Introducing The Cays

The smaller islands around Providenciales are known simply as the Cays, and most of them boast superb beaches and total isolation, being accessible only by a private boat charter.

Northeast of Provo and separated from it by the 400yd-wide channel, Little Water Cay is a nature reserve within Princess Alexandra National Park and is the home of about 2000 endangered rock iguanas. If you land here, do not feed or touch the iguanas, even though they are generally easy to approach. Also keep to the trails to avoid trampling their burrows and the ecologically sensitive plants. Next door Pine Cay’s primary residents are celebrities. The 2 miles of ocean separating it from the northeast edge of Provo is plenty of moat to keep the riffraff out.

Fort George Cay is home to the remnants of an 18th-century British-built fort built back in the day to protect the islands. Now the only invaders are divers and snorkelers there to inspect the gun emplacements slowly becoming one with the sea bottom. The site is protected within Fort George Land & Sea National Park, which is also home to a protected iguana population. Dellis Cay has some of the best shells around on its beautiful beaches, but being in the park precludes you from taking them home.

Parrot Cay is home to the Turks and Caicos’ most luxurious and famous hotel and is very private indeed.

Some way south of Providenciales, the old pirate hideaway of French Cay is now more frequented by migrating birds than swashbuckling scoundrels. Uninhabited and a permanent wildlife sanctuary, this small island 15 miles south of Provo is home to a staggering number of bird species. Just offshore the waters are teeming with stingrays who use the calm waters as a nursery. Nurse sharks (entirely harmless creatures) gather here in summer where they feed, breed and scare swimmers. You can snorkel among the menagerie of sea life on a day trip from Provo.