It’s not too early to put a trip to the Turks & Caicos on your holiday wish list!

Christmas in the Caribbean is a special time of year, and with these great offers, it’s a bargain, too.

Book now through Turks & Caicos only locally based reservation service and take advantage of our special travel rewards, including a free professional photo shoot on the beach to capture your memories forever.

Check out these great promotions from our beachfront resorts this holiday season!

Northwest Point Resort - 40% off rates! 40% off best available rates for travel until April, 2010! Or 3rd night free with car rental included in rates! The Tuscany on Grace Bay Get 10% off peak season rates and experience privacy, luxury and intimacy features an Italian inspired courtyard and European style swimming pool. Turks & Caicos Club Book 1 Bedroom Oceanfront Suite for stays between December 18 to January 3, 2010 for 7 nights and receive 1 night free. Rate is $695 USD plus app taxes. This exclusive offer includes oversized suites with a king sized 4-poster bed, living room, gourmet kitchen and private balcony, welcome rum punch, twice daily maid service, non-motorized watersports, fitness/bicycles & free wi-fi) West Bay Club Holiday Promotion Early Christmas Booking special at West Bay club. Book your Christmas stay by August 31st and receive a 15% DISCOUNT and complimentary lunch. Or book by September 30th and receive a 10% DISCOUNT. Stay must be between December 21st to January 2nd. Minimum 5 night stay required.

Cheshire Hall is one of the key historic attractions on Providenciales. The 200 year-old ruins of this former cotton plantation are striking against a backdrop of modern day Provo, as the island is known locally.

The building ruins have been carefully preserved by the National Trust and offer spectacular views of the island.  Standing somber and still, you’ll discover ruins of the plantation’s Great House and several outbuildings, along with circular structures that held tools of the cotton industry, including a cotton gin and cotton press. The Great House is on the breezy rise of a hilltop, overlooking much of western Providenciales and a valley below, which was likely once used for raising food crops or livestock.
Much of the Cheshire Hall site is lush with the native plants such as Guinea Grass, Cow Bush, Bull Vine and Torchwood trees, to name a few that carpeted the area centuries ago. The bush is also home to butterflies, birds and lizards, all noticeably flitting, flying and crawling by as you wander the trails.

Who built Cheshire Hall?
Loyalist Wade Stubbs, originally from the village of Gawsworth in the English county of Cheshire, received a grant of 860 acres on North Caicos. Here he built the Bellefield Plantation, later christened “Wade’s Green.” His holdings grew and Wade soon convinced his brother Thomas to leave Cheshire County and seek his fortune in the Caicos Islands. Thomas Stubbs settled on Providenciales (then known as Blue Caicos) and named his plantation after his home county.

Thomas Stubbs left England and moved to Providenciales in the early 19th century, where he named his plantation Cheshire Hall after his home county. By 1810, Thomas had given up and sold the hall to his brother Wade. A cornerstone at the ruins is inscribed “W. Stubbs 1810″ to mark the transaction. The plantations survived for about 30 years before soil exhaustion, drought and the hurricane in 1812 destroyed them.

Before he died in Grand Turk in 1822, Stubbs’ plantation included thousands of acres and 384 slaves. On the night of 9 September, 1800, 14 slaves escaped in a small boat. He offered a reward of US$500 for their return, but there is no record indicating if they were ever found.

Guided Tour Information
Guided tours of Cheshire Hall are offered Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4 PM at $5 per person.  For reservations, call The National Trust at (649) 941-5710 or (649) 231-1172.  For more information on Cheshire Hall, visit http://www.nationaltrust.tc/Heritagesites.htm

Northwest Point Resort has extended their 40% off best available rates THROUGHOUT winter!  This amazing offer ends on April 15, 2010.  Best deal in Provo!  http://www.discovertci.tc/northwestpoint.html

Villa del Mar has extended their 5th night for free promotion (currently without any expiry date) into 2010; offer includes a one-way airport transfer for 7 night stays, beach service, continental breakfast, and a 48-hour cancellation policy!  http://www.discovertci.tc/villadelmar.html

West Bay Club has extended their 4th night for free offer, and their ’stay for 7 nights and pay for 5′ offer until Feb 28, 2010 (blackout dates during Dec 21 to Jan 2).  Rates include breakfast each morning, a $50 food and beverage credit at the on-site Atlantic Bar & Grill Restaurant, as well as return airport transfers!  http://www.discovertci.tc/westbayclub.html

Turks & Caicos Club announces Low Summer Rates in High Season.  For stays between January 3 and February 7, 2010, enjoy low summer rates!  Rates include full breakfast at on-site Simba’s Restaurant and much more!  http://www.discovertci.tc/turksandcaicosclub.html

The day finally reached when my bud Mike, General Manager from Northwest Point Resort arranged a day to take me out on his jet ski to discover some of the more popular cays (islands)  off of the main tourist island of Providenciales.  I’ve been waiting for this trip to see some of these smaller islands from the water since arriving on island 10 months ago, and couldn’t wait to get my blood pumping while going mock speed on the flat, crystal clear and turquoise waters of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Mike had been out on them the day before, and kept them over at Caicos Marina and Shipyard out in the Long Bay area of the island (about a 10 minute drive away from the main tourist drag of Grace Bay).  We pulled up to the dock and there they were, two beauties, shinning and ready to rock and roll.  I had the red one and Mike the yellow.  We tossed our snorkel gear in the dry hull of the seadoo, and headed to load them off the trailor with the truck.  After just a few minutes of intense training (just kidding, learning to drive those things is a breeze), we left the marina and set out to the open water.  Driving these powerful machines is quite an experience, and even though it was my very first time, I got the hang of it pretty fast.  Simple, use your thumb to engage the gear to go faster, and yank the plug if you want to stop the engine.  Having the power to go as fast as I wanted was quite envigorating, and could’t believe what an awesome time I was having.  To top it all off, when you look around, as far as the eye could see, you see at least seven shades of turquoise, gorgeous!

Mike decided to cut through one of the channels, and went past the Conch Farm - past a beautiful home on the waterfront (previous home of Micheal Missick), and stopped to talk about where we were just before the turn in to the marina in front of Nikki Beach Resort From there, we headed to Pine Cay and drove right past the Meridian Club Resort where I just had to stop for a moment to take in the pure beauty all around me.  Threw my lifejacket off and jumped right in - this is what dreams are made of!  After a quick rest there, we headed past Fort George’s Cay, where apparently there are cannons (originally setup to protect Loyalist plantations in the Turks and Caicos Islands) still lying on the ocean floor in just a meter of water.

We then passed the infamous Dellis Cay and saw the buildings that are currently under development.  This entire island is being developed and will be managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotels; one bedroom apartments start at $1.7 million here and homes start at $6 million - I’ll definitely have my place there in a few years (NOT!).

Up next was Parrot Cay  - This private island resort with a luxury yoga-centric hotel is where Keith Richards, Bruce Willis and designer Donna Karan have villas — land here begins at more than $2 million an acre!  We threw anchor (in the sand of course) just between Bruce Willis’ house and the new house that is currently being constructed for Donna Caren when Mike told me of his story when he was out snorkeling out by the small reef there and Bruce came on his kayak to checkout what was going on and to ask how the snorkeling was.  At the same time, I looked out and saw someone else snorkeling afar and wondered to myself hmmmmm could it be?  Nawwww… Saw some pretty cool stuff at that reef, but didn’t see any big critters, Mike who frequents there all the time mentioned that he saw some Mantas just a few weeks ago.

On the way to North Caicos there was sightings of a small turtle who fluttered off when the jetskis came close and a baby dolphin; kept on going until we could see in the distance the 130 foot long causeway that links Tobby Rock in North Caicos to Pine Barrel, Middle Caicos.  Unfortuntely, the tide was out making the water too shallow to get the jet skis across safely, so we turned around for a rest at Mike’s favourite hangout spot in North Caicos called Pelican Beach Hotel - we were greeted by the female bartender from the Dominican Republic who pours a mean coconut rum and coke and then met the man himself, Clifford.  Clifford and Suzie Gardiner has been running the Pelican Beach Hotel for over 25 years now!  They’ve built up a strong following from people spanning the entire globe and are very proud of their hotel and restaurant, but most of all the personality and personalized Caribbean hospitality that they bring to the guest experience.  We shared some stories about Obama, Cliff’s cousin Micheal Missick (former premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands) and passed the time having some laughs and some drinks.  Mike’s and Clifford’s friend Mark, who runs a reliable Auto Rental company on the island happened to past by and sat down for a drink with us, only to find out that it was Clifford’s birthday that day!  (hmmmm, as I’m writing this, I’m wondering why we didn’t sing him happy birthday?).  Anyway, we had some burgers, and Clifford took me around to show me some of his rooms and agreed that Pelican Beach Hotel would be an excellent fit for Discover TCI, I’d definitely recommend this hotel to people wanting to visit the island.

After a load of fun, Mike and I were on our way back to Provo, got a bit choppy on the way back, and I, in trying to keep up with Mike, decided to put the pedal to the medal (actually, my thumb to the gear) and give it all that it’s got, full speed!  Bump, bump, bump, man was it ever a rush!  Stopped off one last time in front of Parrot Cay for a dip in the turquoise and headed back for Provo.

All in all, this was one of the most fun days I’ve had since arriving here in the Turks and Caicos Islands 10 months ago, it was a perfect day of great weather, scenery, relaxation, adrenalin, hospitality and much more.

Hats off to Mike, thanks again buddy, the memories from today will last a lifetime!

Looking for the best spots for casual hangout in Providenciales (Provo)?  Get the inside scoop by Discover TCI local experts

Danny Buoys - Irish pub. Sports. Fun crowd. Live music once or twice a week

Ports of Call - Calico Jack’s upstairs. Jimmy’s Dive Bar downstairs. Live music on Fridays.

Salt Mills Diner - Live music on Fridays. Decent food at big bar.

Sharkbite - On the marina - casual sports bar. Live music occasionally.  Eat/drink on patio on the water. 

Da Conch Shack and Horse Eyed Jacks - Next door to each other on the beach in Blue Hills (transportation needed). Live music from time to time (Fri and Sat nights). Fun outdoor bars. Watch them catch the conch right off shore.

Nikki Beach Resort - up tempo spot. Outdoor bar and pool bar. Killer techno style DJ. Lively. Late night Fri/Sat and Sunday afts.

Hemingway’s at The Sands - Beach restaurant and bar. Fun spot to hang on the beach during the day. Live music Tues, Thrs. Fri. Not open too too late.

Club Med - all inclusive resort but night passes can be purchased for dinner, after dinner show and nightclub. Can be fun. Has a late night bar on the beach (Sharky’s).

Bar at Grace Bar Club - Infiniti Bar on the beach. Fire pits and cool music.  Upscale. Next to Anacaona Restaurant.

We live and work here in Provo and (finally) took the opportunity to try out Mark’s Lemon Cafe.  Many of our friends have already tried the food there several times over, and had such amazing things to say. 

The ambiance of the place is incredible and definitely like nothing else that exists on the island, we really felt as though we were at a themed restaurant back in Canada, or, the real thing.  As you are walking in, there’s a short pathway filled with lovely tall and potted plants, then waking in to the restaurant itself, there are lots of earthy type colors, and long couches that back up against the wall with middle eastern looking pillows, the entire ceiling was draped with white shear, and the hexagon terra-cotta looking tiles (with finely designed mexican tiles in the middle) was all what made the Restaurant very special. 

Service was really good as well, and, like many other posts, Mark was out and about, greeting everyone and telling his story, very personable.  Food turnaround was very quick as well, which was great as we were really hungry. 

The food itself was delicious, we got the chickpeas dish and meat dish for appetizer (can’t remember the exact names, shame on me!), and had the chicken on basmati rice with the tatziki for the entree.  Everything was excellent!  For desert, we had the Ginger Cheesecake, a recommendation of Mark’s and we were in heaven!

Well done to Mark, a young entrepreneur (many of us in Provo) who took a chance to open this new gem in Provo in the middle of a global downturn, Lemon will definitely be on top of my recommendation list for family and friends coming in.