Grand Turk - best things to do??

[workinmomof3]

We will be in Grand Turk on a Carnival Cruise, and We have a limited amount of time. Does anyone know if the decent beaches are walking distance from the cruise ship dock? I see that the shops and Margaritaville are right there, and plan to stop there for an hour or two, but I was hoping to do something with the kids - snorkeling, stingrays, whatever - and wasn't sure how far all of those are from the cruise ship dock.

Supposedly, Grand Turk is known for great snorkeling - is it everywhere or only certain places? Is there a central area other than the cruise ship dock area for shopping? Is the stingray area worth the time?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[subtropic]

The Carnival cruise port on the island has the beach, pool, shopping, etc. The best snorkeling is probably at Horseshoe Reef, and Governor's Beach is also a nice area. Best bet I would say is to stay right at the cruise port. (unless it is severely crowded)

[Floridanamaw]

When we were there last November we took the Carnival excursion which was the island bus. It takes you around the island to different places, downtown, the old prison, the lighthouse. You have an arm band and can get on and off as you want to. One runs by about every 15 minutes or so. The beaches around the lighthouse were very pretty. It's also very nice right there at the pier. Margarettaville and some shopping. I don't think there was that much shopping at Grand Turks. The waters are beautiful.
This link will take you to my pix in the gallery.

http://www.cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=3176

[T&JMom]

Do you need to book the cruiseline excursion to get to Horseshoe Reef or can you swim to it from the beach?

Thanks,
Marybeth