could use some Turks & Caicos insights

[pugdiver]

Love Provo. Not just the diving around the islands but the feel of the island. If you are the type that likes to see the area a little there are other beaches on Provo. Grace Bay Beach is fabulous as previously mentioned but my favourite is Taylor Bay Beach on the other side of the island. It is far less busy and you can walk out for half a mile. We have stayed at Beaches and the Sands in the past, both on Grace Bay but we also like some of the spots just off the beach. There are a number of rentals in and around Regent Village that are a 2 - 5 minute walk from Grace Bay Beach. If you decide not to go with the AI Club Med the restaurants in general are fabulous on the island, but they are pricey. the cost of everything having to be shipped in other than fish.

Feel free to PM if you want other information diving or non-diving related. We are actually planning on retiring there.

 

[Wah]

Hi,
Just thought I'd let you know (if you didn't already) that many dive ops and restaurants are closed for the month of september in Provo. Your dive op choices will almost certainly be either Dive Provo or Caicos Adventures. I dove with both last September and, although I would be happy to dive again with either one, I'd probably go with CA. Not sure about Club Med, but I probably wouldn't dive with them anyway. Both dive ops will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel. The other dive ops (Flamingo, Provo Turtle divers, ocean vibes...) were all closed last September, and they referred me to the two bigger ops I mentioned.

The diving in Provo was great... I was there right after the hurricane, and the visibility was not the best (50-80ft), but wow.. the sharks, the eagles, the turtles... Even the boat ride out of the south marinas... shallow turquoise water so calm you could see the starfish on the sea floor while the boat is flying by. The dives are all wall dives, some with current... but most in the 60 to 90ft range. Might want to consider nitrox for longer bottom times.

If you are looking for low key, laid back island... Provo is definitely the place. No cruise ships, no McDonalds, no downtown souvenir cities... I would recommend renting a car if you really want to check out the local places, but you'll have to be prepared to drive on the left. The majority of resorts are on Grace bay, but I don't like staying too far to the east of the Ports of Call (Club Med, Ocean club, royal west indies... ) only because we like driving around and eat at the local places... we've been to provo 4 times and found that we always ended up driving to places towards the middle of the island. Also, if you snorkel at all, smith's reef is fantastic and bight reef at coral gardens resort was nice and very convenient... I saw a big reef shark swimming right through coral gardens last time I was there.

Anyway, in September, a lot of places are closed, so you'll have to figure out what is open and what isn't. There are plenty of places to go, and the beaches have never been crowded any of the times we've been there. You just have to hope the hurricanes stay away.

 

[Ms. Ann Thrope]

Again, thanks for the new input. I figured the islands would be quiet in September. I wasn't thinking about stuff being closed. Wah, are you on your way to Cozumel as it suggests on your status line? That's my most frequent dive destination. I think we've been four times in the last two years alone.

As to my week in Provo, I haven't made any dive decisions yet. I'm trying to balance my desire to get through the week relatively inexpensively (that would put me on Club Med's boats) vs. thinking I might get better dive destinations by using someone else. From pictures and things, it looks like all of the bigger ops are using fairly large boats--I've gotten really used to six- or eight-packs. I know a lot of my experience will end up depending on what kind of buddy or diver group I end up with. And I'll gladly do Nitrox, especially if it puts me with people who can make their tanks last.

I'm thinking I'm going to rent a bike rather than a car, if the rental places are open. I don't want to limit myself to being at Club Med day and night. I'll be happy to hear any suggestions for local-type restaurants, especially ones that are on the less expensive side. One thing I really appreciate in any Caribbean destination is the ability to get a really fresh piece of fish, simply prepared. And I do like to snorkel when I'm not diving. I think I could happily spend most of my day in the water. Thanks for the recommendations!

 

[tkaelin]

My daughter I took a trip to Provo last July and stayed at the comfort suites and dove thru Dive Provo. I thought the diving was good, especially West Caicos and French Caye. They have a 3 tank dive on Wed and we enjoyed it. The dive days were longer than most places I have been which we liked but you should be aware of that for planning purposes. On the three tank dive we returned around 6 PM, on West Caicos around 4 PM and Grace Bay around 1 PM. My daughter was taking an advance class and I had no problem finding a competent buddy when needed. I thought the accomodations and diving were reasonably priced and we saved money on the dining. Contintental breakfasts came with the rooms. lunch was provided on the boat on the longer boat dives and dining prices were reasonable as well. We had two diners at the Dive Bar nearby and there was a good grocery store, comparable to a good grocery store in the States with hot and cold bars and take out prep food. Both easy walks from Comfort Suites. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Wah]

Hi, I actually just got back from Coz 2 weeks ago... I just forgot to update my status. I had a great time! The swift current is not my favorite thing (Hey... look at tha... oh you missed it!), but most of the dives had little or no current, so it was all good.

Caicos adventures has a big boat and a little boat... I think each day there were no more than 6 divers, so we took the smaller one every day.... not a six pack but still on the small side. Dive Provo had an average sized boat but I think there were more divers signed up with them... CA put us on Dive Provo the first day b/c of "boat problems" (that is why I dove with both ops).

I don't think the area around Grace Bay has many "local-type" restaurants... Don't get me wrong, there are great restaurants with local dishes, but I don't think the locals eat there. You probably won't be able to safely bike to where the they do eat. Still, great food can be found up and down the beach... Even the cheaper places are expensive though, so maybe hit the Graceway Gourmet supermarket and cook a few meals if your room has a kitchen?

If you are planning to snorkel, try to go down to Smith's Reef near turtle cove, though it might be a really long bike ride from Club Med. If you are alone, it might be a little intimidating if there is no one else there. It is not in front of any big resort and the beach (and entry) is pretty rocky (bring your booties), so it is usually pretty empty. Bight reef is not as big, but it literally starts at the beach in front of Coral Gardens hotel and extends out into the water. Lots of people there, so you won't be alone. The main part of the reef is roped off so it doesn't get destroyed... but you can swim over the deeper part of the reef and see lots of sea life.

Have fun! I am jealous!

 

[BradMM]

I'm not sure I'm going to love Club Med (again, I'm not usually an AI fan)

If you wish to sleep at night, might want to reconsider going to Club Med. The resort party went on until about 1:00 (as I recall) and the extra partying went on much later. My wife couldn't sleep so we left a day early. The best I could do was get a voucher for one night in another Club Med but there's nothing really of interest so we just lost that money. The first day out on the boat really sucked but I'm sure that's not the norm.

 

[Ms. Ann Thrope]

BradMM, thanks for the input. So in what way did your first day on the boat suck? Did subsequent days suck as well? And were these scuba outings? On Club Med's boat? I'm pretty much locked into Club Med at this point and will just have to hope it's not too loud too late when I'm there, but I still have plenty of time to choose a dive op. If you can describe your experience there, that would be great.

 

[BradMM]

BradMM, thanks for the input. So in what way did your first day on the boat suck? Did subsequent days suck as well? And were these scuba outings? On Club Med's boat? I'm pretty much locked into Club Med at this point and will just have to hope it's not too loud too late when I'm there, but I still have plenty of time to choose a dive op. If you can describe your experience there, that would be great.

We quit SCUBA diving years ago and now mostly just snorkel. It's just a lot easier to travel (unless you want to trust rental gear) and a lot easier to access once you're at your destination. We see pretty much what we want to see and I was never all that enamored with deep dives... too short. I enjoy free diving and my wife just likes cruising along at a leisurely pace. The first day, the Club Med boat took us to see this dolphin that was very accustomed to hanging around tourists. Other than that, there was NOTHING to see. The second day, I got one of my best underwater photographs ever but it was mostly just cool coral.

You may well find some good dive options. Like I said, I didn't really think our "in the water" experience was typical for T&C but that's how things went for us. However, I would expect the Club Med experience to be pretty much the same. I enjoyed the dining just fine, the people who worked there were very pleasant but my wife walked the entire compound one night when she couldn't sleep and said it was loud everywhere.

My $.02 worth.

 

[DeputyDan]

I had planned to go to T&C next March, now reading online, I read that most of the dives are deeper, beyond 60ft, now I am only OW cert. and my son will be doing his Open water referal dives to get certified. Also I read that there is very little shore diving, I also booked a week at the Beaches resort ( always looked fun). If anyone were to choose, would you rather go to Roatan to Cocoview resort with unlimited shore diving ( so my son and I can dive) plus 2 tank dives a day all inclusive or dive turks and Caicos and stay at busy resort which really is like a cruise but on land. I was planning on T&C but started think it may cost me 1500.00 for tickets to Roatan but the shore diving is very attractive, and the possiblility to dive with Whale Sharks is so exciting

COCO View would be a good choice for the circumstances you outline in your post!

 

[Misty89]

Check out lodging options other than the resorts. We were in Provo for a week last October and stayed at Grace Bay Place for $700 for the week in a 1-bedroom condo with a full kitchen. It's just down the road from Caicos Adventures, a 5-minute walk to the beach, has a nice pool/garden and a couple of sweet dogs to keep you company when you're reading in the hammock. Safe and quiet. We were looking for "affordable" as well, and since we were diving everyday from 8am-3:30pm, it wasn't a big deal for us not to stay right on the beach. We'd rather spend money on other stuff, like diving and eating!

There are also other great condo options on VBRO.com, with deals during the off-season.