Vintage Modern: What To Do: Turks + Caicos

Jake and I had planned to not really leave the resort during our 5 day trip and I have to admit, that I could not do it! We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at the two hotel restaurants and I was getting a little stir crazy. Don't get me wrong, I was obsessed with our hotel, but I learned that even I needed a change of scenery (and food) after a few days. Read about our hotel here.

Leave the Resort.

I actually caved before we even left Charlotte, around a month before our trip and reserved a rental car for the last 2 days. I had to! I felt like I would be missing out on everything the island had to offer. We did take a taxi to dinner one evening and it wasn't too expensive but there is really nothing like being able to explore on your own. Our hotel concierge was amazing and helped us get into the best restaurant on the island at the last minute. I have never really relied on the concierge before (due to my obsessive planning) but get this -- we did not have one single reservation for any meal before we stepped foot on the island. This changed after we had been there for about 20 hours. I'm not sure we really needed reservations every single night but we definitely did a few times. So I was glad that I had the concierge to help. The takeaway here is, even if you are going to a semi-remote island in the middle of the caribbean, a little planning is still necessary. Our favorite dinners were at Magnolia Wine Bar and Coco Bistro. Our best lunch was at the Conch Shack -- you are literally right on the beach. Can't beat that view!

Go on a Boat Excursion.

The front desk also booked a 4 hour Caicos Dream boat excursion which was supposed to leave at 9:30 am on Thanksgiving Day, but likely ended up leaving closer to 10:15 due to something I like to call Island Time. Not to worry though, because we still had a blast. Our ship captain was named Kwee and had a penance for "conch" jokes, such as "you conch believe it", etc. Two of the ship mates dove for fresh conch, which they then made into a fresh delicious conch salad with. Tasty! We tried to snorkel but it was too rough, but I'm glad we jumped in anyway. Jake even went down the slide into the ocean, but I wasn't brave enough to do that -- my excuse was that I didn't want to get my hair wet. Maybe next time? After that, we headed over to a private island you can only get to by boat and lastly, we stopped at Half Moon Bay and Iguana Island where over 5,000 Iguanas live.... and apparently an equal amount of bugs. I'm not sure exactly where I got bitten, but I definitely took about 35 bites home as my souvenir. Oh well. I can't complain. I mean, c'mon. Oh and just when you thought it couldn't get any cooler, we also took a detour to a shipwreck.

Visit Chalk Sound including Sapodilla and Taylor Bay.

The weather wasn't super great the day we went, but we still had an awesome time. We went to pick up our rental car (which was an experience all in itself) and got lost about seven times trying to follow the guidebook, but when we finally made it, sat down on the beach and took a deep breath. It was so quiet and calming. Just very peaceful. and I think it would be fun to stay a night right on the bay next time.

Go to Grace Bay Beach.

This beach was voted the best beach in the world by TripAdvisor. I'm sorry Hawaii, but I had to say, it was the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. Just absolutely gorgeous. The water, the sand, you name it. Our hotel was on Grace Bay, but it was toward the end of the beach.