Travel guide - Turks and Caicos

Just twenty years ago, the Turks and Caicos Islands were one of the quietest and least-known destinations in the West Indies. Today, on the back of classy development on Providenciales, and great beaches and diving on all of the islands, they have become one of the most fashionable places to visit in the region.

The country comprises two groups of islands - eight inhabited and around forty uninhabited - separated by the Columbus Passage, a deep-water channel 22 miles wide and up to 6000 feet deep. To the east, the Turks Islands include Grand Turk and Salt Cay , the former the long-time home to government, the latter a tiny island named for the salt industry that once dominated the country. To the west, the chain of Caicos Islands includes inhabited South, Middle and North Caicos - each with its own charms - and the fast-growing island of Providenciales , known as Provo and home to the great majority of the nation's tourist development.

The major attractions on all of the islands are concentrated along their coasts: truly sensational white-sand beaches that stretch for miles, and world-class diving, snorkelling and deep-sea fishing and bonefishing. Inland, there's not much to see other than low-lying scrubby vegetation and, particularly in the Turks Islands, large expanses of featureless salinas, from which Bermudian settlers and traders harvested salt during the islands' early development

Most visitors head to Provo , which receives nearly all of the country's international flights and has the major hotels and restaurants. Even if you plan to stay there, however, you should consider excursions to one or more other islands. Particularly recommended are Grand Turk , a terminally calm, easy-going place and just a thirty-minute flight away, notable for its great colonial architecture, the National Museum and more fantastic diving and beaches - or a boat trip around the spectacular Caicos Cays to Middle or North Caicos , where you can check out some dramatic caves or the remains of an old plantation house.

Costs are fairly high as most food, drink and other items are imported. There is a government room tax of 7-9 percent, and most hotels and restaurants automatically add a 10-15 percent service charge , so check your bill to ensure you're not paying twice. Tipping is customary, with 15 percent being average.

Travelling between the islands of the Turks and Caicos is relatively easy, especially if you're starting from Provo; three local airlines , TCA (tel 649/946-4255), Inter-Island (tel 649/946-4381, ) and the generally more reliable Skyking (tel 649/946-4594 or 941-5464, ) offer frequent connections. Skyking has nine daily scheduled flights each way between Provo and Grand Turk taking thirty minutes, three stopping in South Caicos to pick up and drop off in both directions. Round-trip fares cost around US$120. Normally, there are daily flights, too, between Provo and North and Middle Caicos (around US$60 round-trip) and between Grand Turk and Salt Cay (US$30).