South of the Bahamas and north of the Virgins, here are awesome walls and some of the clearest water in the world. . . . On a good day, visibility about 200'. . . . South Caicos wall, off Cockburn Harbor has a stone arch at 50', a lip as sharp as a knife, and a breathtaking vertical face. . . . Provo is the glitzy island with spectacular beaches, but at least an hour boat ride to the better diving of South or West Caicos. . . . Grand Turk is the funky laid-back island with a wall right offshore. . . . Salt Cay has a guest house and decent diving. . . . West, and North Caicos do not have dive facilities, a small operation has recently opened on South. . . . Bring a long-sleeved shirt during the winter months; it can get cool in the evenings and water temperatures can drop into the mid 70's. . . . Stop by a post office and check out the marine life commemorative stamps, among the prettiest in the world. . . . Don't be tempted by contraband; Turks and Caicos has been a clandestine refueling stop-over for decades by dope-smuggling pilots from South America; a Custom's dope-sniffing dog will greet you in Miami. . . .

Grand Turk

Blue Water Divers/Salt Raker Inn, December 1996, Buzz Waterston, Wallingford, PA. "Islanders friendly, island quiet and laid­back. Wife went horseback riding. vis: 50­100 ft. water: 76­78 degrees. Hammerhead, 12­15 ft manta and a 6­8 ft. Southern ray. Night dive at "the library" excellent. Free swimming morays and octopus. Salt Raker suites are worth the extra money. Food is decent and fairly reasonable. I'd go back."

Blue Water Divers/SeaEye Divers/Salt Raker Inn, May 1997, Blaine and Marian Browne, Lighthouse Point, FL. "Grand Turk is only 575 miles from Miami, but is definitely a world apart. Direct flight from Ft. Lauderdale on Lynx Air was an auspicious beginning. My wife and I were the only passengers on a 19 seat aircraft. In­flight meal: the co­pilot came back with a box of donuts she had purchased before take off. . . . Customs at Grand Turk laid­back attitude; no rush here. . . . Salt Raker Inn had wonderful ambiance and our suite was clean and comfortable. Jenny, Phyllis and Patty were welcoming and helpful. Meals generally tasty and varied, ask about the meal plan. Appearance of island is indicative of a pervasive lassitude, but if you accept that, this is a wonderful place. Quiet, uncrowded destination for travelers rather than tourists. . . . Blue Water Divers; Mitch is the best divemaster we have ever been with, professional, personable and humorous. Always open to site suggestions, provide comprehensive predive briefings, piloted the boat and guided the dives. In three days of diving walls saw great coral/sponge growth, lots of tropicals (even an Indigo Hamlet!) Numerous grouper, no large pelagics, vis less than 60 ft. (plankton) but it did not diminish our enjoyment. Nurse sharks on wall and along beach. . . . Went with SeaEye Divers for day trip to Biggs Key; Smitty and Malcolm were excellent diving for conch for our lunch and guiding snorkeling over reef off Gibbs Key. Massive stands of elkhorn, unfortunately it all seemed to be dead. Deep side had caves and swim throughs. Lots of other living corals, Sea Eye has been cultivating a population of friendly stingrays at Gibbs and they came into the beach to be fed and touched, quite an experience. vis: 35­60 ft. water: 80 degrees. Grand Turk was one of the best dive vacations we've ever had. Great diving and relaxing atmosphere."

Guanahani Resort, June 1997, John Crossley, Midvale, UT. "16 room oceanfront hotel a mile from Cockburn Town. Rooms clean and well furnished, with AC, cable TV, and a nice balcony. Sparse vegetation due to the arid climate;attractive resort, beautiful beach, freshwater pool, game room/library, small gift shop, bar, and restaurant. Meals good, but more expensive than restaurants in town. Regal Beagle, 10 minutes walk, served locals and a few tourists with decent food for half the price ($7 dinners). Sea Eye Diving in town; sends boats to Guanahani. 24 ft. flat bottom skiffs hold 6 divers for short rides. Our gear kept in a drying room at the resort and we carried it to the boats each morning. Sunny days, water 82 degrees. Vis 80 ft. Walls have healthy corals, plentiful small tropicals, large gray angels, queen angels, queen triggers, lone barracudas, friendly groupers. Occasional nurse sharks, eels, turtles, and one large hammerhead. Large mantas on three of 12 dives. At "Tunnels" three mantas hung around in front of us at 80-110 ft. doing beautiful feeding loops. Took American from Miami to Provo, then Turks and Caicos Air to Grand Turk. Sky King Airlines has better planes and more flights from Provo. A better choice: Lynx Air International from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Turk and avoid the Miami Airport."

Oasis Divers, February 1997, Michael F. Little, Covington, LA. "Operated by Everette Freites and Dale Barker, it is the most service oriented, friendly operation I have ever used, and I have used many."

Sea Eye/Oasis Divers/Arawak Inn, June 1997, Evan & Lorri Wolfe, Colfax, CA. "Arawak outstanding 750 sq. ft. condo. Sea Eye was great! We had lots of fun on the trip to the uninhabited Gibbs Cay where we B-B-Qued, played with the rays, snorkeled and ate fresh Conch salad prepared by Smitty. . . . Refused to honor their advertised free shuttle into town. This advertised on the net as well as in their printed brochure. Told us that he would arrange taxi for us at $8 person each direction which was only 3 miles. 6 of us - $96 round trip for 6 milers. trip, Said he would take us into town at 7:00 p.m. An hour before, he announced a different plan, called the "lucky" which meant that we could now take a 6 mile round trip for $42. . . . Eat at the Water's Edge in town. Killer hamburgers. They gave us a ride back to the Arawak one evening. . . . Oasis Divers gave us most of our rides to and from town when they were transporting night divers. Tried to compensate them but Everette, the owner, refused saying that is not the island way. . . . Gourmet food served at Turk's Head. Don't miss Anna May's Key Lime Pie at the Salt Raker. Enjoyed the prices and food at the Diplomat (where the locals go). . . . islanders very friendly!! We enjoyed going to the Haitian market when the boat came in. Visit the museum!! saw a Terminal Parrot and 2 Bat fish which look like plucked chickens in the sand. vis: varied. water: 81-82 degrees."

Sea Eye Divers/Arawak Inn, June 1997, Beth Jacobson, Loomis, CA. "Accommodations like a large condominium. Large bedroom, separate large living room with full kitchen, cable television; could be divers best accommodation on the island, but the manager not aware of their web page offerings -transportation, a welcome drink on arrival. Though small things they were important to those staying there. Biggest problem not having a rinse tank for gear and when using hose outside was told not to as water was too scarce. Everybody used more water by rinsing gear indoors out of sight. vis: 100 ft. water: 83-85 degrees. Depth limits enforced for diving."

Sea Eye Diving/Sitting Pretty Hotel, June 1997, Alex & Cindy Rasi, Northwood, OH. "Owners Cecil and Connie are friendly, professional. Nice dive operation. Freedom to set our own computer profiles. Boats had partial shade with only 6-8 divers. No oxygen, ship-to-shore radio, or camera rinse tank onboard. . . . Healthy reefs, excellent wall diving. Groupers, barracuda, angelfish, morays, a batfish, nurse shark, butterflyfish, abundance of tropicals. Plankton reduced the viz. All sites less than 15 minutes. No current except on the northernmost sites. Smitty an outstanding divemaster with a great personality. Every day he took just the two of us for afternoon and night dives. Spotted a pod of dolphins to snorkel with! Library a fantastic night dive: huge spider crabs, morays, shrimp. tubastraea, basket star, octopi, lobsters, orange ball anemones. vis: 60-80 ft. water: 80 degrees. Dive restrictions enforced were depth and follow computer. Bring a hood, gloves, and diveskin to protect against sea wasps at night. . . . Sitting Pretty Hotel staff cordial and accommodating; standard beachfront room was upgraded to one with a kitchenette. Gave us free use of jeep to tour the island one afternoon, because the hotel briefly ran out of water twice during our stay. Adjacent to Sea Eye Diving; easy walk to several restaurants. Nightly outdoor buffet, talented live band several nights. Water's Edge had the beat food, nice view, reasonably priced. Turk's Head Inn had good food, Salt Raker fair. Islanders and expats friendly and helpful. Grand Turk a casual, laid-back, desert Island. No shopping, gambling, discos, noisy jet skis. Museum, lighthouse, and beachcombing interesting diversions. Interisland Airways from Provo follows AA flight schedule. Booked through Caribbean Adventures/World Dive Adventures in Ft. Lauderdale; pleased with service."

Sea-Eye Diving/Salt Raker Inn, August 1997, Judy Arbeznik, Medina, OH. "Water 82-86 degrees; vis 50 to 100 feet. Off value is good. Relaxed easy diving. Dive operation - fantastic service; picked up our gear on first dive and rinsed, stored and re-set up. Even switched a blown diaphragm from regulator at no charge! Boat rides 5-10 minutes. Fantastic wall dives, swim-throughs, arches, black coral gardens looked like lace. Fabulous night dives - huge octopi, crabs, lots of drums. Our group of nine were only ones on boats all week. Islanders friendly. Quaint, laid back island. Hotel clean, comfy, a/c, TV, library, great view of ocean. Food good but slightly pricey, not bad for island fare. Several restaurants within walking distance. Local music 2 -3 times a week, otherwise no night life."

Providenciales

Beaches, May 1997, Scott Richardson, Boulder, CO. "Water 80 degrees, 100 ft depth limit. Taxis very expensive. All inclusive resort the way to go. Not a destination for non divers unless they just like a beach. Beach was pretty empty all the time."

Beaches, July 1997, Les A. Levinowitz, Brooklyn, NY. "Resort all inclusive, no tipping allowed. Two dives a day in package. A third at $35 all gear included except shorties (@ $5 a day). 36' boat, custom Newton-head and showers, camera tables, 42' boat, plenty of room. Excellent staff. No trips to West Caicos. 3 days of 2 tank diving. Rinse tank and hose on shore. Oxygen and full aid kit on all boats. Recently hosted a DAN conference. Chamber on island. Resort great for divers with non diving companions. Very good snorkeling. Vis: 80-100 ft. water: 81-84 degrees. All dives are guided, max depth was about 80-85 feet. Boats have shade. (Free resort class & dive; PADI OW & AOW extra charge)."

Caicos Adventures, August 1997, Jeffrey Benario, New Rochelle, NY. "Full day trips to West Caicos; owner Philippe "Fifi" Kunz, runs a first class operation. Modern boat has all the amenities;hour trip to West Caicos a pleasure. Fifi checks several sites for vis and current before settling on dive. Dramatic wall diving; sharks and eagle rays commonplace. First dive is followed by lunch on the beach or in a cove with fresh bread, hot dogs, hamburgers, fruit, cold cuts, salads. Snorkel or beachcomb for long surface interval. . . . Second dive along the wall. You are treated like an adult and are limited just by depth considerations. After the second dive, relax on deck to some great tunes, and enjoy the ride back to Provo."

Club Med, David Grossman, Baldwin, NY. "Diving is easy, although restricted by limitations. Good place for single diver. vis: 40­70 ft. water: 75­77 degrees."

Club Med, November 1996, Dan Eiosmoe, Bloomington, IL. "A wedding anniversary so I did not want to make my wife rough it. Advertised as a tropical resort atmosphere with an opportunity to dive as a daily diversion (therefore I would not consider this a "dive resort"). Dive operation poorly organized. Several people who had paid for their diving in advance regretted the decision. The dive staff was always surly, often treating divers with sarcasm and threats of not being allowed to dive the rest of the week. The dive sites were poor and unmemorable. vis: 30­50 ft. water: 78­82 degrees. Rest of the resort atmosphere was fantastic. Organized sand volleyball matches every morning at 11:00. Basketball games at 4:00. Great way for active people to have fun, especially if you are tired of the "laying on the beach" scene. What could be better? Sand volleyball, topless sunbathers and turquoise water. I wish I would not have prepaid the dive package. Instead I would have signed up for other dive excursions."

Dive Provo/Turquoise Reef, April 1997, Dr. Terrence W. Dunlop, Annapolis, MD. "Visited also 12/94. Hotel still in receivership, but remains well maintained. Staff somewhat indifferent but no longer surly. Dive office remains inflexible, but dive operation quite good. New, fast boat for easy trips to better, more remote, sites, e.g., French Cay. Offer 3 tank, remote site "Scuba Safari" dives if 5 divers, worth the cost. Boats have covers, first aid, oxygen, radios, 3000 psi. Hang bars. Vis poor due to stormy weather prior arrival, but Simon and crew located best spots. vis: 30­70 ft. water: 77­79 degrees. Good attitudes. Saw 6' tiger shark over sand flats, leopard sharks mating and spotted eagle ray. French Cay, NW Point and West Caicos best spots. Not much for non divers. One small golf course and casino."

Flamingo Divers, March 1997, Betty Beall, Tallahassee, FL. "Dove West Caicos, NW Point, (Provo) and French Key. All pretty and easy. Saw one eagle ray and many tropicals. vis: 100 ft. water: 80 degrees. Diving time enforced. Tried hard to please. Nice staff, comfortable boats, (snacks, soft drinks and H2O on board.) Some shore exploration for surface intervals that was fun. At least one divemaster in the water for each dive for new divers. Those with computers or experienced could dive their own profile, but be on board at a prescribed time. Good restaurants, nice people on easy­going Provo. Rented a beautiful house at Ocean Point. Terrific holiday, not very exciting diving."

Flamingo Divers/Erebus Inn, July 1997, Jack Switzer, Toronto, ONT. "Third visit to Provo. Erebus Inn has average rooms, excellent food and a fabulous view from the dining room. The guys at Flamingo Divers were great fun and picked the good sites to dine. Little Cayman Beach Resort is the best in the Caribbean, but Provo is a close second. vis: 80-120 ft. water: 80-83 degrees."

Provo Turtle Divers/Turtle Cove Inn, September 1996, Carole Ott, Floyds IN. "Good Stuff: Highly recommend Art Pickerings Provo Turtle Divers. First class operation. Enjoyed stay at Turtle Cove Inn, everyone was friendly and helpful. Boat rides to the dives are 45­60 minutes, and the reefs start at about 50 feet, so bottom time is limited. West Caicos was the best, with beautiful walls and 80 feet vis. Around Provo, we only had 50­60 feet of vis. water: 81­83 degrees. Bad stuff: Tap water on Provo may not be potable; bring a purifier or a lot of bucks for bottled water. To and from anywhere is $10 each taxi. . . . Originally booked at the Salt Raker on Grand Turk. What you see in the literature may not be what you get. "Petty" crime a problem; left after one night."

Provo Turtle Divers/Turtle Cove Inn, January 1997, Richard and Joy Visser, Rockford, MI. "Water: 75 to 80 degrees. Vis: 75 to 100 feet. Nice wall diving at Northwest point and West Caicos. Sharks, turtles, eagle rays, blue colored cowfish, dolphins and numerous smaller fishes on nearly every dive. Art Pickering's Provo Turtle Divers friendly and efficient. Tank fills to 3000 PSI. Large Newton dive boat a pleasure to dive from: fresh water showers, good working head, ample seating, shaded area or sun deck, dive platform, freshwater rinse tanks, free pop. Follow the divemaster or go by yourselves even if you use tables. Surface intervals and sandy beach at West Caicos. Over one hour to West Caicos and 45 minutes Northwest Point for the good diving. Closer sites like Pine Cay were just mediocre, average Florida type diving. . . . Turtle Cove Inn most convenient resort on the island. Two restaurants on the premises (Tiki Hun has great burger and Jerk Chicken sandwich) two restaurants within 2 minute walk ­­ Sharkbite and Banana Boat (my Favorite) and two restaurants within 13 minute walk. Hey Jose has great, reasonably priced Mexican and Doro's has great native cuisine. Turtle Cove Inn a 10 minute walk from Smith Reef ­­ the best snorkeling on the island ­­ saw an eagle ray, a turtle, about 10 barracuda and numerous other fish in about one hour. Turtle Cove Inn is not plush but a good value for the money. . . . Bad: Generally expensive. Taxi $15 each way for the 10 minute ride to the Conch Farm. Dinners about $50 for two. Beers $3, piña colanda $5. $70 to rent a car for a day, scooter for two people $35; 8 percent tax on everything including food."

Salt Cay

Salt Cay Divers/Castaway Cottages, August 1997, Lynch, Wallingford, CT. "Outer island resort, do not expect fancy accommodations. No television, telephones, air conditioning, newspapers, room service, or other amenities. Comfortable duplex cottages on a great beach. Had the beach to ourselves most of the time. The manager Debbie runs Salt Cay Divers along with Ollie. Did everything possible to make our stay enjoyable. Ate at Mount Pleasant Guest House. Food was good and plentiful. Bryan Sheedy is a great host. He seems to know more about Island than anyone else. Service is on Island time. An option to the meal plan may be to have the cottage stocked with breakfast and lunch food and eat dinners at Mount Pleasant or Irene's. Reefs in pristine condition due to limited number of divers. Saw turtles, nurse sharks, eagle rays, stingrays, dolphins and tropical fish too numerous to mention. On night dives saw free swimming moray eels, squid, octopus, lobster, orange ball anemones and sleeping turtles. Wear a dive skin at night. The "sea fleas" are annoying. Debbie and Ollie took turns running the dive boat. No set schedule, leisurely diving. Did a two-tank dive in the morning and afternoon or night dive. Tanks available for shore diving. Boat is a Carolina skiff with a canopy to get out of the sun. Fresh water and hard candy onboard for between dives. Entry by backward roll. To get back onboard you have to remove your fins and climb a swim ladder at the rear of the boat. They allowed you to dive your computer. No limitations placed on depth or time. Debbie and Ollie took the time to answer questions. Both are knowledgeable about marine life Most walls start at 40 ft. With 75-100 vis. . . . Took American from Miami to Providenciales and Inter Island Airways to Salt Cay. Inter Island raised the confirmed price and charged a 5% service charge for using a credit card. Purchase your tickets in advance or Fly Lynx Air from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Turk and Sky King to Salt Cay."

South Caicos

Club Caribe, June 1996, Bob Kopkil, Bridgewater, NJ. "Diving definitely advanced. All sites on the windward side of the island and we dove in 2­4 ft. seas. Back rolling off a 24 ft. open skiff. Dive when you want, where you want (my wife and I were the only two diving guests). Diving very good. Typical vis 100­120 ft., but we had some trips at 150+ and one trip an awesome 200+. Vis at Provo (W. Caicos, N.W. Point etc.) had only been 60­80 ft. More fish in general at W. Caicos and Provo, but everything at South Caicos was BIG. Schools of six eagle rays with wing spans of 4­6 ft. Huge stingrays 6­7 ft. in diameter, 3­4 ft. Dog snappers, large and small turtles and one very large shark, probably a bull. Vertical wall was magnificent, healthy and particularly beautiful. Not many schooling fish, but did observe a few unusual species i.e. a lemon grouper and a marbled hogfish. Lots of eels and crabs at the airplane wreck. vis: 100­120 ft. water: 75­79 degrees. Club Caribe very plain, but clean and freshly painted and decorated. Food basic with no choices. Better to eat dinner at Muriel's House, a local ladies' dinning room. A/C and satellite color TV. Nothing to do at night. Good side trip for experienced divers wanting to see "Big Stuff."

Club Carib, February 1997, Nicholas R. Chickering, Nevada City, CA. "While we loved the primitive island and diving, but hotel is poorly managed. Poor food except when travel agent came from Florida (when the cuisine changed dramatically), no sailing despite phone assurances they had catamarans, no divemasters despite assurances to the contrary, and broken compressor which had to be fixed by a couple of the guests. Out of the way hotel has tremendous potential."

Club Carib, June 1997, Richard Trepeta, Paradise Valley, AZ. "Water 80 degrees, vis 50-75 feet. Dive/room/food package was cheap and we got what we paid for. Food often ran out, room air conditioner was intermittent, dive staff unfriendly. Dive sites deep. Manager and divers got fish poisoning! Meals repetitive and uninteresting. Advertised room refrigerators and color TV's were a myth as was the unlimited diving. Hotel staff friendly and generally helpful. Dove same sites three or four times. Dive operation anti-photographic. Beginning divers could plow through coral but all hell would break loose if you touched dead coral to steady yourself for a picture."

Club Carib, July 1997, John Crossely, Midvale, UT. "Week of lodging, diving, and food $499. Great value. New manager, Tom Phee, a capable jack-of-all-trades is turning the run-down family theme resort into a respectable dedicated dive resort. 24 rooms are basic but clean. Air conditioning and firm beds, but the bathroom is small. One day the cistern went dry, but water was trucked in within a few hours. Food hearty, well balanced, not gourmet. Brownies, fruit and snacks available between dives, restaurant and bar overlooks a beautiful bay; nice salt water pool, no beach. . . . Three 24 ft. flat bottom skiffs can carry eight divers. minimal shade, no camera rinse bucket, 10-20 minutes to sites. 3-5 ft. seas a couple days, so the skiffs did not get to some sites. Dive staff try hard to please the divers. . . . Three boat dives a day, usually along the wall, and finishing along the top in 40-50 ft. depth. Vis in 100 ft. range, water 84 degrees. Soft corals lush; fish prolific. Hawksbill and green turtles, some southern sting rays. Night dive: numerous crabs, lobsters, eels, an octopus. "Airplane" a fun dive, with the wings and mid-section of a plane located 50 ft. away from the wall. Eagle rays on five of 14 dives. Once a school of 24 swam by, circled and came back again, within ten feet. . . . Miami-Provo-South Caicos route (using American Airlines and unreliable Turks and Caicos Airlines); Lynx Air International goes direct from Ft. Lauderdale to South Caicos."

Club Carib, August 1997, John Kontnik, Lakewood, CO. "Memorable experience. Underwater life was great! Large and plentiful black tip and nurse sharks, big southern and eagle rays, turtles and lots of big fish. Exciting. We were able to approach them close. Resort very laid back and funky (a good funky) with nice smaller air conditioned rooms. The resort was very clean. On site managers Tom Phee and Carol Caron were super!! Boundless energy and provided a high quality experience. Food plentiful and wonderful. The town and the island looked like what I can only imagine most Caribbean Islands looked like 40-50 years ago, both have a great rustic charm. Several of us walked the town at all times of the day and night and felt perfectly safe. . . . Club Carib has 38 tanks, not enough for the 28 divers that were there. The resort was also strapped for common items such as rope, anchors, and other common items. Snorkeling is very good at Long and Dove Keys but you do not get unlimited boat diving; shore diving in front of the resort is only fair."

Club Carib, August 1997, Gene Boyer, Pinellas Park, FL. "Water 83 degrees. Expected unlimited diving and was restricted to 2 to 3 dives a day. Very small boats (skiffs). Dive staff lacked enough people. No place to purchase mementos. Fresh water limited. Had a salt water pool and no hot water in rooms."

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