Provo has one of the Caribbean's best golf courses.

To preserve its unspoiled environment, the Turks and Caicos have established a larger percentage of national parks and protected areas than any other nation in the world.

Although much of this territory is underwater, one land-based preserve is Little Water Cay, a 150-acre islet just off Provo that is home to hundreds of endangered rock iguanas.

A boardwalk furnishes close-up views of the docile lizards, a species found only in the Turks and Caicos.

Boat trips to Little Water Cay leave just several hundred yards from Provo’s thriving Caicos Conch Farm, the world’s only successful conch farm. The hatchery supplies fresh conch to other islands and to Florida where the tasty mollusks have disappeared due to overfishing.

Open for tours, the conch farm boasts a herd of over three million juvenile mollusks which begin life in holding tanks on shore and later mature in ocean pens.

With conch so plentiful, conch salad is Provo’s version of fast food. One of the most popular places for this conch concoction is Bugaloo’s, a small roadside stand on the water not too far from the airport.

A conch fisherman himself, Bugaloo enthusiastically extols the health benefits of eating conch as he slices and dices the conch meat and mixes it with red and yellow peppers, onions and lime juice. The salads are large enough for a full meal and the conch is served raw, like sushi.

Although Provo is largely a desert island due to its limited rainfall, it’s also home to one of the Caribbean’s top 10 golf courses, the 6,560-yard, par-72, 18-hole Provo Golf Club.

Most islands could never afford to pay for the incredible amounts of water needed to keep the course green, but both the golf club and Provo’s desalinization plant are owned by the Sheik of Qatar.

With this kind of backing, the greens and the clubhouse are the quality you’d expect. The course is open to the public and greens fees are not all that princely.

Commuter flights from Provo to other islands are so frequent that daytripping to Grand Turk or Middle Caicos are popular options for those who want to explore other islands.

Arrival Briefing
What you need to know if you go

Getting Married in the Turks & Caicos
There won't necessarily be a record back home

Next Page (Grand Turk Island)

Return to Turks & Caicos Part 1