Dolphins, Sharks and Best of Caribbean?

[sigelr]

it seems that most replies refer to Provo. I've only been there while on the way to Grand Turk but it appeared to be more developed and more geared to tourism (i.e. resorts, restaurants etc.) than Grand Turk. The diving at Grand turk was wonderful but there is literally nothing else to do that is not water related (diving /snorkeling/whale watching etc.) except sleep, eat and relax with other misguided souls!

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

I have been going to Provo for years and am about to take my first trip to GT this January. Can't wait to be bored out of my skull for a week!

 

[DiverDave76]

Try the Turks and Caicos Aggressor. That is the only way to go. Guaranteed to see sharks and the diving is outrageous! 26 dives in 5 1/2 days along with 5 star service the whole time. We spent the whole time diving around uninhabitted islands...places where day boats can't reach. You'll see lots of pelagics!

Dave

 

[k2webb]

Fun, affordable and dolphins and sharks?

May I suggest the Dream Too live aboard out of West Palm Beach to the Bahamas. They can't gaurantee Dolphins but I have never done a trip with them that we didn't dive with the spotted dolphins up on White Sand Ridge. Sharks are almost gauranteed in the Bahamas also, lots of reef and nurse sharks due to it proximity to the Gulf Stream.

If you are looking for a luxury trip, this is not it. This is a divers boat. Clean, affordable and fun. If you do it say hi to Scott and the crew for me.

http://www.dolphindreamteam.com/

Kevin Webb

 

[grumpygrouper]

Hi

I have only dove Salt Cay and Grand Turks(4 times now, most recently last year). I would return in a hearbeat.

Happy and Safe diving

Ron

 

[Saturation]

grumpygrouper once bubbled...
Hi

I have only dove Salt Cay and Grand Turks(4 times now, most recently last year). I would return in a hearbeat.

Happy and Safe diving

Ron

Hi GG:

Have you heard then that TCI has approved the construction of a cruise ship port on Grand Turk and the shopping mall this entails? So good bye to its reef.

The report is in undercurrent.org July 2003.

Thank god we still have Little Cayman.

 

[Knavey]

Suzana once bubbled...
Hi, I am planning to go to the Caribbean on Holiday just before xmas. I am still quite a 'newbee' (14dives) but I am already completely 'sold'. So the plan is to go for a 'full on dive holiday' - i.e. don't really care about nightlife, tourist attractions etc (although do enjoy good restaurants).

My partner would love to see a shark and I would love to see some dolphins, we don't necessarily want to do something 'action packed' like shark feeding, but would just enjoy seeing some even if it from the boat.

We are also very keen on 'general' good diving, i.e. good reefs and lots of fish!!!

Although I don't mind them, wrecks are not very high on my list of priorities.

We where thinking that Bahamas could be a good option for the sharks/dolphins, however, sometimes I get the impression that it isn't as good as other places when it comes to general (reef) diving? Have I got it right here? If I am wrong, what part would you recommend (we have only got 1 week)? Also it seems reasonable cheap.

If we don't go to the Bahamas, where else is a good place for sharks, Dolphins, and good reefs?
We have got a low to midrange budget.

One final question, that really belongs somewhere else on this forum, I would consider a live-aboard but I do feel a bit sick on boats, do the 'pills' really work? And if so, any recommendations on live aboards in the Caribbean?

Hope you can help,
Suzana

Just got off the Nekton Rorqual. We did everything you wanted to do except dive with the dolphins although we did have pods show up on 2 occasions and stayed with the boat for about half an hour. Very good video footage. The second occasion we were in the skiff coming back from Bimini to the boat and 2 of them were about 10 feet off the bow of the little skiff. VERY neat.

The boat is practically seasick proof so if you have the $$$ its well worth looking into.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32903

This is a trip report from someone on the sister boat to the Rorqual...he took his cruise right before me. The report could be a copy of my experience except we did a shark dive instead of dolphin dive. We dove with about 12 reef sharks...no feeding, just watching them wondering if they were hungry. We made 3 dives on the shark site. I made 23 dives in the week long cruise and had a blast. Check them out.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Saturation once bubbled...


Hi GG:

Have you heard then that TCI has approved the construction of a cruise ship port on Grand Turk and the shopping mall this entails? So good bye to its reef.

The report is in undercurrent.org July 2003.

Thank god we still have Little Cayman.

Say it ain't so! I thought that the govt. had pushed that development to East Caicos. That island is the largest uninhabited island in the area and ripe for a large cruise ship type operation. Thye were talking about a ten-ship dock facility and a turn around harbor. I would hope that went forward before a dock was installed on Grand Turk. I would hope that a cruise ship dock alone would not destroy the reefs (look at Cozumel).

 

[xepi33]

I would recommend the Anthony's Key Resort in Roatan Honduras. They have dolphins on the site. You can do a dive and a dolphins encounter for a little extra$$$. But it is really worth it. We spent a week in Honduras last March and enjoyed it a lot. There is also a dive with the sharks, again for a little extra$$$. I think Roatan has very very good diving to offer and it is a very nice place to visit.

 

[laurena1]

Suzanna

If you have a week and want a variety of things, you might try Nekton Cruises. I took their Bahama Adventure trip last summer. It was fantastic. We saw sharks as well as the Captain stopped in an area where dolphins are likely to be found. And they were. You can't beat the wild spotted dolphins. Swam with them before with Oceanic Society trip. On this Nekton trip, we stayed for a while and the dolphins frolicked with us a long time, great pix. In fact, when I got returned to the boat (last one out of the water), 2 dolphins hung right around the exit platform seeming to want us to come back in to play. It was spectacular.

The boat is very stable for seasickness. I only took Bonine while crossing the gulf stream. Crew is great and very helpful. Platform makes for easy entry. And the crew was very helpful to some of us divers that don't have loads of experience.

I'd give it an A+.