Turks & Caicos v. Bahamas v. Belize (towards the end of April)

[Venus]

Hi Everyone

I'm in a quandary!

I have narrowed down my next trip to three destination, on liveaboards

My dilemma is not the boat or the cost, but ....... the destination

1) I like wall dives which disappear down to hundreds of meters .....
not sandy bottoms and coral gardens

2) I like big stuff (sharks, whales, mantas, seals, dolphins, rays) and small stuff that I have to look for in the rocks (crabs, critters, nudibranchs)
not the odd fish that happens by

3) I like to travel, in the liveaboard, to reefs which are not accessable by day boats
otherwise I'd stay on land

4) I like wrecks, but this is not my priority

So, what do you think Turks & Caicos v. Bahamas v. Belize

For reference in the past few years I have dived in -

Egypt way too many times, Galapagos, Barbados, Maldives twice, Cayman, Saba, Statia, Thailand, Oman, India, all over the south coast of England and Wales

Thanks very much

Venus

 

[robint]

I agree with you about liveaboards, they are the only way to go!

I would say Turks & Caicos might be what you want. A friend just did Cayman Aggressor and says that the T&C trip is better because of the sharks on the walls. Caymans have nice walls, just not sharks every day.

Bahamas... probably the Nekton Cay Sal trip would be good for you or even the Bahamas Explorer, some walls and sharks.

I think you should scratch out Belize as you are probably not going to see any big animals. I don't think there are any "bottomless" walls there, mostly smaller walls. Belize is good for critters though.

The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos are best for seeing sharks and dolphins. Chances of seeing whales, mantas, etc. are slim. The Utila Aggressor has luck with seeing whale sharks (not guaranteed though) but that wasn't on your list.

None of these are going to be like what you saw in Galapagos, though.

robin

 

[Pam_In_Paradise]

well almost 100%- no wrecks that I know of but the walls are awesome! and to maintain my reputation as being a "straight shooter" you should know that I used to work for the liveaboard company that runs trips in both the Bahamas and Belize and I currently work for a company that is the U.S. reservations office for a couple of land based operations in Turks and Caicos and many land based operations in Belize but I'm a diver first...

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

I have been to all three (although Belize was only for two dives) and did them land-based. I would definitely check out the TCI before the other two.

 

[Venus]

Fantastic - thanks everyone

I have booked my place on Turks and Caicos Explorer II flying out of London April 12th

I am so looking forward to it

We have the London dive show a few weeks before where I plan to buy loads of new shiney gear
So, I will have to check them out in a muddy cold puddle somewhere in the Shires to make sure I know where all my buckles and braces are

Now I need to find a cheap cheap place to stay for two nights on land April 19th and 20th
I don't want to fly out the same day I leave the boat and figure I'd spend a couple of days biking on the island

Any thoughts on where I could stay, I've looked around the web and found the Comfort Inn at $115 plus lots of different types of tax to be added on
Are there any places cheaper than this
I don't mind if the accommodation is not on the beach

Thanks

Venus

 

[caymaniac]

Another possibility would be Maui Hawaii, an area such as diving on the outside of Molokini Crater offers a chance to almost always see sharks, and a occasional chance to see Manta, dolphins, rays and whales.
Of your choices, I've been to 3 places in the Bahamas (Eluthera, Freeport and Nassau) and have been to (Provo) Turks and Caicos. I would definitely choose Provo. We've been off west Caicos when there are eagle rays, dolphins, and sharks. We have not been to Belize.

 

[NTSilver]

Venus
I did not stay on land in TCI, however, I did a lot of research and the Comfort Inn rate sounds really good. It was a few years back when I did my research so it's a little hard to remember. You will love the Explorer II. It is a very new boat and probably one of the roomiest liveaboards we have been on. We went in Oct and did not see many big animals. We did have some reef sharks on every dive and there are lots of walls.
Have a great time.

 

[tvictory]

Turtle Cove Inn is a good place to stay. It's at the Turtle Cove Marina and there are numerous restaurants and bars within strolling distance.

The TCE II is too large to get into Turtle Cove Marina with regularity so it bases in the South Dock area, which is out in the middle of nowhere and a long cab ride away from Turtle Cove or Grace Bay. On the final day of your liveaboard trip (i.e. Friday), they will be back to port by about 11am. I'd recommend leaving the boat then and going to whatever hotel you're planning to stay at. Friday night dinner is not included in the trip, and the extra night's hotel room costs less than the round-trip cab ride to South Dock.