David vs Goliath?
Picking the right beach resort can be tricky. There are dozens of options online, all of them offering different prices and set on different countries, with different activities and also different restaurants and food options. Yeah, that’s a lot of “different” I spammed right there, but it’s just to show how resorts can be so unique and a single detail can mean the… difference… between a great vacation and just an okay time outside.
Today, let’s focus on two options only: Beaches Ocho Rios and Beaches Turks and Caicos. Both of them, as the name suggests, belong to Beaches Resorts, which means that they are aimed at families and their children. They do share some similarities, like the inclusion of daily shows featuring the Sesame Street characters, but there are also a lot of features that definitely make them stand out and you should pay attention when it’s time to plan your next trip.
Let’s check them out.
Prices
We all want to save our precious $$$ when it’s time to go out on vacation, right? Let me just say that Beaches Turks & Caicos is the most expensive Beaches resort out there, with rooms starting at $420 per night, per guest. As a comparison, Beaches Ocho Rios starts at $170! I am not that good at math, but even I can say that Turks & Caicos costs more than double what you’d pay at Ocho Rios.
Calm down, friends, there is a reason for that. Being more expensive usually means more options and an increase in quality, and we can say that this is the case here as well. Turks & Caicos is bigger, more modern, with more activities and one of the best beaches in the world right there for guests to enjoy. Ocho Rios features way less restaurants, it’s way smaller and more compact and could use a renovation and an update to make it more modern. Is Beaches Ocho Rios bad? Nah, but Turks & Caicos is the crowning jewel of Beaches, and we can see that reflected on the price.
Traveling
Turks & Caicos is located near the Bahamas, but it isn’t officially considered part of it. Flights from Miami take about two hours to reach the airport and, from there, it’s a quick 20-minute trip to the resort. Depending on your room category, you will either get aboard a shared shuttle or a private SUV to arrive in style.
Traveling to Beaches Ocho Rios is a little bit more cumbersome. Ocho Rios is located in Jamaica, which is part of the Caribbean. Flights from Miami to the Montego Bay airport also take about two hours. The main disadvantage is that you will be boarding a bus, and the trip to the resort takes almost 2 hours. If you are coming from the West Coast, this extra time aboard a bus probably won’t be that much fun, but you get the chance to see some beautiful vistas and remember – there will be food and drinks waiting for you soon enough.
Size
Beaches Turks & Caicos is huge. It’s almost like four resorts inside a single resort. There are 21 restaurants, dozens of bars, swimming pools and a lot of activities for you to enjoy. The entire place resembles a very cute European village, with hundreds of townhouses next to each other, and the beautiful Grace Bay Beach in front of everything.
Beaches Ocho Rios is fairly small, with buildings stacked on top of a small hill resembling those coastline cities in Greece that we sometimes see on the internet. The advantage is that everything is near, so you just need a few minutes to reach the beach or your favorite restaurant. There are 7 restaurants – a third of what’s offered on Turks & Caicos – but there are also a loooot of activities offered. You even have access to more than 60 optional activities that range from swimming with the dolphins to biking through the beautiful vistas of Jamaica.
Your objective
What you have in mind also impacts your choice of beach resort. We can safely say that you will have a better time at Beaches Resort if you are travelling with your family and your kids. That applies to both Beaches Turks & Caicos and Beaches Ocho Rios. Other than that, you should try Beaches Ocho Rios if that is your first time ever visiting a Beach Resort. Since this is a rather affordable, small resort, you can definitely go there first to see if you enjoy this lifestyle.
Beaches Turks & Caicos is way bigger and more expensive, and usually a good option for those that have been to resorts before and want more. Turks & Caicos, after all, is all about more: more restaurants, more things to see, more room options and so on. Of course, this comes at a premium price.
We hope that Famvia was able to help you out with this difficult decision! If you have any more doubts, make sure to check our guides pages where we talk about both Beaches Turks & Caicos and also about Beaches Ocho Rios. If you have more questions, make sure to send us a message, we will get back to you as soon as possible.
