Planning Your North & Middle Caicos Day Trip
Taking a day trip to North Caicos and Middle Caicos is one of the top activities for guests staying on the island of Providenciales.
Most visitors will find a day trip to be highly enjoyable, as our two Garden Islands offer a fusion of old Caribbean atmosphere and incredible landscapes and beaches.
How to Book Your Day Trip
- Reserve your rental car on North Caicos prior to your planned trip. It’s easiest to pay with cash when you pick up the rental on North Caicos. Calling direct is the most effective way to book.
- Have an idea of the sites, attractions, and beaches that you’d like to visit. See Things to Do for ideas.
- Show up at the ferry dock at Heaving Down Rock Marina on Providenciales 20–30 minutes prior to ferry boat departure, and purchase tickets at the Caribbean Cruisin' office (the yellow building). Parking is free.
- Ferries land at Bellefield Landing on North Caicos. Your rental car and agent should be waiting steps from where the ferry lands. Maps are typically included with the rental, but you may want to print our North Caicos and Middle Caicos maps.
- Explore North Caicos and Middle Caicos! A road causeway connects both islands.
- Arrive at the dock 20–30 minutes prior to ferry departure when leaving North Caicos. Rental cars are typically dropped off where they were picked up.
- Sunday is not the best day for a day trip to North Caicos and Middle Caicos, as the ferry schedule is limited, and many shops, gas stations, and restaurants are closed. All other days of the week are great.
| Cost of a Day Trip to North and Middle Caicos | |
| Estimated Day Trip Total | $330 for two people |
| Car Rental | $75–90 for a car or small SUV |
| Return Ferry Ticket | $65 per adult, $40 for children under nine |
| Gas | About $6.50 per gallon, trips typically use under $30 total |
| Lunch | $18 for sandwiches, $25 for local seafood |
| Entry to Conch Bar Caves | $20 per person |
How to Get to North Caicos and Middle Caicos
The main way to get to North and Middle Caicos from Providenciales is by passenger ferry.
Two companies, Caribbean Cruisin' and MV My Girl Ferry Service, run this route. This service takes about 30–35 minutes, and travels between Heaving Down Rock Marina (Walkin Marina) on Providenciales and Bellefield Landing on North Caicos.
It’s a fun ferry trip on its own. Depending on the weather and tides, you’ll either take the highly scenic northern route on the open water, where you’ll see all the small cays between Providenciales and North Caicos, (including Little Water Cay, Water Cay, Pine Cay, Dellis Cay, and Parrot Cay), or the southern route on the Caicos Banks. Usually, the captain takes the northern route as it’s faster, but hopefully you’ll get to experience both.
There are several ferries per day, and the earliest journey will of course give you the most time to explore. If you take the first and last boats of the day, you’ll typically get to experience a spectacular sunrise and sunset on the journeys.
There are no car ferries between Providenciales and North Caicos suitable for day trips. There are likewise no scheduled flights to North and Middle Caicos.
Getting Around North Caicos and Middle Caicos
There’s no public transport on the islands, so we recommend renting a car or jeep. Rental vehicles are usually older and not all features may be working, yet they’ll get you around fine. A map is sometimes included, but you may want to print our North Caicos and Middle Caicos maps to ensure that you’ll have them.
If you consult the map and research the sites that you’d like to visit, it’s simple to navigate across the two islands as the road layout is quite linear. If you’d like to venture into a bit of wilderness, see our guide to the back roads of North and Middle Caicos.
Sights and Attractions
Middle Caicos offers many spectacular landscapes and coasts, and foremost of all is Mudjin Harbour. This bay has high limestone cliffs, scenic rocky islands, and small caves. The area can be especially impressive when the ocean swell is up.
Conch Bar Caves, also on Middle Caicos, is the largest non-submerged cave system in the entire Bahamas-Turks and Caicos archipelago. It doesn’t have the paths, stairs, and lighting that many tourist attraction caves have, and is quite interesting. Nearby is the free-to-access Indian Cave, an open gallery system with many skylights.
History-wise, there’s Haulover Plantation on Middle Caicos and Wade's Green Plantation on North Caicos. Both of these are interesting, yet they are simply ruins. These sites do not have indoor museums or gift shops. Haulover Plantation is free, while Wade’s Green Plantation has a nominal entry fee.
Cottage Pond, on North Caicos, is an interesting quick stop. It’s a 250-foot (76 m) diameter blue hole in the middle of the island. It’s distantly connected to the ocean, and a few new species have been discovered within it.
Both islands offer miles of secluded coastlines and beaches to explore. In our opinion, the best beaches on Middle Caicos are Bambarra Beach and Conch Bar Beach. Hollywood Beach, Pumpkin Bluff Beach, and Whitby Beach are the best beaches on North Caicos.
What You'll See
Planning
It’s easy to book directly yourself. You only need to reserve the rental vehicle and arrive at the ferry dock on Providenciales on time. Caribbean Cruisin' is the primary ferry operator. You don’t have to book ahead, yet doing so takes just a quick phone call so we recommend reserving your seat. Tickets are $65 return per person ($40 per child, 2024 price).
For car rentals, see our Getting Around North Caicos and Middle Caicos article. Pick one of the companies and give them a call. In our experience, they all tend to have similar prices, which range from around $75 to $85 for a standard-size car per day. If you have a group, try to call a few days ahead, as only a few companies have vans and they may not be available.
A Few Tips
Sometimes you may need to call ahead to ensure that Conch Bar Caves and Wade's Green Plantation are open, as the tour offices don’t have fixed hours. See the individual attraction pages for contact information.
Most restaurants are closed on Sunday. Check out North Caicos and Middle Caicos Restaurants for more information.
There are only two gas stations on North Caicos (none on Middle Caicos). Most rental cars require that you refuel the car before returning it. The gas station on King's Road near Major Hill and the airport is the the last fuel station before the ferry port (and it's around 15 minutes from the dock).
There may be mosquitoes at times. We advise bringing insect repellent. See What to Bring to the Turks and Caicos.
