WHERE in T&C

[Murphy in NC]

I opened my mouth and said lets all go to Hawaii !

Well there are very few homes available so looking at T&C

Very confusing as the differences in Provincales and Grand Turk.


Where to stay and which has dive sights closer, I see a lot of one hour away boat to the sites.

Can anyone share insight ?

 

[drrich2]

Turks & Caicos Research Notes - Turks & Caicos Research Notes

My trip was via live-aboard and I've never been to Grand Turk. The impression I recall from what others had to say is that the reef is closer and boat rides much shorter in Grand Turk, but it's a small island without much else going on. With Provo., you've got long boat rides...and a reputation for being quite expensive (but then again, you were looking at Hawaii, so I suppose 'expensive' is relative).

Did you see
Looking for a dive shop in Grace Bay, Turks & Caicos. Is Provo any good? Leaving in 12 days.

@Hoag did some G.T. and Caicos comparison in Turks and Caicos Lodging and Diving suggestions.

I suspect when you review other threads on the topside, or those who've stayed topside post here, a couple of big issues will come into play...

1.) How important are short vs. long boat rides?
2.) How important are non-diving topside activities, and what do you guys want to do?

 

[Hoag]

@Murphy in NC, if you are looking for good diving and short boat rides, the simple answer is Bohio on Grand Turk. The boat rides are a "grueling 5 minutes". Seriously, you have to put your wetsuit on before you get on the boat because you won't have time once you are on the boat. @Uber Dave has also stayed at Bohio, and his impressions are here (my reply to him is on the following page).

@drrich2 has linked to my break down of where I have stayed on both Provo and Grand Turk so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Murphy in NC]

Thanks Gents,
Dr. Rich your a great help to everyone on this board

Just found direct flights from Charlotte to Sint Maarten.
Either of you ever been?

 

[Hoag]

Thanks Gents,
Dr. Rich your a great help to everyone on this board

Just found direct flights from Charlotte to Sint Maarten.
Either of you ever been?

I have not been there.

 

[drrich2]

Just found direct flights from Charlotte to Sint Maarten.
Either of you ever been?

Haven't dove it; visited a few times on cruise ship stops. A few thoughts...

1.) Though rarely the subject of 1st hand trip reports as a primary dive destinations, what reports I see tend to be good, with Caribbean reef sharks often seen.

2.) It looks hot, sunny and arid, but more richly vegetated than Bonaire, and somewhat mountainous. There are beautiful beaches and the sea around this island can be gorgeous.

3.) It's a high frequency cruise ship port, so it's got plenty of topside excursions to entertain people. I've been on some of these.

4.) At least when I read of it many years ago, it was seen as something of a '2nd place after St. Thomas' as a Caribbean shopping destination, so if you've got shoppers in tow, they can probably entertain themselves. If they're doing it on your dime, maybe that's not good...

5.) The political divide into French and Dutch sections is real. I was told a phone call from the French section to the Dutch section is long distance, but to mainland France is a local call.

6.) At least as a cruise ship passenger, where we ported at the Dutch part, it seemed like English was no problem. I don't know how widely spoken English is in the French half; never had a problem as a cruise ship excursion goer, but then consider we wouldn't be off the beaten path.

7.) I haven't heard either way on costs, but at least I haven't heard the reputation for being expensive that seems consistently reported about Grand Cayman and Providenciales.

8.) The diving I did out of Provo. tended deep overall, and I didn't get the impression Provo. had as much going on topside as St. Maarten does in terms of official excursions.

It really gets down to what your crew likes to do. If I weren't going via live-aboard, I'd pick St. Maarten over Providenciales in a heart beat.

Note: Somebody may mention Saba is close to St. Maarten. I don't know if they're taking tourists now, or whether you're ready for that level of rustic, plus they're known for pinnacle diving, which IIRC from reading (haven't been), can be deep.

 

[Damselfish]

We dove a few days off Sint Maartin after a week on the CE2, since we were there anyway. The diving was better than I expected. Nice fairly shallow reefs with the usual suspects, great viz, and pretty sharkey. However, we apparently lucked into really good conditions and got to dive some more exposed sites that weren’t dove often and they seemed excited to get to, so possibly I don’t know what the “regular” diving is like.

For various reasons we wound up staying on the French side and diving on the Dutch side, not our original intent but it actually worked out pretty well. Very different atmospheres but certainly lots of shopping, good food, and interesting sightseeing to be had all around. We quite enjoyed the place. (English is no problem on the French side either.)

 

[FT]

I’ve had two holidays 6-8 years ago split between (a) Saint Martin and Statia and (b) Saint Martin and Saba. We had not heard great things about St Martin/St Maarten diving, so that was the beach and relax part of the holidays. Diving with Golden Rock centre on Statia was fun — shallow, easy, interesting wrecks, a good amount of life by Caribbean standards. Good hiking, safe feel to the little town. Saba has the pinnacles which yes, start deep (25 metres?) and go deeper, but also some good shallower dives on volcanic topography. Also good hiking though you need to watch your combination of altitude and dives. Much more varied restaurant choices if that matters. Flying into Saba’s airstrip is, um, exhilarating.

 

[living4experiences]

It's been awhile, but I was on a dive trip for a week in St. Maarten in 2013. It was great diving with healthy reefs and good fish population. The dive op was Ocean Encounters and they are only one of a couple of ops licensed to do a shark feed dive. Great dive operation, no complaints. The attached pic is the only time I've ever seen a stingray eating a lionfish.

Stayed at the Atrium, which is a short walk to the dive shop. For nondiving fun, Maho Beach is beautiful and it's where you can watch the planes come in literally over your head. St. Maarten has one of the shortest runways, so they come in hot! I've attached some pics.

 

[Murphy in NC]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the feedback, I went ahead and booked St. Martin for July.

Dr. Rich, as far as the shopping being on my dime ... it seems like if your last name is Murphy then your on my dime!
St Martin looks like a good choice for a group of divers and non divers.

I will post dive report, glad the bug seems to be dying off and restrictions are being lifted