At 98 kilometres in size (~38 square miles), the island of Providenciales, referred to as "Provo" by locals, is the most visited and developed of the Turks and Caicos islands.
On its northern side you'll find Grace Bay and its long stretches of white beaches together with its coral reefs, which can be explored during snorkelling and scuba diving sessions. This is also the place that hosts many high-class seafront resorts, as well as the majority of the island's restaurants, which uphold Caribbean culinary tradition and flavors.
On the other end of the island, together with the beaches of Sapodilla Bay and Copper Jack, there's Chalk Sound, a natural lagoon that houses a national park famous for its clear-blue lake dotted with rocky islands. If you want more privacy during your stay, there are also private villas up for rent here.
If you head westward, you'll reach the Providenciales International Airport, which is the main point of entry for the archipelago, while on the east side there's the Blue Hills area, which features the highest elevation point on the island, Blue Mountain.
This world-renowned destination comes from humble beginnings: it was relatively unknown until the 1970s, when the local government recognised the island's tourism potential and established the first hotels, roads and port. It wasn't until the Club Med resort and the South Dock opened during the 1980s that the island's growth in both population and visitors started to rise dramatically, marking the start of the island's steady progress towards becoming one of the main attractions in the Caribbean.