Turks and Caicos IslanderTurks & Caicos Property Management and Vacation Villa Rentals

Provo Ponies is a small riding stable owned and operated by horse woman extraordinaire, Camille Slattery.

The stables are located on the southeast end of the island of Providenciales in the Long Bay area, offering two guided rides per day; the morning ride at 9:30 am and the afternoon ride at 3:30pm during the winter season, 4:30 during the summer.

Camille accepts all experience levels from 6 years old and up; if younger, however, they must be experienced riders. There is, however, an extra charge if someone must be led.

Everyone rides their own horse or pony, with no double riding allowed as there is a 200 pound weight limit. The groups are never more than 12 riders.

And for those of you looking for a more personal experience, private rides are available for an additional fee.

Helmets are available and are required for all children and young adults, aged 17 and under.

The guided rides (not the nose-to-tail variety of ride commonly experienced!!) are wonderful, tracking along quiet dirt roads and trails to the 4 mile stretch of the secluded Long Bay Beach.  Depending upon the tides, more experienced riders are given the chance to trot or canter along the beach. The shallow waters of the Caicos Banks off Long Bay make it an ideal place to experience the joy of riding your horse into the ocean.

To book either a one hour or 90 minute ride, you must make a reservation, securing it with a Visa or Mastercard. At the time of reserving, you will be asked to provide the accurate weight of each member of the group and provide a realistic assessment of the experience levels of all riders so that horses can be properly assigned

And finally, vacation villa renters will be provided directions to the stables and transportation to and from hotels can be provided by this fully insured, licensed, and long-established TCI business.

TO RESERVE: (1-649) – 946-5252 or 241-6350

The Turks and Caicos National Museum is pleased to announce that the week of July 11-15 is “Bird Week”. The Bird Walking and Driving Tours will officially open  that week.

These tours were made possible by a grant from the Carnival/TCInvest/TCIG/Infrastructure Fund.

Both tours can be self guided, with the help of the Bird Guide Cards that are available for sale at the Museum. Once officially open, these cards will also be available at other outlets.

Many activities are planned for this week, including a Bird Driving Tour with Leading Ornithologist Dr. Mike Pienkowski, a student Bird Walking Tour with Dr. Mike Pienkowski, a movie night at the Museum, and the grand opening of the tours on Friday July 15, 2011.

The Museum will also be working with DECR’s Junior Warden Programme to show the importance of the Salt Ponds/Wetlands and how they attribute to the many species of birds found in TCI.

The birds of the Turks and Caicos are an intimate part of the wetlands ecosystem.  Birding here is exceptionally good, as one can see many species of birds very close up. This is a very rare occurrence and makes TCI one of the world’s best places to bird watch.

For information on the times of these activities, please contact the Museum at info@tcmuseum.org

In Villa Catering with Chef:   High Season Pricing (November-May)

Breakfast – $25.00 Per Person; Lunch – $35.00 Per Person; Dinner – Per Menu Selection Per Person

+11% Government Tax, 18% Catering Fee and Applicable Chef Fee

In Villa Catering with Chef:   Low Season Pricing (June-September)

Breakfast – $20.00 Per Person; Lunch – $30.00 Per Person; Dinner – Per Menu Selection Per Person

+11% Government Tax, 18% Catering Fee and Applicable Chef Fee

Prix Fixe Villa Catering** High Season Pricing (November-May)

Breakfast 1-5 People – $95.00 Per Person; Breakfast 6+ People – $75.00 Per Person

Lunch 1-5 People – $100.00 Per Person; Lunch 6+ People – $80.00 Per Person

Dinner 1-5 People – $125.00 Per Person; Dinner 6+ People – $110.00 Per Person

Prix Fixe Villa Catering** High Season Pricing (June-September)

Breakfast 1-5 People – $75.00 Per Person; Breakfast 6+ People – $50.00 Per Person

Lunch 1-5 People – $80.00 Per Person; Lunch 6+ People – $60.00 Per Person

Dinner 1-5 People – $115.00 Per Person; Dinner 6+ People – $100.00 Per Person

**Up Charge for Lobster, Crab or any other changes made to Prix Fixe Menus

Villa Drop Catering:    High Season Pricing (November-May)

Breakfast – $25.00 Per Person; Lunch – $35.00 Per Person; Dinner – Per Menu Selection Per Person

+11% Government Tax and 10% Delivery Fee

Villa Drop Catering:    Low Season Pricing (June-September)

Breakfast – $20.00 Per Person; Lunch – $30.00 Per Person; Dinner – Per Menu Selection Per Person

+11% Government Tax and 10% Delivery Fee

Looking to plan a fabulous BEACH BBQ??  LOOK NO FURTHER!!

PLEASE VISIT THE CAICOS CATERING WEBSITE at  www.caicoscatering.com

Bike Rentals

Mountain $30-$50/day (styles vary)

Road and Cross Bike $80/day

Carbon Fiber Road bike $100/day

Beach Cruiser $25/day

Tubes, Clear Bottom Kayac, Stand up Paddleboards

Tubes $20/day includes rope

Clear bottom Kayac $75/day includes Paddles

Stand up Paddleboard $75/day includes Paddle

Inline Skates

K2 inline Skates $25/day all sizes available

Kites

7 meter – 17 meter Kites $75/day

Harness $25/day

Kite board $50/day

Total package with all 3 items $125/day

Wakeboards/waterskis/Snorkel Gear

Wake boards $25/day

Waterskis $25/day

Rope $5/day

Snorkel Set (mask, snorkel, fins) $20/day or $18/day on 3 days or more

PFD $5/day

Beach Cruiser

Boats “Captain Yourself” (proof of Boat Worthiness required)

Edgewater 188 cc with Yamaha 150 hp 4 stroke, includes PFDs, GPS, Tube and rope.

Boat Charters for waterski, wakeboard, tubing and snorkeling

Mastercraft X Star

Max 10

$350/hr, $900/1/2 day, $1500/full day

Mastercraft BF 200

$300/hr, $750/1/2 day, $1250/Full Day

(Instruction included)

*50% deposit required on all activities and rentals

*refund on deposit outside 48 hours

*24-48 hours cancellation, surrender of deposit

*0-24 hrs cancellation. 100% billed

Web: www.nautiquesports.com

Mail:nautiquesports@tciway.tc

Mail for bike rentals only: caicoscyclery@tciway.tc

Contacts:

Bike Rentals-Sales-Service -Tyler Dutton 649 431 7544

Watersports bookings/rentals -Doug Camozzi 649 431 6890

Shop phone 649 941 7544

Last week, my family and I – including 2 grandchildren ages 4 and 3 and their best friend who’s also 3 –  went to Mango Reef at Alexandra Resort for dinner.  What a stunning setting!

As we enjoyed an amazing sunset, the kids had fun playing on the beach and we enjoyed refreshing libations.

The service was terrific and the food – tons of it!! – as great! The ribs, in particular, were mouth-watering!

To add to our pleasure, Candy Barrotti, one of our favorite songbirds, was crooning her fabulous tunes!

So when you’re here visiting our extraordinary island and have a yearning for scrumptious local cuisine and superb entertainment, don’t forget to add Mango Reef and Candy to your to-do list!

My husband Antonio and I had the infinite pleasure to lunch at the newly opened Garam Masala, the latest addition to our magnificent restaurant scene in Providenciales.

Located in Grace Bay (across the road from Salt Mills, on the right hand side of the cul-de-sac just before the entrance to the Renaissance Resort – there’s no sign up yet as she’s only been open one week), the locale is prettily appointed and evocative of India.

For appetizers, we enjoyed delicious samosas, pakoras, along with a mouth-watering tandoori style Seekh Kabob; all served with a yummy spicy mint sauce!

Stuffed already, the entrees that followed (mutton vindaloo and chicken tikki masala) were so amazing that we gobbled those down, along with garlic buttered freshly baked nan bread. We thought we’d explode, but that didn’t stop us!!

To complement the meal, we sipped (should  I say guzzled??) a delicious well-chilled Riesling (Oriel) that perfectly complemented the  meal.

As for Vinnie and his crew,  the chef’s are brilliant, the service lovely, and Vinnie made one and all feel like they were guests in his home!

While the food does take time to come out – everything is freshly cooked on the spot – any delays were well worth every delicious morsel!

Sadly, these gluttons had absolutely no room to even consider trying dessert, but Antonio had the Masala Chai (superb) and I was astonished to drink one of  the most perfect cappuccinos I have ever had on island!

What else can I say besides congrats to Vinnie and Jay and see ya’ll there!!!!!!!!!!

For reservations, call Vinnie at 344-4622 or 941-3292.

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos – Lemon Café is a Moroccan oasis amid the hard, dry landscape of Providenciales. It is the brainchild of owner Natalie Zaidan, 35, a Canadian expat who visited the island as a child. Zaidan, who has lived here for 12 years, does high-end landscaping and owns a nursery. She designed and built Lemon Café a couple of years ago.

Chef John Tsavalas, a childhood friend of Zaidan, has created a superb Moroccan menu with tapas treats such as spicy calamari, rice-stuffed tender merguez, silky couscous, and perfectly prepared baba ghanoush. Exemplary entrees include North African moussaka with eggplant, lamb burger with yogurt mint cucumber sauce, and the most popular dish, lamb prune tagine, simmered for hours with such ingredients as honey, cinnamon, and clove. Tsavalas’s most recent creations include a sumac-rubbed rib eye roast and lobster with preserved lemon.

The place is dimly lighted and wonderfully moody with bench seating on the perimeter of the open-to-the-elements sides, smaller tables and communal ones in the middle, a glitzy, soft-orange-lighted bar at one end, and gauzy accent drapes billowing from the high ceiling.

The most popular place to eat at night is the elegant courtyard, with two-foot stone squares surrounded by lush grass and draped by ficus trees, from which small white lights shine. Entertainment includes regular “Arabian Nights” with belly dancing, tarot card readings, and Tsavalas doubling as a fire spinner on occasion, delighting diners by whirling lighted poi balls.

Zaidan planted a garden to furnish the restaurant with fresh vegetables and herbs. The organic meats are flown in regularly, said Zaidan, who opened the restaurant to “provide a change of food down here. A lot of it was sort of the same, I wanted to do something different.”

PAUL E. KANDARIAN

Lemon Café, Village at Grace Bay, 649-941-4059, www.lemon-cafe.com. Mon-Sat lunch and dinner, noon-3 p.m., 6-10, Sun 6-10, entrees from $17.

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.

Continental Airlines announced that it will begin non-stop flights from Newark Liberty (EWR) to Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands (PLS), subject to Government approval, four times a week starting February 18, 2011.

The scheduled flight days will be Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

With daily service from Newark starting March 6, 2011, Provo will be the 26th Caribbean destination for the US carrier.  The recent merger between Continental and United Airlines is great news for travelers, several new destinations will be added to the existing schedule over the next 6-8 months.

The 3.5 hour flight departs Newark at 9:35am, arriving in Provo at 1:10pm - collect your bags, pick up your rental car, head to your hotel or villa and you’ll be on the beach that afternoon.  Returning flights are scheduled to depart Provoat 2:05pm (enjoy your last morning with a leisurely breakfast and morning swim), arriving in Newark by 5:45pm.

Continental has scheduled their Boeing 737-800 for the new service, seating 160 passengers, 16 in first-class and 144 in economy.

To book flights to Turks and Caicos on Continental please visit their website here.  For private villa vacation rental properties, please visit our website.

Booking your vacation rental properties through Tranquility Property Managment, the on island management company for multiple luxury and beach villas, offers island travelers the luxury and privacy of their own home with the exotic pleasures of tropical seas, white sands, and sun!

Private waterfront homes are the perfect way to spend a Caribbean family vacation, romantic getaway, or business retreat; and Tranquility makes it easy to find the perfect Turks and Caicos villa rental for your special event.

We offer Provo villas of all sizes to choose from; including the private 2 bedroom Spindrift and our large 6 bedroom Windrose Main and Guest vacation home. Each vacation rental is situated along or nearby fabulous beaches of the beaches of Turks and Caicos, and are near the heart of Providenciales activity.

On Island Experts

We don’t just rent you the property, we are the on island managers who greet and take care of you while you are here!

Bright Idea

Turtle Rock Outdoor Grill and Kitchen

Windrose Beach House Patio

The Tranquility Experience: Very Personal Attention & Every Little Luxury

As all the vacation homes featured on this site are exclusively managed by our leading property management company, we can assure you of first rate accommodations, luxury guest services, and our first class guest concierge. Tranquility can also coordinate a vacation auto rental to make it extra easy  to find things to do on your tropical island vacation!

Pool and Ocean View, Villa Del Sol

Del Sol Living Room

Explore Our Turks and Caicos Luxury Rentals

You will find useful information about our exclusive Turks and Caicos beach rentals on our website, with availability for your specific travel dates right at your fingertips. You will also find useful information on transportation, island activities, airport services, guest services concierge , and other helpful Caribbean vacation tips.

We’re waiting for you so  Reserve your Turks and Caicos villa rental now!

South Seas Kitchen

Ocean View from South Seas

South Seas Bedroom

Turks And Caicos Island

Why choose the Turks and Caicos Island Beaches some people might ask? With other options such as Hawaii and Florida so much closer to home, a visit to the beaches of the Caicos Island might appear to be too far an inconvenience to consider. Assuming this would however be wrong. There are many important advantages of choosing a holiday at the Turks and Caicos Island Beaches over others. For instance, unlike most islands that are surrounded by deep waters, people can either choose to swim or walk amongst the waves of the beaches. Thanks to the topography of the island, people are able to walk for far longer distance extending from the shore without risking running into strong currents. The shallow seas are ideal for people who want to learn water surfing or kiting. When you get too tired or get tossed from your bored (as sometimes does happen) all you need to do is simply stand up and try again. Then there is also the welcomed warmth of the water and the weather. Although, a wet suit is always encouraged, people without one do not face too great a risk of picking up a chill.

Like most Caribbean islands, the waters of the Turks and Caicos Island beaches are typically warm throughout the better part of the day. People can therefore comfortably swim for much longer periods. More importantly, the combined factors of the warmth of the sea and its shallow length, makes the Turks and Caicos Island Beaches amongst the safest in the world. The Turks and Caicos Island Beaches are also a great destination for people who might wish to enjoy some private time alone on a beach. Finding an isolated beach on the coast of Florida will take some doing. On the islands of Turk and Caicos, achieving this is a lot more easily done. There are dozens of beaches laced amongst the different islands. In recent decades, the Turks and Caicos Island Beaches have become the default destination of people who wish to enjoy the experience of kite boarding. Also known as kitesurfing, there are three key features that allow people to embark on this sport; clear skies, comfortable winds and an ample supply of waves.

But perhaps the strongest draw to a visit Turks and Caicos is the difference in cultural experience that the islands offer to visitors. Many of the visitors to the islands are constantly amazed by the comfortable accommodations which are found amongst its different hotels and villas such as Esencia Villas as well as the friendliness of the people. Visitors can choose from many different exotic meals ranging from freshly caught seafood to salads as well as traditional sandwiches and burgers. Best of all, there is the remarkable vista of a rising and setting sun to look forward to. Seated on the balcony of one of the several beach side villas located on the islands, tourists can look back at the adventures of their day, inhale the soft fragrance of the ocean breeze and truly be relaxed and content.