Take this quiz, then get ready to pack your bags for the beach vacation of a lifetime at the island best suited for you.
Mostly As: Try Turks & Caicos
This collection of islands southeast of the Bahamas is made for beach days and mellow yet sophisticated nights enjoying dinner by the sea. It’s easy to get to — less than 600 miles from Miami — but feels a world apart from the mainland U.S., as well as the rest of the Caribbean. This isn’t your expected island destination of beach bars and t-shirt shops; it’s decidedly understated, with minimal nightlife beyond after-dinner nightcaps and live music that winds down by midnight on the weekends. Pampering resorts are lined along Providenciales’ Grace Bay Beach, which spans 12 miles of powder-white sand edged by translucent green water of the Princess Alexandra National Marine Park. Wade in to snorkel the reef just offshore, home to sea turtles, parrotfish, eagle rays and dolphins. If you’ve ever wanted to scuba dive, this is an especially good place to do it, thanks to dramatic vertical walls and swim-throughs, not to mention the humpback whales who migrate through in February and March.
Where to Stay: Check into the Hotel at Grace Bay Club, where every suite comes with a kitchenette, a private terrace and a minimum of 1,000 square feet of living space. (It’s also limited to guests aged 12 and up; families with younger children are welcome in the neighboring Villas.) Speaking of space, Grace Bay fronts the longest stretch of beach of any hotel — 1,100 feet for strolling, swimming and sunning. Dining options include romantic gourmet cuisine at open-air Anacaona, which faces the ocean, or tapas and cocktails at the striking out- door Infiniti Bar, said to be the longest in the Caribbean. All-natural Elemis treatments are on tap at the Anani spa, or just kick back at one of three pools, including one reserved for guests age 12 and over. The property offers a slew of eco-activities that show off the locale, and are also invested in social sustainability through their Adopt-a-School program on neighboring North and South Caicos islands (room rates start at $750 a night; gracebayclub.com).
Photo courtesy of Grace Bay Club
