Turks and Caicos

Trying to find a vacation this winter that our whole family will enjoy, my wife has found a place called Beaches on Turks and Caicos. All diving (and lots of other activities for the rest of the family) are included in the price. I know that there is some splendid diving in T&C, but has anyone stayed at this place and if so, how's the diving and the dive op? Thanks for any info.

Beaches is a nice place, we did not stay there but stayed at a condo unit in the Alexandra Resort nearby. We did get on the Beaches property and looked it over. We dove with Fifi= Caicos Adventures. Fifi would pick us up every morning and would pick up divers at Beaches as well. Yes, diving was included in thir pkg. but there were many divers that were not happy with the way they run their dive op. Several days ( 3 out of 6 ) we were picking up divers from Beaches who had not been happy with the Grace Bay diving. They were very happy with C.A., and yes, that means they paid to go diving with Fifi. If you decide to go to Beaches, at least go one day with C.A., they have a three tank one day of the week, try to reserve for that day and compare it to the dive op that is included in the Resort.
Have fun,
Caymaniac

Caymaniac has it right. My family and I have been heading to the TCI for seven or eight years now. Caicos Adventures does a three tank dive on Thursday. They head out to French Cay. Do not miss this dive. Caicos Adventures dives the rest of the week at West Caicos. He doesn't go anywhere else. All of the best diving is at those two locations.
I never heard anything bad about Beaches. The island is very family friendly. We take the kids every year and never regret it.
If I can be of any other assistance please do not hesitate to ask. Good luck and good diving!

<<diving was included in thir pkg. but there were many divers that were not happy with the way they run their dive op>>

I'm not really understanding yet what they were unhappy about. Can you explain a bit?

All-inclusive, family-style resorts like Beaches, Sandals, Club Med, Iberostar & the like are not by design, intent or in fact dedicated dive resorts. Scuba is a sideline for them, just another water activity for its guests that want it. A few are more dive-focused than others, e.g., Club Med Columbus Isle/San Salvador/Bahamas, but still it is never their primary focus. While there may be an exception to this out there some place, I’ve yet to hear of it and the above is the general expectation

At any Beaches or similar property you will dive their regimented schedule with a widely mixed bag of divers, meaning that you won't dive the more distant or more challenging sites on any kind of a regular basis, if at all. You’ll spend most of your time diving Grace Bay. You well may have resort coursers, snorkels & even bubble watchers on the same boat, and you can be guaranteed that the boats will not be small, fast six packs. They'll be larger boats, often carrying as many as 20 or more divers. You very likely will not be able to dive your own profile. In short, what I like to call least common denominator diving. Some divers find this to their liking, others do not.

As for Beaches TCI, they have large, good quality, well-maintained boats, and the dive staff tends to be professional & safety conscious, although I have heard a few hair-raising tales of screw ups. Last time I was there, they were experimenting with going to the better sites, e.g., West Caicos Wall, French Cay, but not I'm sure how frequently they are making the trip at the present time, if at all. However, I am sure not as often as Caicos Adventures that goes essentially every day.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

Beaches is a great place. We just returned from our second trip there. PADI certification allows guests to sign up for dives sooner than other guests. Only PADIs can have 2 tank dives. The dives are not only in Grace Bay but other locations around T&C. Night dives are $50 extra. On our first dive, a pod of 7 dolphins swam around us. One played dead upside down on the bottom. We saw sting rays, sea turtles, and baracudas just snorkling down the beach at Bights Reef, a national park. Bights is literally a step or two off the beach - kids love it. We went on an "Island Getaway" with J&B tours and were dropped at a deserted island with a cooler of food, drinks and a bottle of wine. We had our own private reef for snorkling right in front and a shipwreck down the beach- steps from the shore.
Beaches has delicious food - everything from fresh sushi to rack of lamb and filet mignon. The landscaping is very lush - unlike the rest of T&C. Any questions?

The diving in Grace Bay is mediocre at best. West Caicos, Southwest Reef, Molasses Reef and French Cay blow it away. If its all about the diving then its got to be Caicos Adventures. If its a family vacation where diving is just one of many activities for the family getaway or you are beginner divers then Beaches will do just fine. Like I said earlier you might consider diving with Beaches for the week and just reserving the three-tank Thursday dive with Caicos Adventures to see what it is all about. I guarantee an excellent adventure. Whatever you do make sure you get to West Caicos and French Cay at least once each. Its worth the extra money to make sure you see what makes TCI world class diving. By the way, welcome to Scubaboard Stormy!

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If it is all about diving..Grand Turk is the best. The most dive sites, the best wall and the most sea life.

Mike

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