Beaches Resorts - Turks and Caicos

[DiverDean59]

Has anyone had any experience with the Beaches Resorts in Turks and Caicos. I noticed that they are all inclusive resorts and include scuba diving. The scuba diving looks to be guided so I didn't know if that is a good thing or whether the guided scuba tours make the dive too restrictive.

Thanks

 

[ScubaRich]

I went there in 2006 and my wife and I had a great time! The resort is truly "all inclusive".
It is also a very large resort geared to families with small children. The food was very good and the grounds very well kept. The rooms were nice, very basic but we didn't spend much time in them.

Now the diving, The diving on T&C is great! But I chose to dive with another outside operator (Dive Provo). Here's why, and this may have changed since we went so I don't know if you would have the same experience.

On our day of arrival we were told you can't dive or sign up to dive until you go through Beaches diver orientation.:confused4:

Us) Fair enough! sign us up!...

beaches) "Next one isn't until tomorrow morning @ 8am" (dive boats leave @8am):crazyeye:

So we arrive @ the dive shop pool for orientation and jump through the hoops for an hour.
Orientation over, 1 dive day lost.
Ok, bite the bullet and enjoy the rest of the trip. Time to sign up for the boat!

Sorry we are all booked up! We can put you on the stand by list!

That's all I needed to hear! I went back to the room, Called Dive Provo, and was on the boat that afternoons trip and every morning after that, With front door shuttle service. Dive Provo was a wonderful outfit to dive with!:banana:

This part I can NOT confirm since I was not there but, A diver I became friendly with who was diving with Beaches said, he was very unhappy with the service. The diving is included in the "all inclusive". He felt because of this there was very little motivation for customer service from the DM's. Also he said, "we all have to dive as a group" So, the first one out of air is the one who thumbs the dive for the group!

So, since I outsourced the dive portion, I was very happy! Everything else at Beaches I loved.

Hope this sort of helps.

 

[potato cod]

I would also check with Beaches to see where they go. If you're just out in Grace Bay, you'll miss some of the really spectacular stuff!

We just dove with Caicos Adventures, and I can't recommend them enough! It will cost more, but I'd at least try to get out West Caicos a couple of times--it's really not to be missed. You can see my recent trip report here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/288740-turks-caicos-trip-report-may-26-june-2-a.html

 

[Damselfish]

There are many reviews on this board and elsewhere that say it's best to skip the diving at Beaches and do your diving with another (real) op. It's nice to have an AI in a good dive destination for those who like to stay at one, but diving from a mainstream AI generally has the reputation of not being the way to go if you're at all serious about diving.

There are AI resorts that are centered around diving where it's a different matter and that can be a great arrangement. But that's very different from the mainstream AIs such as Beaches & Sandals