Grand Turk or Provo? Who has been and what do you think?

[diverrex]

We been to Belize x2, Curacao, Akumal, Cozumel x2, Dominica, Grand Cayman, Bonaire x3 and Saba. I'm thinking it's time we visit T&C. Who has been to Provo and/or Grand Turk and what do you think, both diving and topside wise? How does either compare to any of the places we've already been? Thanks for any thoughts and info.

 

[SEVADiver]

Both places have great diving. Comparable to Caymans. Grand Turk is very laid back with little topside stuff, but the diving is close. Provo has tons of topside activities (very touristy IMHO) but the good diving (West Caicos, French Cay) is a long boat ride away.

Grand Turk: Stayed at Osprey/Blue Wayer Divers, great diving off small boats, 5-10 minutes to sites, no waves or current.
Provo: Explorer T&C Live-a-board, because we didn't want long boat rides and only 2 dives per day.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

Did Grand Turk this summer . It is a great dive destination . I do not travel for night life so for me it was a great spot . Small and friendly Island .
The wall of Grand Turk is some of the best diving I have seen . Much healthier reefs than most destinations .
It was rather expensive but not over the top .
I stayed at Bohio and it was great , I give the place full marks , no stress dive trip for sure with outstanding diving .

 

[diversteve]

Provo reminded me of a smaller Grand Cayman. Miles of beaches - Grace Bay is listed as one of the nicest beaches in the world. Expensive resorts/rental properties, food seemed slightly more reasonable, some shopping and nightlife - one smaller casino. Diving off NW Point nearby but as mentioned above the better diving is West Caicos/French Cay - about 45mins. by day boat.

Some of the best diving I've done in the last 5 years was off French Cay. The wall at either island is just off the moorings and drops fast so lots of bigger stuff makes it's way up. And the nutrients cause excellent coral growth. Every dive at French Cay we saw sharks, turtles, cuda, grouper, lionfish and lots of stingrays. Lots of macro stuff around the coral heads in shallower water also. Since boats don't get out there as often, the fish seemed oblivious to our presence.

There's a couple of AI's on Provo - IIRC a Beaches and a Club Med. From what I've read they generally take divers to NW Point so you may want to dive with someone else. No shore diving there - I have read you can get out to the wall off Grand Turk. The cruise ships go to Grand Turk if that matters.

 

[scubadada]

My son and I did a week on Provo summer of 2009. We used Caicos Adventures, great operator and boat. Dives off West Caicos and French Cay were very good with many, many sharks. Some of the wall dives rivaled North wall Grand Cayman. Grace Bay is a beautiful beach, very similar to SMB on Grand Cayman.

Good diving, Craig

 

[farsidefan1]

Is there a site that has year around water temps and other dive info for these islands? I, kind of looking for a December dive trip and I'm a warm water wuss (under 80 degrees need not apply) and I'm only taking a week and the wife will not be accompanying me so Fifi, Palau and the like are out. And I've never been there

 

[diversteve]

It's going to be cooler than that in the winter: http://www.turksandcaicostourism.com/weather.html

Weather

The average temperature ranges between 85 and 90 degrees (29-32 degrees celsius) from June to October, sometimes reaching the mid 90's (35 degrees celsius), especially in the late summer months. From November to May the average temperature is 80 to 84 degrees (27-29 degrees celsius). Water temperature in the summer is 82 to 84 degrees (28-29 degrees celsius) and in winter about 74 to 78 degrees (23-26 degrees celsius). A constant trade wind keeps the climate at a very comfortable level.

There is an annual rainfall of 21 inches on Grand Turk and South Caicos, but as you go further west the average rainfall could increase to 40 inches. In an average year the Turks and Caicos has 350 days of sunshine.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30th.

 

[farsidefan1]

Thanks, that is exactly what I needed to know. Maybe I'll see you in the summer