Grand Turk: Someone Clear This Up Please

[a1parrothead]

O.K. Somebody please clear this up for me. I have read a TON of threads on here about how there is very little to do on G.T. Few restaurants, no shopping etc. But..... looking at their tourism site I find "The Worlds Largest Margaritaville, Historic Downtown Cockburn (population 3000)" and cruise ships. What the heck? I understand it may not be near the size of Provo, but it sounds like its not the tiny laid back island I read about on here. Any input would be great. I still think we are going for a couple weeks this summer, but very curious about its actual size and activities.

 

[Unibrook]

Stray donkeys and dogs kinda rule the place. The pizza place is pretty good, but you might want to byo food and spices to whatever degree you are motivated if you are planning to cook for yourself. The food store is seldom open, and the pickings be slim. An absolute MUST DO is the conch snorkel trip where the guys whip up some conch ceviche for lunch. Very memorable. Seriously little to do on that island, but that is part of what I like about it.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Grand Turk is pretty laid back. I was there several years ago prior to the cruise ship terminal being constructed. I hear that there is a cruise ship like atomosphere when the pod people are in town and that some cruise ship like shopping is available when a cruise ship is in port. For the most part, however, Grand Turk is a sleepy little island with not much to offer in the way of shopping or night life. "Historic downtown Cockburn" can be crossed in two minutes.

 

[a1parrothead]

Thanks for the info. I am pretty sure that's the place we are going, now to find the best airfare.

 

[RockLobster]

I just got back from there and the diving is spectacular. The wall along the whole west side of the island drops from 50 ft to 7000 ft. Water is absolulty clear, lots of life, tunnels, never a dull moment! You won't be disappointed. Ya so the island is not busy, there is a hopping Magaritaville at the cruise center. If you wanna go somewhere that has excellent diving then I recommend this island and the folks at Oasis Dive Center are great, they have like 12 boats, 2 are cats. You'll have a blast

 

[jzsackst]

I tried to contact Oasis divers recently and have not heard back from them. Does anyone know if they are still the dive operation for Carnival cruise ships. We are going to Grand Turk on a cruise in a few weeks and are booked for scuba. About 9 months ago I was told they are the dive shop Carnival uses. I then read that the hurricane pretty much wiped them out. Any information would be appreciated.

 

[RockLobster]

Oasis Divers is the dive center used by Carnival. The facility is about a half mile up the beach (as of 1/30/09). They will come pick you up with one of their dive boats at the cruise center's beach. Although I have little experience to go on, they were well coordinated and got everyone setup efficiently. You don't have to bring any gear since the provide but I did bring my own computer, mask, snorkel and fins. It is $10 US to rent a 3 mil full wet suit which I recommend. Have fun!