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Dive Review of Big Blue Unlimited/Barefoot Palms villa in
Turks and Caicos/Provo

Big Blue Unlimited/Barefoot Palms villa, Aug, 2014,

by Michael Traylor, TX, US (Contributor Contributor 15 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 7702.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments We rented a house about 200 yds from the beach at the east end- of Provo; fixed our meals there; everything is very expensive, including dining and groceries.
Big Blue Unlimited is at the east end marina-a boat trip to West Caicos takes 1 1/2 hours. Most rides were 20-30 minutes. In 5 days of diving we went to West Caicos, off the Grace Bay beaches, Northwest Point, and Pine Cay. The largest boat can accommodate 10-12 divers, but the dive deck can get crowded. Divemasters Lynn, Amanda, and Lizzie took care of our gear, switched tanks, and were very informative about Provo and the diving. The dives were guided slowly... One day our five person group went out on a smaller boat w/ outboards. The 2nd dive tanks were stored in lockers and we back-rolled in w/ an exit ladder between the motors. Very enjoyable.
The coral was in fair condition and there were some small groupers, several small schools of jacks, occ. turtles, and more reef sharks than I have seen at all of the other Caribbean sites I've visited combined. The most frequent critters seen were Flamingo Tongues and crabs; rare stingrays and no spotted eagle rays.
They usually do night dives on Thursdays, but accommodated our group on a Sat. They encourage keeping one's light off as much as possible for night vision; it was a dull dive.
In summary: The diving around Provo is typical for the Caribbean w/ concerns about the coral w/ a surprising number of reef sharks seen, why?
Websites Big Blue Unlimited   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Caymans, Fiji, Bonaire, Costa Rica, Sea of Cortez, Galapagos, Palau, Cozumel, St. Croix, etc.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, cloudy, dry Seas calm, no currents
Water Temp 82-82°F / 28-28°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions Divemaster turns around when someone signals 1/2 Tank; start safety stop w/ 700 psi.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments No camera rinse tank on the boat.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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