Turks and Caicos, Grace Bay

Take it from a former teacher. Copy my homework!

Charley (21) , Sam (22), Maisy (17), Tracy, Benjy

My family has taken a lot of vacations. No doubt this has something to do with Charley's diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive muscle wasting disease that's 100% fatal. When there's a real possibility you may not live very long, you tend to do things most people might put off for another day -- someday in the future when you have more money or you have more time. For us, we know that a family trip next year might be a lot harder or even impossible. So when we get the chance, we go.

The way we travel requires a ton of prep work. First of all, we're on a budget. I can't just plug in our travel dates and book the most convenient flights. That would likely blow through the budget right out of the gates. So I start by looking for flights I can afford, ideally using points or miles. That's how we ended up on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world last week -- Grace Bay Beach in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.

Using one of my favorite travel tricks to nab cheap flights (see Details section below to learn more), I found a round-trip nonstop flight from JFK to Providenciales for 12,000 True Blue points. That's basically the equivalent of $180 round trip per person!

Once I had the flights nailed down, the search for a place to stay began. Let me just be blunt: I do not like chain hotels and I do not like all-inclusive resorts.

To me the best part of traveling is encountering the unexpected, embracing the local flair, seeing things you could not see anywhere else on earth.

We still dream about the roasted cauliflower we discovered one summer in the Jewish Quarter in Paris, when we stumbled into an incredible felafel restaurant newly opened by a young Israeli couple. In the Dominican Republic, Negra -- a small-boned cook with a huge smile -- taught us how to fire-roast an eggplant to make sublime spicy eggplant spread. During our week in Copenhagen for Charley's Make-A-Wish trip, we showed up every morning at the Next Door Cafe for coffee, home baked pastries, and lively conversation with the chatty owner who is covered in tattoos from head to toe.

You can't do those things when you're confined to an all inclusive resort surrounded by other vacationers. I understand the appeal of well-known chains; you know what you're going to get and there are no surprises. Especially for wheelchair users, large chain hotels -- which are often way more accessible than funky, off the beaten path boutique hotels -- can be an appealing option. And believe me, they way we travel, we're bound to have some iffy experiences here and there. But to me, the surprise and delight in finding things you can't find anywhere else and meeting people you can't meet anywhere else definitely outweighs the "ooops we should not have gone there/done that" moments, which aren't fun at the time but always end up becoming family lore.

For accommodations, I usually look for an independently owned boutique hotel that's not crazy expensive (think 3 stars) or a rental through VRBO or AirBnB. I read every review, and look for cleanliness and friendliness as my two top priorities. This has always taken a lot of time and effort, but when you add the need for handicap accessibility it brings the homework load to a whole new level.

The temptation intensifies to say: "Fuck it, let's just book the Marriott."

But so far I'm glad I haven't given in. This time, we found a ground-level condo right on Grace Bay Beach. The beach is stunning: powder-soft sand, impossibly clear turquoise water, breathtaking sunsets.

The condo is in the Grandview at Grace Bay, a small building nestled between two hotels, the Royal West Indies Resort and The Oasis at Grace Bay. It's right on the beach, walking distance to some great food spots, and a 15-minute walk to Graceway Gourmet supermarket. Maisy and I walked to the market on the first day, but it's a pretty long walk if you have a week's worth of provisions to carry home. (We ended up stealing the cart and returning it the next day.)

Here's our view from the condo:

See that long walkway leading from the pool area toward the ocean? There are three short steps at the bottom to get to the beach. Charley would wheel down the "boardwalk," park his chair at the end, and we would carry him about 15 feet to plop him in a beach chair where he would lie for hours, reading, listening to music, watching the waves, and sipping El Presidente. If your wheelchair user is too heavy for one person to carry, bring The Perfect Lift with you on vacation. I don't have personal experience with this lightweight portable transfer harness, but I've heard great things about it.

Sunset on the beach right in front of our condo.

If sitting still isn't your idea of a good time, there are TONS of activities. We took long walks on the beach, played tennis (lessons optional) just a 10-minute walk from the condo, rode horses in the water, and snorkeled. There's also parasailing, jet-skiing, foil-boarding, scuba diving and pretty much every water sport you can imagine.

Food-wise, many of the restaurants are located in large, fancy resorts like the Ritz Carlton, Amanyara, and The Shore Club. For the most part, they have eye-popping prices and forgettable fare. Local, affordable gems are few and far between -- but they do exist. Our favorite meal was at Omar's Beach Hut, a fish shack on the beach owned by a Jamaican guy who seems to be on a personal mission to befriend visitors. We loved the laid-back, tropical ambiance and food at CocoVan, an airstream-turned-food-truck spun out of the more upscale Coco Bistro. The Patty Place was a favorite for a quick, cheap, scrumptious lunch. Sam walked over there four times for the Jamaican patties; Charley and Maisy couldn't get enough of the refreshing green smoothie. For a splurge, try Infiniti Restaurant and Raw Bar in the Grace Bay Club. Beware: It's expensive. But it's also chic and yummy and the waitstaff is super nice. And the spicy margarita is just plain killer. Amazingly, every restaurant we visited was able to accommodate a wheelchair.

I've been to VERY few places where I want to do a repeat trip. There are just too many incredible destinations in the world waiting to be explored. In fact we've only revisited one vacation spot: Isla Holbox off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. We loved that trip so much that we wanted to go back one more time before it becomes overdeveloped and overrun with tourists, which is bound to happen in the coming years if it hasn't already (last time we were there was 2018). So while we thoroughly enjoyed our trip, I don't think I'll be back to Turks and Caicos any time soon.

On the downside, there's not much local flavor. In general, the Turks and Caicos Islanders didn't strike me as particularly warm or friendly. We ended up having the most fun with other people who are living in T&C for work -- mostly Jamaicans, Haitians and Dominicans. Development is dominated by fairly new looking shopping plazas that are devoid of local influence or flair. When we got home, I overheard Charley describe the island to a friend, and his characterization struck me as particularly apt. "It's like Boca stuffed into a third world country."

I hope this doesn't sound contradictory, but I do recommend a trip to Turks and Caicos for a hassle-free getaway, especially if you or someone you're traveling with is a wheelchair user. The beach, the snorkeling, and the weather are truly outstanding, and you cannot beat the convenience. It's a quick nonstop flight from JFK, the currency is US dollars, you don't need adapters for the outlets, the roads are well-paved, and everyone speaks English. Plus if you have a blender and bottle of local rum, the possibilities for potent frozen concoctions are endless....

The Details

Flights -- When your dates and destination are flexible, this is one of my favorite tricks:

Go to JetBlue.com and type in the airport you want to leave from. Put your cursor in the "To" field, and you'll see an option for "Browse by regions." This brings up a list of all Jet Blue destinations organized by region around the globe. From that list, I was able to pretty efficiently check flight options for every Caribbean destination. The search result shows pricing for two days before and after your chosen dates and allows you to easily click an arrow to see more dates around your ideal travel time, so you can quickly see which dates within your travel window have the cheapest flights.

We ended up traveling on Tuesday 12/21 through Tuesday 12/28 on a nonstop flight for a total of 12,000 True Blue miles per person. NOTE: If you don't have True Blue points or American Express Membership Rewards, You can totally do this using dollars. Just choose "dollars" instead of "True Blue Points" when you do the search.

Note: If you or someone you're traveling with has a disability, Jet Blue and Delta will put that traveler and a companion in the front row (or as close to it as they can get). Just call and explain the situation, and they'll give you the front seats without charging a fee. For Jet Blue, book your flight and then dial the main customer service number to request a front row seat. Delta has a dedicated line for accessibility assistance, and they'll upgrade a traveler with disabilities plus one companion from basic economy to comfort plus: 404-209-3434.

Lodging -- We booked this ground floor condo via VRBO. It is not accessible according to ADA standards, but it worked well for us with Charley's wheelchair.

Charley has the EZ Lite Deluxe Slim Cruiser, which is slimmer than a standard motorized wheelchair. All of the doorways have 27" clearance. There's a step to get from the patio to the pool that's about 10-12" high, but there's also a wheelchair-accessible ramp that goes around the building to access the pool and beach. One small section of that ramp is pretty steep -- the first few times Charley went out to the pool area, he wanted me to stand behind him along the way in case his chair got out of control on the steep portion. But once he got comfortable with it, he could navigate the path by himself.

The condo has two bedrooms, one with a king bed and one with two twins. There are two bathrooms, one with a large whirlpool tub and standalone shower. The owner provided a plastic outdoor chair for us to use as a makeshift shower chair. The kitchen is incredibly well stocked, and the living room is a decent size. The beds are super comfy and the place is very clean. Carolina, the on-site manager, checked in on us frequently to make sure we didn't need anything.

Club Med Turkoise is two doors down, and we did hear a somewhat muffled bass beat coming from there once in a while. It was more amusing than annoying; I'm not sure if that's because we were in great moods or if it just wasn't that loud. On the bright side, we also got to see their great fireworks show on Christmas Eve.

Food -- Local gems are few and far between, but they do exist.

Where we ate:

Pelican Bay -- We arrived late the first night hungry and tired, so we ate at Pelican Bay which is literally right next door to the condo. Not terrible but completely forgettable.

Mango Reef -- This place was highly recommended by a few people. The food was good, not great. Mostly all I remember is the nonstop loop of '80s music. My kids claim I was enthusiastically singing along all night, but I don't remember that part.

Infinity Restaurant and Raw Bar -- Chic, delicious, and fun. This was a special night that we won't forget for a long time. Excellent strong cocktails.

Omar's Beach Hut -- Best meal of the trip. Fresh, authentic island fare cooked up by a Haitian and a Jamaican collaborating in the kitchen. Fish tacos, jerk chicken and jerk fish are all superb. Go during the day to take advantage of the gorgeous view.

CocoVan -- Super chic food truck with a large patio landscaped with palm trees. Loved this happening spot, especially the fish tacos, fried chicken sandwich, and tuna tartare with crispy rice.

Da Conch Shack -- Lots of people will recommend this iconic beach restaurant, although we didn't find it as delicious as Omar's. Try to go on Wednesday night or Sunday afternoon when there's live music. You can get a table right on the beach where the water laps at your feet! (We sat on the porch, which was much easier for a wheelchair.)

The Patty Place -- Great stop for a quick lunch. Variety of freshly made Jamaican patties, including vegan options. Smoothies are all-natural, healthy, and super tasty.

Sui-Ren -- We had high hopes for this restaurant based on recommendations from fellow travelers and on line reviews. Unfortunately it was not for us. The Shore Club is lush and gorgeously landscaped, but vaguely lacking character like you could be in any tropical location -- Miami? Sri Lanka? The restaurant is huge and atrium-like, in fact after being led to our table we weren't even sure if we were sitting inside or out. The sushi we tried was sauce-heavy, preventing the freshness of the fish from taking center stage. Main courses such as tofu curry and native red snapper were just not great. The Shore Club is known for being one of the most Instagrammable hotels on earth, so just come during the day, order a (weak) cocktail, snap some photos and get out of there.

Lemon2Go -- We happened upon this cute cafe on our last day, a pleasant surprise while we were wasting time before we had to get to the airport. It's right in town and has shaded outdoor seating; the perfect people-watching perch. Lunch was fresh and made to order. The breakfast menu looked extremely appealing but we missed the breakfast window so we had chicken skewers, Vietnamese spring rolls, and even a solidly good burger (one kid was hankering for classic American food after a week of fish tacos). Maisy and I ordered acai bowls from Crest and Berry right next door, which we ate at the Lemon2Go table and which were terrific. It was our last day of the trip, and we were barely fazed by the $20 pricetag on the acai bowl, a true testament to how expensive everything is on the island.

We had planned to try Mr. Groupers and Bugaloo's, but didn't get around to either of them. If you get there, post a comment to let us know what you think.

Activities -- Tons to do!

Horseback Riding in the Water: Maisy was the most ambitious of our group and wanted to try something new, so we did a mother/daughter adventure riding horses in the water. I wanted to go with Provo Ponies based on their stellar reviews and proximity to our condo, but they were fully booked weeks in advance. We ended up booking an afternoon ride through Unique Tours and Rentals. This was a fun adventure and a great photo op for my daughter, but I wasn't 100% thrilled with Unique's communication. (We booked a 2 pm tour, so I called at 1:15 to find out when and where to meet them and they said they would pick us up at 1:20! That gave us 5 minutes to get dressed and over to the meeting spot.)

Tennis: Just a 12 minute walk from our condo, Provo Golf Club has two really nice tennis courts that you can book on line for $25/hour. Reservations open up 7 days in advance of the day you want to play. Maisy took a less from tennis pro Reinaldo (Rey) Garcia and also a newly arrived junior coach from Colombia named John who was super fun to play with. Contact Rey for lessons by phone at (649) 441-7527 or via email at rey@tcitennis.com.

Boat Tour: Spending the morning on a boat with Island Seaduction was a highlight of our week in T&C. Wow. We were approached on the beach by a guy named Dudley who operates the boat tour company. He was super friendly and charismatic, and convinced us to book a private boat tour for our family. The price was $950 but we negotiated down to $800. That might be more difficult to do when COVID is gone (soon please!) and tourism picks up again. In any case, we were hesitant to spend that much money on an activity, but it turned out to be fantastic and worth every cent. Our guides Chappa and Captain Tank were friendly, natural and completely knowledgeable about local geography, history, and biology. Four hours flew by. They took us to a gorgeous reef where we snorkeled with no other boats in sight. The water was shallow and crystal clear and the fish were colorful and abundant. I'm so bummed we didn't have an underwater camera! We dove for conch shells and they showed us how to de-conch them, and we took a walk on Iguana Island. Rum punch for breakfast was a treat. We booked this tour on a whim, but now that I see their Tripadvisor reviews I'm not surprised that everyone has given them 5 stars. Definitely give them a call. The full day trip sounds incredible too -- they catch lobsters and grill them up for you!

Side note for wheelchair users: Captain Tank has a business that helps people with disabilities experience everything the Caribbean has to offer. His specialized equipment is temporarily in storage due to COVID, but he plans to start up again soon. He has a motorized float with a window in it so a person can lie on the float face down and have the experience of snorkeling without needing the strength to swim in the water. Very cool! Message him on Facebook: "Cpttank Forbes."

Beach Wheelchair: For a wheelchair user, renting the Sand Rover is an absolute must. Before you go, contact Island Access TCI via email or WhatsApp to reserve one of their three beach chairs. We rented it for two of our six days since it was $50/day and we didn't know if we'd use it very much. Turns out, the freedom to take long walks on the beach as a family was definitely worth the price. Island Access TCI will drop the chair off at your hotel or condo in the morning and pick it up in the evening. There's a ramp that goes from the parking lot right down to the beach, super easy access for someone on wheels. Cash only.

Spa Treatments: I could get a massage every single day, twice a day, for the rest of my life and not get sick of it. I rarely treat myself to that luxury at home, so when I go on vacation I usually go for it. Oasis at Grace Bay has a massage table right on the beach, but the prices seemed high especially because we'd be paying for two -- of course Maisy wanted to join me. Instead, we walked across the street to Lotus Day Spa where a Thai woman named Dee works wonders on your body! They have all sorts of treatments I would love to try if there's a next time -- scrubs and sugar rubs and facials galore. Dee is trained in Thai massage, which isn't easy to find stateside. Tip: We did the couples massage even though we're mother/daugher, which basically means you're in the same room together and it's cheaper than paying for two separate massages.

PHOTO GALLERY

Top row (l-r): Horseback riding with Unique Tours, hanging at Iguana Island with Chappa from Island Seaduction, discovering conch on the sea floor. Bottom row (l-r): Rolling with it in the Sand Rover, a beach vendor on Grace Bay, our go-to concoction at the condo: local rum, coconut water with pulp, frozen pineapple, ice cubes and squeeze of fresh lime.

That about covers it. Email me with questions.

PS This trip is totally doable without a car. In fact IMHO, the only place you'd really need to take a taxi to is Omar's. We rented a car because we thought it would be easier and less expensive than trying to find taxis large enough to fit all five of us plus a foldable wheelchair. We reserved a D0dge Durango but ended up with Nissan 7-seater van, which was fine for our purposes. I have no personal experience with them, but according to the internet Scooter Bob's rents handicap accessible vehicles so give them a try if you're not using a foldable travel chair. And don't forget -- drive on the left side of the road!!!