Turks and Caicos

[Bigberg50]

Any good or bad experiences with specific DOs or Resorts on Provo? I'm thinking about heading there this fall or next spring.
Thanks!

[caymaniac]

We've been to a number of places in the carribean: St. John, St. Thomas, Cozumel, Freeort & Nassau Bahamas, Aruba, Bonaire, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman. We did enjoy each one, they are like peaches and apples each one is a bit different. Turks and Caicos is not the Carribean but the Atlantic. we chose to go to Provo, it is the most developed of the T & C. It is less developed than all the above except for the Brac and Little Cayman. We like quiet. It was, the beach was nice. I think I would go again ( there are other places to visit first ). T & C have alot of building going on, its probably a matter of time before it too falls prey to the Pod people. We used Caicos Adventures which was recommended by this board. It was the right choice. We dove at West Caicos each day for a week and the only other boats we saw were the Aggressor, and the Sea Dancer. Diving was excellent, but it started deeper than all the places mentioned above, it started at 50 to 60 feet on the reef. We never were rushed to end a dive, almost all our dives were for more than one hour. The boat takes about 40 to 50 min. to get to West Caicos. A free pick up from where you stay and lunch is included. Each dive day is a two tanker. We were picked up at 8:20 ( always on time) and got back at 2:30 - 3:30. One day
( thursday) was a three tank. There were many restaurants to choose from, you'd want to rent a car. The Conch farm tour was interesting. The Ecco tour of iquana island is over priced and over done. There is alot for us to explore if we get to go back.
The bad - don't stay at Beaches, this was heard from those on our boat staying there. :balloon:

[Newhampster]

Did it last year, on Peter Hughes Wind Dancer. This ship operates from Grand Turk, not Provo (you fly Miami to Provo to puddle-jumper-to Grand Turk).

Grand Turk Island is much more remote than Provo. Most of the dive sites (Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay, etc.) were great (2 out of about a dozen sucked).

The food and accomodations on the ship were first class. This ain't camping, folks! Private cabins, private shower and head, and Tony, the cook, did a great job with the grub.

Crew was great.

Would I go with them again? Sure, but there's so many other places I've never been, I'm loathe to go back to the same site again for the next few years.

T&C was a great trip.

[dascubadweeb]

In August, my fiancé' & I spent a week aboard Peter Hughes' boat in the T & C. The other half is a "diving fool" with over 1,000 dives and has traveled the world over. On the opposite side there's me (the better half) who had less than 80 dives over a period of 10 years. In my (humble) opinion, this was a GREAT location for both. Sweetie could make some deep, wall dives and hang with the sharks (off of French Quay) whilst I honed my skills and had some incredible dives - fell in love with the dome. The water temp was great, vis was better, full of life (not the big stuff often however, it's a plethora of macro stuff)! Not only that, the crew was FABULOUS and we were lucky, the other guests on board were wonderful. I highly recommend it.

[DivePartner1]

In August I dove with Dive Provo, which is very much a class act. The best dives are hours away, at the Northwest tip of the Island or several hours south at French Cay. A live aboard is likely the best way to dive these islands.

I stayed in a hotel, a Days Inn or something.

You should be aware that on Sundays restaurants on Provo keep very short hours or don't open at all. If you''re not aware of this and time your dives wrong (as we did), and your hotel doesn't serve food, you'll be lucky to get one meal.

[DonnaS]

Hi to All !

Just got back with my dive buddies from Turks and Caicos Islands.
We stayed on Provo, The Sands at Grace Bay.
It was just Awsome......We dove with a dive company, Caicos Adventures. The were the best. We dove the French Cay, a place called the "G" spot and "double D's". The walls were incredible. Did a few drift dives. The only night dive we did was in Grace Bay at the reef. We used Dive Provo. I was not very impressed with them. Hurded up around like a cattle boat. One of the deck hands threw my buddies dive light at her, when she was in the water. She was not prepared and missed. His reply was "I thought it would float, you can dive down and get it".
All in all I will go back and had a fantastic time. My husband only snorkels, and he had an equally great time.

=-)