Turks and Caicos Dive Info Needed.

Turk and Caicos Dive Trip.
My Girlfriend and I are planning our 3rd dive trip to the Carribean and would appreciate information from experienced divers who visited the Turks and Caicos.
We are booked into Provo in July, taking advantage of some free air milage we have.
Would like to stay at a resort that caters to divers.
Last year at Cayman Brac we had a great experience at an all inclusive dive resort. Diving was top notch with 3 dives a day with a night option.
Accomadations were so so or just ok.
Hoping to do it a little better this time.
We are looking for a balanced Hotel/Dive shop- but don't want to be in a Grand Cayman- volume type resort.
Thanks ahead of time for you information.
MuddyBuddy

Originally posted by MuddyBuddy
Turk and Caicos Dive Trip.
My Girlfriend and I are planning our 3rd dive trip to the Carribean and would appreciate information from experienced divers who visited the Turks and Caicos.
We are booked into Provo in July, taking advantage of some free air milage we have.
Would like to stay at a resort that caters to divers.
Last year at Cayman Brac we had a great experience at an all inclusive dive resort. Diving was top notch with 3 dives a day with a night option.
Accomadations were so so or just ok.
Hoping to do it a little better this time.
We are looking for a balanced Hotel/Dive shop- but don't want to be in a Grand Cayman- volume type resort.
Thanks ahead of time for you information.
MuddyBuddy

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Both Grand Turk and Salt Cay are well worth the trip. In 3 trips there, I've never stayed with an all-inclusive resort, so I can't comment on that. I have trip reports in pdf format I'm happy to share if you'll e-mail me requesting them.

My husband and I went to T&C last October and stayed at the Club Med in Provo. I know, I know! Club Med is not your premier diving destination but we got a GREAT DEAL and we travelled with friends. However, the diving (to us) was NOT that great! I have read many wonderful things about T&C but we just did not see it and we've been to many wonderful places...Cozumel, East End of Grand Cayman and Belize. I know you mentioned not wanting to go the GC but consider the East End and diving with the Cayman Dive Lodge. It is a FABULOUS. No pool or anything, just eat, sleep and dive. My idea of paradise!

Don't judge Provo diving from your Club Med experiences. Club Med's dive boat only goes to the local dive spots. The good diving on Provo is a 30 to 45 minute boat ride away at West Caicos. Caicos Adventures dives West Caicos everyday.

I am going to T. & C. in June, we will be on Provo. We heard diving at west Caicos and Sand Spit is the best in this area and that diving in Grace bay is not too great. We plan to dive with Caicos Adventures. We will let you know if the diving compares with the Brac ( we were there in April and dove Little Cayman 4 days out of 6 ).
Caymaniac

Hello Muddy/Buddy,
My wife and I went to GT in Feb and stayed at the Arawak Inn(can be all inclusive if you desire) and dove with Oasis Divers. We have not dove on Provo. We have only talked with other divers who dove there and the consensus we get is the boat ride can be up to an hour. On GT the boat ride is max 15 minutes. The diving is wonderful. The only draw back is the 30 minute flight on a two engine turbo prop which means luggage weight restrictions. Not a major problem as you can pay for extra weight. As far as the Arawak, it is completely renovated, has a wonderful restaurant, and is the closest area to the reef for shore diving. Oasis Divers is primo. www.oasisdivers.com Dale and Everette run a great dive op. Paul Dickerson is the senior DM and is very safety oriented however he lets you dive your profile level. The island itself is as laid back as you can get anywhere. I do believe if they slowed down anymore the clocks would stop. The island is British, drive on the left ol boy, and is very non commericalized. I highly reccommend this as a wonderful dive destination.

I'm MuddyBuddy's girl friend, BlueLily.
Thank you for the information you all gave us. They will definitely help us planning our trip.

Has anybody dove both Prove and Grand Turk? Are there any difference on diving besides traveling and boat ride? What do you see underwater?

ScubaBurt, thank you for responding to my request! The Arawak Inn sounds good for us. We don't have to stick on all-inclusive dive resort. We just loved the way that our dive operator in Cayman Brac took care of our gear and we could jump on the boat every time we went diving. Did Oasis Divers pick you up at the inn and take care of your gear during your stay?

Caymaniac, you are going to be on Provo soon. How exciting!
How did you get to choose Provo and the dive operator? Did you get recommendation? And yes, please tell us about your trip when you come back.

divingdeb, sorry to hear about your diving experience with Club Med. But since staying at Club Med is one of my dreams (unfortunately I have never stayed), I envy you.

Mini

Hi Bluelily, I chose diving on Provo because 3 years ago I gave RCI my time share for a trade and they asked if we wanted to go to T & C, so we said " yes" of course. We have been to many places in the Carribean but not T & C so this will be great. The place we are staying is a brand new condo development and we don't know of anyone that has stayed there. I have had quite a few recommendations from other boards on who to dive with. The most recommended place on Provo was Caicos Adventures. I think they were mostly recommended because they go to West Caicos and Sand spit, where most of the other ops go to Grace Bay wich does not have good vis and the coral from what I've heard isnt in the best shape. We have friends that have been to Salt Cay in T & C and they liked it but they liked the Brac better.
The second most recommended was Flammingo divers.
We have also heard that for the beach Provo is the best, and that is something that we like to do is walk the beach. We live near a beach now which is beautiful but for only 3 months a year is it warm enough to go to, and it is on Lake Mich. so the likelyhood of seeing coral and the life that goes with it is nil.
Hoping you too have a great trip,
Caymaniac

Hi

travelled to T&C staying at in provo at the comfort suites last November.

Having come to this board for some opinion I switched my booking from Dive Provo to Caicos Adventures a week or so before I left, thanks Doc & Ron, this definitely made my diving week!!

Fifi has the best and fastest new boat on the island, goes to West Caicos and French Cay to make good diving every day. And they certainly delivered the White tips & grey reef sharks, Stingrays, a Manta ray and on my last day a 35ft whale shark and my favourite 5 eagle rays in formation. My only dissapointment is I dont think Fifi likes night diving, we couldn't get one organised. Caicos Adventures are slightly more expensive but don't skimp that $10 a day it will be a false economy.

Pick ups are made from your accomodation, so I say stay where you fancy but dive with Fifi

see www.caicosadventures.com

Neil

If laying on the beach is as much of your enjoyment as diving, then staying on Grace Bay on Provo is my recommendation. We were at the Ocean Club (original, not OC West) which is right next to Club Med. We used the dive shop of Art Pickering and were not disappointed at all. We had a number of fine dinners around the island, tho we still enjoy the culinary delights of St. Martin the best (tho the diving is not near as good).