Turks and Caicos

[hammet]

The boat rides from beaches to grace bay reefs less are about 10 mins.
Going around to the northwest point is about 40 each way but it's a beautiful ride and gives you time to gear up, make some friends, and chat with the crew. I certainly enjoyed it.
Also, on a previous trip, when the wind was blowing stink from the north, they would shuttle us down to a marina on the south side to dive French Cay reefs.

 

[scubadada]

Thanks for your replies!
My husband and I were thinking of bringing the kids, and our trip to Jamaica was his first time diving in warmer waters.
Sound like T&C all inclusive is out for us- I want some good diving!
Thanks again

If Beaches is best for your whole family, you could do some of your divining with them and go with another operator on other days (of course at additional expense on top of your all inclusive). A 2 tank trip to West Caicos or French Cay ends up taking up most of the day, get picked up at the hotel around 8 and return about 3

 

[Hoag]

I've been to TCI 3 times and I have had 3 very different experiences (all of them were great, just different).

The first time I went, I stayed in Provo and dove with Dive Provo. It was a very well run shop that makes life almost as easy as if you were on a Live Aboard. You meet in the morning in their parking lot and they take you to the boat. After you have done 2 dives, you come back. You leave everything except your mask, fins & snorkel (and camera if you have one) on the boat and overnight, they will rinse and dry your gear. Your wetsuit and dive bag will be on the boat waiting for you the next morning when you get there.

The second time I dove in TCI, it was on the Turks and Caicos Explorer. As with all live aboards, the diving, the crew, and the food were great. Many of the dive sites that we hit were ones that I had done before with Dive Provo, but we were able to venture out a bit farther. For some reason, this trip was very "sharky". We saw reef sharks on at least one dive almost every day.

The last time I was in TCI, I went to Grand Turk and stayed at a resort called Bohio. Bohio is run (owned) by a couple of Canadian ex-pats and they very much cater to divers. (Their motto is "Just Breathe".) The dive boat picks you up on the beach right at the hotel. Most of the dive sites are so close that you get into your wetsuit before you get on the boat because there wouldn't be time to gear up before they "open the pool" if you didn't. I was there in March 2016, and I saw more turtles in 7 days of diving than I had seen in my previous 20 years! It was not uncommon to see up to 5 in any given dive, and it was uncommon not to see at least one. The whales were migrating through, and although we didn't see any while diving, we could hear them almost every dive. Much like the experience at Dive Provo, we would leave our gear on the boat, and the crew would bring it up & rinse it out and it would be waiting for us on the boat the next morning.

All three of these options were amazing, and I would recommend any of them.

 

[KathyV]

I've been to TCI 3 times and I have had 3 very different experiences (all of them were great, just different).

The first time I went, I stayed in Provo and dove with Dive Provo. It was a very well run shop that makes life almost as easy as if you were on a Live Aboard. You meet in the morning in their parking lot and they take you to the boat. After you have done 2 dives, you come back. You leave everything except your mask, fins & snorkel (and camera if you have one) on the boat and overnight, they will rinse and dry your gear. Your wetsuit and dive bag will be on the boat waiting for you the next morning when you get there...All three of these options were amazing, and I would recommend any of them.

Thanks for the information, how long were the boat trips to/from the reef with Dive Provo? I have read that you leave in the early morning for a 2 tank trip and come back around 2 or 3 pm - and that doesn't appeal to me.

I am prone to seasickness. I am usually okay during short boat trips and I get over it after a day on liveaboards, but spending day-after-day on long boat rides in a small boat doesn't sound like a great option for me.

 

[Hoag]

Thanks for the information, how long were the boat trips to/from the reef with Dive Provo? I have read that you leave in the early morning for a 2 tank trip and come back around 2 or 3 pm - and that doesn't appeal to me.

I am prone to seasickness. I am usually okay during short boat trips and I get over it after a day on liveaboards, but spending day-after-day on long boat rides in a small boat doesn't sound like a great option for me.

The trips with Dive Provo were anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour. To be fair though the longer trips were ones that they typically started with "Hey, people have seen _______ at a dive sight that is about an hour away. Do you want to make the trip or do you want to stay a bit closer?" On one of those trips farther out, we were able to get right beside a humpback whale & her calf. We went to the general area where they were seen and cut the motor as as we drifted, they surfaced right beside the boat. (This was in March a few years ago.)

If you are prone to seasickness, then perhaps Bohio on Grand Turk might be a better option. The boat rides were typically about 5-10 minutes, and although we didn't see any whales, we could hear them.

 

[WallDiver7]

Nice thread going on here.... Does anyone know if there's a dive op that caters to the more advance divers?... that won't freak out if you sling a stage tank to do a deeper dive?