Diving South Caicos? Is it any good?

[KathyV]

Back to our Topic!

@PatW previously posted this information and it sounds like South Caicos was just waiting for a good hotel/dive op to set up shop and now Reef Divers have taken advantage of the opportunity!

"I have dove many of these places.

Turks and Caicos.

South Caicos has a wall at about 80+ feet. I have seen schooling reef sharks there and I hear Eagle Rays do that there also. The inner reef is shallower. The visibility is great. The problem is that hotel facilities tend to be hit or miss (I don’t know the current situation) and the dive operator is often lacking..."​

@PatW please tell us more about South Caicos. My 2 liveaboard trips to the TCI were focused on Provo, French Cay, West Caicos, etc. so we never got near South Caicos and the only island that I've stayed on has been Provo.

 

[KathyV]

Here's a recent TripAdvisor thread about diving South Caicos, it's sounds very nice!

Which best for diving? - Turks and Caicos Forum - Tripadvisor

 

[drrich2]

We did a live aboard long ago to Grand Turk, South Caicos, and Salt Cay. And day boats from Provo on the same trip, mostly to West Caicos. South Caicos was the highlight of the trip. This is mostly because of a dive site we kept repeating that had a constant stream of eagle rays and reef sharks.

There is not much there as far as tourist infrastructure.

South Caicos is spectacular diving.

The flight to South Caicos from Provo is only around 20 mins, very convenient if you can get a direct flight from your hometown to Provo- Toes in the sand by lunchtime!

South Caicos has a wall at about 80+ feet. I have seen schooling reef sharks there and I hear Eagle Rays do that there also. The inner reef is shallower.

There's a lot to digest here. It sounds like South Caicos has really good diving but a sparse topside experience. That's the sort of place that says 'live-aboard' to me, yet the 2 live-aboards based in the Caicos islands focus on West Caicos, Provo. and sometimes French Key. South Caicos is farther away, so maybe it's not close enough to Provo. to be practical.

If people have to fly into Provo. and on to South Caicos, and many don't have direct flights to Provo, does that add a day's travel time flying to/from South Caicos, so 2 days less diving? The typical 7-day vacation U.S. divers often get off from work drops from 6 days diving (often 5 1/2, allowing for no-dive time before flying) to 4. Ouch. The extra flights will increase airfare costs.

If they still don't have much tourist infrastructure, even with a sandy beach, packing in the dives become important. How many dives/day can people do? I assume it's all boat diving, no shore diving? The Trip Advisor link Kathy V provided shows contributor Blamona stating "Not much more to the island, you can look into Sailrock or East Bay to stay, both are nice. Not much in the way of other attractions (donkey's on the streets?) even sleepier than Grand Turk. You can go fishing from there to Little Ambregris Cay, some of the best bone fishing in the world." From what I've read, Grand Turk is pretty 'sleepy!'

How do the 'inner reef' and 'wall' compare in dive appeal? Would most everyone be aiming for the wall? If so, is 80+ feet the starting point for most South Caicos dives? One concern about diving on Provo./West Caicos trips is a reef wall drop-off deeper than some competing destinations...I recall around 50-feet. If most dives start around 80 feet deep, wow! It's not a deal breaker for everyone; Saba has a rep. for deep pinnacle diving. But I'd want to know about 100-cf tank availability (ideally larger!).

This might go okay while the Caymans aren't taking American tourists, but what happens when the Caymans open back up? I'd want to know...

1.) Why go there vs. Little Cayman, Cayman Brac or Grand Turk?
2.) How deep will the diving be, how many dives can I do, and what's the typical dive length?
3.) For people who can't fly directly to Provo., is it likely to take 2 days to get there and to get back? Can most Americans get to Little Cayman, Cayman Brac or Grand Turk in 1 day, or do they have the same problem?

I didn't include Grand Cayman in my comparison, because people who want the topside amenities of G.C. aren't likely to pick South Caicos.

 

[KathyV]

There's a lot to digest here. It sounds like South Caicos has really good diving but a sparse topside experience. That's the sort of place that says 'live-aboard' to me, yet the 2 live-aboards based in the Caicos islands focus on West Caicos, Provo. and sometimes French Key. South Caicos is farther away, so maybe it's not close enough to Provo. to be practical.

If people have to fly into Provo. and on to South Caicos, and many don't have direct flights to Provo, does that add a day's travel time flying to/from South Caicos, so 2 days less diving? The typical 7-day vacation U.S. divers often get off from work drops from 6 days diving (often 5 1/2, allowing for no-dive time before flying) to 4. Ouch. The extra flights will increase airfare costs.

If they still don't have much tourist infrastructure, even with a sandy beach, packing in the dives become important. How many dives/day can people do? I assume it's all boat diving, no shore diving? The Trip Advisor link Kathy V provided shows contributor Blamona stating "Not much more to the island, you can look into Sailrock or East Bay to stay, both are nice. Not much in the way of other attractions (donkey's on the streets?) even sleepier than Grand Turk. You can go fishing from there to Little Ambregris Cay, some of the best bone fishing in the world." From what I've read, Grand Turk is pretty 'sleepy!'

How do the 'inner reef' and 'wall' compare in dive appeal? Would most everyone be aiming for the wall? If so, is 80+ feet the starting point for most South Caicos dives? One concern about diving on Provo./West Caicos trips is a reef wall drop-off deeper than some competing destinations...I recall around 50-feet. If most dives start around 80 feet deep, wow! It's not a deal breaker for everyone; Saba has a rep. for deep pinnacle diving. But I'd want to know about 100-cf tank availability (ideally larger!).

This might go okay while the Caymans aren't taking American tourists, but what happens when the Caymans open back up? I'd want to know...

1.) Why go there vs. Little Cayman, Cayman Brac or Grand Turk?
2.) How deep will the diving be, how many dives can I do, and what's the typical dive length?
3.) For people who can't fly directly to Provo., is it likely to take 2 days to get there and to get back? Can most Americans get to Little Cayman, Cayman Brac or Grand Turk in 1 day, or do they have the same problem?

I didn't include Grand Cayman in my comparison, because people who want the topside amenities of G.C. aren't likely to pick South Caicos.

I can answer one question because I’ve done some preliminary checking. I would be traveling from the midwest and it appears that I could get there in one day, same as Little Cayman and Brac.

For example, I could leave ORD early and fly AA with one stop in Miami to Provo, then take the short Inter-Caribbean afternoon flight to South Caicos. Some folks might be able to fly direct to Provo and on to SC pretty easily.

But people traveling from less accessible places might have to overnight in Provo and fly to South Caicos in the morning, so it is very similar to the Cayman Sister Islands. I imagine that Reef Divers will try to work out flight details (or even Saturday charters) with the inter island airlines to best accommodate their guests.

 

[KathyV]

@drrich2 There’s very few topside attractions in the Cayman Sister Islands. There’s a few things to do on Brac like hiking and rock climbing and both islands have wildlife and nature preserves, but Little Cayman is the quietest place I’ve ever been. You can dive, take part in a few water-sports, enjoy sun and sand, and relax.

It sounds like South Caicos is very similar, but Clearly Cayman and Reef Divers do their best to make their resorts very enjoyable. They offer good, plentiful food, a small spa, a fun bar, and nightly activities like trivia, bingo, movies, etc. and they have good dive shops. LC also has a photo pro and a photo shop. The bottom line is that most folks are there to dive.

I’ve done both a liveaboard and resort vacations in the Cayman Sister Islands and they are similar experiences. You get more diving on the LOB but I've had more fun at the resort, especially in rough weather. They might not even make the crossing in bad weather, but you may get to dive all 3 islands on the LOB.

We like to spend some time on Grand Cayman enjoying the topside activities and restaurants before flying to the Sister Islands, and we could do the same on Provo.

 

[drrich2]

There’s very little topside attractions in the Cayman Sister Islands.

The bottom line is that most folks are there to dive.

From Cayman Brac Beach Resort's $1,995 Cayman Diver 7-Night Dive Package:
"
• 6 X 2-tank AM + 5 x 1-tank PM boat dives (17 boat dives total for 7-night package)
• Morning dive trip to Little Cayman to dive Bloody Bay Marine Park included as one of the AM dives at no additional charge (weather permitting)"

Do they offer some night dives at an added cost?

Once the Caymans open back up, I figure Reef Divers' South Caicos offering will be judged against this. I'm interested to see the specifics.

 

[tridacna]

There's a lot to digest here. It sounds like South Caicos has really good diving but a sparse topside experience. That's the sort of place that says 'live-aboard' to me, yet the 2 live-aboards based in the Caicos islands focus on West Caicos, Provo. and sometimes French Key. South Caicos is farther away, so maybe it's not close enough to Provo. to be practical.

If people have to fly into Provo. and on to South Caicos, and many don't have direct flights to Provo, does that add a day's travel time flying to/from South Caicos, so 2 days less diving? The typical 7-day vacation U.S. divers often get off from work drops from 6 days diving (often 5 1/2, allowing for no-dive time before flying) to 4. Ouch. The extra flights will increase airfare costs.

If they still don't have much tourist infrastructure, even with a sandy beach, packing in the dives become important. How many dives/day can people do? I assume it's all boat diving, no shore diving? The Trip Advisor link Kathy V provided shows contributor Blamona stating "Not much more to the island, you can look into Sailrock or East Bay to stay, both are nice. Not much in the way of other attractions (donkey's on the streets?) even sleepier than Grand Turk. You can go fishing from there to Little Ambregris Cay, some of the best bone fishing in the world." From what I've read, Grand Turk is pretty 'sleepy!'

How do the 'inner reef' and 'wall' compare in dive appeal? Would most everyone be aiming for the wall? If so, is 80+ feet the starting point for most South Caicos dives? One concern about diving on Provo./West Caicos trips is a reef wall drop-off deeper than some competing destinations...I recall around 50-feet. If most dives start around 80 feet deep, wow! It's not a deal breaker for everyone; Saba has a rep. for deep pinnacle diving. But I'd want to know about 100-cf tank availability (ideally larger!).

This might go okay while the Caymans aren't taking American tourists, but what happens when the Caymans open back up? I'd want to know...

1.) Why go there vs. Little Cayman, Cayman Brac or Grand Turk?
2.) How deep will the diving be, how many dives can I do, and what's the typical dive length?
3.) For people who can't fly directly to Provo., is it likely to take 2 days to get there and to get back? Can most Americans get to Little Cayman, Cayman Brac or Grand Turk in 1 day, or do they have the same problem?

I didn't include Grand Cayman in my comparison, because people who want the topside amenities of G.C. aren't likely to pick South Caicos.

Our flights leave Newark at 8:25am for Provo. We’re in S. Caicos at 2pm. Same equipment from PLS to S. Caicos as they have on Cayman.

I’m taking 20 divers with me. Can’t wait.

 

[KathyV]

From Cayman Brac Beach Resort's $1,995 Cayman Diver 7-Night Dive Package:
"
• 6 X 2-tank AM + 5 x 1-tank PM boat dives (17 boat dives total for 7-night package)
• Morning dive trip to Little Cayman to dive Bloody Bay Marine Park included as one of the AM dives at no additional charge (weather permitting)"

Do they offer some night dives at an added cost?

Once the Caymans open back up, I figure Reef Divers' South Caicos offering will be judged against this. I'm interested to see the specifics.

Yes, night dives are available a few times per week at an added cost. And if you stay at LCBR they offer a one day trip over to the Brac resort to dive the Tibbetts wreck at no added cost.

I’m sure the new East Bay resort will be compared to the other Clearly Cayman resorts. I remember when they first opened Cobalt Coast and there were complaints about the food, air conditioning, etc. but the Tibbetts corp invested money into updating the property and amenities and now you don’t read many complaints.

 

[Damselfish]

A bit of history - The liveaboard we did there was the Wind Dancer and it left from Grand Turk. The reason they started running the boat there was because they could. Sounded like they might have done it in the past and wanted to continue, but the dock sucked, or maybe got clobbered by a storm, at any rate they did not have a suitable place to dock a boat like that for some time. The dock got fixed/upgraded so they could. I don’t know if there was no suitable dock on South Caicos to base, or if it was just too sleepy a place for flights and supplies.

I’m not sure how long they stayed there or why they left. (The Wind Dancer got moved to Grenada for awhile and did St Vincent and the Grenadines, which was a great trip I wish they still did. But the boat got moved to Cocos and maybe other places in between. I think the SVG trip started because they finally got permission to do it. Maybe that’s why they moved. Having done a few trips to St Vincent I have a strong theory on why they had trouble getting permission, but I’ll keep those to myself...)

 

[tridacna]

Good news is that CC is negotiating with InterCarribean Airlines for chartering flights to S. Caicos. Getting there from Provo will not be an issue.