Trip report Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos

[Jungho Kim]

Just returned from a two week dive trip to Grand Turk over Christmas/New Years...

Here is a video compilation of the trip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b13xy7CHUMk

We stayed at the Osprey and dove with Blue Water Divers. The diving was the easiest diving I have experienced... Mind you, I do a lot of cold water diving in BC and have dove Galapagos and Channel islands, so anywhere in the Caribbean is easy but Grant Turk is ESPECIALLY easy.

Now, I wouldn't say Grand Turk was the best diving I have experienced in the Caribbean but it was still very good. The walls are healthy with large Black Gorgonians and other coral, but a storm in Oct had blown quite a bit of sand onto the flatter areas... I also didn't see "big" animals although we did get buzzed by two adult bottle-nose dolphins on one dive which was very cool. However, we didn't see any eagle rays, sharks the entire 12 days of diving and we saw only one turtle. Still, it was very enjoyable diving and I enjoyed every dive with my favourite site probably being the Amphitheater. Mitch and the Blue Water crew also took great care of us and I would definitely dive with them again.

Osprey was a very comfortable place... We had a beach front room that was very spacious with high ceilings, a large 4 post king sized bed and a ceiling fan. The weather was perfect with very little humidity and we didn't turn on the air conditioning once. The food was also fantastic, their BBQ night was probably the highlight. Osprey is right on the beach and we took long walks down the beach every day after diving. It was very peaceful as we literally had the beach to ourselves.

The island itself has a great vibe. We were in the part of the island which was walking distance to other really cool places like the Salt Raker and the Sand Bar. We spent New Years eve at the Sand Bar which was a lot of fun.

Overall, my girlfriend and I really enjoyed Grand Turk. With all things considered, the diving, the atmosphere, food, weather, Grand Turk is now one of our favourite Caribbean destinations.

Here are the links to Osprey and Blue Water...

Turks Caicos Resorts | Caribbean Hotels | Osprey Beach Hotel
Home - Blue Water Divers, Grand Turk

 

[KathyV]

Thanks for the great trip report, I have heard that the cruise ship passengers have been known to "take over" some GT island hotels during the day - did you experience that?

What was the diving operation like with Blue Water Divers? I'm asking about gear storage, pickup, boats, equipment handling, etc. We are getting older and finding it more difficult to haul tanks and equipment on/off boats and over distances so your advice would be appreciated.

Once we were diving with an operation in Nassau that started out as a small, diver-dedicated service, but then one day hordes of cruise ship divers showed up and suddenly we were on a cattleboat - and it happened again a few days later! Did that happen to you on GT?

Did you eat out all the time or did you prepare some of your meals, how did that work? I see that osprey offers some kitchenettes; thanks!

 

[Jungho Kim]

Thanks for the great trip report, I have heard that the cruise ship passengers have been known to "take over" some GT island hotels during the day - did you experience that?

What was the diving operation like with Blue Water Divers? I'm asking about gear storage, pickup, boats, equipment handling, etc. We are getting older and finding it more difficult to haul tanks and equipment on/off boats and over distances so your advice would be appreciated.

Once we were diving with an operation in Nassau that started out as a small, diver-dedicated service, but then one day hordes of cruise ship divers showed up and suddenly we were on a cattleboat - and it happened again a few days later! Did that happen to you on GT?

Did you eat out all the time or did you prepare some of your meals, how did that work? I see that osprey offers some kitchenettes; thanks!

We did not run into any cruise passengers while we were at Osprey. Blue Water also explicitly kept us separate from cruise divers. Blue Water will also handle all of your equipment for you if you wish. We didn't because we generally like to handle our own equipment. Getting back into the boat, you can take your weights and BC off in the water and pass it to the DM prior to getting back into the boat.

We ate out all the time at various places on the island. The food was very good but not cheap. They import everything onto the island including water. Osprey does have suites with a kitchen so the next time, we would probably stay in those...

 

[drrich2]

Nice report. Of the Caribbean destinations you've hit (per your profile Cozumel x3, Roatan, Belize, Dominica & Grand Cayman), any particular big selling points that would make you recommend Grand Turk as opposed to these others? There are so many choices & most of us can't do them all...

Richard.

 

[Jungho Kim]

Nice report. Of the Caribbean destinations you've hit (per your profile Cozumel x3, Roatan, Belize, Dominica & Grand Cayman), any particular big selling points that would make you recommend Grand Turk as opposed to these others? There are so many choices & most of us can't do them all...

Richard.

Oh that is tough. If diving is your number one priority, I would rate Cozumel, Cayman and Roatan above GT. I would rate Dominica and GT diving to be the same level. But I would rate GT above water much higher than Cozumel and Cayman. If you like nature hikes than Dominica is hands down the top but the food was the worst and Roseau (the main town) was frankly depressing. The food in GT has been the best for me thus far. It also had the best beaches that were pretty much all to ourselves. So all factors put together, I would place GT in the top 3 places for me in the Caribbean.

 

[KathyV]

How bad were the mosquitos? I know that it was a different time of year but we were in Provo during Oct/Nov 2013 and the mosquitoes were really bad. I am allergic/sensitive to bites (I get big, nasty, itchy welts that persist.) We missed a lot of the best dining opportunities in Provo because after a few days of being badly bitten, I didn't want to eat at any outdoor restaurants.

Another question, I have never dived from a Carolina Skiff, I imagine that the exit is pretty easy (roll back?) but what about re-entry? Do they have a decent ladder to assist you to get back on the boat? I did some panga diving in my younger days and that was fun - but I don't think that I am up to anything quite so strenuous these days.

 

[Jungho Kim]

There was some mosquitoes and sand fleas so you should use bug spray but nothing out of the ordinary.

You do a rollback into the water then to get back on you pass the DM your weights first then your BC then you climb aboard the ladder. The water is very calm so this is easy to do. I actually just climbed back up on the boat with my full gear and I am 47...

 

[raisekayn]

You've described exactly the trip we are planning in February... Blue Water Divers and Osprey Beach Hotel. Thanks for all the great info. :cool2:

 

[drrich2]

Oh that is tough. If diving is your number one priority, I would rate Cozumel, Cayman and Roatan above GT. I would rate Dominica and GT diving to be the same level. But I would rate GT above water much higher than Cozumel and Cayman. If you like nature hikes than Dominica is hands down the top but the food was the worst and Roseau (the main town) was frankly depressing. The food in GT has been the best for me thus far. It also had the best beaches that were pretty much all to ourselves. So all factors put together, I would place GT in the top 3 places for me in the Caribbean.

Since these threads serve as guides for people planning trips, I figure your post is worth unpacking since there's interesting content in it.

1.) I haven't been to Grand Turk. From what I read from others, it's kind of a 'quiet' place, but a cruise ship port so expect periodic influxes of the dreaded 'pod people' (disclaimer: I cruise with my family). Some people rave about some of the restaurants on Cozumel. And for above-water concerns, Belize gets props for the jungle & Mayan ruins, but I hear you want a live-aboard or a resort on the atolls rather than the mainland for the best diving. And you mentioned Dominica. My point is, one man's trash is another man's treasure, and how people feel about Grand Turk topside depends on what they're looking for. Did you find it to be a quiet place, or has it been under-rated?

2.) Dominica seems to be an up and coming destination with a few strong fans. Some seem to think the diving is amongst the Caribbean's best, and the topside natural wonders of the jungle really sweet if you like nature hikes. But the hassle & time to get there seems to be holding it back. But you considered Dominica & GT equal, both behind Cozumel, Cayman (Grand, I assume) and Roatan with diving the # 1 priority. Is that because of the quality of the dives on a one-to-one basis, or the # of dives you could easily cram into a trip, or some other reason?

Grand Turk seems to me to be kind of like St. Eustatius in that occasionally someone posts a positive review of it, I wonder if it's an up & coming dive destination, then I hear nothing for quite awhile, then someone else posts and the cycle continues. It leaves me wondering why that destination isn't higher up the popularity chart.

Seems to me (disclaimer: I'm likely off on some of this, & others will disagree) Cozumel, Bonaire, the Florida Keys & maybe Roatan & Grand Cayman are 1st tier scuba destinations (if we ignore cruise ship divers hitting St. Thomas, & the shark feed dives at Stuart's Cove out of Nassau). Then maybe Belize, Curacao, Utila, Saba, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, Bahamas via live-aboard (e.g.: Blackbeard's, AquaCat). Then, St. Croix, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Turks & Caicos, Aruba, the British Virgin Islands, maybe Dominica & Barbados. And then there are places I rarely see mentioned; Trinidad & Tobago, Anguila, I'm not talking about who's better! I'm talking about my impression of relative popularity by numbers from posts I see. Could be I've got some badly out of order by actual tourism.

I'd love to see actual annual scuba tourism #'s for each destination.

Richard.

 

[Doctorfish]

The scuba tourism numbers would not reflect quality of the diving but more likely, ease of access. GC and Coz seemto be number 1 or 2, I think based more on being able to get there so easily from mainland USA, than dive quality. LC and the Brac have better diving IMO.

I've been to GT as well and found the wall diving to be better than GC but the island infrastructure was primative so have not been back. Hard to compare places as there are so many variables. As Richard said, it's all about personal preferences.