Grand Cayman or Turks and Caicos?

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Just got back from Grand Turk, diving was excellent as always. While not swanky like Providenciales, its my favorite place in the Caribbean. (Full disclosure I own a house there). 5min boat rides, surface intervals on the beach. We actually made a trip out to dive the Endymion (44 gun warship that sank in 1780) and it was an all time dive for me. While obviously the liveaboards are great out of provo, I don't understand why anyone wanting to dive would put up with the 45min boat rides every day when you can dive GT. Anyways, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
How do the local boat dives out of Grand Turk compare to the sites around Provo? I did Explorer Venture in January, was only on Provo a short time but it seemed tooThirstin Howl like for my taste. Diving was good but not much difference between the sites.
 
I think that the dives themselves are relatively similar, generally sharky and wall diving. Theres so many different sites on the wall in GT that you'll be able to mix it up a lot between all the different profiles/coral formations. At the end of the day though, almost all dives start in 40ft or so on the back reef, out to the wall to depth and back. There are a lot of swim throughs in GT which I like a lot.

The main selling point is the convenience of a 5 min ride to the dive and being able to spend the rest of your day chilling in a real "old Caribbean" spot. If you are looking for fancy, GT is not it. I'd recommend staying at the Osperey and diving with Blue Water Divers. You're around all of the bars/restaurants and locals. Bohio is the only option if you want more of a resort feel. The whole place reminds me of what Hemingway described when he talked about the Caribbean. Again, I'm biased.

I can sit on the beach in front of my place and not see a person all day (I'm about 800m south from the Osprey). GT is also extremely safe which is a big counterpoint to what's going on in provo. You're welcome anywhere on the island without issue. This is a huge plus if you like eating real local food like I do. Anyways, thats GT, folks would definitely appreciate the business as well!
 
Thank you for sharing, that anchor is incredible.

GT sounds like my type of place, not sure the wife would be as on board.... Maybe if she can smuggle a Potcake over to play with on the beach I can sneak off and dive!

Glad you had a great trip and hope you make it back soon.
 
Last year i stayed on Grand Turk at the Bohio Dive resort had great time. Its a small boutique resort. The owners and staff were terrific. The diving was great as well. They had these small skiffs that held maybe 4 to 6 people and all the dive sites were literally 5 minutes from shore. All the sites were at the wall. The best part was after the first dive you come back to shore and while the staff fills your tanks you can enjoy a cup of coffee while the tanks and the wait staff will take you lunch order so lunch will be waiting for you after the second dive. It's a little pricey but everything in T&C is pricey but worth it I will definitely go back.
I have stayed at Bohio as well, and I HIGHLY recommend it!

@Uber Dave do not be surprised when you do go back if Tom & Ginny remember you by name. I ran into Ginny at the Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show in February and when she saw me she yelled "Hoag" & greeted me with a big hug.

I agree, the diving is extremely convenient and I love how smooth their system is for your surface interval. I would not hesitate to go back again. The only thing that I really noticed is if you are going there to see sharks, I found Grand Turk no where near as "sharky" as the dive sites near Provo. (On the other hand we saw more turtle than I have ever seen in my life, and when we went (March a few years ago), the whales were migrating past and we could hear whales on almost every dive. :))
 
Ya...Tom and Ginny are great! February a great time to go for whales. The week I was there we had sharks follow us on every dive. I also thought the feral donkeys were quit the attraction.
Donkey.jpg
 
Re: sharkiness

Your mileage may vary but this was the first dive of my trip. Granted it was with me and friends who are dms snagging some lionfish. I’ve definitely noticed more and more sharks on the reef since I first started going 10 years ago.
 
T and C gets my vote. Tho I love diving all the caymans. Loved staying on Brac. Grand feels A little un-Caribbean to me. Grace Bay is best beach I’ve ever seen. Food beats cayman. Fish life and reefs seem more pristine. And I like big stuff. Sharks close enough to touch. Almost every dive. Only hammerhead I’ve ever seen was at west Caicos. Planning to go in Nov
 
T&C diving out of Provo just meh. Topside pretty basic. Cayman Brac Beach Resort is very well run, great boat diving. Same folks run similar op on Little. Both are all inclusive, great diving. On GC we like Sunset House. GC strengths are variety of topside activities and great shore dives to complement boat diving.
 
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