The city of St. Petersburg is the cultural capital of Russia, the center of the Northwestern Federal District with harsh winds and a cold climate, with a gray sky, but at the same time with excellent architecture and a rich history. It is better to go to St. Petersburg in late spring and summer, when you can admire all the riot of flowering in gardens and parks. That's how it worked out for me. The first thing we will see when we leave the Moskovsky station is Vosstaniya Square, it is definitely worth seeing the palace of the Beloselsky-Belozersky princes... March 6, 2018
The city of Cockburn Town is located in the west of the picturesque Grand Turk Island, washed by the Atlantic Ocean. It is believed that in 1492 it was on its shore that the great navigator Christopher Columbus descended, marking the beginning of the development of the island. The city began to develop most actively in the middle of the 18th century, when salt mining began in these places.
Holidays in Cockburn Town
Cockburn Town is perfect for both romantic and youth holidays. You can safely come to the island with children. For scuba diving enthusiasts, there are a large number of diving centers here, where even beginner athletes can improve their skills under the guidance of experienced teachers.
Climate and weather in Coben Town
It is comfortable to relax on the island all year round, since there is practically no rain here. Light precipitation usually occurs in winter. Only hurricanes, which most often occur in the summer months, can interfere with your vacation. The average annual air temperature is +27°C, and the water temperature is +26°C. If you come across hot tickets to this paradise, take it without hesitation.
How to get to Cockburn Town
You can get to Cobert Town by air or sea. There is an international airport on the neighboring island of Providenciales. Many cruise ships stop at the island's port. People most often travel around the city on rented bicycles, scooters or cars. Some tourists prefer taxis.
Nature of Cockburn Town
The nature of Grand Turk Island is amazingly diverse. There are mangrove trees and even pine trees here. The city itself is surrounded by greenery, almost every street is decorated with flowers. There are several salt water lakes on the island. It is also famous for its coral reefs, which are home to a variety of marine animals and fish.
Interesting places and attractions in Cockburn Town
Cockburn Town is the capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands. You can learn about the history of the city at the National Museum, which details the culture of the Indian tribe, slavery, salt mining and cotton production. Popular science films are shown to visitors, and souvenirs are also sold here.
An interesting landmark of the city is the ancient lighthouse. It was installed in the 19th century. The lighthouse illuminated the path between the reefs for ships, helping them find their way correctly. It was brought piece by piece to the island from England. Recently, modern equipment was installed on it.
Beach holidays and diving in Cockburn Town
A beach holiday is exactly what most tourists come to the island for. The four gorgeous beaches are perfect not only for swimming, but also for snorkeling. After all, here you can observe marine life just a few meters from the shore. During the spring and summer months, pink flamingos flock to Bluff Point Beach.
The sea water in these places is surprisingly clear, visibility here is at least 30 meters, which is why divers love to visit Grand Turk. They are especially interested in the numerous sunken ships.
Every year, humpback whales make their way past the island. You can watch their migration from the shore or from boats.
Adventure lovers will long remember horse riding and safaris on powerful off-road vehicles. Many entertaining excursions are organized for tourists. For example, visiting neighboring islands, limestone caves and cotton plantations. Cockburn Town hosts many exciting festivals and celebrations.
Where to stay and what to eat in Cockburn Town
No one will go hungry in this hospitable city. There are a huge number of bars, cafes and restaurants here. They offer international and national cuisine. The most popular food is, of course, seafood. Often noisy performances are staged in tourist establishments.
There are not many hotels on the island: there are only about 20 of them. Most of the hotels are located not in Cockburn Town itself, but near the beaches. Each room is usually a bungalow with a separate entrance. It may contain one room or several, and often has an equipped kitchen. Hotels almost always have swimming pools and bicycle rentals.
Shopping in Cockburn Town
Cockburn Town is a duty-free city. Carnival Cruise has a dedicated cruise terminal where you can purchase leather goods, jewelry and alcohol. Local stores always have the necessary products, cosmetics, clothing and accessories for a beach holiday. In shops, merchants offer jewelry and souvenirs to tourists.
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Grand Turk Island, most of which is occupied by the city of Cockburn Town ( Cockburn Town), is located in the southeast of the Turks and Caicos archipelago. It is believed that this is where the Spanish conquistador landed Juan Ponce de Leon, who discovered Turks and Caicos in 1512, and according to some sources, it was Grand Turk was the place where he landed on October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus.
The city began to develop rapidly with the beginning of mass salt mining in 1766. Today it is the capital of the entire Turks and Caicos archipelago. It houses the government and other government agencies, financial institutions, as well as many hotels, restaurants and diving centers.
Surprisingly, Cockburn Town and nearby resorts combine the secluded and calm romantic atmosphere of a paradise island, ideal for lovers and couples with children, with a fun active holiday, which is chosen, as a rule, by young people vacationing in large noisy groups.
Climate and weather
It's safe to say that there is only one season in Cockburn Town - and that is the hot, sunny summer, which can only occasionally be overshadowed by incoming hurricanes. The air temperature in the summer months ranges from +27 to +35 °C. At other times of the year - from +27 to +29 °C. The nights are only a couple of degrees cooler, but it's still worth bringing at least one long-sleeve sweater. The water in the sea is always warm (+26…+28 °C). The sun shines on Grand Turk almost 350 days a year. The greatest amount of precipitation occurs in December-January.
Nature
By it's nature Grand Turk Island- this is the top of an underwater mountain protruding 30 meters above sea level. Despite the modest size of the island (only 17.6 km2), the local flora is striking in its diversity: it combines mangroves and pine forests! There are small salt lakes on the island. Cockburn Town, in turn, is a beautiful green city with many colorful flowering shrubs and flower beds.
The island is surrounded by coral reefs that are home to thousands of marine life. In the territory Columbus National Marine Park Diving is permitted, but fishing and spearfishing are prohibited.
Attractions
Cockburn Town is the main historical center of the Turks and Caicos Islands. There are many colonial-style buildings and stone ruins left over from the heyday of slavery and mass salt mining.
You can learn more about the history of the archipelago in , located in a historic building on Front Street. The museum is equipped with interactive displays showing educational films. Although the museum is quite small, there are many collections dedicated to various aspects of life on the islands: the Message in a Bottle project, evidence of shipwrecks, cultural objects of the Lucayan Indians, the salt industry, sisal and cotton production, slavery, coins, stamps, plants, life Molasses Reef Wreck etc. In the museum's gift shop you can purchase interesting printed materials dedicated to the history, culture and natural wealth of the islands.
Not far from the city you can visit an ancient lighthouse, created in the first half of the 19th century in Great Britain and brought to the island in parts. The lighthouse was installed on Grand Turk in 1852 to light the way for the numerous English ships carrying salt. Before the installation of the lighthouse, the number of ships that crashed on the reefs was simply colossal. Currently, the equipment at the lighthouse has been updated, and the original lenses and clock of the lighthouse are stored in National Museum of Turks and Caicos.
Nutrition
Both in the city itself and throughout the rest of the territory Grand Turk Islands, you will find many wonderful eateries, cafes and restaurants. Grand Turk Island's largest restaurant - Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville- located in the cruise terminal Cruise Center. The restaurant always hosts loud American-style performances designed to entertain cruise ship tourists, so it is not suitable for a quiet family or romantic dinner.
The menu of most establishments consists of international or Caribbean dishes, but you can find colorful restaurants specializing in Jamaican ( Michael's Atrium Restaurant), Chinese ( Captain Zheng), Mexican ( The Sand Bar) and other national cuisines.
Accommodation
There are a total of 16 hotels on the island. Most of them are not in Cockburn Town, and in close proximity to the beaches. Here you will not find multi-storey high-rise complexes. Each room is a small chalet with a separate entrance. It could be just a room and a bathroom or an apartment with several bedrooms and a fully equipped kitchen. The cost of living in hotels on the island depends on the length of stay (in summer it is about 15-20% cheaper). On site, as a rule, there is a swimming pool, bicycle rental, free parking, etc.
Accommodation costs range from $50 to $300 per night.
Entertainment and relaxation
Grand Turk Island has 4 magnificent beaches: Governor's Beach(near the airport), Pillory Beach, Gibbs Cay and Bluff Point Beach(near the lighthouse). Governor's Beach And Gibbs Cay ideal for swimming and snorkeling, as you can admire the corals and their colorful inhabitants just a few meters from the shore. Pillory Beach is used by divers as a starting point for diving. From Bluff Point Beach, which opens into shallow waters and borders mangroves, you can admire flocks of pink flamingos in spring and summer.
The main form of entertainment in the Turks and Caicos Islands is diving. The many operators and schools offering their services in and around Cockburn Town have developed special programs for both beginners and experienced divers. In addition to diving to get acquainted with underwater life, many divers are interested in the evidence of numerous shipwrecks that have survived to this day. Divers especially appreciate the dives here for the excellent visibility underwater (up to 30 meters).
An unforgettable experience will be provided by a horse ride or a safari on beach buggies (light open cars for traveling on the sand) or all-wheel drive SUVs.
During the migration of humpback whales, tourists flock to the shore to admire these majestic animals. You can also take a closer look at the giants from special tourist boats.
From Grand Turk there are regular excursions to neighboring islands: St. George Cay you can see ancient cannons that protected the settlements of loyalists (English colonists) from attacks from the sea, on Little Water Cay you can watch the rarest masked iguanas; in Middle Caicos there are the largest Caribbean Sea limestone caves (preserving evidence of the once-living of the Lucayan Indians, and the ruins of loyalist plantations), on the island of Providenciales you can visit a former cotton plantation Cheshire Hall, as well as spa centers, casinos, nightclubs, bars and shopping centers.
Cockburn Town hosts many colorful celebrations and festivals throughout the year. The most grandiose are: the Junkanoo Jump Up masquerade, which is held on New Year's Eve, the end of the lobster fishing season (March 31), the Conch Carnival music and dance festival (June) and many others.
Purchases
The city has grocery stores where you can buy all the necessary products, as well as small stores of cosmetics, clothing and beach accessories. You can purchase inexpensive jewelry and handmade souvenirs created by local residents in the duty-free shops at the cruise terminal. Grand Turk Cruise Center.
Transport
You can get to Cockburn Town by local airlines Air Turks & Caicos from the international airport Providenciales Islands, where flights arrive from London, New York, Miami, Toronto and Montreal.
In Port Grand Turk Islands all cruise ships stop Caribbean Sea.
You can get around the city and the entire island on foot or on a rented bicycle. Some people prefer to take a taxi. If you're over 21, you can also rent a car or scooter, but don't forget: traffic drives on the left!
You can explore the sights of Cockburn Town and the entire island on the tourist tram. The ticket price is $29, for members of groups consisting of 4-9 people - $24, 10 or more - $21.
Connection
You can call abroad from the city from a pay phone or by mobile phone by connecting to one of the local mobile operators (about $0.4 per minute). Calls in the evenings and weekends are slightly cheaper (about $0.3 per minute). The cost of calls from a hotel is traditionally 15-20% more expensive.
All hotels in the city provide free internet to their guests.
Safety
Cockburn Town is a very calm and safe city where you don’t have to worry about pickpocketing or any kind of violent acts. The danger here is more likely to be marine life. You should follow safety rules when swimming, as sometimes poisonous jellyfish are found in the water. You should not swim behind coral reefs: you can meet predatory fish.
Tap water is not suitable for drinking. Raw meat and seafood are subject to mandatory heat treatment; vegetables and fruits must be washed and peeled, since in the region there is a risk of infection with certain infectious diseases (tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis, etc.).
Business climate
It is possible to register an offshore company in Cockburn Town, but due to the rather high cost of registration, taxes, difficulties and high costs of hiring foreign workers, etc. this direction is not very popular among investors, despite all the advantages (proximity to the USA, stable political situation, stable currency and exemption from income, real estate and corporate taxes). Today, the main direction of foreign investment is tourism.
Real estate
Almost 90% of Cockburn Town's real estate is owned by foreign investors. Mostly apartments, apartments and villas on the ocean are purchased here. The average price of 1 m2 is about $5,500. The purchase of real estate is carried out through an intermediary company.
Practice shows that apartments with an equipped kitchen, which cost a little more than a separate room, allow you to save a significant part of the money by eating homemade rather than restaurant food, which costs at least $150 per day for two people, excluding the cost of drinks.
