Just got back from Provo in T&C. Diving was great despite reduced visibility due to lots of plankton floating around - perhaps not as bad in the first quarter. Stayed at Ocean Club West which was very nice, but if I had to do it over again, I'd stay a block off the beach at the Comfort Suites and save a ton of $$. You can walk to the beach or any of the other restaurants no problem. Who spends time in their room anyway?
First dive was with Art Pickering's Provo Turtle Divers. People should know that this business has changned hands in the last 12-24 months and is no longer run by Art (who is a T&C legend). The diving with PTD was fine, but nothing special. Boat was so so and their dive operations were on the opposite side of the island from the boat so you had to make a bit of a pain in the tail trip in the AM before you could get out. The new owners were very nice, but I think their relative inexperience in operating the business shows through. I say this not through speculation but experience.
I dove one day with PTD and the other 4 days with Caicos Adventures. Frankly, when I was reviewing some of the T&C magazines on the flight down, I saw several ads for CA. I was scared. The operations were owned/run by a French guy with the nick name "Fi Fi". Get real. But in reality, Fi Fi ran a much better operation than PTD which had been pretty highly touted in the press. Fi Fi's boat was nicer (a big, quiet catamaran with a great ride), his equipment was nicer and he showed a better knowledge of the best locations - we typically anchored instead of using the moorings that most of the other operations tied up to. As a result, we got to see some really pristine sites. Fi Fi's help was also a bit better (not much). The dive masters were very friendly and helpful. On PTD's boat, they didn't even reset your gear between dives. I would say CA's dive masters didn't go out of their way to point out various underwater attractions but they were good nonetheless.
In terms of the diving, I think it was pretty darn good. Lots of great coral formations - as good as Honduras or Little Cayman. Not so many big grouper, but we did see a good number of large spotted eagle rays, plenty of sharks and lots of sting ray. Only a few turtles. While on the boat, we also saw a few whales (pilot?) and dolphin off in the distance taking in some air.
It was really a great trip and I wouldn't hesitate to go back. When I do, I will call up Fi Fi at Caico's Adventures. It was a really good operation. Only issue I would see is that during peak season, they probably load up the catamaran with 25-30 people which could be kind of crammed. Fi Fi is highly focused on people's satisfaction though and I think you all would like it.
Let me know if you have questions.
Jim
First dive was with Art Pickering's Provo Turtle Divers. People should know that this business has changned hands in the last 12-24 months and is no longer run by Art (who is a T&C legend). The diving with PTD was fine, but nothing special. Boat was so so and their dive operations were on the opposite side of the island from the boat so you had to make a bit of a pain in the tail trip in the AM before you could get out. The new owners were very nice, but I think their relative inexperience in operating the business shows through. I say this not through speculation but experience.
I dove one day with PTD and the other 4 days with Caicos Adventures. Frankly, when I was reviewing some of the T&C magazines on the flight down, I saw several ads for CA. I was scared. The operations were owned/run by a French guy with the nick name "Fi Fi". Get real. But in reality, Fi Fi ran a much better operation than PTD which had been pretty highly touted in the press. Fi Fi's boat was nicer (a big, quiet catamaran with a great ride), his equipment was nicer and he showed a better knowledge of the best locations - we typically anchored instead of using the moorings that most of the other operations tied up to. As a result, we got to see some really pristine sites. Fi Fi's help was also a bit better (not much). The dive masters were very friendly and helpful. On PTD's boat, they didn't even reset your gear between dives. I would say CA's dive masters didn't go out of their way to point out various underwater attractions but they were good nonetheless.
In terms of the diving, I think it was pretty darn good. Lots of great coral formations - as good as Honduras or Little Cayman. Not so many big grouper, but we did see a good number of large spotted eagle rays, plenty of sharks and lots of sting ray. Only a few turtles. While on the boat, we also saw a few whales (pilot?) and dolphin off in the distance taking in some air.
It was really a great trip and I wouldn't hesitate to go back. When I do, I will call up Fi Fi at Caico's Adventures. It was a really good operation. Only issue I would see is that during peak season, they probably load up the catamaran with 25-30 people which could be kind of crammed. Fi Fi is highly focused on people's satisfaction though and I think you all would like it.
Let me know if you have questions.
Jim