The Location of Grand Turk
Grand Turk is an island in the country of Turks and Caicos, a British Overseas Territory located in the Atlantic Ocean between Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and the Bahamas. The island is home to Cockburn Town, which is the capital city of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Grand Turk is about 650 miles (1,046 km) southeast of Miami, Florida, and 466 miles (750 km) southeast of Nassau in the Bahamas. It is approximately 108 miles (173 km) north of the Dominican Republic.
Location Within Turks and Caicos
Grand Turk is the easternmost main island in the Turks and Caicos. It is the largest island in the Turks Islands group, measuring 6.9 square miles (18 km²), and the eighth largest in the country.
As the country name suggests, Turks and Caicos is made up of two island groups: the Turks Islands and the Caicos Islands. The Turks Islands consist of Grand Turk, Salt Cay, and a handful of tiny uninhabited cays. The far more extensive Caicos Islands consist of more than 90 named islands, cays, and rocks, and seven inhabited islands.
The island groups are divided by a roughly 7,000-foot-deep (2,134 m) and 20-mile-wide (32 km) rift called the Turks Island Passage. It was formerly named the Columbus Passage after Christopher Columbus, who some historians argue made first landfall in the Americas on Grand Turk.
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How to Get to Grand Turk
While the island has an airport, the Grand Turk JAGS McCartney International Airport (GDT), there are currently no scheduled international flights that fly to the island. Most visitors arrive via cruise ship. A comparative minority of guests—largely scuba divers wanting to explore the phenomenal coral reefs offshore—fly into Turks and Caicos via the Providenciales International Airport (PLS) before boarding a domestic flight to Grand Turk.
Cruise Ship Guests
Nearly all visitors to Grand Turk arrive by cruise ship for the day, and ships dock at the Cruise Center. It's highly advised that cruise ship guests do a little research prior to landing to make the most of their visit.
Grand Turk is a safe and fun island to explore on your own. One of our top recommendations is simply to rent a car, scooter, or golf cart and explore. See Things to Do and Beaches for ideas.
Flying to Grand Turk
As there are no scheduled international flights to Grand Turk, it’s necessary to enter the Turks and Caicos through Providenciales or South Caicos, and then take a domestic flight via a small aircraft to Grand Turk. Two local airlines, Caicos Express Airways and interCaribbean, offer regular service.
Immigration and customs clearance takes place upon landing at the Providenciales International Airport (PLS) or the South Caicos Airport (XSC).
The Grand Turk Airport is small and quaint, and is located on the southern end of the island near Governor's Beach and English Point Beach. Rental cars can be picked up onsite, which makes it easy to visit via a day trip from Providenciales.
Locations on Grand Turk
Grand Turk isn’t extensive, yet due to the sea salt industry that once operated here, there are fascinating and beautiful historical buildings to discover. Salt production primarily took place on Grand Turk, Salt Cay, and South Caicos, yet Grand Turk was largely the center of trade and government, resulting in some of the best civic infrastructure of the period being built on the island.
There’s the iconic Grand Turk Lighthouse, the scenic beachfront Front Street, the Turks and Caicos National Museum in historical Guinep House, H.M. Prison, the Victoria Library, and many beautiful colonial homes.
In addition to the sights and attractions on land, the island offers the incredible Governor's Beach, Pillory Beach, English Point Beach, Cockburn Town Beach, and the Cruise Center Beach.