Dragon Cay Resort — Hotel in Middle Caicos

This is quite the find. A true gem off the beaten path that will transform the way you see The Turks and Caicos. Nestled in Mudjin Harbor in Middle Caicos is a charming, boutique resort with tucked away cottages that have incredible views in every direction. Escape the hustle and bustle and touristy type atmosphere and find yourself in a secluded island paradise with pathways to beach caves and enjoy a truly intimate glimpse to the historical beaches of Mudjin Harbor. You will feel like you have stepped into another world. The beaches here are not for lounging or swimming, but more-so to awaken the soul. Taking in the scenery here is life changing. This is the perfect place to get away from it all. One should know a few things before exploring north and middle Caicos. The journey to getting there requires a boat or a ferry ride (about $35) and a private driver or rental car is needed. Understand that this area of TCI is quite primitive in many places, so patience and supplies are definitely a must. There is a restaurant called Mudjin Bar and Grill just a short walk from the cottages. It is small and sometimes things like ice are limited so give them some grace. The food is quite tasty and it is the only restaurant close by. It closes at 3pm. It also closes during "silly season" which is there slow season in part of August and all of September, some will stay closed until mid October. Bringing snacks, water, light bites and bug spray is pretty much a MUST. Don't wait until you arrive to seek these items. There is one very small and very minimal convenience store. DO NOT expect to wake up and go grab a coffee somewhere. There are two other restaurants that we found but it was a bit of a drive from D.C. The Barracuda Beach Bar was an open air tiki hut type place right on the beach. The menu is simple but quite good. The drinks were strong and the staff is friendly and unbelievably accommodating. They close quite early and we arrived fairly close to closing time because we got a bit lost with directions (GPS isn't always accurate here). The staff went out of their way to create some dishes for us and we made sure to tip them quite well for their outstanding service. Had they not done this we would have gone without food -hence the suggestion to make sure you bring lite bites with you). ||Another find was a newly opened restaurant called Ocean Breeze. Quite adorable and the staff was super friendly. They had some really nice island dishes and we noted that they served breakfast. A breakfast place is a rare find here. ||Another thing to note is the roads. They can be a bit bumpy and a little on the rougher side, but we spent most of the time laughing at the navigation around the potholes. It isn't all that bad. ||The biggest suggestion to be made is to approach it with excitement and adventure. Make sure you have solid shoes, the pathways and rough stairs cut into the coral can be a little tedious. There are so many unique and fun spots to check out. It is definitely for the more adventurous and hearty travelers looking to explore the more primitive side of TCI and really dive into the culture and history. Some of the information I provided should NOT deter you from this trip. It just may not be for small children or less agile travelers. It is definitely a place for an adventurous spirit or someone really craving time to reboot the soul. ||One thing is an absolute MUST!!! Load up on the bug spray or bring a Thermacell and DO NOT miss the night sky here....it is nothing shy of an epic experience. I am so grateful the people I was traveling with were photographers who were able to capture the stunning starscape! ||But it IS...

The location is incredible and everyone going to T&C should go to Dragon Cay! We did the hike right off the resort (incredible - saw flamingoes and gorgeous cliffs and swam in beautiful beaches), went to the caves (expensive tour and the guide isn't really worth the money, but the caves are worth seeing), spent time on the idyllic bambarra beach, kayaked right off the causeway through mangroves and saw a turtle, flamingoes, an osprey and uninhabited sandbars/islands, and explored the many cays on site.

We had to, however, do everything and arrange everything ourselves. There was no service to speak of: no check in, no tour, no housekeeping (we swept the sand off our porch daily and used 1 kitchen towel for an entire week of dishes), manager was on site limited times (that were unpredictable) and was not reliable. It was like pulling teeth to get kayaks (that are advertised as part of the room rate) and I almost gave up. Apparently there is a bunch of new staff - the people from a different company that ended up helping with the kayaks said they didn't recognize basically anyone - so hopefully this problem will get fixed as they get trained. They did negotiate a (very small) discount for us since we had basically no service. Since we paid the "high season" price, we expected there to be more staff, but the people mentioned in other reviews (Marilyn, Evelyn) were not there. I will say that transport to and from Middle Caicos was arranged by Dragon Cay and went off without a hitch, but we were fairly worried about it before arriving since we didn't get any confirmation and emails back prior to arriving.

The accommodations themselves are fine. Advertised as a 3 star, and that's basically what you get. The bathrooms aren't pictured online because they're not very nice, but they're fine. Ours, notably, was potentially not cleaned before we arrived - previous tenants flip flops were still in the shower. The rest of the house is as pictured and quite nice. We stayed in the Dragon hut and we could see the ocean from the porch. The windows don't open (because they're very old) but the a/c works well and the sliding door to the porch opened and that was enough for us. Internet worked well and netflix was on the tv for the dark, quiet nights. We cooked mostly for ourselves (grocery shopped in Provo, but North Caicos has most of what you'd need) and made our own drinks. The restaurants on North and Middle are very expensive for pretty medium quality food and drinks.

Edit: The response says we were given a 15% discount, which is what we requested, but were given 10% (for...

I traveled solo as a female to Middle Caicos, and I was a little frightened with there being only approximately 80 something people that live there. ( as I was told by a local) But when I arrived at Dragon Cay Resort all my fears left. Wow, just wow!! I went in the beginning of November and stayed in the Sunrise Cottage. 💛 It was absolutely beautiful and there was not one thing I didn't like about the entire visit. In the morning I would set my alarm for 20 minutes before sunrise, make my breakfast...and then wait at the little table with the beautiful view of the dragon cay. I watched as the sun rose in spectacular beauty! Afterwards I walked down the path to where the cliffs were and on to the steps down into a small cave that led to the secret beach. Wow again!! My heart was full as I stood there and watched the waves come crashing in.😍❤ At the top of the cliff was a photographer's dream, as you can see so much beauty! I came out and sat at least twice a day and just sat there to take in the beauty of Mujin Harbor and Dragon Cay! The manager (AJ) who was there on the property was so nice and he was always there if I had any questions or advice. He made my visit a lot more pleasant. He arranged for us to go kayaking at a reasonable price...which was one of the funnest days of my life( first time kayaking). It was so beautiful! Another beautiful place was Bambarra beach which was not far away. This was one of the most beautiful beaches I had ever seen! Here I was, a 59 year old female driving on the left side of the road driving down a long dirt road to find this beautiful beach... Not one time during my trip did I feel any fear, because it was safe and everyone was super friendly! There is no crime on this island! I got lost a bit once and stopped to ask a local and they were so friendly and happy to help me find my way! I stayed on the Grand Turk the first 3 nights and it was also beautiful and safe... but here on Middle at Dragon Cay Resort was my favorite! There was something much more peaceful, beautiful...and serene about Munjin Harbor! Oh...at night I would go outside and sit on the deck and look up and I'm not exaggerating when I say " I could see the milky way! I also saw a lot of shooting stars!😊🌥☄ It took me months to decide where to stay before making reservations. I am very happy with where I stayed and I will return! It was my best trip ever!! Thank you AJ for making my trip more pleasant!!

Wanda Thacker ...