Our favorite snorkeling spot on Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands is Smith's Reef.

This large reef has multiple reefs, shoal reefs, and seagrass.

We saw sea turtles, all sorts of fish, and lots of marine life. We read that you can see spotted eagle rays here, but we went twice and didn't see any. With that said, the snorkeling here was still amazing!

This map of the reef was provided by VisitTCI.com and was really helpful to know how big the reef was and where it was located.

We chose the West Beach Access because it has a bigger parking lot and the current takes you heading east through all of the reefs. You can then swim back against the current or get our and walk along the beach.

Smith's Reef is located on the north central side of Providenciales.

There are three different entrances, but we chose to go to the West Access for two reasons.

1. It has the biggest parking lot.

2. You can snorkel with the current from the West side to the Central and East side of Smith's Reef.

As we were driving up the road ends with a roundabout. On the other side of the roundabout there are two roads. The road on the left goes to a private residence. The dirt road on the right goes to the West Beach Access parking lot. We took that road to the parking lot.

From the parking lot we walked to the beach. While we visited their were piles of rocks and sand as they were working on the marina. As we got to the beach, we saw the sign for Smith's Reef, West Access.

As I mentioned earlier, you can snorkel with the current from the West Beach Access all the way to the East Beach Access.

Then you have the choice of swimming against the current to get back or just getting out and walking back on the beach. We went twice while we were there and tried both. It really depends on how strong the current is that day.

From the West Beach Access at the Smith's Reef sign, we went to the left to a sandy area to get into the water.

This is what we saw as we snorkeled.

This is what the Central Beach Access Area Looks like. The shore is rocky, but there is a sandy area that you can use to get in and out. There are still rocks so you have to take your time, but it is manageable.

This is what it looked like snorkeling from the Central Beach Access Area towards the East Beach Access Area.

Overall, we had an amazing time snorkeling at Smith's Reef. We would highly recommend this on your next trip to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

We had heard that you can sometimes see spotted eagle rays here, but we didn't so we are definitely going to make a trip back.

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

The Smith's Reef West Beach Access public parking lot was free.  

Total Cost: $0

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring your own snorkel gear.
• Bring reef safe sunscreen.
• Bring some snacks and drinks.