Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 00:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are America/Grand Turk local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Last spring tide on Mon 18 May (range 0.9m). Next neap on Fri 22 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Grace Bay runs 22 km along the north shore of Providenciales, the main populated island of the Turks and Caicos, and the Caicos Bank barrier reef sits 0.8 km offshore. The combination of powdered-calcium-carbonate sand, protected shallow water, and consistent easterly trade producing a light onshore breeze has placed Grace Bay at the top of beach rankings for years. The reef wall begins just beyond the surf zone in water that shades from turquoise at the shore to sapphire at the drop-off. The tidal regime is Caribbean microtidal: spring range 0.3 to 0.5 metres, mixed semidiurnal. The reef acts as a further natural damper — the barrier blocks the direct trade swell, and only refracted energy penetrates into the bay. The result is that Grace Bay's beach conditions are defined almost entirely by wind direction and speed rather than tidal state. The water level change between high and low is 0.3 to 0.5 m, which on the very gently sloping sand moves the waterline only a few metres. For swimming, snorkelling from the beach, or simply sitting in the shallows, the tide prediction on this page is a background variable rather than an operational one. Snorkelling from Grace Bay's beach reaches the reef in a 15 to 20-minute swim offshore. The intermediate reef flat between the beach and the wall holds small coral heads, starfish on the sandy patches, conch grazing, and nurse sharks resting on the bottom in 2 to 4 m. The wall itself starts at about 6 m and drops vertically; snorkellers can see the top of the wall clearly but diving it requires SCUBA. The third-largest coral reef system in the world by most measures runs the full length of the Caicos Bank perimeter, and the Grace Bay section is among the most intact because the hotel setback requirement keeps development off the immediate beachfront. Dive operators out of Grace Bay run two-tank morning dives to the wall as a standard offering. Northwest Point, at the west end of Providenciales, is the most dramatic wall dive — vertical to 60 m with large pelagic fish, including spotted eagle rays and occasional hammerhead shark on the seasonal run. The dive sites along the Grace Bay section of the wall are shallower and suited to the newly certified. Current on the wall runs from southeast on the flood to northwest on the ebb; the predicted turn of tide (±45 min from Open-Meteo) is the broad guide, but local dive operators know the site-specific timing. Kite surfing operates from the southeast end of Grace Bay, where the trade wind is less obstructed and the water shallower. The Bight, a bay within the bay at the east end, is the primary kite launch zone. Conditions are best from November through April when the northeast trade is most consistent and strongest (15 to 25 knots); summer brings lighter, less reliable wind. Tide state matters for kite access — at low tide, the Bight shallows in places to below knee depth, and kiters need to pick their launch corridor to avoid grounding. On a spring low (0.3 to 0.5 m below the high), the bottom is exposed across 50+ metres of the inner Bight. Families with children find Grace Bay's long shallow section, the absence of significant current inside the reef, and the reef-damped swell ideal. The main risks are sunburn and dehydration in the high-sun months — the beach faces roughly north, receiving sun across the full arc. Beach chairs and palapas are available from hotels; a few public access points exist between the resort blocks. The 22 km length ensures that even on the busiest days in December–March, the beach is not wall-to-wall bodies. Anglers target bonefish on the flats extending south from Leeward Highway toward the Caicos Banks. These flats, west of the main beach area, are among the most extensive permit and bonefish habitat in the Caribbean. A local guide is near-mandatory for the shallow-draft boat navigation across the flats and for reading the fish-holding structure. Predictions on this page come from Open-Meteo Marine, a global gridded ocean model. Accuracy is ±45 minutes on timing and ±0.2 to 0.3 metres on height. NOAA's Providenciales or Cockburn Harbour harmonic data is the most accurate regional reference for TCI tidal planning.