I was lucky enough to land a $271.76 round-trip ticket from SFO to the Turks & Caicos on American. The trip was in mid-October, and, having spent 2 weeks in Turkey and Greece in September, I knew I would have to work remotely for the entire trip.
I work remotely during most of my trips. My day job is as a freelance attorney, and I work with startups, companies, individuals, and other clients, with the majority of them on the West Coast. All of my projects allow me to work from wherever, which gave me the perfect availability to book this incredible deal.
At the time, my sister Allie, who also worked remotely, was free, so I invited her to come along from the northeast. We made our plans and I booked a hotel on Grace Bay, The Sands at Grace Bay.
As a remote worker, you look for slightly different criteria when selecting a destination for travel than someone going just for fun. Important qualities of a destination include great WiFi, cell coverage, air-conditioning/heating, and time zones that work with your clients.
Turks & Caicos nailed it for each of these categories. WiFi was strong (even on the beach), I never had an issue calling clients, although it was hot, there were ample places with great air-conditioning, and Turks & Caicos is on Eastern Standard Time, which is perfect for my work. Grace Bay has great infrastructure, leading to absolutely no connectivity issues.
Visiting the Turks & Caicos in October is a bit of a gamble, as it’s hurricane season in the Caribbean and Atlantic. For the first day or two, a tropical depression was off the coast of the island, which caused massive rain showers, lightening, and storms. I liked this, though, since I love storms and it also gave me an excuse to be inside working, rather than on the beach. After the storm passed, the weather was perfect.
An advantage to visiting in October is that it’s just before peak season, so you can get a place for cheaper and the island isn’t incredibly busy. I never had an issue getting a seat at a restaurant or finding a chair by the beach or pool, but could see how this might be a problem in the winter months.
Working from the Turks & Caicos was a real treat where the biggest struggle was getting work done while visiting such a gorgeous island.
2 comments
Really interesting post! I am hoping to start working remotely this upcoming year, so it’s interesting to read your perspective and advice about it. Thanks for sharing! Turks and Caicos looks stunning.