could use some Turks & Caicos insights

[Ms. Ann Thrope]

After getting somewhat suckered by the US Air flight attendants' credit card pitch on a previous trip to Cozumel ("earn enough miles to return to your destination just by taking this card!") and finding out that that offer was good for the Caribbean, but not the Mexican Caribbean, and only in the high hurricane month of September, I have stubbornly cashed in my miles for a September week in the Turks & Caicos, about the only open ticket I could find. Now I'm trying to figure out exactly where to go once the plane lands.

I'll probably be traveling solo (but I'm not a single). As far as I can tell, it looks like my best option, taking into account I'm trying to be kind of cost-conscious, is either Club Med on Provo (Turtle Cove Inn probably would have been more my speed, but the website says it will be closed when I'm there) or hopping a puddle jumper and heading for Grand Turk and staying in one of the small hotels. It looks like diving on the islands is so expensive, I probably won't do it for more than a few days (unless it's stupendous and I can't help myself). I'll bring my own gear anyhow.

From what I'm reading, it seems like the good diving is cheaper and closer from Grand Turk. From Provo it's more expensive and a longer trip I think, but Provo looks like it possibly has more going on and might be prettier, at least as the beaches go. True? Not true? After many trips to Cozumel, Grand Turk's status as a cruise ship port isn't exactly its most appealing attribute, but otherwise it looks sort of interesting and laid back. As to Club Med and Provo, I'm not usually an AI kind of person, and I'm probably way too old for Club Med, but knowing my food etc. is covered and I'll probably at least have people to talk to is a nice thought. But I'm not looking to check in and never leave the property. And their "theme dress" nights sound a little off-putting.

When I'm not diving, I'm happiest striking out on foot or bicycle (any rentals?) to do some basic exploring, maybe find some local eats, stare at lizards, etc. I like things low-key, friendly and relaxed.

Some specific questions:
If I stay with Club Med, do I have to dive with them? Or can I use someone else? I'm an experienced diver and would prefer not to end up on a kiddie or cattle boat, though I can deal with it if they hit good dive sites and let me more or less dive my air and computer. Any dive op recommendations welcome.

Is the diving indeed better from one island or the other? Am I likely to be happy diving from Provo? For those of you who have been around, how does it compare with the rest of the Caribbean? (My Caribbean experience includes Bonaire, Cozumel, Dominica, Grand Cayman, Roatan. Have been farther afield as well.)

Does Grand Turk get a lot of ships? What's it like? What I'm hoping it's not: over-busy with cruise-ship passengers several days a week, and then utterly deserted and everything shut down all the other days.

Are there any real budget options for accommodations I'm overlooking? I'm not finding them so far.

Any plausible shore diving anywhere?

I've read some of the threads on this forum, and I have guidebooks, but I could use some tailored, insightful help. Thanks for any input.

 

[jameseg]

Did you already book your ticket? If the timing worked out, you might want to consider a liveaboard. Explorer Ventures and Aggressor both have boats there. Explorer Ventures has some specials in September that could bring the cost down to what it would cost on the mainland for hotel, food, drinks, and some dives.

I did the EV trip last year and loved it. Spent two days on Provo afterwards, and while Grace Bay Beach is beautiful, didn't find too much else that was compelling (granted, I didn't look too hard, as I was busy napping after the 5 days of 5 dives per day).

Couldn't tell you anything about Grand Turk other than that a friend went there and said he really enjoyed his time there. Quiet and rustic is how he described it.

On Provo, the best diving is supposed to be West Caicos and French Cay. We didn't have a chance to do any diving closer in to Provo due to weather, but WC and FC were fantastic.

James

 

[Mayor]

West Caicos has an old hotel that was never finished on the island and looks like a goast town but the waters around it are very nice with lots of big sharks. If I recal dive provo does a nice job on the island. One thing is for sure get to the airport early because it might be the worst I have ever been to.

 

[Stoo]

+1 to look into the liveaboard option. I have done several there, most recently last August and just booked for July on the Explorer. You are right to be somewhat concerned about hurricanes. We missed Eileen by 3 or 4 days last year, which made for some pretty awful vis, although it gradually improved over the course of the week. The group before us spent 3 days beached while the storm passed and then had a couple of days of crap diving. The EV folks offered a signicant credit towards another trip which I think was a real class act. (One guest on our trip, chose to just stay a second week.)

If you speak with Mary at Explorer Ventures, she often has some deals available that aren't always published. It's also a nice way to travel solo.

I've stayed on land as well and other than NW Point, much of the best diving is "out" a ways. The last time we were there on a land package, we opted to dive with a small outfit (since closed) that picked us up in a truck every morning and drove us across the island where we waded out to their boat. We dove out around French Cay and so on which is really nice.

I haven't been to Grand Turk, but a diving friend loves it there (but dive somewhere away away from the new cruise terminal to avoid that crowd). My ex was there last year as a non-diver and really liked it. Really quiet and a little wild with zero night life, so take a book.

Both commented on how expensive everything is on Grand Turk, and that is my experience in Provo as well...

 

[diversteve]

I agree with the above posters - I'd rank the best->worst diving as French Cay, West Caicos then NW Point. I think NW Point is where a lot of the resort diveboats go as it's close offshore.

Caicos Adventures is one dive operator (Fifi) that gets recommended here. They go out to West Caicos and French Cay - about 45mins. on their boat.

fwiw Grace Bay has been named one of the top ten beaches in the world - staying on it is priced accordingly...lol. There is a Comfort Suites there but I don't think it's on the beach though.

One thing is for sure get to the airport early because it might be the worst I have ever been to.

Mirrors our experience also. Everybody checks in and sits in a big open area while they process all the flights out of four gates. Most seemed to depart within about a 2 hr. window. There's wi-fi in the restaurant while you wait.

http://www.provo.net/Scooter/ rents bikes.

I felt that the diving was slightly better than Grand Cayman. Mostly in terms of the amount of sharks, rays, grouper, cuda that we saw. Sharks on every dive off French Cay and so many stingrays it was boring. Also focus on the big coral heads near the moorings, often there's a fish nursery or macro world surrounding one.

 

[WSOPFAN]

Check this out:

SCUBA Diving in Turks and Caicos

 

[Ms. Ann Thrope]

Thanks for the input. I like liveaboards, but I'm trying to be more cost-conscious than that on this trip. Though the Explorer probably does come out ahead if I start pricing things out by comparing the boat price to 5 tanks a day on a land-based trip, it looks like I can keep my costs about $500 lower for the week by staying at Club Med and diving five days/two tanks a day, which is enough for me. I'm thinking I might really enjoy a day or two doing little more than lounging on a gorgeous beach, which would keep my costs even lower. And with the liveaboard, I'm assuming I'd either have to pay a hefty single supplement or risk getting a roommate, neither of which sounds ideal to me.

I'm not sure I'm going to love Club Med (again, I'm not usually an AI fan), and I have yet to decide on a dive operator, but CM had a deal I didn't think anyone else could beat (they have some very attractive book-ahead deals right now, at least for the time I was looking at). And I think it's going to be a decent choice for solo travel. The reviews on the place are really mixed, but if it's not downright awful, I think it's going to work out well for me. (I've stayed at some pretty bare-bones hotels in my travels.) I'll probably wonder what I might be missing by not going to Grand Turk. Maybe next time.

Thanks for the opinions on general dive areas and how they compare. If, overall, the diving is indeed slightly better than Grand Cayman, I think I'll be pretty happy. I haven't been to GC since the mid 90s, but I remember liking it for near-crystal viz and for seeing eagle rays every time we dove a wall.

Thanks for the airport tips. Always nice to know what to expect (in return, I'll tell you that if you ever do domestic flights between Bali and Komodo, don't necessarily expect the time or airline name on your ticket even to even remotely match what/when you'll fly).

Diver Steve--thanks especially for the Scooter Bob link.

And if anyone wants to offer up opinions on their favorite land-based dive shops, restaurants, points of interest etc., I'd be happy to hear them.

 

[midnitesun64]

I had planned to go to T&C next March, now reading online, I read that most of the dives are deeper, beyond 60ft, now I am only OW cert. and my son will be doing his Open water referal dives to get certified. Also I read that there is very little shore diving, I also booked a week at the Beaches resort ( always looked fun). If anyone were to choose, would you rather go to Roatan to Cocoview resort with unlimited shore diving ( so my son and I can dive) plus 2 tank dives a day all inclusive or dive turks and Caicos and stay at busy resort which really is like a cruise but on land. I was planning on T&C but started think it may cost me 1500.00 for tickets to Roatan but the shore diving is very attractive, and the possiblility to dive with Whale Sharks is so exciting

 

[WanderingGal]

I live and work in Grand Turk and depending on what you're looking for, it may be just the place for you. It's very quiet here - which makes for a nice, relaxing get-away. There's only one main road right along the beach that houses the few small hotels/guest houses and dive shops. From what I hear, we're less expensive than Provo since we don't really do the mega-resort thing here. You can easily walk from most accommodations to most of the dive shops. The dive sites are all located about 5-10 minutes out, so nice and close. There's some beautiful diving here, swim-throughs, the 7000' wall, lots of corals and Caribbean fish plus turtles, stingrays, and the occasional shark. One group saw a hammerhead just last week!

We do have a cruise-ship port, but it is located on the south end of the island, away from where most divers stay. And at my dive shop, we never put cruise ship divers on the same boat as non-cruise ship divers. You are typically in a small group with other people that are staying on the island so it's nice to meet people to go out to dinner or drinks with or just say a friendly hello to as you walk down the street. Typically, the only reason you'd know a cruise ship is even in is because you'll see the occasional tour bus and a few extra shops are open (which can be nice!).

I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have, please feel free to PM me.

 

[Maureen23669]

Roatan is EXCELLENT for check-out dives, as is Bonaire. I agree with your concerns about check-out dives in T&C. They're deeper than is ideal, and the water is colder. T&C "Beaches" was CROWDED a few weeks ago, and their dive boat looked like it held a billion divers. I was alarmed just to look at that many tanks lined up.
Roatan's only drawback is the outrageous airfares. The diving would be wonderful for both of you. Bonaire has LOTS of shore diving, also. My daughters did their checkouts at Roatan, and my son did his full OW training at Bonaire, where they did ALL of the water time in beautiful open water. No pool time needed. I was VERY envious.