Dive Review of
South Caicos Diver/South Caicos Ocean & Beach Resort in
Turks and Caicos/South Caicos

San Salvador, Bahamas; Belize Atolls; Cayman Brac and Little Cayman; Sea of
Cortez; Cozumel; Bonaire; Kona, Monterey Bay, CA

Dive Conditions

Max depth 130 feet, come back with 500 pounds of air, 3-5 minute safety
stop at 15 feet  

Very small boat, no rinse tank.  

Overall Rating

Be forewarned.  The owner of the South Caicos Ocean & Beach Resort will
say anything to get you to book a trip to this resort, knowing full well
practically none of the amenities he has been advertising for months
on-line, in Scuba Diving magazine and on a poster that greets you at the
South Caicos Airport exists, at least it didn’t as of the second week of
March 2007.  

We booked what was advertised as a fully furnished 2 bd. 2 ½ ba.
condominium with air conditioning, TV, washer/dryer, full kitchen, daily
continental breakfast, restaurant, pool, Tiki Hut Bar (4 complimentary
drink coupons each) and 6 days of diving at the South Caicos Ocean &
Beach Resort at a purportedly reduced price.  He advertises the resort is
new, the only hotel on South Caicos and open with full amenities.  To be
sure, the hotel is new and is the only hotel even close to opening in South
Caicos, but as of the date of our departure, the hotel was not open (the
electrical inspector had not yet signed off on the resort), the pool had no
water in it and did not appear to be very close to being finished, there
was no restaurant, no Tiki Hut Bar, and no television.  The condominium we
rented had air conditioning only in the bedrooms, no television, a washer
(no dryer), no dressers, nightstands or coffee table, no toaster, a leaky
refrigerator and dishes and silverware for only 3.  We wouldn’t have minded
these conditions, of course, if we hadn’t made very specific inquiries
about the condition of the resort and condo prior to booking.  We made it
clear we did not want to stay in a place without a functioning pool, TV,
bar, etc., prior to booking (we had a non-diver with us).  We told the
proprietor we didn’t mind that the grounds were being worked on but wanted
to be sure this property was otherwise fully operational.  Needless to say,
the owner of this one-man operation was less than truthful about the
condition of the resort in the numerous e-mails we exchanged prior to our
booking and prior to our arrival four months later.  The morning after we
arrived the four of us discussed whether we should cut our losses and head
for another island, but decided to see how the diving was before we made a
decision.  We ended up staying for the week, all the while too intimidated
to bring up how angry we were about the owner’s misrepresentations for fear
our next door neighbor/host/dive guide would make matters worse (he was our
only point of contact for the 3 “restaurants” on the island and the owner
of the grocery store).  

By the way, dining out on South Caicos is somewhat of an adventure.  It
involves arranging to have a meal in a room in back of a local resident’s
home (no menus).  The food, for the most part, was fine and we enjoyed
meeting some of the people in South Caicos.  There is one place to get a
hamburger and fries for lunch but you wouldn’t find it unless someone told
you about it.  After three nights of dining out, we switched to dining in.

The three divers in our group pretty much filled the owner’s small pleasure
boat which was not really set up for diving (his larger boat [assuming it
actually exists] was purportedly undergoing repair so humpback whale
watching was out).  He leaves the boat tied to the mooring line and empty
during the dive as he drops down to lead the group (not the safest
practice) and it was difficult to get back on board when the water was
choppy (my bruises are still healing).  He had no place to store or rinse
gear at the condo or near the boat and no dive shop (we rinsed our gear in
our upstairs shower and hung it over the balcony).  I believe, given enough
time, the resort may one day be a pleasant place for a dive vacation, but
this property has a long, long way to go.  On the way to the airport we
spoke to the owner about his misrepresentations.  His ambivalence was
inexcusable.  We wrote him when we got back, demanding a small refund for
what was sadly lacking in our significantly overpriced package, but never
heard from him.  

The diving, on the other hand, was great.  The reefs appear healthy, the
sea life is abundant and the dive sites are 5 minutes from shore.  Our
favorite site was The Grotto where we saw numerous sharks on every dive
(black tip, Caribbean reef and nurse), turtles, schooling jacks, and
cuttlefish, along with squadrons of large spotted eagle rays (on one dive a
squadron of 20 flew straight toward us at the top of the wall, then turned
left about 15 feet in front of us).  On other dives we saw anywhere from 2
to 8 eagle rays on nearly every dive at that site.  We heard whale song
most days but on the last day it was so loud throughout both dives we felt
certain we were going to see them, but didn't.  We did see several pods
pass by throughout the week from the condominium.  We were extremely
disappointed that the owner failed to disclose he did not have a large
enough boat to take us whale watching as he promised (one of the reasons we
decided to come in March).  

We love going to small islands off the beaten path and have had many
enjoyable experiences doing so, but this trip will be remembered for the
wrong reasons thanks to the unscrupulous owner of South Caicos Ocean &
Beach Resort. 

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