Turks & Caicos National Museum
Turks & Caicos National Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
About
A look into the rich history of the Turks & Caicos Islands: Two locations, Grand Turk, Front Street, Guinep House and Providenciales, Village at Grace Bay. Exhibits vary by location. Learn about historical events including a wrecked Spanish sailing ship from the early 1500, Salt Industry, John Glenn splash down, Lucayan artifacts, Heritage House and more! Hours vary at Grand Turk, open when the ships are in port. Providenciales open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10am to 2pm.
Duration: < 1 hour
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4.5
227 reviews
Excellent
117
Very good
78
Average
25
Poor
6
Terrible
1
wheauxdat
Bay Saint Louis, MS34 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
Small museum but full of great information about this island country. Well worth $5 to go in. Can get through it in 20 min if you rush, but can easily soak up most everything in 60-90 minutes.
Displays on the Lucayan Indians (indigenous to the islands), the oldest shipwreck in the northern hemisphere, the booming salt trade of Grand Turk and Salt Cay, the splashdown of John Glenn's Mercury spacecraft to the south of Grand Turk.
If it's open (call ahead!) and you're in the island, give it a look.
Displays on the Lucayan Indians (indigenous to the islands), the oldest shipwreck in the northern hemisphere, the booming salt trade of Grand Turk and Salt Cay, the splashdown of John Glenn's Mercury spacecraft to the south of Grand Turk.
If it's open (call ahead!) and you're in the island, give it a look.
Written 21 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nzmommy
Tallahassee, FL212 contributions
Apr 2024 • Family
This small museum includes a lot of interesting artifacts and information about the history of Turks & Caicos. We visited the main building on Front Street as part of a cruiseline excursion. The fresnel lantern was very interesting and it was nice that they had a switch that you could turn on to see it operate.
We spent some time in the courtyard doing a painting activity which was really nice and peaceful, and the garden/flowers in the yard were beautifully in bloom.
There is also a small gift shop.
We spent some time in the courtyard doing a painting activity which was really nice and peaceful, and the garden/flowers in the yard were beautifully in bloom.
There is also a small gift shop.
Written 23 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
outspokenone
Brighton, Canada166 contributions
Jan 2023
Nice little museum with lots of history to read and pictures and artifacts. We learned alot. Well worth doing. Be aware that its only open when the cruise ships are in (like most places on the Island).
Written 11 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karrie I
Grand Island, NY72 contributions
Apr 2024 • Couples
Small museum with inside and outside history of the island. Only open Tuesday and Thursdays 10-2. The lady working was very knowledgeable and provided a guided tour of the outside area. Worth the stop.
Written 12 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mark43
Joplin Missouri298 contributions
After our cruise ship docked at the Carnival Cruise Center, we made a bee line for the taxi cab "downtown". It took about 5 minutes to get there. There are 6-7 merchant huts across the street from the Museum, selling everything from original paintings to t-shirts, metal sculpture and trinkets. This is downtown? We discovered a small cafe, called Barbie's. There was a line to order their fried conch fritters. We also ordered sweet potato fries and a couple of El Presidente beers.
After all of this, we discovered the Museum, about 100' from Barbie's. It is on Front Street, with a million dollar view of the ocean. There are large trees in front for shade. The staff is friendly and happy to answer questions. They offer memberships and graciously accept donations. They have a website, http://www.tcmuseum.org . The curator made us feel welcome and encouraged us to stay and browse the gift shop.
After all of this, we discovered the Museum, about 100' from Barbie's. It is on Front Street, with a million dollar view of the ocean. There are large trees in front for shade. The staff is friendly and happy to answer questions. They offer memberships and graciously accept donations. They have a website, http://www.tcmuseum.org . The curator made us feel welcome and encouraged us to stay and browse the gift shop.
Written 29 January 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
the1tau
Fort Mill, SC3 contributions
In the small island of Grand Turk, there is a well managed museum that provides any visitor a history of the islands and their impact on the world. You'll learn of the oldest known Carribean shipwreck and see remnants of it at this museum. Dr. Neal Hitch, the museums director is wonderful to talk to - especially if you want to understand how the islands history impacts day to day life even today. Definitely a good visit between sun bathing, diving and dining.
Written 21 May 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ct-cruisers
Connecticut6,192 contributions
May 2012 • Couples
We were in town as part of a Carnival cruise. We took a cab from the cruse terminal to Cockburn Town ($5 for each of us). He dropped us off in front of the National Museum of the Turks and Caicos. The Museum is located in the Guinep house which was built over 200 years ago. Admission was $5 for cruise ship passengers.
Inside, a guide gave us a brief lecture about the museum and then showed us a short film before we walked around to look at the exhibits. They had remains of what is the oldest shipwreck found in the western hemisphere. (Molasses Reef shipwreck)
In addition, they had a small display about the Mercury astronaut John Glenn, whose spacecraft splashed down about a mile from Grand Turk 50 years ago.
While it is not a big museum, we found it interesting.
Inside, a guide gave us a brief lecture about the museum and then showed us a short film before we walked around to look at the exhibits. They had remains of what is the oldest shipwreck found in the western hemisphere. (Molasses Reef shipwreck)
In addition, they had a small display about the Mercury astronaut John Glenn, whose spacecraft splashed down about a mile from Grand Turk 50 years ago.
While it is not a big museum, we found it interesting.
Written 4 June 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
piratical
Jensen Beach, FL184 contributions
Sept 2013 • Couples
We chose to rent bicycles before we left on our cruise via someone listed on the internet (we did not rent through our cruiseline). That was probably a BIG mistake. haha However, renting bicycles is NOT a mistake if you can rent some good bikes THROUGH your cruiseline. We LOVED riding through the old town. Probably would have been better to take an air-conditioned bus through the pretty street. We went by the National Museum, but did not go in. It looked interesting. Grand Turks, outside of the cruise areas, is in third-world condition. The people there struggle to make ends meet. They have no way to grow their food and, as we understand it, the cruiselines have at least made it possible to survive. If anything, DO spend your money at the local places... shop and don't haggle on price! The area is beautiful!
Written 29 November 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FloridaGreenFlash
Thonotosassa, FL79 contributions
May 2013 • Friends
A week ago (May 2013) I was in Grand Turk and chose to visit the National Museum. The Museum is located in a two store building that goes back many years to the British Colonial era. As we walked up to the entrance, a very charming woman met us and informed us of some of the viewing inside. There is a Five dollar fee for entry but was well worth it. Inside we viewed a short video on the ship wreck found on molassas cay, This site is believed to be from the early 1500s. The muesum also contained many local Native Indian and Age of Discovery items on display. To stand close to many of these 500 plus year old items did have a great pull to me. I also found that interfacing with the staff added greatly to the experence. The operatiors are from the current era of Grand Turk and had many observations of the recent times. The building is inside a small compound and has a seceond floor. The view from the second floor of the sea and surounding area could not be toped. The "blue wall" line could be clearly seen in the water. I could go into detail about the items on displya but I do not think there is enough space here for all of them. Lets say that this is one of the major stops that should be made when on this island. The downtown area where this museum is located is not a packed with tourist trap stores nor clip food places. No street hawkers for deals nor any of the glitz we normally see in tropical locations. AND the best part is that the kindness and niceness we saw is the normal way the people live on Grand Turk. Remember when times were like that?
Written 26 May 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
richard j
Grand Turk18 contributions
May 2013
Very friendly staff...Unique collection...1000 year old chair(only 3 known in the world, 1 in the Smithsonian), 500 year old oar....great way to support an INDEPENDANT museum....
MOST cruise ship passengers are informed there is nothing to see downtown Grand Turk....UNTRUE if your looking for a picturesque walk along Front Street, beautiful multi colored ocean on one side and historical building on the other....VERY safe & tranquil....I would suggest a taxi to see the museum first, then walk back along Front Street & ask your taxi driver to pick you up at Osprey Hotel... Have lunch at the Sand Bar or The Osprey(both are right on the ocean)
MOST cruise ship passengers are informed there is nothing to see downtown Grand Turk....UNTRUE if your looking for a picturesque walk along Front Street, beautiful multi colored ocean on one side and historical building on the other....VERY safe & tranquil....I would suggest a taxi to see the museum first, then walk back along Front Street & ask your taxi driver to pick you up at Osprey Hotel... Have lunch at the Sand Bar or The Osprey(both are right on the ocean)
Written 23 May 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How far is the museum from where Holland America ships dock? Is it walkable? How much for a taxi ride there and are there other things to see near the museum? Any buses or trolley cars to get there from the dock?
Written 18 March 2015
GuinepHouse
Grand Turk
The museum is approximately three and a half miles from the cruise port. Yes, some people opt to walk. A taxi cost US $5.00 per person. The museum is in the historic Cockburn Town, it is beautiful quaint town steeped in history. Yes, there are buses and trolleys that can take you to there from the dock.
Written 30 March 2015
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