Cockburn Town

Cockburn Town has been the capital of the Turks and Caicos since the eighteenth century and it consists of two parallel streets along the western shore, Front Street and Duke Street, lined with buildings in the Bermudian manner brought here by the salt rakers: stone walls, wooden balconies, shuttered windows and walled yards. The salinas run immediately behind the town. Feral donkeys, descended from the animals that hauled salt, wander the streets. The Turks and Caicos National Museum occupies Guinep House, one of the oldest buildings on the island, and the whole place can be walked in an hour.

What you actually see

• Front Street - Bermudian-style buildings along the shore.
• The donkeys - descendants of the salt-hauling animals, loose in the town.
• The salinas - the salt pans immediately behind the streets.
• Guinep House - the museum, in one of the island's oldest buildings.

When to go

November to May is the driest. Cruise ship days at the Grand Turk terminal, a few kilometres south, bring some visitors into town but far fewer than the ship carries. Mornings are cool and quiet.

Honest expectations

The town has declined and a number of the historic buildings are derelict, with hurricane damage from 2008 and 2017 never fully repaired. There are few restaurants and they keep their own hours. It is quiet to the point of empty outside cruise days. The donkeys are not tame and should not be approached.

Nearby

The lighthouse is at the northern end of the island; Gibbs Cay is offshore.