parrotfisch
Registered
I am looking at going to either Turks and Caicos or Saba and would like a some advice from divers who have been there. Which one would you choose? Any suggestions out there? Thanks!!
Turks vs Saba: Which is best?
- Thread starter parrotfisch
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Scott from LongIsland
Contributor
the diving is somewhat different at each place and hard to compare. if you are going on a land based trip i would say Saba without hesitation. If it is a liveaboard I would say T&C.
The diving in Saba can be a bit more challenging with current and such but nothing crazy. The viz was far better in the T&C though. I enjoyed the diving at both. I really depends what you are looking for with both the diving and the vacation. Saba has the pinnacles which are cool and all but i preferred the reef diving there. T&C is wall diving...lots of sharks which was nice. a few sharks around the pinnacles of Saba but they take off once the divers appear.
I much preferred diving Saba from land over a liveaboard. I used Sea Saba (excellent and highly recommended) and we hit far more dive sites from land then on the liveaboard. I found that incredibly disappointing when on the liveaboard. We did 2 sites a day for 5 dives and were never given a choice of sites. We did not dive Diamond Rock which was a huge disappointment. When diving with Sea Saba we changed the site for each dive. Diving with Sea Saba was far better then the Explorer liveaboard which i would not do again. It is cheap...and you get what you pay for.
I enjoyed the diving in the Turks and Caicos quite a bit. Did the Aggressor and it was a wonderful trip. Personnally, though...if it was a land based trip, i would not go there. Just not my cup of tea and you will not go to the outer reef sites that you do hit on the liveaboard.
The diving in Saba can be a bit more challenging with current and such but nothing crazy. The viz was far better in the T&C though. I enjoyed the diving at both. I really depends what you are looking for with both the diving and the vacation. Saba has the pinnacles which are cool and all but i preferred the reef diving there. T&C is wall diving...lots of sharks which was nice. a few sharks around the pinnacles of Saba but they take off once the divers appear.
I much preferred diving Saba from land over a liveaboard. I used Sea Saba (excellent and highly recommended) and we hit far more dive sites from land then on the liveaboard. I found that incredibly disappointing when on the liveaboard. We did 2 sites a day for 5 dives and were never given a choice of sites. We did not dive Diamond Rock which was a huge disappointment. When diving with Sea Saba we changed the site for each dive. Diving with Sea Saba was far better then the Explorer liveaboard which i would not do again. It is cheap...and you get what you pay for.
I enjoyed the diving in the Turks and Caicos quite a bit. Did the Aggressor and it was a wonderful trip. Personnally, though...if it was a land based trip, i would not go there. Just not my cup of tea and you will not go to the outer reef sites that you do hit on the liveaboard.
Scott from LongIsland
Contributor
if a liveaboard I would go to the Turks and Caicos without hesitation over the Saba, St Kitts route. While the diving off of Saba was great...St Kitts was not nearly as good. So depending on where you start on that trip (either St Maarten or St Kitts) you will only really dive Saba for 2-3 days. We actually got delayed in St Maarten due to weather and dove there the first day. the diving in St Maarten was not worth doing (at least where we went).
the Explorer boat that does the Saba/St Kitts trip needs to be retired. It is old, loud and not well set up. I also though the crew was a bit lacking. While one of the DMs (Claire) was extremely nice and helpful, the rest of the crew made it as if they were doing us a favor by diving off of their boat. I thought that the purser (Lynn) had an attitude problem and the captain (Ian) had zero personality and needed to learn how to smile.
I would not do the liveaboard in Saba/St Kitts ever again...but I would go back to Saba in a heartbeat. The diving there was very good and the island has a great feel/charm to it.
In contrast...I would go on the T&C Aggressor again. The boat was spotless, the food was good and the crew were all excellent without exception. Hope that helps.
the Explorer boat that does the Saba/St Kitts trip needs to be retired. It is old, loud and not well set up. I also though the crew was a bit lacking. While one of the DMs (Claire) was extremely nice and helpful, the rest of the crew made it as if they were doing us a favor by diving off of their boat. I thought that the purser (Lynn) had an attitude problem and the captain (Ian) had zero personality and needed to learn how to smile.
I would not do the liveaboard in Saba/St Kitts ever again...but I would go back to Saba in a heartbeat. The diving there was very good and the island has a great feel/charm to it.
In contrast...I would go on the T&C Aggressor again. The boat was spotless, the food was good and the crew were all excellent without exception. Hope that helps.
Liveaboard in Turks is the best IMO. I agree that Saba is a better land-based destination. The diving in Turks is also better over-all I'd say in my experience. Saba was great but a bit more difficult and less life.
OP
parrotfisch
Registered
Is that you "animal?" This is your dive buddy!!
Similar threads
