Turks Club Med Dive Operation

[Ms. Ann Thrope]

I've booked a solo week at the Turks Club Med (I was attracted by a good deal), so now all I have to do is figure out whether I should dive with Club Med or with someone else. Their prices seem good for the island (about $100 per two-tank dive with a three-day package), but price isn't everything. Anyone used them lately?

In talking to their phone rep, who is a diver, he said that they send people down in smallish groups, or in buddy teams, and the heaviest breather dictates when the dive will end. I'm used to diving with operations that, if you're diving in groups, let you re-buddy underwater if you want, so that the people who don't run out of air fast can stay down longer. On your average-depth, relaxed dive, I can make a tank last and will be really frustrated if I have to come up after 40 minutes with 1800 psi and lots of no-deco time and pretty reef left. Can anyone weigh in on if this is indeed what is likely in store, or if there's a good workaround? Which, I guess, could mean hoping that I find another solo diver or group with good air consumption? I'm not totally greedy about maxing my bottom time, but if depth/no-deco limit allows, I'd like to dive with people where I think I can at least get in a nice hour-long dive. At this point, I have no idea if Club Med's dive op attracts practiced divers or not. I know I'm not going to be getting the small-boat experience I'm used to as a frequent Cozumel visitor, but what am I likely in for?

If I can be happy diving with Club Med, that would be nice, because I assume those would be people I'd end up talking to at mealtimes etc., and I welcome a bit of camaraderie when I'm traveling alone. Or should I be aiming for a different dive op altogether?

Also, how is Club Med on site selection? The phone rep said that they choose from about 20 sites, including deep walls. But are they good ones? In my reading, I've seen that perhaps they tend to stick close to home. If home has good diving, that's ok. But if not?

I'd appreciate any info. Thanks!

 

[Zesty]

Hmmmm - interesting question. We just got back from a trip last week and stayed at Club Med, but I did not dive with Club Med (dove with Caicos Adventures, it was AWESOME). I did visit their "dive shack" and can tell you this - they stick to the North side of Provo and the best diving (from several authors) from Provo is at West Caicos and French Cay. Club Med is a place that has many activities and they want you at the club, so there excursions are pretty well timed.

Club Med was not a super place for us - you will see my review on trip advisor shortly - but from a dive point of view - Caicos Adventures was great - the "Caicos Cat" is a excellent, stable dive platform and the team there is super, from Jeff to all the DM's (Dan, Mike, Matt). Asa knows his stuff and is a very good capt and DM as well. The dives were managed somewhat by what you said above (first one to 1500 PSI and the group turns around) but once back in the vicinity of the boat - you can hang out on the bottom as long as the DM can - Let me put it this way - when we were coming up with 500 - 700 PSI left, my DM was coming up with 1400 PSI - so I think you can safely say that your bottom time would not be limited.

Hope this helps. PM me if you want my full thoughts on Club Med

 

[lmorin]

My wife and I have dived with Club Med T&C 4-5 times, always with satisfaction. Some sites are better than others, as is true everywhere. The dive op uses big boats that can handle 30-40 divers. We were always given an hour in the water. That said, when we were newbies, we were often among the last off the boat, and about 10-15 min of the time was spent directly beneath the boat or on the safety stop bar. Later, when we decided we could navigate on our own, we were always given the chance to be first in and last out with a full hour of dive time, which included a 3 min safety stop. Even if the boat was full, the divers were always in smallish groups of 4-8, each handled separately by a DM. Most were instructional groups or DM-led new diver groups. There was always a buddy diver group where buddy pairs and single divers met and new pairs or triplets were formed. The buddy divers received their own briefing about the dive site, then were allowed to dive without further guidance. The other groups went in thereafter, with novices generally last. Club Med gets divers with all kinds of experience and it will always be a bit of luck-of-the-draw as to who you end up with as a buddy. We've been diving with Club Med T&C and at Columbus Isle at least 6 times and found the operations to be excellent, considering the numbers of divers and that most are not just at the Club to dive.