Best part of Provo to stay while diving ?

[scubby-doo]

We wish to stay in Provo for 7 nights while diving. It will be June 17.
Looking at mapsd of the island, it is hard to decide what is pros and cons of the lcoation to stay. Ocean club is near Turtle Cove ? Looks like Turtle cove is midway on the north east side, near marina, but no beaches there.
Then there is Grace Bay beach area, OCean club resorts are there ?

Who has stayed in those areas and can speak of the benefits of which part of Provo to stay in. We like sandy beaches and scenic areas. We like good dining , and the wife likes shopping. But mostly, I am there for the diving. Provoturtledivers ?
:14:

 

[caymaniac]

Stay on Grace Bay... especially because your wife doesn't dive, there is little to no shopping. Grace Bay is probably one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. You have to rent a car on Provo to see anything. We stayed at the Alexandria but there are many nice resorts on Provo. We dove with Caicos Adventures, they will pick you up from your hotel. I'm sure ProvoTurtle Divers would be okay but I would recommend (as many others on this board have) C.A.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

We have stayed all over the island and I can second what Caymaniac said above. Be aware that the boat rides are long. CA will pick you up at approximately 8:00 a.m. and you won't be back until mid-afternoon. Also bring plenty of money. Food is very expensive on the island. On Grace Bay we have stayed at the Sands, the Royal West Indies, Grace Bay Club and Point Grace. I can recommend all of them highly. If you are looking for a air/hotel package RWI and Sands usually have the best deals.

 

[virtualjason]

We've stayed at the Ocean Club West three years in a row -- great location (amazing food at Caicos Cafe and Coco's Bistro are short walks away), and an unbelievable beach on Grace Bay. Provo Turtle Divers operate out of the Ocean Clubs, too. The rooms/suites are more practically-minded than luxury-minded, though, so think about what you deem important. (We liked having full kitchen and a washer/drier in the suite rather than having plush carpets and room service.) TripAdvisor.com should help with reviews of all the places mentioned in this thread.

 

[hammerhead man]

We stayed at the Sands and are returning in June. I would recommend that resort and also second what others are saying about staying on Grace Bay. The beach there is incredible. We dive with Caicos Adventures and they run a great operation. Caicos Adventures only dives at the remote sites and that is because that is where the best diving is located. For traveler's reviews of the resorts on Provo check out Turks and Caicos Tourism - Turks and Caicos Vacation Reviews - Turks and Caicos Vacations - TripAdvisor. Just click on any resort name in the bottom left window and you can read reviews for that resort.

Regards,

Bill

 

[ConchyJoe]

There is a place called Coral Gardens. They have nice rooms for $170 a night, good breakfast and light dinner offerings. There is also a small dive operation called Cactus Voyager. They will help you with anything, but one of the nicest things is they can leave you a tank so you can night dive the reef, also called Coral Gardens, any and every night if you wish. 25ft max depth. We do 90 minutes easy, and get an extra dive in most days. Fifi will pick you up for French Cay/West Caicos diving, and if Matthew, the owner of Cactus Voyager is not busy, he will be divemaster on Fifi's boat.

 

[scubby-doo]

All these ideas are great ! Thanks scuba-boarders ! We will eithe choose OCean club, OCWest, Royal west INdies, Sands. Is the Ocean club on Grace Bay also ? Is Ocean club west on Grace bay ? Or only these places: The Sands, Somerset are on Grace Bay ? I will want to get a room with kitchen so we can make our own food, and not eat out all the time...

 

[hammerhead man]

I believe that all the resorts listed are on Grace Bay. The only comment I would make is that Royal West Indies is next to Club Med and there have been complaints regarding the noise coming from Club Med. However, there are many that have also had a very positive experience at Royal West. I know that all of the Sands units come with a kitchen but I'm not sure about the others. The Sands has efficencies and well as 1-2 or 3 bedroom units.

Regards,

Bill

 

[scubby-doo]

We selected Ocean club. Now to choose the dive op. CA seems very good, nice comfortable boat. I am looking at Oasis dive op too. Any others I should consider if we like the small crowd ? However, we like the best comfortable boats.

 

[hammerhead man]

Caicos Adventures does a great job and they only go to the best sites but they are remote (West Caicos, South Wall, and French Cay). They pick you up at the resort each morning. The boats are large and comfortable but they do take dive groups up to 15 on a boat. When we dove with them if there was a over 10-12 divers they split us into two groups and each group went a different direction. We never experienced a full boat (usually 8-10 divers) but that doesn't mean on any or all of the days the boat could be full. Just make sure that the dive op you select doesn't stay in Grace Bay because the diving isn't great there. The Northwest poing has good diving but the consensus is that the best dive sites are the remote sites (approx 30-45 minute boat ride).

Regards,

Bill