We are going down in August. I have a daughter who is 8 and son who is six. My wife and I are looking forward to this trip and your trip preview is very assuring. We'll let you know how it went. I can rest easy. Thanks for the info.
1 - The Resort
In a word, exquisite! For those of you who don't know the resort, it's laid out in three main villages: Caribbean, French and the new Italian village, each with a pool (or pools), services and restaurants. There is also a big water park on the grounds as well. My wife and 8 year old daughter don't dive, so it was important to me that there was lots for them to do when I was off diving. At Beaches Turks and Caicos, there's never a lack of things to do! The staff is incredible and completely attuned to your satisfaction. We stayed at the Caribbean Village for the first week of our vacation, and then decided we would extend our vacation an additional three days. The staff was very helpful and accommodating; we were even given an upgrade to the French village for the final 3 days of our stay. As a guest, you have full run of the property, so it doesn't matter where you stay. And by the way, the guest accommodations are outstanding! At times it seemed the hardest thing to do was decide which of the sixteen restaurants to eat at! There's not a whole lot to do outside of the resort; there are a couple of small casinos, local restaurants and shops but not much else. The Turks and Caicos are the perfect place for the ultimate relaxing vacation, and the things you see on their website aren't an exaggeration. And then, there's the diving.
2) The Diving
Having just finished my AOW a couple of days before our arrival at Beaches, I wasn't required to do anything other than a verbal orientation which consisted of a member of the staff briefing me on boat procedures, dive times, safety, etc. If you haven't dove in the last 6 months, you will be required to take a refresher course in the pool. As this will burn a day of your diving, I would recommend getting a couple of dives in before you leave home. Be sure to get an instructor to sign off on this, as the dive staff at Beaches will require proof that you've recently been diving. A word here about the dive staff at beaches - these folks are awesome! Totally focused on your safety first and your enjoyment next, they go out of their way to provide friendly, helpful and courteous service at every turn. They are all knowledgeable and very focused on their jobs, and made every dive incredibly pleasant.
Once you've done your orientation, you can sign up for all of your dives for the duration of your stay. You don't have to wait until the day of a dive to sign up, or get on a waiting list. I know other people have had this problem in the past, but that's no longer the case. They offer a two tank dive at 8:15 a.m. or a one tank dive at 9:30 a.m. Monday - Saturday. On Sunday, there is only the one tank dive. Night dives are available for an additional fee of $80, provided there are a minimum of 5 people signed up for the dive. And, oh yeah, the diving is unbelievable. Nurse sharks, reef sharks, Nassau grouper, lobster, barracuda, turtles, sting rays and a whole host of other pelagic life was on display on almost every one of the 10 dives I was on. And in the rare event that you don't see the big boys, you'll still have a great dive as the micro life is rich and varied, and the sheer beauty of the underwater walls is stunning. Since most diving in TCI is wall diving, there's something beautiful to see at every turn. The dive sites I visited included locations on the Northwest Point and in Grace Bay. They included Pinnacles, Cathedral, Grouper Hole, Piranha Cove, Two Sharks, The Crack and Coral Gables to name a few. We will be going back to Beaches TCI, and I suspect again and again. It's the perfect family vacation, and one of the best dive destinations on the planet. Please contact me if you have any questions; I'll be happy to share what I know with you!
Happy Diving,
David Campo[/QUOTE]
1 - The Resort
In a word, exquisite! For those of you who don't know the resort, it's laid out in three main villages: Caribbean, French and the new Italian village, each with a pool (or pools), services and restaurants. There is also a big water park on the grounds as well. My wife and 8 year old daughter don't dive, so it was important to me that there was lots for them to do when I was off diving. At Beaches Turks and Caicos, there's never a lack of things to do! The staff is incredible and completely attuned to your satisfaction. We stayed at the Caribbean Village for the first week of our vacation, and then decided we would extend our vacation an additional three days. The staff was very helpful and accommodating; we were even given an upgrade to the French village for the final 3 days of our stay. As a guest, you have full run of the property, so it doesn't matter where you stay. And by the way, the guest accommodations are outstanding! At times it seemed the hardest thing to do was decide which of the sixteen restaurants to eat at! There's not a whole lot to do outside of the resort; there are a couple of small casinos, local restaurants and shops but not much else. The Turks and Caicos are the perfect place for the ultimate relaxing vacation, and the things you see on their website aren't an exaggeration. And then, there's the diving.
2) The Diving
Having just finished my AOW a couple of days before our arrival at Beaches, I wasn't required to do anything other than a verbal orientation which consisted of a member of the staff briefing me on boat procedures, dive times, safety, etc. If you haven't dove in the last 6 months, you will be required to take a refresher course in the pool. As this will burn a day of your diving, I would recommend getting a couple of dives in before you leave home. Be sure to get an instructor to sign off on this, as the dive staff at Beaches will require proof that you've recently been diving. A word here about the dive staff at beaches - these folks are awesome! Totally focused on your safety first and your enjoyment next, they go out of their way to provide friendly, helpful and courteous service at every turn. They are all knowledgeable and very focused on their jobs, and made every dive incredibly pleasant.
Once you've done your orientation, you can sign up for all of your dives for the duration of your stay. You don't have to wait until the day of a dive to sign up, or get on a waiting list. I know other people have had this problem in the past, but that's no longer the case. They offer a two tank dive at 8:15 a.m. or a one tank dive at 9:30 a.m. Monday - Saturday. On Sunday, there is only the one tank dive. Night dives are available for an additional fee of $80, provided there are a minimum of 5 people signed up for the dive. And, oh yeah, the diving is unbelievable. Nurse sharks, reef sharks, Nassau grouper, lobster, barracuda, turtles, sting rays and a whole host of other pelagic life was on display on almost every one of the 10 dives I was on. And in the rare event that you don't see the big boys, you'll still have a great dive as the micro life is rich and varied, and the sheer beauty of the underwater walls is stunning. Since most diving in TCI is wall diving, there's something beautiful to see at every turn. The dive sites I visited included locations on the Northwest Point and in Grace Bay. They included Pinnacles, Cathedral, Grouper Hole, Piranha Cove, Two Sharks, The Crack and Coral Gables to name a few. We will be going back to Beaches TCI, and I suspect again and again. It's the perfect family vacation, and one of the best dive destinations on the planet. Please contact me if you have any questions; I'll be happy to share what I know with you!
Happy Diving,
David Campo[/QUOTE]
