Dive Review of Multiple Dive Operators in
Turks and Caicos

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Multiple Dive Operators, Mar, 2008, by Keith Pereira, WI, USA ( 2 reports). Report 4054.
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	Provo Sibonne Hotel, Ocean Vibes Sibonne is a budget hotel on Grace Bay and compared to the opulent high rise condos/guest houses/villas surrounding it….it is as advertised. The Garden view rooms are small but adequate for living for a week or so without feeling too cramped. Ours had a double and twin bed, the refrigerator was small but big enough to hold a 6 pack and some snacks. Bathroom and shower was adequate but ours leaked through the wall into the bedroom floor (under the twin bed) when you took extended showers. Someone looked at it the first day and said it would be fixed, but still wasn’t by the time we left. The grounds were nice and the beach is a mere 50 yard walk from the room through the gardens, past the pool and onto the beautiful beach. Of course the Beach is wonderful white sand we/ about 12 tiki style umbrellas, but if you weren’t up at 7 claiming one you were probably out of luck. The beach area right in front of the hotel was quite and never crowded Some of these resorts also have their own restaurants and unless you’re driving or willing to walk a little there are not lots of dining options close to you. The food at most of these restaurants are above average…but so are the prices….beer about $7, house wine $9, and a Bailey’s on the rocks $13…Ouch!! The service is typical Caribbean speed (or lack there of) but at times with attitude…which was surprising. Many of the restaurants automatically add 20% gratuity sometimes called service fee…so look at your bill! Restaurants that I ate at were: Bay Bistro-Sibonne Hotel-very good dinner, good lunch, OK breakfast, high prices, slow service, bad attitudes. Staying at the Sibonne affords you a “free” continental B-fast which consists of coffee, toast and a sliver of fruit, if you decide to order that prepare to wait a long time and get horrible. If you order off the b-fast menu ($) you’ll get the regular slow service, and much less attitude…go figure? Shark Bite-Pub/Bar/restaurant-good food, fair prices, good service Danny Bouy’s (Irish)-good food, fair prices, good service Bella Luna (Italian)- good food, fair prices, very good service I dove with Ocean Vibes for the 4 days on Provo as they were recommended to me by a friend…I was not disappointed. Because I had recently sold all my gear (with the plan of buying new gear before the trip, which for many reasons didn’t happen!) this was the first dive in the last 15 years I was forced to rent equipment (sans mask fins)…unfortunately OV equipment was fairly worn, but serviceable…and always having a skin, shorty, mask, light or whatever someone needed. Although I had asked for a computer when making my reservation, they only had 1 2 of the 4 days and was told it was on of the DM’s personal backup (thanks Rob & Cindy!) They p/u at the hotel at 8am and your at the dock at 8:30 ready to go. The boat is spacious enough for a dozen+ or so divers and their gear. Gear was set up and ready while a DM was giving a briefing. Gear was brought to you where you sit and back roll entry. Exit procedures consisted of handing weight belt to DM in the boat and slipping out of your BC and hading it to DM, then climbing a smallish latter in the back of the boat. In the 4 days there were 3 DM’s Cindy, Rob and Megan and the boat had 5-10 divers. Dove Northwest point dive sites for 3 days ,,,,with boat rides of about 30-40 minutes and then West Caicos for 1 day with boat ride of about 1 hour…depending on the wind the boat ride back could get a little wet. Dive brief was short but informative about what was expected and various highlights to look for on each dive. DM’s Cindy and Rob and Megan were great as they allowed divers with computers to dive there own profile, assisted divers that needed a little more attention and left those of us with experience and competence alone…but also pointed out various critters and any interesting coral formations. I never dove with Megan, as she appeared to be very rigid and a bit “coarse” with her groups. In general the reefs and walls had some nice colorful coral and sponge formations and interesting reef structures but didn’t have the “full” marine life that I was expecting…although the usual critters such as Jacks, Groupers, Grunts, Barracuda, Spotted Eagle Rays, and occasionally some Hawksbill turtles, eels, & sharks were usually present on all dives, they just weren’t abundant. At West Caicos the walls were very dramatic and some dolphins joined us underwater for a 5 min folly! In general both in Provo and W Caicos the visibility ranged from about 70-110 ft. I would consider in the general the diving very good. Lunches during dive intervals consisted of various types of fresh etc sandwiches/wraps and a big bag or 2 of some type of chips/pretzels/Pringles that were passed around, also there were some cookies on a few days. Liquid refreshments were plentiful with water and various flavors of soda…also the beer for the end of the day’s dives was a great touch, although I wish there was more of the Corona/Turks Head and less of the Bud lite! Riques the Captain did a great job even when some mechanical issues surfaced on day 3 threatening our dives…during our interval he took care of it and it was business as usual. In all, these guys do a great job making your dives safe, enjoyable, exciting and let you dive based on your comfort level and experience.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Mexico, Carribean, Florida Keys, Hawaii
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	75-80°F / 24-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-90 Ft/ 18-27 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	>2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Multiple Dive Operators in Turks and Caicos

Multiple Dive Operators, Mar, 2008,

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 Multiple Dive Operators in
Turks and Caicos