Grand Turk -vs Caicos for Family

[dwatts]

I am considering a family vacation this summer and we are thinking about going to Turks/Caicos. While I am an AOW diver,my wife and 2 kids are beginners (kids not yet certified). This vacation would not be predominantly a diving trip but rather a cool 7 day vacation where we would dive a couple of days.

It looks like Grand Turk might have the easiest/shallow diving which would be good for beginner divers. However, on Grand Turk we may have to deal with cruise ships.

The west end of Caicos looks like it might be a for more comfortable place to stay. However, it looks like the dives might be deeper. My wife is definitely a shallow only diver (less than 60 feet). Kids too since they would be newly certified.

Questions:
1) Would staying on Grand Turk mean that we would probably encounter cruisers? Is that really much of a problem on GT?
2) Is it easy to fin shallow reef dives on the west end (around Dive Provo)?

 

[mikeycanuk]

We loved our 8 day Salt Cay stay 2 years ago, much more of a friendly feel. GT sorely lacked this IMO.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[KathyV]

For a family vacation with some diving why not consider Beaches (it's a Sandals resort) on Provo? I have never stayed there but I have seen it while on the island and it looked like a great spot for a family vacation.

I have never been keen on big, all-inclusive resorts that also offer diving (I only tried it one time with a Club Med and didn't care for it) but Beaches T&C has gotten some good reviews, see the link below and search this forum. The diving is included in the price of the resort and since you are not planning to do a lot of diving that might work for you.

We have vacationed on Provo and we've done did 2 liveaboard trips in the T&C islands. Most of the liveaboard diving was off of French Cay and West Caicos and it was fantastic, but that's not a family trip.

I have never stayed on Grand Turk so I can't comment but I really liked Provo. Grace Bay Beach is spectacular and the water is gorgeous, even nicer than 7 mile beach on Grand Cayman IMO. Plus you will have to fly into Provo anyway so that is easier and cheaper than connecting to a sister island.

The cruise ships don't dock in Provo so that is not a problem. If you are thinking of the T&C islands why not check out Provo, too?

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/gr...ndals-type-diving-experience.html#post7507595

 

[Alex777]

I have stayed and dived on both Grand Turk and Salt Cay. Both are quite suitable for beginners with easy, predominantly shallow, dive sites. I would choose Salt Cay over Grand Turk for the same reason as mikeycanuk. I am not sure what you mean by "The west end of Caicos". Are you referring to Provodenciales?

 

[dwatts]

Thanks for the replies. I looked at Salt Cay and I would be worried that there is very little to do there.

And yes, by the west end I meant Provodenciales. The Beaches resort looks like a good choice. I'll look into that one more.

We need other activities, especially if my kids do not get certified before then. Thanks folks!

 

[diversteve]

Take away the cruise excursions and I think the kids would be pretty bored on Grand Turk also. Until recently (and maybe it still is) there were no stop lights "downtown" as they weren't needed. Yet that's the capital of the islands. Most dives are going out to the wall that's just a little too far to shore dive and those tend to be deeper.

I like the Beaches suggestion also. It's an extremely kid friendly resort and they'll take the kids if you two want time to yourselves - I guess down to the infant level. Plus there's a big waterslide, game room etc. I've only been in there once but it looked pretty nice.

Most of the diving they do is shallow off Grace Bay or NW Point nearby - some of those sites probably don't exceed 50' - a couple around 30' - we dove a couple days in that area. (liveaboard) Beaches lists some of the deeper sites off West Caicos but I don't think they go out there as often as they'd want you to believe - which is a good thing for you since it's deep wall diving and the moorings start around 40'. Mostly because it's a 45min.+ boat ride and they have to do two tanks and be back for lunch.

If the kids aren't yet certified - sign them up for the resort course. They do it once and that entitles them to one daily escorted dive all week. I think it's even included in the price. Or do the certs there - I'm reliably certain Beaches is PADI.

There's also a lot more to do on Provo outside the resort. IDK if you've seen this: Things to do in Turks and Caicos

 

[mikeycanuk]

We got really bored on GT. Salt Cay is more fun/friendly. I have to admit we dove everyday we could and chilled out in the house a lot. However you could walk down (or golf cart it) to either Debbies or Porter Island and chat with someone you met/dove/ate with the day before. We had a great time exploring the island and beach combing. The island is totally frozen in time.

We did Beaches in 06 and 07. It's mega $$$$$$$. To the point we stayed in SC 8 days followed by 7 days in Provo over the Christmas holidays renting a private house/villa (plus food) for the same amount of $ that Beaches was for 1 week not-peak season (Jan3-10) in a 2 bedroom suite.

Beaches at the time was hugely skewed towards the baby-6 year old Sesame street loving set. My son (6 then 7) was bored and hated the kid's club. In the meantime there has been an expansion with a new water park so maybe it's more fun for the older kids. My son was happiest just on the beach. In fact his first trip south ever was to Beaches and we got there at 8pm when it was dark and he just HAD TO GO to the beach. I still remember him running along the beach in the dark happy as a pig in..... Oh how they grow up.

 

[KathyV]

We stayed at Royal West Indies the last time we were on Provo and we had a great time and we loved Grace Bay Beach and all the local attractions. The reason I suggested looking into Beaches for a family vacation is because T&C is really expensive. I am not certain but an all-inclusive that includes family activities, meals, and scuba may be the better bargain. I am used to expensive vacations. I am a big fan of the Caymans but I think that the T&C islands are just as expensive - and maybe even more so. That's why I thought that an all-inclusive that includes diving, meals, scuba, and family activities might be a better bargain - but I am not sure so you will have to do some research.

 

[afdgf]

I have to give my $.02 here. My wife and i did the Grand Turk dive week with REEF.ORG. We absolutely loved it. I cannot imagine better scuba dive conditions than what we experienced. Short boat rides, warm water, excellent vis, no surge, and very little current. Lots of pretty tropical fish to identify. The snorkling in front of the hotel was good also and had many of the juvenile forms of the fish we were identifying elsewhere. The bad news is that there is nothing else to do really in Grand Turk. If you go there, you are going to dive.
The REEF.ORG experience was also wonderful and much more fun than we expected it to be. The major books on fish identification are written by Paul Human and we actually got to dive with Paul Human himself. Kind of like diving with the Mick Jagger or Paul McCartney of the experience. For the dive shop and hotel you can see what REEF.ORG has listed.

 

[KathyV]

Wherever you decide to go in the T&C islands I suggest either staying in an apartment or condo so that you can prepare some meals, or at an all-inclusive resort (or a hotel with a meal plan) because the T&C islands are very expensive. I think that the T&Cs are just as expensive as the Caymans, maybe even more so because we have been able to find some less pricey options in the Caymans. Eating out to feed a family 3 times a day would be very costly IMO.

The last time we were on Provo we stayed in a 1-bedroom apartment at the Royal West Indies Resort. That was great because we could prepare some simple meals for breakfast and lunch and then go out for dinner, there are some really nice restaurants on Provo. The apartment included a washer and dryer and that was handy too. It was right on Grace Bay Beach and the resort offered watersports but you would have to arrange to go diving separately. I know that the Beaches resort is expensive and I haven't done a cost comparison, but I think that the T&Cs will be pretty expensive no matter how you make the arrangements. Have fun and good luck!