This video is for informational purposes only. Based on our experiences.
Providenciales International Airport (PLS), the main airport serving the Turks and Caicos Islands, is located on the island of Providenciales.
Navigating the airport in Turks and Caicos can be chaotic but with the right information and preparation it might be less chaotic.
The first thing you need to do is to
Ensure you have all necessary travel documents readily accessible.
Depending on where you are travelling from, there may be immigration and customs forms to fill out on the plane that the flight attendants will hand you.
There are two forms that are common for most visitors:
1. **Customs Declaration Form:** This form typically asks about items you are bringing into the country, including any dutiable goods, cash over a certain limit, and agricultural products.
2. **Immigration Arrival/Departure Form:** This form collects basic information such as your name, passport details, purpose of visit, and length of stay.
For more information check out the Turks and Caicos government website www.customs.gov.tc.
It is very likely that you will be taking a staircase to disembark your plane rather than a jet bridge.
Follow the signs to immigration and customs.
The customs lines can be very long.
You are able to purchase a “Fast Pass” to expedite your way through the airport but it is not cheap so make sure to budget it into your vacation.
You can find the Fast Pass at www.fasttracktci.com
Will I pay for Fast Pass TCI? I find that it depends on what time we will be landing as well as which day of the week we will be through the airport. It also depends on how long our trip will be. If you only have a long weekend in Turks then this may be something you want to add into your budget to get you to your resort as fast as possible. If you are connecting through PLS and you don’t have a long connection time then Fast Track is something you likely want to consider.
The Rental car counters are about 200 meters past the customs desks on the right hand side.
My brother rented their car from SIXT. (Pronounced with a soft "t" by the company, evolved pronunciation in North America to "six-tee")
Most of the vehicles on the island are European. They drive on the left hand side of the road but the steering wheel could be on the left of right side of the vehicle. SIXT had their cars right at the terminal at the time of this video so it was very convenient for pick up and drop off.
If you rent a car be sure to video of the outside of your car. The cars have a lot of damage on them because the roads are generally in poor condition and travellers often take them exploring around the island so expect a fair bit of road rash on the vehicles. It is always a good idea to have video documentation from pick up to prove any damage was there BEFORE you drove the car rather than trying to defend it when you return the car.
When you are heading back to the airport after your trip you will need to be at the airport at LEAST two hours before your scheduled departure time. Crowds are intense! Most passengers need to go to the ticket counter to print their boarding passes and drop off their bags even if they have checked in online.
Be sure to check the departures boards just in case there have been any changes to your flight that you are unaware of.
Proceed through airport security.
After you are through security you are into the departures lounge area where there are restaurants and shops.
There is limited seating and a lot people. There is an upstairs area that is a little out of the way and most people don’t know it is there. There are more bathrooms upstairs that were much less busy. BUT upstairs you will have more difficulty hearing any gate changes or announcements so I highly suggest enabling push notifications from your airline as a back up in case you miss something.
Your plane will likely be boarding 30-45 minutes in advance of your departure time so make sure you are checking the boards to be sure they have not moved you to a different gate or changed the time etc.
When your time has come, go find your gate and off you go home.
E-Gates are becoming the new normal in bigger airports and PLS has set to spend $300 million dollars on improvements to the existing airport as well as building an additional terminal in 2027. On that list of improvements immigration is set to introduce Egates so I expect that this airport will get much more efficient over the next few years.
I really hope that this video helps you to understand the Providenciales International Airport. A huge thank you to my brother, Mark for videoing everything he was able to while going through this airport and sending me all his tips so that I can forward them on to you.
Thanks for watching!
