Hi, mcs!!
I just got back from Turks and Caicos yesterday!
I had the BEST time! I stayed at the Royal West Indies Resort and dove with Dive Provo. I absolutely loved Dive Provo and highly recommend them! Going to and from the dive sites, lots of convos regarding DM dive experience, living on Turks, best sites, weather conditions, etc. were had, so this is a quick recap of my experience.
September is, generally, the
least busiest time for Dive Provo. A number of the staff actually leave to go on vacation. They don't close up shop or anything, but business is definitely slow. As I mentioned in a previous post, if you haven't selected a dive op yet, I would be inclined to go ahead and do so now or at least let one know you're interested, as they may (or may not) fill up. It wasn't extremely busy while I was there, but it was busy enough that I wasn't able to dive with Dive Provo as much as I wanted. I had such a great experience with them during my first dives, I didn't want to go with another op. I definitely kicked myself for not booking sooner, but I decided to do my Nitrox certification on the off-day. Dive Provo was pretty firm on the number of divers they take out, so if you have 6 people in your party, I'd definitely be a bit more assertiveness than if there were only two or three divers in your party, primarily because of the lack of staff during the time you're visiting. I've been diving in several countries and Dive Provo was one of the best I've had the pleasure of diving with. Little things stand out for me, such as the long bar they have in the water, so divers can hold onto it during safety stop, there's a regulator they drop down alongside it in case a diver is low on air, so they can do their safety stop, they were really professional and super friendly, etc. That stood out for me, among other things.
Apparently, the weather was "out of the ordinary" for Turks and Caicos while I was there, but it seemed totally fine to me. Typical pre-rainy season island weather. I was there for a week and it rained all but one or two days. By rain, I mean 5-15 minute rain shower, followed by blasting sun. It was a little windy, but it felt great in the hot sun.
The Royal West Indies Resort, where I stayed, is also in Grace Bay, just down the street from the big grocery store, right next to the casino. Initially I was planning to stay at Northwest Point Resort, but they didn't answer their phone when I called to ask them about airport transfers, sooo...they missed out. I wanted beautiful beaches, peace, and quiet, which Grace Bay offers, but not as much as Northwest Point Resort (solitude-wise). I traveled solo, so I wasn't looking to party or go crazy, but I imagine with a party of six people, you'd want to be closer to the "action."
Regarding dive sites, the only thing I can say for sure is that French Cay is definitely impacted by the weather. I had heard from a number of people (locals and various staff) that French Cay, West Caicos, and Emerald Rock were among the best sites. I'm going to add Northwest Point to that list, as I had the best dives of my life there!!! Personally, I love sites that take a long time to get to, it's more adventurous for me. I dove West Caicos and Northwest Point, both of which took a good bit of time to get to. West Caicos took 1.5 hours to get to, while Northwest Point took about an hour to get to, both, obviously, by boat. Dive Provo picked me up from the resort at 8:00 a.m., we went back to the shop, people got the gear they needed, and we all hopped on a bus to the marina. I don't know if it's a marina, but that's what I call it. I left out of two different marinas for the different sites, which was interesting, but as I mentioned, the travel time while on the boat ranged from 50 minutes to 1.5 hours, give or take a few minutes.
Given that I heard from a number of people which sites to push towards diving, I asked about French Cay and Emerald Rock. I can't remember what they said about Emerald Rock, but they said French Cay was too windy and it was off limits to all divers. West Caicos was cool, especially seeing the uninhabited island with super luxurious condos that have been sitting unfinished and vacant since the recession. The wall is relatively close to the shore and there's, literally, a 6,000 ft. drop off, which you have probably researched. Honestly, I wasn't exceedingly impressed by the sites at West Caicos, but being back in the water was completely awesome in and of itself. I'm really bad at spotting the little critters, so that's all me. Now, Northwest Point absolutely BLEW ME AWAY!!!!!! Maybe it was just luck, but first dive (shark hotel) had turtles, several reef sharks circling around us, and beautiful seascapes. I feel like the visibility was better there, too. All I wanted was to see a turtle, which I got to see and, at that exact moment, my diamond earring got caught in hair and fell out. Sooo, if you happen to see a diamond earring, that's mine.
Second dive (2 step) had turtles, eagle rays, and DOLPHINS!!!!!! A small pod of dolphins swam right by us, which was the most amazing thing ever!! Nigel and Danny, from Dive Provo, said it's pretty rare to see dolphins while diving. Danny said Jojo, the infamous dolphin of Turks, actually comes and hangs out by the boat sometimes in Grace Bay. The last he saw him was a couple weeks prior. Great story! I definitely wouldn't poke my nose up at Northwest Point despite what you may have read or heard. I'm sure Grace Bay has great sites, but as I mentioned, the farther away the dive site, the better, but that's a personal preference not based on anything.
Some of the 'must do' advice I was given was to go to Mango Reef, Ocean Club, Coco Bistro, and Cayaba. Those are all restaurants and, apparently, quite good. I don't eat seafood, so I didn't bother. A friend I met while diving said he and his wife drove up toward Northwest Point (they rented a car), and they saw some of the most beautiful beaches they'd ever seen. You can walk forever without seeing another footprint in the sand. Extremely beautiful. I would definitely rent a car, and I'd try and stay away from the big grocery store. They hiked up taxes to 15% a couple/few months ago on imports, but it didn't have to be for everything from what I gathered. Basically, the store has no major competition, so it can keep the prices so high and it's just not right. You have to go to the "homemade ice cream" store. It's not on the same road as Dive Provo, but it's perpendicular to the grocery store and pretty close it. Other ice cream places, Giggles and the Jamaican patty place are okay, but you have to try the homemade place. The beef patties at the Jamaican patty place are excellent!!!
Okay, sorry for rambling! I hope this was useful to some extent. Have a wonderful time there, I absolutely loved it! The airport was a nightmare, though. Don't fly out on a Saturday.
If you decide to dive with Dive Provo, tell them Heather (turtle/diamond earring) said hello!
