Is Iguana Island Worth It on a Turks and Caicos Snorkeling Tour?

Iguana Island is the stop most shared half days from Grace Bay build their morning or afternoon around. Whether it earns its place depends on what else your boat gives you. Before you choose, set it against every snorkel tour Turks and Caicos operators run, because some boats spend an hour there and some only anchor off.

What is Iguana Island?

Iguana Island is the name everyone uses for Little Water Cay, a small cay east of Providenciales. It is a nature reserve of the Turks and Caicos National Trust, and it sits inside the Princess Alexandra National Park, the park that also protects Grace Bay and its reefs.

The cay is home to the Turks and Caicos rock iguana, a large lizard that lives nowhere else on earth and is listed as endangered. You walk a boardwalk through the scrub and along the shore, and the iguanas cross it, sun themselves on the sand and watch you from the bushes.

What does it cost to land?

The fee goes to the National Trust, which runs the reserve. It is the only visitor fee in the park; the reefs themselves cost you nothing.

The reserve opens Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 3:30pm. Some boats handle the landing as part of the day, and one sail leaves the fee to you in cash on the spot, so read your card before you go. The planning page sets out every fare and what it covers.

How long do the boats stay?

About an hour on the boats that time their stops. The most-reviewed Bight Park half day gives about an hour on the reef and about an hour at Little Water Cay. The sail-and-snorkel from the Grace Bay hotel beaches offers an optional hour ashore, and the morning cruise from the Alexandra Resort spends about an hour at Half Moon Bay beside it.

An hour is plenty for the short boardwalk and a swim. If you want the extended trail as well, a private boat lets you stay as long as you like.

Which tours stop there?

• The Bight Park half day: a reef snorkel, then about an hour at Little Water Cay; see the full tour page.
• The sail-and-snorkel from the hotel beaches: Half Moon Bay and an optional hour ashore, fee paid in cash.
• The Alexandra Resort cruises: morning or afternoon, both built around Iguana Island and Half Moon Bay.
• The conch-and-snorkel day: six hours with Iguana Island and a beach cook-up.
• The private boats: the outer-islands charter and the full private day both land there; see the private boat page.

Is it worth it with children?

Very much so. Children who are unsure about snorkeling light up at the iguanas, and the boardwalk is flat and short. Keep them on it, and remind them that feeding the iguanas is against the law, however tame they look.

Half Moon Bay next door is the calmest water of the day, shallow enough to stand in. The family friendly tours page lists the ages each boat takes.

When is it not worth it?

When snorkeling is the reason you came. An hour on the cay is an hour off the reef, and on a four-hour half day that is a quarter of your time. If you want the most reef, pick a boat built around it: the deluxe catamaran sails out to the barrier reef, and the short reef sail from the Ritz-Carlton beach spends its time over coral.

It is also less worth it if you have seen it before. Repeat visitors often choose a private boat that skips the cay and heads for the quieter reefs instead. The top spots page lays out every reef and cay the boats reach.

How do you get the most from the stop?

1. Wear shoes you can walk in; the boardwalk is warm at midday.
2. Carry small US bills if your card says the fee is yours to pay.
3. Stay on the boardwalk and keep your distance from the iguanas.
4. Look under the scrub, not just on the sand, where the larger ones rest.
5. Save time for Half Moon Bay if your boat stops there as well.
6. Take everything back to the boat that you brought ashore.

What does the stop look like, minute by minute?

The boat anchors off the cay or noses onto the sand, and the crew points you to the start of the boardwalk. Most people spend the first minutes watching the iguanas nearest the path, which are often the largest. The short trail loops back to the beach, and the extended trail runs further across the cay for anyone with time to spare.

Back at the water, many boats give you a swim before you reboard. Keep your shoes on until you reach the water, because the sand by the boardwalk is hot at midday. The departure points page shows where each of these boats starts.

What is on Iguana Island's doorstep?

Half Moon Bay is a curve of sand about three-quarters of a mile long that joins Little Water Cay to Water Cay, with a still lagoon on its inside edge. Water Cay beyond it is uninhabited, and Pine Cay past that is a private island of homes. The private boats reach all three, and the full private day adds a stop at Pine Cay.

Put together, the cays make the best half day you can have off Providenciales that is not all reef: a snorkel, a walk among the iguanas and a swim in a lagoon. The half-day itinerary guide shows how the hours fall on the morning and afternoon boats.

Tours that stop at Iguana Island

Morning Half Day Cruise from Providenciales with Snorkeling and Iguana Island

Hotel pickup, a snorkel and an hour at Half Moon Bay on the morning boat.

From $159 per person

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6HR-Iguana island and conch cooking experience with snorkeling

Six hours from Heaving Down Rock: Iguana Island, conch and a beach barbecue.

From $234 per person

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Private Boat Tours to outer islands, snacks drinks- snorkel- cruise!

Your own boat for up to eight: the outer islands and Iguana Island, with pickup.

From $1,700 per group, up to 8

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