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Our Trip To Club Med
My wife and I love to travel and you have seen many of my travel articles, videos and photos on this site. We had the opportunity to take a short four-day vacation to Club Med in Turks and Caicos.
There are several islands in the Turk and Caicos chain, and we stayed on the main one, Providenciales, where we arrived at the international airport. Unfortunately we arrived at the same time as a chartered jet that had over 300 employees of a company on a company vacation.
Needless to say we were delayed over an hour at customs at the airport. I would not expect any long delays if we had arrived alone.
Now coming from New Jersey we had to go to JFK Airport for a 2.5 hour flight on Jet Blue to Turks and Caicos. The flight cost $375 each which is quite reasonable and Club Med was also a great deal. You see my wife owns a travel agency and I publish a number of online magazines so we were invited to see the resort. For me it was an opportunity to shoot great photos, video and write this article.
From all the places we have been, including cruises to many Caribbean islands, I must admit that for the convenience, flight availability, cost, world-class beach this all-inclusive vacation would be the best. Club Med Turks and Caicos is by far the best deal barring none.
We love cruises because we are on a beautiful ship, but really don’t love the many Caribbean islands they visit. In most cases you only have a few hours and not enough time to really do anything. I no longer buy native crafts or tee-shirts.
For us Club Med was the perfect place for us. When we arrived we weren’t blown away by the accommodations. We were told that this Club Med was a leased property and the lease is near its end. They can’t improve the rooms or facilities until they know what the future will be.
Frankly we were used to the mega resorts or cruise ships and you may be too, but you won’t be disappointed once you walk out of the room an on to the beach.
That was our Ah Ha Moment. Once we stepped on to the fine, soft white sand and went into the water, we had no idea what a great beach was.
[quote]We looked at the water and then looked at each other, and both of us said this is absolutely the most beautiful beach we have ever seen.[/quote]I made arrangements to meet and talk to their General Manager or Chief of Village Julien Lettraz. He is a bright, young and handsome Frenchman who has been with Club Med for many year. In our video he talks about his Club Med as we cut away to the things he describes in our interview.
No need for me to write an extensive article, I would rather show you what we found at Club Med and have you meet some of the wonderful GOs and GEs that took such good care of us during our stay.
The Activities
It would take a full-page to list all of the inclusive activities, but here is a short list: Tennis, Zumba, Circuit Training, Aqua Gym, Beach Volleyball, Yoga, 5K Road Run, Power Walks, Trampoline Trapeze, Windsurfing, Sailing Lessons and Sailing, Scuba Diving, snorkeling, Paddle Boarding (looked very cool) Kayaking, and of course the Beach and Pool.
I took money with me, just in case, and only paid for the transfer from the airport to Club Med ($20 each) and a tip for our chamber maid. I came home with almost all the money I had when I left New Jersey.
We did go snorkeling one day and even went on a Hobie for a sail. I used their fitness studio to work on the treadmill and do my push-ups each day. But to be honest, we spent most of our time simply relaxing on the beach and later in the day at the pool in one of their private cabana’s.
Of course for me there is never a true vacation because I am always carrying my heavy camera bag and shooting my images and videos. So having that down time each day was just what I needed.
The Food
We didn’t go hungry and I tried my best to stay with the salads and chicken. We enjoyed the healthy and not so healthy food selection (their chocolate raisin bread is to die for). We loved their White Night which was set up at poolside. It was quite an accomplishment to set up all the tables, chairs and food, I really have to credit Julien and his team. Great Job.
In the morning, we had freshly made egg white omelette’s, fresh fruit and cereal, but they had so much more. All the cakes you could want, I fell in love with the sliced almond cookies.
Each night there was a different theme…Italian, Mexican, Theme Nights, we were only there 4 nights, but as Julien will tell you there are special nights for each day of the week.
You will not go hungry at Club Med, guaranteed.
The Entertainment
Forget about the Broadway Shows on the last cruise you took, or the native shows many Caribbean resorts have. The shows at Club Med have been the same we saw 15 years ago, they didn’t change much and are fun because your GO’s and GE’s, the people you meet and play with each day are the performers. If you went to college and attended some of the performances there, you will love these shows.
Since one of the key activities or sports at Club Med is their Cirque, each night we were treated to trapeze acts, exhibits of great strength and agility and even musical and dance numbers performed by the staff. We loved watching our new friends perform for us and you will too, watch our video for more.
We hope that Club Med will enjoy our article, video and photos and invite us back at a future date. This is one vacation, short as it was, that we truly enjoyed.
Our Video
I hope my video and photos will give you an incentive to take your next vacation to Club Med Turks and Caicos. If you do go there, please day hello to Julien and tell them Len from IMPress Magazine sent you.
Tip: Don’t pack too much clothing you won’t need it here. Bathing suits during the day, shorts and a shirt at night. They do have a White Night and Black Night where guests wear of course white or black clothing, but not to worry, you can wear whatever you want. You are there to relax and have a good time.
Our Photos On Flickr
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