Turks and Caicos suggestions

[girlbob]

My boyfriend and I are planning a week vacation to the Caribbean in late July. We were debating between Cayman Brac (friend recommendation) and Turks and Caicos, but had settled on T&C cause it seems as though the beaches and other scenery are a little nicer (reportedly).

I am certified and he is looking to do his certification dives while there. We are now trying to figure out where to stay (Providenciales vs Grand Turk) and how to do the best diving for both of our levels. I had looked into Bohio dive resort, which seems like a nice place and a good deal. However, I do want to do more extensive diving than just off Grand Turk. In addition, not sure if spending the entire time on Grand Turk is worth it or if we should see the other islands as well.

Hoping people might have some suggestions as to how to spend our time, which sites are the nicest in terms of beach, relaxation, water activities without being overrun by tourists or other people. I had thought to go to Grand Turk cause it sounds more chill than Provo, however the cruise ships do stop there.

I guess never having been there I have a lot of questions - if anyone has suggestions. Particularly in terms of nice, non-crowded beaches, good diving (even if longer boat ride) and chill people - I'd love to hear them.

Thanks!

GB

 

[billmosel]

I stayed at the Osprey Beach Hotel and it was fantastic!! No crowds, very quite beach and the diving was great (Blue Waters Diving). We did our rescue with Mitch. The most we had onboard the boat at one time was 5 divers.
Your looking for chill folks you will have it on Grand Turk. Very relaxed and easy going.
Look bothe places up you won't be dissappointed.

 

[girlbob]

thanks, that's super helpful! did you have a chance to see bohio when you were there? osprey looks super nice too. any comparison would be great.

and what dive sites? how far did you go out?

i'm getting rather excited. seems like a great destination.

 

[billmosel]

We ate at Bohio and it was first class for Turks. I would put Bohio at #1 as far as accommodations are concerned but it is far from town (not walking distance). Osprey would be at #2 and it is in the heart of what makes Grand Turk be Grand Turk. I would give the Osprey very serious consideration.

All dives are fantastic. You get picked up and dropped off at the beach of the Osprey. It doesn't matter how far you go out because most dives are within a 5 to 10 minute ride.
There is also a scooter rental 1/2 block away from Osprey to help get around if you want. Taxi's are also available.

 

[Nords]

As I just said in this thread,


I was just there 3 weeks ago and stayed at Club Med on Provo island. I hear that Grand Turk is pretty small and can get boring if you aren't there for a day trip with a cruise ship, so you may want to look into staying on provo.

The beaches in the TCI are the most beautiful in the world, beating Hawaii and many other spots. They were also voted the #1 beach/sun destination in the world: TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards - Beach & Sun - World

 

[vyperman]

Hey! We just returned from a week on Providenciales. We loved the island, the beaches, and the people. Provo is small, only 38 sq. miles with two main paved roads and more smaller improved roads. American, Delta, and US Airways seemed to be the major carriers flying in from the US. The area from Turtle Cove to Grace Bay is the most developed for tourism with accomodations ranging from small basic to grand luxurious hotels. I came away with the "sense" that the other Caicos islands are not as developed and offer only minimal services. All depends for what you are searching. Many restaurants and live music available on Provo (check out 'Da Conch Shack' or "somewhere" at Coral Gardens for evening diversions.

Caicos Adventures, Dive Provo, and many others (Ocean Vibes, Provo Turtle Divers, etc) and at least one liveaboard were at some of the sites we visited with Flamingo Divers, a smaller and, in my opinion, a more personable dive operation. The Beaches and Club Med run their own operations. So you have a lots of options.

To meet your stated needs, my recommendation to you is Flamingo Divers (Jayne and Mickey). They have a training pool to supplement certification training and have a number of sites for ocean dive sites available for open water dives. Your boyfriend will receive superb and personal traiing leading to PADI Open Water certification. We greatly enjoyed diving with them off the northwest point and the walls in Sanborn Channel. We experienced very good visibility, healthy soft and hard corrals, lots of invertebrates, octopus, eel gardens, reef sharks, turtles, schooling fish, etc. We had a great time, a lot of bottom time, thanks to their selection and order of dives.

 

[mbchiro]

My wife and I just returned 2 weeks ago from a week stay in Provo. We stayed at Point Grace. on Grace Bay. We dove with Flamingo Divers. They were great. We did 4 days of 2 tank dives. We dove NW point of Provo. and West Caicos. There are many sites on the western side of Provo as well as Grace Bay. We mainly did wall dives. Visibility was excellent and we saw some beautiful scenery. Flamingo Divers only takes out 8 people per dive. Mickey and Jane are the two divemasters. It was mine and my wifes first real dives. We got certified the just prior to our vacation. Jane and Mick took excellent care of us especially on our first dive. They do everything for you except throw you in the water. We felt safe and were very comfortable. I would highly recommend using them. If you are looking for a crowd, then go with the other operators. I cannot speak for their offerings, but Flamingo is the way to go in my opinion. You feel like family, not a large group. They took pics of us on each dive which we could purchase a disc of for a small fee. We rented gear from them. Everything worked as expected. We used Suunto Vyper DC's that were mandatory with them if you didn't have a DC. It made diving easy. As far as a place to stay. Point Grace was nice, but expensive. The grounds were beautiful and the beach is breathtaking. However, my wife had 2 pair of reef sandals and her curling iron stolen. Additionally, some of the staff were quite rude. We hope that is all. If you just want to stay and dive we would suggest Comfort in Grace Bay. Also, as far as dining we recommend Magnolia Wine Bar near Turtle Cove. The Tiki Hut and Sharkbite's in Turtle Cove. Also, Joes Dive Bar was good. The emphacis here was reasonably priced food. You can pay as much as you can spend on Provo. We found these places to be reasonable and good. Pizza Pizza was also a good place for a decent pie without breaking the bank.

 

[kallardnyc]

Provo and dive with Caicos Adventurers. Almost all your diving will be on the western wall off West Caicos (or French Cay) on the best boat in all the seas... The Caicos Cat. Great operation, great diving and the best beach in the western hemisphere (Grace Bay Beach)

 

[seacreatures]

I would go with Provo! If you like out of the way places try Turtle Cove Inn and dive with Turtle divers. The Conch shack is a must and the conch farm Ask to go to West Caicos and the Spanish Anchor.

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