Like most parents, when your child latches onto a particular show, you watch it over and over … and over … again. In our case with our 2-year-old daughter, that show early on was Sesame Street, which I – like many millennial parents – watched also growing up in the 80s. Most of the beloved characters – Elmo, Cookie Monster, and the Count, for example – are still giggling, devouring cookies and counting (with an evil-ish laugh) the way they always have. I knew my daughter would learn valuable lessons from the iconic show, but I had no idea it would lead our family to one of our favorite vacations at an incredible all-inclusive resort on one of our favorite beaches in the Caribbean.
Each episode of the show always featured the characters singing the same songs about letters and numbers, and before the iconic “Sun-ny Dayyyyssss” musical opening song, each episode of the show also always featured the same footage of a family happily playing in the sand on a beautiful beach at a place called Beaches. I knew I had to do more research and plan our trip, and I’m so glad I did.
Beaches Turks and Caicos on the island of Providenciales features a 45,000 square foot water park and five distinct villages designed around Italy, France, the Caribbean and Key West – with the newest addition, Treasure Beach, accepting bookings for arrivals starting March 1, 2026, according to the website. As if I even needed a reason to return!
Here, in no particular order, is what makes a stay at Beaches Turks and Caicos a family vacation to treasure for years to come:
1. The Sesame Street Programming – As Much Or As Little As Your Family Wants to Experience
The connection to Sesame Street is what initially drew me to this property, and while I knew my toddler would love it, I was concerned my third grader would not. But Beaches Turks and Caicos designed their programming around the many age groups the resort caters to by making the Sesame Street activities and character interactions optional and contained. Instead of feeling like you are on a “Sesame Street vacation,” you feel like you are on a luxury vacation at a luxury resort with a Sesame Street component available if you want it – which made both my 2-year-old and 9-year-old happy.
That said, we wanted as much of the colorful furry monsters as we could get, so every night at 6:30 p.m. on our way to dinner, we claimed seats front and center to the Sesame Street Stage Show at the French Village Open-Air Theatre, and we danced, sang and did the “Elmo Slide” for 30 minutes.
We were also lucky enough to snag a reservation for the Sesame Street Character Breakfast. Pro tip: Select this add-on when you book your trip so you are guaranteed a spot, and wear your dancing shoes. Nothing screams joy like singing at the top of your lungs and dancing with Grover and Rosita holding your toddler on your hip to songs you used to rock out to in the club in your 20s – at 8:15 a.m. My son, in the end, was a great sport and even enjoyed reconnecting over pancakes and bacon with some of the characters he used to love in his younger years. I think we all did, and anyone with a soft spot in their heart for a piece of their youth will, too.
2. A Kids Camp For Every Age – Literally
Most all-inclusive resorts have kids’ clubs where Mom and Dad can drop their little ones off and take some time to themselves. But I have never seen or experienced one quite like the one at Beaches Turks and Caicos. There are six different camps, starting with Camp Sesame, which accommodates infants, toddlers and preschoolers with other camps continuing all the way up to age 17. Each camp runs its own schedule, guaranteeing your child is with his or her age-appropriate peers partaking in age-appropriate activities. The Kids Camp has several locations around the resort, all with indoor and outdoor areas. With a start time of 7:30am most mornings and a pick-up time of 9pm, it’s an incredible offering. As an added bonus, there is no extra charge to enroll your kids, it’s easy to sign them in and out for as many hours as you prefer based on what you want to do as a family on a particular day, equally easy to pop in and “spy” on your kids (I did!) to make sure they are enjoying themselves (they were!), and the staff is exceptional.
Camp Sesame in the Caribbean Village was the standout camp for our daughter’s age group, featuring visits from all the characters, an incredible outdoor playground, outdoor sand pit and shallow pool. While our daughter did not nap there, Camp Sesame does offer a nap area that was full of surprisingly quiet napping tots.
My son, on the other hand, begged us everyday to go to Captain Kids, the Kids Camp for 8-10 year olds, for pool games, waterpark fun, mini-golf and beach Olympics, among other activities, and he especially loved the open-air Port Royal Games Room with building materials, foosball, and air hockey. We typically like to spend time with our kids while on vacation, but he insisted the last night of our trip on having dinner with the Kids Camp. This is a special experience where campers are escorted in a group by counselors to a restaurant on the property where they order from the menu and dine together. We finally agreed and when we picked him up, he could not stop talking about how much fun he had with his newfound independence and newfound friends. That experience, however, came in a close second to the one hour – and one hour only – on our second day that he spent in the video game room playing Minecraft while Dad and sister napped back at our room and while I treated myself to a massage right next door at the Red Lane Spa. I appreciated the carefully-chosen selection of games (no Fortnite, thank you, Beaches Turks and Caicos!) as well as the camp counselor stationed inside for the duration of his time there.
3. There is Just So Much To Do – and it’s all included!
I warned my friend who was traveling to Beaches Turks and Caicos a month after me: “Enjoy all the activities, but don’t try to be everywhere for everything offered or you won’t have a relaxing vacation.” We did not pace ourselves, and at the start of our 4-night stay, upon check-in we scheduled a complimentary snorkeling cruise, a complimentary glass-bottom boat, a complimentary professional family photo shoot on the beach (pro-tip: go before sunset), and spa appointments.
Then we also decided we wanted to see the Sesame Street show every night, the Talent Show, the Dive-in movie featuring “Harold and the Purple Crayon” complete with a popcorn and cotton candy machine. We also wanted to play tennis, check out every pool, go to the waterpark, spend time on the beach, check out the gym and fitness classes, try every restaurant – there are 21!!! – and get our kids to one million and one (or so it felt) activities throughout every day at both kids camps. How could our daughter possibly miss “Puppet-building with Bert and Ernie” at 11 am on Sunday or “Exploring the Moon with Elmo” on Tuesday from 10:30 am?
If we were there for a week, we could have done it all, and next time we visit, we will certainly be planning a much longer stay to take full advantage of the long list of experiences, shows, activities and dining options available to guests.
4. Grace Bay Beach and the perfectly-manicured resort grounds
Grace Bay Beach on the island of Providenciales has won numerous accolades and awards worldwide for its powder white sand and crystal-clear turquoise water, but until you set foot on this 12-mile stretch of pure heaven, there is no way to understand its beauty. You would be hard-pressed to find a large amount of seaweed in the water or on the water line, let alone any menacing (and dangerous) sargassum that has been plaguing so many beach resorts in recent years.
The best part? No shuttle bus is involved in getting to this natural beauty; Beaches Turks and Caicos is situated directly on Grace Bay Beach.
The water is always the perfect temperature and calm enough for even the littlest swimmers to enjoy safely. During one of our beach days, while lounging in the water on an anchored water hammock, a dolphin cruised through the swim area. On another beach day, an inflatable floating waterpark with trampolines and slides appeared, much to our 9-year-old son’s delight. For a small extra cost, this kept him busy for hours.
The property itself is just as pristine as the beach with gorgeous landscaping, sparkling fountains, fragrant flowers in vibrant island colors and perfectly-manicured lawns where the kids loved running around and just being free.
For more info, visit Beaches.com
