Top 10 Free Grand Turk Cruise Port Things To Do

Grand Turk offers ample beaches nearby the cruise terminal. These beaches are surrounded by Casuarina trees line and are mostly covered in rocky formations.

Head to one of the countless beachfront bars and enjoy the live music and Caribbean dishes. Straddling the sparkling warms waters, these beaches are teeming with incredible sailing opportunities.

These picturesque beaches are sure to leave you breathless with their scenic punch and historic charm. They are dotted with old windmills and salinas.

Norman Saunders Beach (1.5 miles)

Norman Saunders Beach is considered one of the best Grand Turk beaches. The secluded beach offers miles of sand to dip your toes in and turquoise blue water to swim and relax your day.

Governor’s Beach (1 mile)

The beach is on the north side of the pier within walking distance. You must walk 15 minutes to relax in the fine golden sand and play in the pure turquoise water.

Entry to this property is free for everyone. You can rent loungers, umbrellas, and equipment for water sports at your convenience in nearby stalls and restaurants.

English Point Beach (1.5 miles)

This beach is near the western end of the runway of the Grand Turk JAGS McCartney International Airport. There are no entrance fees here.

A bit rockier formations make it a less crowded beach, among others. Enjoy the colorful reef fish taking shelter in collapsed rock jetties. 

Boaby Rock Point (1.1 miles)

With patches of white sand and turquoise ocean water nestled in rocky outcroppings, this beach is surrounded by Casuarina trees that line the coast.

Some people go beachcombing here and also to the next beach after this, White Sands Beach. The two mid-sized reef systems begin in shallow water and stretch out about 91 m from the beach.

Pillory Beach (4.6 miles away)

This beach is in an urban location near restaurants and ships with craft stands. You can try island cuisine and Caribbean dishes in one of the coast side restaurants.

Due to ancient reefs and rocky gullies, snorkeling is somehow not preferred in this area. You can see reef fishes and coral heads, but fishing is not allowed here.

Grand Turk cruise port shopping areas are Grand Turk Cruise Center, Front Street, and National Museum Gift Shop. These areas offer duty-free shopping.

Find Colombian emeralds, ancient pieces of jewelry, colorful dresses, and other local souvenirs from the market. Also, browse through unique apparel and t-shirt stores.

Entry to these locations is free, but just visiting or spending money on things is your choice. Find something special to take home for your loved ones.

Grand Turk Cruise Center

The property is nestled in 18 acres of landscaped grounds offering homes to cruises, restaurants, and shops.

The shopping center has a 45,000 square feet shopping center that includes a 10,000 square feet Dufry duty-free shop, 35,000 square feet.

You will find shops of Indigo Pearls, Dufry, Effy Jewelers, Goodmark Jewelers, Colombian Emeralds, Piranha Joes, Dizzy Donkey, Tanzanite International, and The Trading Post at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.

Turks and Caicos National Museum Gift Shop

For authentic gifts and books relating to the islands, you can visit the Turks and Caicos National Museum. This a retail outlet for Middle Caicos Co-op so that you can get hats, baskets, sailboats, and other souvenirs.

Attend their exhibits to get more insights into the history of the Grand Turk. Don't miss out on uncovering the r the rise and fall of the salt trade.

Goldsmith Front Street

The street attracts visitors with its shops housed in colonial buildings. You can take a 2-minute taxi ride from the port to reach this area.

Strolling along the walkways, you will find supermarkets, bakeries, and small gift shops.

One of the things to do near grand turk cruise port is visit nearby historical sites. Turks and Caicos National Museum can give the deepest insights into the island's history.

The following sites do not take entrance charges.

John Glenn Splashdown Memorial

This memorial represents the unique relationship of the American human spaceflight mission.

In a free exhibition, you can witness the replicas unique to the Mercury space program, Atlas rocket, and astronaut John Glenn in a spacesuit.

Sapodilla Hill Rock Carvings

This place on the south coast of Providenciales is definitely worth a visit. Sapodilla Hill has maritime history etched with carving dates, names, and pictures into the rocks since the 1650s.

To reach this place, you have to take a boat ride from Grand Turk to Providenciales.

Grand Turk Lighthouse

Entrance to Grand Turk Lighthouse comes with a nominal fee of $3 per person. The property is protected by the National Trust.

The tower was built by architect Alexander Gordon in 1852 to alert sailors of the shallow reef. It was also assembled in hopes of saving the salt trade.

Check out the best Princess Cruises to the Caribbean for your suitable cruise.

Exploring the Sea Salt Industry Memorial is among the top Grand Turk cruise port excursions. It is a memorial to the people who worked in Salinas all their lives.

The islands have a number of subterranean cave systems and natural saltwater ponds or lagoons. The salt is produced by letting seawater into the salinas through sluice gates and crystalline them using seawater channels.

Visitors can browse The Salt House, located right on the edge of the Town Salina, for souvenirs, local wares, and trinkets. The Salt Cay Salt Works outlet offers handmade soaps and bath salts.

The history of salt export was started by Taino pre-Columbian inhabitants. Walk along the salt canals to see a working replica of a windmill. 

Visit the photogenic pools and click some memories to take home. Salt was a thriving business here so that you can find traces and ruined windmills to get a glimpse back in time.

One of many things to do in Grand Turk cruise port is hiking around the nearby trails. Scary House Island and North Point Trail are some of the famous hiking trails.

Conquer stunning hiking trails on the island and witness surreal landscapes from a height. Stop by a few places to capture memories on your smartphones.

Lace up your boots and head off into the wilderness of undulating paths that can take you through varied terrains. During this, you may stumble across hidden caves. 

Scary House Island

Enjoy the spectacular wonders of nature as you hike through the Scary House Island. It is 2.9 kilometers of trails near Cockburn Town.

Keep an eye out for birds gliding overhead, and enjoy breathtaking views of the nearby rock formations. It may take you 40 minutes to 1 hour to complete the adventure.

North Point Trail

This trail is also in the proximity area of Cockburn Town. It is open year-round and takes half an hour to complete.

You may see different birds chirping around and encounter some animals too. It is nearby Grand Turk Lighthouse. The most fascinating thing you can do here is to find unique saline-resistant plant life.

Snorkeling is one of the unmissable things to do at Grand Turk cruise port. You can pick any of the above-mentioned beaches for swimming and snorkeling: Governor's Beach, Pillory Beach, and White Sands Beach.

Want to snorkel over colonies of coral reefs with colorful fishes? Governor's Beach is considered the best beach in Grand Turk for swimming and snorkeling.

Play the tortoise water, where you can view a grand variety of coral reefs. Experience incredible marine life around you, from sea fans to angelfish, squirrelfish, horse-eye jacks, and other sea creatures. Rent snorkeling gear or bring your own equipment to the beach.

For swimming, Pillory Beach has perfect shallow water and a sheltered coastline. Jump in for a refreshing swim in the waters and dry off your body with a picnic back on the shore.

Lush seagrass surrounds the site, filled with shallow water. Many beach chairs and umbrellas are available at no charge, but they fill up quickly, so secure your place before it fills up.

Dip the paddle into the sea and glide through the mangroves on a stand-up paddleboarding to discover wildlife in its natural habitat.

You May Like: Top 15 Things to do in Ocho Rios Cruise Port

Grand Turk cruise port review conveys a large open-air cruise terminal dotted with excursion booths. You can take a boat ride to Providenciales to see Glowworms.

Glow worms aka odontosyllis enopla light, when with bioluminescence during their spawning cycle. They start to release fluorescent photoprotein with their eggs after sunset, so catch a sunset cruise.

These sea creatures glow for 15 to 20 minutes in the evening, a few days after the full moon. One of the best places to see the sections of Leeward Going Through Channel that are adjacent to the Caicos Banks.

Watching this marine life glow is free of cost, but reaching the places comes with a cost. You may have to book a boat or rent a clear-bottom kayak or paddleboard. In some selective areas, you may also see them from shore, like Heaving Down Rock and Sapodilla Bay.

Wondering about Grand Turk things to do? One of the most unusual things you can do is search for pearls on the beach.

Finding Conch shells on the beach in the Turks and Caicos is a daunting task. You can collect conches for art, jewelry, and homewares.

You can take home only three conchs without permission for personal use. Collecting conchs or shells in protected areas like Governer's Beach and Leeward Beach is subject to a criminal offense.

The island is home to king helmets, milk conchs, hawking conchs, and queen conchs. The queen conchs are protected under the international CITES Treaty.

As pearls are hard to time, you can buy them at Beachcombers or any nearest jewelry shop.

The Grand Turk Cruise Port open area is surrounded by shops, Flowrider, cruise ships, and vibrant seafront restaurants. There are churches scattered throughout the historic center.

These are the gathering point for the local communities so you can also socialize and communicate with them know about about the island in more detail.

St. Mary's Anglican Pro-Cathedral Church

It is one of the oldest churches on the island and is a part of the Anglican Diocese of the Bahamas. Also, visit nearby Victoria Public Library and  Crofton Coverley House.

The Anglican Church was built near salt pans in 1900 to accommodate the parishioners of Cockburn Town. Don't miss out on admiring their bold red facade.

Holy Cross Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is situated on Osborne Road in the city of Cockburn Town. It is governed by the Roman or Latin rite and is amongst the largest churches on Grand Turk Island.

Salem Baptist Church (French)

The church was established in 1836 at Mission Folly. The spiritual center often organizes faires and choirs.

Read More: The End Sail: Carnival Cruises Out of Charleston SC

There are plenty of parks to escape the urban noises, and you will never run out of ways to make the most of these open-aired places.

Grand Turk Public Park

The park is located near the Ministry of Border Control and Employment. The Holy Cross Catholic Church is nearby so you can browse both places at once.

Grand Turk Public Gazebo

The amazing place is on the bank of Red Salina. You can sit by one of the seven inland ponds on the island where salt was harvested for 300 years.

Clockhouse Public Park

Facing the Town of Salina, Clockhouse Public Park is at the intersection between Hospital Road and Lighthouse Road. There is Clockhouse Park Parking Lot nearby.