Turks & Caicos (Provo) - French Cay vs. West Caicos

[ScubaWanderer]

My wife and I are going on a last-minute planned trip to Turks & Caicos (leaving October 20). We'll be staying at Alexandra Resort on Grace Bay and we're hoping to get some diving in.

I've read pretty much every thread on TCI on here, but lots of info seems outdated. The two dive operators everyone seems to recommend are Caicos Adventures and Flamingo Divers. I believe Flamingo is closed until November. We're mainly excited about sharks/rays. Any help would be highly appreciated:

1. Does anyone know if Caicos Adventures makes trips out to French Cay on their 2-tank diving trips (they said they no longer do 3-tank dive trips except for private charters). They told me "it's all weather dependent" but I can't seem to find anyone making it out to French Cay with them recently (from threads and reviews). Any recent experience with this is appreciated. Any other operators that do besides Flamingo/Caicos Adventures?

2. Is going to French Cay over West Caicos even worth it (i.e. more life?)

3. Aside from shorter boat trips, how is diving off of Provo compared to Grand Turk?

Thank you so much!

 

[RB7]

I just returned from the Turks and Explorer II a few weeks ago. The trip started with French cays followed by West Caicos and finally NW point. In my opinion the diving in french cays was much better then the other two. Sharks on every dive.. more fish life as well. The reefs were equally healthy on all 3.

 

[scubadada]

My wife and I are going on a last-minute planned trip to Turks & Caicos (leaving October 20). We'll be staying at Alexandra Resort on Grace Bay and we're hoping to get some diving in.

I've read pretty much every thread on TCI on here, but lots of info seems outdated. The two dive operators everyone seems to recommend are Caicos Adventures and Flamingo Divers. I believe Flamingo is closed until November. We're mainly excited about sharks/rays. Any help would be highly appreciated:

1. Does anyone know if Caicos Adventures makes trips out to French Cay on their 2-tank diving trips (they said they no longer do 3-tank dive trips except for private charters). They told me "it's all weather dependent" but I can't seem to find anyone making it out to French Cay with them recently (from threads and reviews). Any recent experience with this is appreciated. Any other operators that do besides Flamingo/Caicos Adventures?

2. Is going to French Cay over West Caicos even worth it (i.e. more life?)

3. Aside from shorter boat trips, how is diving off of Provo compared to Grand Turk?

Thank you so much!

My son and I dived with Caicos Adventures, a very good op. Dives off West Caicos and French Cay were about the same, good walls, many
Reef Sharks, good tropical fish population. The Caicos Cat is a pretty fast, smooth boat for the trip.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

French Cay's fringe reef is much wider, which means it is basically reef in the whole area you are diving. In West Caicos, the fringe reef is probably around 30-40ft wide and lots of sandy bottom area. If you are into looking for microscopic creatures like slugs the size of a spec of sand, West Caicos could be for you.

There are sharks in both places, but much more in French Cay, and lots of nurse sharks in French Cay.

The biggest difference seem to be night dives, but you are not performing that.

 

[DoubleAA]

We went to French Cay with Caicos Adventures. I would rate the dive sites similarly.

We had some amazingly awesome dives with tons of sharks and turtles in West Caicos so it wasn't as impress seeing a couple more in French Cay.

 

[tkaelin]

For relatively new divers I think you will be happy diving any of the locations a provo based op will take you. I have been to sites off Grace Bay, West Caicos and French Caye. I enjoy diving all three areas. Grace Bay will be the closest with the shortest boat rides but a 2 tank will still take a half of day. The other two will be longer days out on the water which can be fun if that is what you like. You did not mention Dive Provo but I have been with them twice and would recommend as well.

 

[gwklein]

Was on the TC Aggressor 10-day trip from 10 - 20 Sep 2016. The trip covered NW Point, W. Caicos, French Cay, West Sand Spit, S. Caicos, and Grand Turk. Carib reef sharks were present on almost every dive at every island and often very curious. Nurse sharks, turtles and rays were also present on many sites but not as common. In general, I liked the diving on the islands in the following order: Grand Turk, S. Caicos, French Cay, W. Caicos, NW Point, West Sand Spit. We generally dove each site twice. The quality of the site often changed drastically with the changing tides and time of day. This resulted in some of my favorite sites also being some of my least favorite due to changing visibility. The following information about W. Caicos and French Cay is provided based upon the limited numbers of dives listed in your profile. The sites on W. Caicos and French Cay are generally deep wall dives and subject to some heavy currents. In several cases, the dives involved a giant stride into dark black water with a swim back to the wall. In was also common to have safety stops involve hovering 30 feet above the reef while the boat swung out of view and then back on the anchor line. When diving French Cay, there may be no land visible when there is a full moon. If you are a new diver, I don't want to discourage you from W. Caicos or French Cay because the dive boats generally accommodate the level of the divers. It has been several years since I dove with Caicos Adventures, but they used to divide the divers up based on skill level and then have the DM plan the dives based upon the skill level of the divers.

 

[ScubaWanderer]

Wow! Thank you all for your responses. They're very, very helpful (as always).

We're going to try booking 2-tank dives for 3 days with Caicos Adventures (largely because they have the large catamaran boat that is more stable) and not worry so much about the sites they'll take us to. Sounds like it'll be a good time regardless of where we go (so long as no hurricanes show up to ruin the fun!)

P.S. I just updated the number of dives we did. We did a liveaboard in the GBR a few months ago and a few dives in California since then. By no means are we experts, but both of us are getting more comfortable (although not overconfident) in the water.

 

[diversteve]

If you get asked for input on dive sites, here's a couple to consider in line with your interests.

Shark Hotel — At the top of the Shark Hotel wall, divers find schools of grunts, snappers, and goatfish. The wall begins in about 45fsw and drops straight down to 80 to 100fsw where a plateau juts out and forms a shelf before plunging into the depths. As the name suggests, this site is a good place to spot small reef sharks. Close to the mooring is a huge stand of pillar coral, some of the largest to be seen in the Turks and Caicos.

Highway to Heaven — Located at the north end of West Caicos, the dive begins in 50fsw with a large colony of garden eels in the sand flat. The site is also popular because of the many stingrays that play in the sand. This is one of the deeper dives out at West Caicos with coral arches and swim throughs around 80-100fsw. Lot’s of large marine life and frequent shark sightings.

both from Dive Provo's website although we were on a liveaboard. I personally saw more sharks off French Cay and more rays off West Caicos. At one site (I didn't write the name down) I must've counted at least 15-18 Stingrays in the sand flats just off the mooring. Many with their companion fish - I can't remember what they're called. Several let me hover right over them while filming and a couple didn't move till I got within 5' or less.

There was the coolest little spotted nurse shark that came up to us off French Cay at Double D. The DM said they see it regularly. He sort of paralleled us about 15' away for about 10 minutes.

 

[ScubaWanderer]

If you get asked for input on dive sites, here's a couple to consider in line with your interests.

Shark Hotel — At the top of the Shark Hotel wall, divers find schools of grunts, snappers, and goatfish. The wall begins in about 45fsw and drops straight down to 80 to 100fsw where a plateau juts out and forms a shelf before plunging into the depths. As the name suggests, this site is a good place to spot small reef sharks. Close to the mooring is a huge stand of pillar coral, some of the largest to be seen in the Turks and Caicos.

Highway to Heaven — Located at the north end of West Caicos, the dive begins in 50fsw with a large colony of garden eels in the sand flat. The site is also popular because of the many stingrays that play in the sand. This is one of the deeper dives out at West Caicos with coral arches and swim throughs around 80-100fsw. Lot’s of large marine life and frequent shark sightings.

both from Dive Provo's website although we were on a liveaboard. I personally saw more sharks off French Cay and more rays off West Caicos. At one site (I didn't write it down) I must've counted at least 15-18 Stingrays in the sand flats just off the mooring. Many with their companion fish - I can't remember what they're called. Several let me hover right over them while filming and a couple didn't move till I got within 5' or less.

There was the coolest little spotted nurse shark that came up to us off French Cay at Double D. The DM said they see it regularly. He sort of paralleled us about 15' away for about 10 minutes.

Super excited! Thanks!!