Cockburn Town

Introduction

City Docks

© vegasmike6

Cockburn Town is the capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands and is located on Grand Turk, the westernmost island of the archipelago.

Sights and Activities

National Museum

Cockburn Town is home to the Turks & Caicos National Museum, which is housed in the colonial-era Guinep House, on Front Street. The house is believed to be over 180 years old and much of its structural material came from local shipwrecks, including a ship's mast, which is one of the building's main supports. The site was donated to the Museum in 1990. Among the National Museum's collections is an exhibit of shipwrecks, including the oldest known European shipwreck in the Americas, the Molasses Reef Wreck, dated 1505. Other exhibits detail the history of the Lucayans, the Space Race, Turks and Caicos postage stamps, slavery and the history of the slave trade, the sisal and salt industries, royal events, as well as a general history of the islands. The museum also maintains a garden, which is adjacent to the Guinep House. Also of interest are the museum's research projects, including its Message in a Bottle Project, recording nearly 40 years' worth of messages to wash upon the shores of Grand Turk.

Weather

Cockburn Town has a very pleasant and tropical climate with generally warm and humid weather. The seabreeze makes things relatively mild though and water is never far away. Temperatures generally average around 30 °C during the day yearround and 23 °C at night. December to May is the dry season, where July to October is the rainy season, but this generally means some showers at the end of the day instead of days of rain on end. Hurricanes are possible though from August to October.

Getting There

JAGS McCartney International Airport (GDT) on Grand Turk is the main airport and there are only domestic flights with interCaribbean and Caicos Express to Providenciales, South Caicos and Salt Cay.

Mostly planes go to Providenciales. A domestic flight from there to Grand Turk will probably be about $150 per round-trip.
Spirit Airlines offers direct service between Ft. Lauderdale and Grand Turk. American Airlineshas three trips daily between Miami, Florida and Providenciales (Provo) in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Turks and Caicos Airlines meets all incoming Provo flights to take passengers to Grand Turk. Other local airlines also offers flights between Provo and Grand Turk.

Ironically, the airport was named for James Alexander George Smith McCartney who was was the island territory's first Chief Minister until 9 May 1980, when he died in a plane crash over New Jersey.

By Boat

The Buccaneer is a ferry between Grand Turk and Salt Cay. It is passenger only and it takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Travelling is one Wednesdays and Fridays only and it departs Salt Cay at 7:00am and Grand Turk at 2:30pm.

Grand Turk is rapidly becoming a popular cruise destination. Carnival Cruise lines has built a port at Grand Turk. It is almost like a Private Island for all of the Carnival family of cruise ships (which includes Princess, Holland American, Cunard, Costa and some others). It is different from the other "private islands" because Grand Turk was an actual community before the cruise line built the pier and the cruise center.

Keep Connected

Internet

LIME offers telecommunication including internet, cellular and long distance to all the Turks and Caicos islands.

The address is Cockburn Town TKCA 1ZZ, and their website is here.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Digicel offers mobile telephone services.

External Links