Top Things to do in Cockburn Town
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10 Things to Do in Cockburn Town That You Shouldn't Miss
Situated on the 6-mile long Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town is an intimate Caribbean paradise easily discovered on foot. The major streets of Duke and Front host landmarks, restaurants and the National Museum of Turks & Caicos Islands, which houses the oldest shipwreck in the western hemisphere, the Molasses Reef Wreck. After exploring the town, head to the miles of sugary beaches and go diving, snorkeling or sailing across the turquoise water.
Restaurants in Cockburn Town
1. Blue Water Divers
Overall Ratings
5 based on 641 reviews
Blue Water Divers offers scuba diving lessons and tours to some of the most beautiful sites in the Caribbean, along the unsurpassed beauty of the Grand Turk Wall. PADI courses, snorkeling, and Gibbs Cay trips are also available. Conveniently located in town, their specialty is safe, relaxed diving and snorkeling in small groups.
Reviewed By JBDAVIS - LAKELAND FL
We arrived by cruise ship. I prefer to book independently. Blue Divers was well reviewed and offered small groups. Their communication was good before , during and follow up. Originally I wasn't sure if we would be able to go with them since they need a minimum of four people for the snorkel excursion and there was only my husband and myself. I contacted them well before our arrival date so as we got closer to our actual trip they had more than enough people for the snorkel trip. Their instructions were clear on how to reach them- taxi ride $5 per person. We signed our waivers, gathered our gear and made our way across the street to the beach and waiting boat. There were about a dozen of us. Our crew was very safety conscious. The first spot we looked at to snorkel was too rough so we went to another spot by the wall. We did see a school of barracuda and several other fish. The water depth was quite deep so it was difficult to really see the fish as closely as I would have liked. The next spot was closer to shore and to where our ship was anchored over a reef and reef in progress. The water depth was more shallow so it was easier to see the fish. I had great expectations so I was a little disappointed in the visibility and the variety of fish. I had hoped to get a lot of pictures with my lumix underwater camera. Now mind you none of this was the fault of Blue Divers. It had actually been a rough and windy night at sea, in fact two cruise ships did not even dock, so that certainly contributed to poor visibility. After our second snorkel adventure since we were so close to our ship, the crew let us off at the beach in front of Jack's shack. So we could eat and drink and walk back to the ship. Blue Divers is a good outfit. Mother nature just had her own agenda.
2. Grand Turk Diving
Overall Ratings
5 based on 325 reviews
Reviewed By Christina C
We are a family of 5 with three children ages 10, 12, 14. We stopped in Grand Turk as a cruise port and took a snorkeling tour with KK. He was wonderful--got us to the reefs quickly and before all the cruise passengers arrived on their excursion. We basically had both the shallow reef and the wall to ourselves for most of the trip. He was very patient, answered all our questions, and pulled my nervous 10 year old around by a life ring. We had a great day. Big thanks to KK!!
3. Gibbs Cay
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 301 reviews
Uninhabited island with some of the most beautiful Beaches and the best diving sites the Islands have to offer.
Reviewed By makwa55 - Watertown, Wisconsin
Very disappointed with our visit as far as interacting with the rays. There was absolutely no interaction at all! You would catch a glimpse of one or two and they would be gone. The guides told us that it has been this way since the hurricane - the numbers are not there and what are there are very skittish. They reported to us that most all clients have been leaving disappointed.
4. Pillory Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 171 reviews
Reviewed By Looness33 - Philadelphia, PA
Beautiful beach and much quieter than the south shore. The Bohio Dive Resort has nice facilities. You can rent snorkel gear there.
5. Grand Turk Cruise Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Reviewed By Morgan B - Western Norway, Norway
The beach is fantastic The colors are marvelous. Some of the beach-chairs are free for the cruise-passengers. The cruise center does not give you the feeling of being among the locals since all is built up for cruise-passangers. But just a short walk, and you are among more local buildings and local businesses.
6. SunRay Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 323 reviews
Warm, calm and clear waters make this a perfect beach for swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving.
Reviewed By panerai1966 - Copenhagen, Denmark
If you got small kids, or grand parents sunray beach is the place if you like to daze
on the beach, just perfect walking distance from ship, bars, water sports, local dining places you name it, Grand Turks got it.
Throughout the beach you can rent sunbeds, and prices is mostly for the whole day.
the further one go longside the beach the cheaper it gets, so if your want peace and quite you gotta go a bit further away from the ship.
Its got a great vibe for both small kids, youngsters, and seniors too.
Make sure to stop by the duty free shops around the pier, one can really some money here.
7. Grand Turk Lighthouse
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 316 reviews
Reviewed By amanda5805 - Duncan, Canada
We rented a car for the day well in Port. It was a really short drive to the north end to the lighthouse. It cost a $3 each to get in and then they give you a credit with either the gift shop or the bar. Which is a nice touch.The grounds are well kept with a stunning view of the ocean. The staff was very friendly and was happy to take a photo of us infant of the lighthouse. There was no one else there until we were leaving. Then a tram tour group pulled up of about 30-40 people. They had onsite washroom which were clean. we spent about 15- 20 mins there. Lots of wild friendly donkeys in the parking lot.
8. Wet Money Tours & Rentals
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 67 reviews
Wether it's a private fishing trip, whale watching or even just a trip to a private cay where you can feed the stingrays. Here at wet money tours and rentals we ensure that from the moment you book with us you have a once in a lifetime experience. We hope to see you soon!
Reviewed By bri4jill - Los Angeles, California
We were apprehensive at first - meet them on the beach, cash only, boat seemed sketchy, but this was an amazing tour! The two guides were so friendly and accommodating, they made our family trip so special. We snorkeled at some great spots, played with a stingray, and did a mini tour of of the tiny island. Everyone loved it! They even assisted our youngest passenger who was a reluctant snorkeled and had him feeling at ease in no time. ❤️
9. Carnival, A Taste of Grand Turk & Beach Get Away
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 28 reviews
Reviewed By HarmanyGirl - Mechanicsville, Virginia
If you do anything else, please book a Home Away experience through Carnival in Grand Turk. You will NOT be disappointed. Carmen, Jackie, and Crusher all make you feel right at home. The food was amazing and the drinks were plentiful and always served with a smile!!! There were 6 of us and we were spoiled by the service and the beauty of this little island hideaway. The island bus would take you back whenever you wanted- but we didn't want to leave! SO worth the money. For this to be our last excursion for the end of our trip, it was the most amazing time. I would do this again and again.....
10. Sailorman Tours
Overall Ratings
5 based on 6 reviews
Sailorman Tours offers Grand Turk excursions, tours, snorkeling, boat trips, fishing, tubing, whale watching, and site-seeing. Explore the coral reefs, swim with the schools of fish and stingrays in the crystal blue waters, have a father and son fishing excursion or just sit back and enjoy the boat ride. Let us take you to private locations to explore the white sandy Beaches of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Your Captain will take you on your own, private water adventure.
Reviewed By iTraveller777 - Englishtown, New Jersey
The price for snorkeling excursion from the cruise company was pretty high and the duration seemed short, so we decided to take our chances and play it by the ear. Once we were at the Grand Turk port, we asked around for snorkeling, but no one gave us any clear answer to where we can do it. They instead wanted to sell their services like taxi and trolley tours. So we went on the beach. We were approached by a local for snorkeling tour. We negotiated on a reasonable price and duration. The boat driver Woody and the guide Ibrahima took my family of four to a nearby island. The trip to the island was about 20 minutes long. He did wait for 10 minutes to find another customer to take on a boat, but could not find any.
This beach was spectacular and serene. The clean blue turquoise water was about three feet deep for like half a mile. Ibrahima took time to explain how to put on the gear and took us to three different coral reefs. We saw a lot of colorful fish and enjoyed snorkeling for about two hours. After snorkeling, Ibrahima told us that he is going to look for string-rays. We were not really hopeful of finding any, but to our amazement, he found three stingrays nearby and we had a nice time playing with stingrays and taking pictures. We also found conches on the beach of which we took one with us.
We were glad that we did not go with the cruise excursion where lot of passengers were loaded on a big pontoon and you have to follow a tight schedule.
I highly recommend Sailorman tours and the guide Ibrahima for snorkeling excursion.
Tip: Insist on wearing a life jacket even if you know swimming. That way you could enjoy it for more time without much effort.
