Dive Review of Dive Provo/Comfort Suites in
Turks and Caicos/Providenciales

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Dive Provo/Comfort Suites, Sep, 2005, by Lucius "Bud" Foster, MN, USA . Report 2963.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We booked a package deal with Dive Provo and opted for the lesser expensive hotels, which was the Comfort Suites that is right next door to the dive shop. This was my first time to Turkes & Caicos so I really did not know what to expect. What I learned was this, next time I will pay a little more money to stay in a nicer place in Grace Bay instead of the Comfor Suites. The service was very poor and the staff just did not care about anything but looking at the clock to see just how much time they had left until there shift was over so they could go home. The free continental breakfast was bad and included watered down OJ, coffie, and hard bread, period. The dive operation and shop, Dive Provo (www.diveprovo.com), was excellent and run very professionally. All of the dive guides were instructors and very confident professionals. They pick you up each morning at what ever hotel your staying in a van with A/C, then they proceed to the docks were the dive boats run out from. The dive shop is equipped with all the essentials for diving incase you forgot something at home and are not over priced like many island dive shops. I always bring my own gear but could not get over what great shape there rental equipment was in. The boats were big comfortable and always had some kind of fresh fruit, snacks, and drinks aboard. I can't remember a day that it was crowded. The owner (Clare Jardine)assured me that they do not run cattle boats. The most divers were eight to a boat and they put two dive guides in the water. You could dive with a guide or feel free to dive your own profile. The diving was very good an simular to the good wall diving off Bimini Bahamas. The difference is, the coral, sponge, fans, and aquatic life were in much better shape. I spent six diving days and dived off French Cay, Providenciales, West Caicos, Pine Cay, and North West Point Providenciales. Most of the time The visability was 120+ and at Jule's Junction we saw a squadron of eagle rays swimming buy on the wall. The colors at most of the sites were spectacular for camera. Day two was off Providenciales at The Crack and Black Coral Forest. These are both excellent wall dives with plenty to see. During the first morning dive a mother and daughter pair keep staying a little low and long on the dive and were not on nitrox like the rest of us. I signaled to them a couple of times to come up and level off to no avail. By the second dive at Black Coral Forest the mothers alarm went off on her computer and I noticed her panic and start swiming at full speed for the surface, I turned real fast to catch her and assist and as I turned the back of my leg rubbbed up against fire coral from the back of the knee to the ankle. I knew in an instant that I had rubbed fire coral but had to stop this women from freaking. I got to her and offerd air and she stopped and showed me her computer that was saying she was in Deco. I calmed her down and signaled her to wait until the dive guild got her. I showed her that on her computer she still had 1000 lbs of air and that I had a Buddy air bottle and that seemed to calm her down. Her Deco was saying 24 min deco at 20'. Seconds later the dive guild was their who sent the other guild up (after his 3 minuet safty stop) to get another bottle with regulator. This all happened within 90 seconds, then I swam under the boat and did my safty stop in constant agony. The fire coral that had rubbed my calf felt just like it sounds, like a flame of a match was being held against my leg and would not stop. I can see why people say it can make a grown man cry. IT DID. I had to compose myself and keep from wanting to bolt to the surface. It seemed like the longest safty stop I had ever taken and my leg was killing me. As soon as I got on the boat the capitain got me some soulution to ease the pain, and it did slightly. I had no real complications after that except for minor swelling. To sum it up, Turks & Caicos is a very good dive destination with healthy coral, sponge, fans, rays, sharks (especially "Nibbles The Shark" at G-Spot)aquatic life, fish, etc. and has a wonderful varity of resturants and resorts. Ms. Jardine of Dive Provo was very concerened about how I felt staying at Comfort Suites and assured me they have package agreements with many other resorts in Providenciales and will look into my complaints with Comfort Suites.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	California, Hawaii, Lake Superior MN, Jamaica, Bahamas, S. Florida & Keys, Cozumel, Anguilla, Palau, Roatan Honduras, Saba, and Grand Cayman.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	81-84°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-120 Ft/ 18-37 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Depth limits on the wall dives and must have computer or rent one.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Each boat has a big fresh water bucket for cameras only and a designated table for cameras only large enought to keep a few cameras or work on them.

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Dive Review of Dive Provo/Comfort Suites in Turks and Caicos/Providenciales

Dive Provo/Comfort Suites, Sep, 2005,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Dive Provo/Comfort Suites in
Turks and Caicos/Providenciales