, to do their research. Read the local papers and review the international advisories. I made the mistake of not doing so and paid the penalty.

I read your story many times before we left, and also spotted it on Tripadvisor. I'm sure it was a horroring experience.
Saw your watch was stolen and family assulted.
I'm glad everyone is ok.

We on the other hand had no problems, the people, everyone and everywhere we visited were terrific.
I've been to the DR, Aruba, Mexico, Bahammas, T&C and can go on, the fact is they all have their issue's, just as we do in the U.S.
Personally I'd go back in a minute, but again sorry for your experience.

[A.Sharp]

Looks like my kind of trip!

[azguy]

Crime is awful in many of these islands, one reason a Rolex should never be brought and why I hardly ever leave the resort.

[jbshaffer]

Originally Posted by Jewild

I read your story many times before we left, and also spotted it on Tripadvisor. I'm sure it was a horroring experience.
Saw your watch was stolen and family assulted.
I'm glad everyone is ok.

We on the other hand had no problems, the people, everyone and everywhere we visited were terrific.
I've been to the DR, Aruba, Mexico, Bahammas, T&C and can go on, the fact is they all have their issue's, just as we do in the U.S.
Personally I'd go back in a minute, but again sorry for your experience.

I have and do travel extensively in the Caribbean. My reason(s) why I continue to share my story is that there are much better places to spend your money and that are considerably safer.

[www777]

Originally Posted by jbshaffer

I have and do travel extensively in the Caribbean. My reason(s) why I continue to share my story is that there are much better places to spend your money and that are considerably safer.

What other places would you recommend? We have a trip coming up and I had no idea. We may want to just hang out at the resort to play it safe.

[Keith1]

Originally Posted by www777

What other places would you recommend? We have a trip coming up and I had no idea. We may want to just hang out at the resort to play it safe.

Do a cruise, and see many islands during the day. Then find one you really like, and book your next vacation there to spend some time.

Great pictures by the way. I like how your wife is laughing at you taking the Sub picture! Diving there is great.

Sorry to read JB about your terrible experience there.

[Lime]

Beware of crime ridden thugs

[jbshaffer]

Originally Posted by www777

What other places would you recommend? We have a trip coming up and I had no idea. We may want to just hang out at the resort to play it safe.

We felt the most comfortable in Aruba and Grand Cayman (where we will be spending the month of May). Our tendency has been to stay in private residences, however that has come to an end given our last experience. In all actuality resorts are considered the safest option as long as you don't become over confident. Upon reflection, it wasn't so much that the home invasion that soured us on the Turks, it was the subsequent lack of empathy and follow through on the part of the investigating agencies, particularly when we had a pretty good idea that the home invasion was committed by folks who had been in our home prior to the incident.

[HL65]

Very nice!

[ltmgeller]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing. JB, sorry to hear. Glad you ar all ok.

[sea-dweller]

Nice photos!

[thomaspp]

Niceeeee!