We took our family of 5 to Beaches Turks and Caicos in February of 2023. This was our second time there and we learned a few things in our time. Sharing a few tips here for ourselves (in case we go back again) and for others (so you don’t make the same mistakes we did). In no particular order:

• First off, wait for a deal. The regular prices are kind of silly and almost no one pays the full price. If you look ahead, you can often get deals of anywhere from 50-70% off(!) which makes it almost reasonable. If you don’t see any deal on the site directly, search around for some discount codes and you’ll usually find something that’s still valid.
• Staying in the Italian village is ideal. The prices are better that Key West and French villages but the rooms, pool and beach access are ideal. Also a short walk to the Key West village (which has some of the better restaurants) and hosts several of the events going on during the week. We haven’t stayed in the Caribbean village yet but it seems like the facilities are quite a bit older and smaller, and generally the prices are not much better. Key West is the quietest but the prices for rooms are pretty ridiculous (even by Beaches standards).
• Bring your own sunscreen or pick it up at the airport. The selection at the resort is very poor and quite expensive. The only place that had 50+ sunscreen when we were there was at the Caribbean gift shop. If you need more sunscreen while you’re at the resort, try this gift shop. Note that they only sell mineral sunscreen on the island, which is better for the environment but many people don’t like it. Keep in mind that sunburns are very common and you’ll see many people who look very red after the first day. Put on sunscreen and consider wearing a shirt in the pool/ocean as well.
• Most chairs by the pool are “booked” by people very early on. If you can, go out before 6:30am with some towels and other random things to put on some chairs (e.g., some books, goggle, pool toys, etc.). Generally, no one will steal your chair if you have things on them but if you don’t show up until 7:30 or 8:00, you’ll likely find that there are very few if any chairs left.
• Go to the waterpark in the late afternoon. The best time we’ve found is about 4:00pm-6:00pm. There are almost no waits for the slides, chairs are available and there’s some shade when you’re sitting. During the day, none of these things are true. Note that on the first day (Sunday), a lot of people arrive in the afternoon so it’s likely to be quite busy even at that time. Maybe skip the waterpark on day 1.
• If you do go to the waterpark and can’t find a chair, we’ve had some luck setting up under one of the benches or on the stairs underneath the lazy-river bridge. It’s nice and shaded under there and most people don’t think to go over there. Not as nice as a chair, but if you show up a little later in the morning, you’ll never find one of those anyway. Take what you can get.
• Avoid Schooner’s on the first day. It might be because of where it’s listed in the restaurant pamphlet or its location by the water but for some reason, everyone goes there on the first day (Sunday). It’s much less busy on the other days (and the food is the same) so start somewhere else.
• The buffets are the easiest way to get take-out. It might feel weird at first, but you can just walk right in without getting a table, grab a plate, get some food and walk out with it. This allows you to get snacks in between meals, bring some food down to the pool if the kids are enjoying it there, or just grazing during the day. It took us a few days before we did this, but it became a habit after this. Especially when the lines seemed long at meal time.
• Take advantage of some of the daily activities. We did Aquafit most days (at 10:30 I think). It’s an easy way to feel like you’re getting a bit of exercise and feel like you can have one more Pina Colada in the afternoon without worrying about it. These are actually pretty good workouts (you’ll be tired if you keep up with everything!) but there’s no shame in phoning it in on an exercise or two. You can always wander off to the swim-up bar if you’re body decides it’s in a different mood at the moment.
• If you like to run, there’s a short 1km loop that goes down the main road, through the French and Italian quarters and loops back. It gets quite hot (and there’s not much shade) but you can easily get a few laps in before 7 or 7:30 in the morning if you don’t mind waking up early. The evenings can be okay too but you might have a lot of (slow) pedestrians to get around which can get old pretty quick.
• Doing laundry can be a lifesaver while you’re there. If you don’t ask, you’ll likely never find the washers and dryers but you can go to the front desk and buy tokens for both. It was $4 each when we went and you can do a pretty big load of each for that price. It’s a lot nicer than having to bring more clothes with you and sometimes just washing your bathing suit(s) after a few days is a good idea. Hardly anyone uses the laundry, presumably since no one can find it, but it’s worth seeking out.
• Finally, one of the keys to happy kids is knowing where the ice cream is. The only place to get it during the day is at Bobby Dee’s (which is otherwise worth avoiding). You can go up and get ice cream or a sundae (which is of course better, so you should always get this) at the side entrance. There’s often a line but it usually moves pretty quickly. Don’t get caught with young kids without ice cream on a hot day!

Enjoy yourself and let me know if you hear anything else worth sharing.