Did a little quick checking online. If I understand correctly, Caicos is not one of those 'cruise ship playground' type destinations with lots of excursions? People diss cruise ships, but areas pandering to that market often offer a range of activities - jungle hikes, ATV group rides, horse back riding, Mayan ruin tours, parasailing, etc...So, aside from a beautiful beach scene (I am not a beach person) and eating well at restaurants, what else besides diving do the tourists do there?...
We've spent time on Provo and we really enjoyed it. It is quite expensive. The US dollar is the unit of currency but I would say that the prices are comparable to Hawaii or the Caymans. There are some ways to curtail the costs, like rent an apartment or condo and plan to prepare some meals.
We are not big fans of the beach either but Grace Bay is really amazing, the water and sand are gorgeous - even nicer than Grand Cayman's Seven Mile Beach IMO. We did spend some time enjoying the beach and water. There are a lot of watersports and boating activities and there are some nice shops and restaurants. It can also be fun to tour the island and visit places like the Conch Farm or eat with the locals at the Conch Shack. I am sure that there is a golf course for those that like to golf - not me!
I have never tried land-based diving from Provo but I have read that the boat trips can be long and that you are likely to spend much of your day in the boat just to dive 2 tanks - at least if you want to go to the better sites.
We have done 2 liveaboard trips in the T&Cs and very much enjoyed spending some time on land before boarding the LOB. I can tell you that the diving around French Cay and West Caicos is great. Beautiful healthy walls, lots of sea life, large critters on every dive (sharks, eagle rays, turtles, and more). The reefs start a little deeper than in some areas of the Caribbean but the dives are very manageable. We dived from the LOB at permanent mooring sites, no drift dives or panga dives.
But if you want a place with good diving and lots of land-based activities then Grand Cayman is an excellent choice. There are many things to see and do and not all of them are expensive, either.
If you head to Cayman Brac then the diving is better than GC IMO but there is not much to do besides snorkel, dive, and enjoy nature. Which is fine with me but probably not very exciting for someone looking for non-diver activities.
The CBBR recently upgraded their property with a huge infinity pool to make the hotel more attractive to divers traveling with others. The beach at the resort is nice for sunning yourself but it is not a great spot for swimming or snorkeling IMO. The resort has a small spa and an exercise room and free use of bicycles. They also have tennis courts (and basketball, I think.) They offer some entertainments each night like trivia and bingo. We love it there but I'm not sure that it would be a great family vacation destination. Although when I was kid my family used to go to a cottage on a lake in Indiana so CB is a whole lot better! But we had fun in Indiana anyway!
Little Cayman is very similar to CB but the diving is even better. There are more hotels and resorts than CB, but it is still very quiet and small.
Not many restaurants on either CB or LC but the few they have are pleasant, mostly local venues. They have great lionfish tacos at The Hungry Iguana on LC.
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