North Caicos travel guide

The lushest of the islands, North Caicos has taller trees than the other islands and attracts more rain. As on Middle and East Caicos, the south part of the island comprises swamp and mangrove.

There is one nature reserve at Dick Hill Creek and Bellefield Landing Pond, to protect the West Indian whistling duck and flamingos, and another at Cottage Pond, a fresh/saltwater sinkhole, about 170 ft deep, where there are grebes and West Indian whistling duck. Pumpkin Bluff Pond is a sanctuary for flamingos, Bahamian pintail and various waders. Flocks of flamingos can also be seen on Flamingo Pond, but take binoculars. There is a viewing point at the side of the road, but at low tide they can be a long way off. There is good snorkelling at Three Mary’s Cays (a sanctuary for flamingos and an osprey nesting site) and Sandy Point beach to the west is lovely. The rough road to Three Mary’s Cays is suitable for jeeps. The beaches are good along the north coast where the hotels are, although the best is a seven-mile strip west of Pumpkin Bluff, where there has been no development so far. It can be reached by walking along the beach or via a dirt road past the Club Vacanze (an Italian all-inclusive) car park. A cargo ship foundered on the reef in the 1980s, and is still stuck fast, making it of snorkelling interest. Construction of a new deep-water harbour has begun and when finished it will extend from Pine Cay to Bellefield Landing and over Dick Hill Creek.

Kew, in the centre, is a pretty little village with neat gardens and tall trees, many of them exotic fruit trees, to provide shade. There are three churches, a primary school, a shop and two bars. A lookout tower has been built to give 360° views. Bottle Creek, in the east, has a high school, clinic and churches. The paved road ends here and a rough road requiring 4WD continues to Toby Rock. Whitby, on the north coast, is rather spread out along the road, and this is where the few hotels are. Several expatriates have built their homes along Whitby Beach. Sandy Point, in the west, is a fishing community. North Caicos is the centre of basket making in the islands and there are several women who are experts in their craft, making beautiful bags and baskets using many colours and designs. Prices do not vary much from those in the shops in Providenciales. Wades Green Plantation, just to the west of Kew, is the best example of a Loyalist plantation in the islands, with many ruins, including a courtyard and a prison....read more