Tim Ingersoll
Contributor
The three amigos took their annual dive trip to Grand Turk. No wives, no children, fives days in paradise. Niiice.
Kudos to TSA for finally figuring out that you should put the security checkpoints outside the main concourse intersections so passengers making connections don't have to go through screening twice or three times per trip. Don't know if only Charlotte figured that out but whoever did is a genius at figuring the obvious. Travel was flawless both ways with the following exceptions: 1) Our checked bags did not make the flight from Providenciales to Grand Turk. They showed up about three hours later on the next flight. Devastating. I am still trying to get over it (sarcasm). 2) Thats it. . .WOW! Good travel.
We arrived at the little airport in Grand Turk and were greeted by the owner of Oasis Divers Dale Barker (http://www.oasisdivers.com/oasis.html). Great person. She made sure our bags would follow and escorted us to Aqua House. Great place. Two story, two bedroom, full kitchen, balcony, cd Player, DVD player, cable, bicycles, etc. etc. Generally conceeded to be the best rental on the island. It worked great. The owners were next door and immediately asked if they could offer us anything (We asked for insect repellent and had two cans inside five minutes). Overall the Aqua House was one of the highlights of the trip and can't be beat. Check it out at: http://www.aquahouse.tc/print/524a7c403d58a7dbaedba907c1b05484
Anyway Dale proceeded to take two of us on a tour of the island and then took us to the grocery store to stock up for the coming days. The grocery store is tiny and their prices are comparatively high but we landed right behind the food plane and there was plenty to choose from. Cooking is cheaper than eating out and we brought a chef with us so. . . (Eric is a great cook and kept us well-fed all week).
We ate at the Waters Edge the first night. Now it could have been the beers and long day of travel but I still say they make the best chicken quesadilla that I have ever had. The tab for three buys, appetizers, drinks (many) and entrees was $100.00. You be the judge. The food was good, the service was good and the view was uneblievable. Highly recommended.
The next day we were picked up and driven the 1/2 mile to the dive shop. Signed the obligatory waivers and climbed aboard. Oasis runs 24 foot Carolina skiffs. The boat rides are all less than twenty minutes and some are less than eight. Our DM for two days was Phil a twentysomething from Engalnd. Great guy. Tipped the s**t out of him the first day and he took care of us for the rest of the time (including lobster tails and sightseeing). If we needed it he could get it or at least point us in the right direction.
The diving: Water temperature for all dives was 80 degrees. Visibility varied between 50 and 75 feet (somewhat disappointing). No stated dive limits on time or depth. Computers were recommended and offered. We dove the following sights: McDonalds, Coral Gardens, Amphitheater, Tunnels, Black Forest, Finbar Reef and Rolling Hills. All dives are wall dives to one extent or another. There was some surge in the shallows and a little current on the wall but nothing like Coz. Oasis Divers are highly recommended although a couple of the DM's who shall remain nameless (not Phil) had the habit of getting in the water five to seven minutes after everyone else was in the water and waiting. Briefings were very good. No complaints overall other than as noted. DM's stayed shallow (60-80 feet) and divers were allowed to plan and dive their own dives if they were in eyesight of the DM. I dove some really deep dives and no-one seemed to mind other than a raised eyebrow on one to 155 (was that me?). Best dives were Coral Gardens and Black Forest.
The marine life was a tad bit disappointing. Other than turtles we saw nothing bigger than groupers, baby nurse sharks and barracuda. I have been spoiled by the diving around West Caicos and French Cay where we consistently saw sharks and rays on every dive. Anyway, whales come through in February and March and the DM's seemed surprised that we weren't seeing more big stuff (rays and sharks). Whales and whales sharks have been spotted before. C'est la vie.
The food. We ate at the Waters Edge twice and the Turks Head Hotel once. All meals were at or above $100 for three guys eating and drinking hearty. You be the judge on whether that's alot or not. The other two nights we ate in and cooked for ourselves. One night was steaks on the grill and the other was lobster tail on the grill. If you can grill then get a couple tails off the boats when they come in at about 4:00 p.m. Marinate them in rbine and then cook them on the grill. Unbelievable. We bought two tails that weighed in at over five pounds. Yes you read that right. Just the tails. Total: over five pounds.
The beer. A case of Heineken was $41.00. You be the judge. A beer at the bar was $4-5.00. $2.50 if you went to one of the "local bars".
Activities. We checked out the museum. Do not miss it. Very cool for such a small island. We snorkelled Governor's Beach. Do it. Great sand-dollars. We skipped the Gibbs Cay snorkel and barbeque but by all accounts it was worth it.
We rented a car one day but you could easily skip it. Bicycles will get you everywhere you want to go.
Cruiseros. Two cruise ships stopped by while we were there. Both were European and relatively small. Even so, the island was inundated with cruiseros for a few hours. I have no idea what they intend to do with the Carnival passengers that are coming when they build the new docking facility. The island does not have the facilities (especially bathrooms) for this sort of crowd. There is also no cruise atomosphere (Carlos n Charlies, jewelry stores, etc.). Oh well kiss it good-bye.
The people. Very friendly. Say hello and you got a friendly smile and greeting. Never felt uncomfortable even when out late at night. There is crime but it is apparently almost never directed at tourists since the resulting crackdown by local authorities can be "persuasive" when it comes to future incidents.
Overall a great place. If you want someplace to really get away from it all with short boat rides this is the place for you. On a scale of one to ten for Caribbean diving with Little Cayman, Cozumel and TCI (West Caicos and French Cay off Provo) rating 8.5 to 9.5 I would put Grand Turk in at 6.5 to 7. On that same scale I would put Jamaica at 2 and the Bahamas at 5 (just to give some perspective). If I were to go again I would deifinitely schedule my trip during whale watching season.
Kudos to TSA for finally figuring out that you should put the security checkpoints outside the main concourse intersections so passengers making connections don't have to go through screening twice or three times per trip. Don't know if only Charlotte figured that out but whoever did is a genius at figuring the obvious. Travel was flawless both ways with the following exceptions: 1) Our checked bags did not make the flight from Providenciales to Grand Turk. They showed up about three hours later on the next flight. Devastating. I am still trying to get over it (sarcasm). 2) Thats it. . .WOW! Good travel.
We arrived at the little airport in Grand Turk and were greeted by the owner of Oasis Divers Dale Barker (http://www.oasisdivers.com/oasis.html). Great person. She made sure our bags would follow and escorted us to Aqua House. Great place. Two story, two bedroom, full kitchen, balcony, cd Player, DVD player, cable, bicycles, etc. etc. Generally conceeded to be the best rental on the island. It worked great. The owners were next door and immediately asked if they could offer us anything (We asked for insect repellent and had two cans inside five minutes). Overall the Aqua House was one of the highlights of the trip and can't be beat. Check it out at: http://www.aquahouse.tc/print/524a7c403d58a7dbaedba907c1b05484
Anyway Dale proceeded to take two of us on a tour of the island and then took us to the grocery store to stock up for the coming days. The grocery store is tiny and their prices are comparatively high but we landed right behind the food plane and there was plenty to choose from. Cooking is cheaper than eating out and we brought a chef with us so. . . (Eric is a great cook and kept us well-fed all week).
We ate at the Waters Edge the first night. Now it could have been the beers and long day of travel but I still say they make the best chicken quesadilla that I have ever had. The tab for three buys, appetizers, drinks (many) and entrees was $100.00. You be the judge. The food was good, the service was good and the view was uneblievable. Highly recommended.
The next day we were picked up and driven the 1/2 mile to the dive shop. Signed the obligatory waivers and climbed aboard. Oasis runs 24 foot Carolina skiffs. The boat rides are all less than twenty minutes and some are less than eight. Our DM for two days was Phil a twentysomething from Engalnd. Great guy. Tipped the s**t out of him the first day and he took care of us for the rest of the time (including lobster tails and sightseeing). If we needed it he could get it or at least point us in the right direction.
The diving: Water temperature for all dives was 80 degrees. Visibility varied between 50 and 75 feet (somewhat disappointing). No stated dive limits on time or depth. Computers were recommended and offered. We dove the following sights: McDonalds, Coral Gardens, Amphitheater, Tunnels, Black Forest, Finbar Reef and Rolling Hills. All dives are wall dives to one extent or another. There was some surge in the shallows and a little current on the wall but nothing like Coz. Oasis Divers are highly recommended although a couple of the DM's who shall remain nameless (not Phil) had the habit of getting in the water five to seven minutes after everyone else was in the water and waiting. Briefings were very good. No complaints overall other than as noted. DM's stayed shallow (60-80 feet) and divers were allowed to plan and dive their own dives if they were in eyesight of the DM. I dove some really deep dives and no-one seemed to mind other than a raised eyebrow on one to 155 (was that me?). Best dives were Coral Gardens and Black Forest.
The marine life was a tad bit disappointing. Other than turtles we saw nothing bigger than groupers, baby nurse sharks and barracuda. I have been spoiled by the diving around West Caicos and French Cay where we consistently saw sharks and rays on every dive. Anyway, whales come through in February and March and the DM's seemed surprised that we weren't seeing more big stuff (rays and sharks). Whales and whales sharks have been spotted before. C'est la vie.
The food. We ate at the Waters Edge twice and the Turks Head Hotel once. All meals were at or above $100 for three guys eating and drinking hearty. You be the judge on whether that's alot or not. The other two nights we ate in and cooked for ourselves. One night was steaks on the grill and the other was lobster tail on the grill. If you can grill then get a couple tails off the boats when they come in at about 4:00 p.m. Marinate them in rbine and then cook them on the grill. Unbelievable. We bought two tails that weighed in at over five pounds. Yes you read that right. Just the tails. Total: over five pounds.
The beer. A case of Heineken was $41.00. You be the judge. A beer at the bar was $4-5.00. $2.50 if you went to one of the "local bars".
Activities. We checked out the museum. Do not miss it. Very cool for such a small island. We snorkelled Governor's Beach. Do it. Great sand-dollars. We skipped the Gibbs Cay snorkel and barbeque but by all accounts it was worth it.
We rented a car one day but you could easily skip it. Bicycles will get you everywhere you want to go.
Cruiseros. Two cruise ships stopped by while we were there. Both were European and relatively small. Even so, the island was inundated with cruiseros for a few hours. I have no idea what they intend to do with the Carnival passengers that are coming when they build the new docking facility. The island does not have the facilities (especially bathrooms) for this sort of crowd. There is also no cruise atomosphere (Carlos n Charlies, jewelry stores, etc.). Oh well kiss it good-bye.
The people. Very friendly. Say hello and you got a friendly smile and greeting. Never felt uncomfortable even when out late at night. There is crime but it is apparently almost never directed at tourists since the resulting crackdown by local authorities can be "persuasive" when it comes to future incidents.
Overall a great place. If you want someplace to really get away from it all with short boat rides this is the place for you. On a scale of one to ten for Caribbean diving with Little Cayman, Cozumel and TCI (West Caicos and French Cay off Provo) rating 8.5 to 9.5 I would put Grand Turk in at 6.5 to 7. On that same scale I would put Jamaica at 2 and the Bahamas at 5 (just to give some perspective). If I were to go again I would deifinitely schedule my trip during whale watching season.
