Turks and Caicos. Straight into Providenciales, then by boat or light aircraft to your private cay.

Providenciales International is a full international airport with customs and immigration and private handling on the field, so a private arrival looks much like a private arrival at Nice or Palma: the aircraft parks on the general aviation side, clearance happens in the terminal there, and the car is waiting. There is no light aircraft connection to make and no daylight cut off to plan around, which is what separates Turks and Caicos from Mustique or St Barths.

From London the leg is a long one. Ultra long range types make it nonstop; heavy jets usually can, depending on load and wind; anything smaller plans a fuel stop, commonly in the Azores or Bermuda on the eastbound and westbound legs respectively. That single choice changes the whole shape of the day, so it is worth settling early. See private jet charter, ultra long range jets, heavy jets and choosing a jet category.

A good many of the people who come here are not staying on Providenciales at all. Parrot Cay and Pine Cay are reached by private boat from the Leeward end of Providenciales, a short crossing through the Caicos Cays. Ambergris Cay, well to the south east, has its own runway and is normally reached by a light aircraft flight of about twenty minutes from one of the private terminals at Providenciales. North and Middle Caicos are joined by a causeway and served by a passenger ferry of about twenty five minutes.

None of these connections is difficult, but each of them has a last departure of the day and each is weather dependent. The mistake people make is to treat the boat or the hop as an afterthought and then discover that the aircraft landed forty minutes after the last crossing. Tell us the final address at the enquiry stage rather than the airport, and the whole chain gets built backwards from it.

The Caicos Bank south of the islands is vast and very shallow, which is why the cruising here is unlike the eastern Caribbean: a great deal of it is flat, clear, protected water rather than open passages between islands. That suits catamarans and shallow draught motor yachts particularly well, and it is why so many charters here are day charters rather than week long passages. Larger yachts lie off the north shore of Providenciales or use the marinas at the Leeward end and Turtle Cove.

If you are considering a yacht for the stay, the draught question is the first one to settle, because it determines where you can lie and how far onto the bank you can go. We arrange charters and tender movements through operators and agents we know. See yacht charter, catamarans, day charter and motor yachts.

Our own cars and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. From home, the departure is the part we control directly: an early collection, proper loading for a long flight, and a chauffeur who goes to the private terminal gate rather than the passenger drop off. See private jet transfers, airport transfers and flying private with children.

In Turks and Caicos, cars, boats and connecting flights are arranged through operators we know, with one person at Odyssey watching the inbound leg and holding the chain together. If the aircraft moves, the boat and the villa hear about it from us.