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Dive Review of Salt Cay Divers/Tradwinds in
Turks and Caicos/Salt Cay

Salt Cay Divers/Tradwinds, Jun, 2004,

by Cathy Bolton, PA, USA . Report 1105.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 2 stars
Service and Attitude 1 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 2 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments We signed up for this trip after reading material at Beneath the Sea. There were 3 of us and we all dove Provo & Grand Turk before and loved it. Since this Island is more isolated we thought the diving would be better.

We signed up for a meal plan since food is scare on the island. No one told us the restaurant we had our plan with was closed for a month. We were switched to another place where a woman cooked but you had to tell her what you wanted ahead of time but everyone had to eat the same thing. No beverage was included nor any dessert. Water with the meal was $2 extra. If you didn't eat all your meal you got less the next time. The woman was a good cook but varity was lacking. After 5 nights of Fish and Rice and Beans, I was longing for McDonald's.

Maid service was a girl coming once in the week we were there to change towels and linens and sweep out the room. The toliet couldn't be flushed too much during low tide. There were 3 women in the room so this was ugly. Two huge roaches in the room caused a bit of panic too.

We were told phones weren't a problem only to find out that you had to have a T&C phone card that was sold on Provo, not on Salt Cay. If you used the dive shop phone, the owner charged you $3 a min, to dial the 1-800 number on the phone card. We found a phone booth a mile from the hotel where there was no surcharge. One of the woman had a sickly mother and this was a real problem for her.

The diving was fair except for the wreck of the Endymion which was great. We lucked out and had one day when the weather allowed us to hit this wreck. It was advertised as part of the trip but later we were told this 1 tank dive counted as 2 dives.

The dive masters were very good and let you go at your own pace, limiting down time to 75 mins. Diving for 4-6 people was done in a small skiff. We only got one night dive in. Without lights it was hairy getting back to the beach. There is a package advertising unlimited night diving but this would be taking a tank and going off the beach by the dive shop. No one is around so you would be on your own. The beach in front of our hotel was rocky and not a good entry. An e-mail to Debbie was all that was needed for supplies. Buying a ticket for the InterIsland flight was a problem if you don't have access to an international fax from 4-6PM.

I would not go back.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving [Unspecified]
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather cloudy Seas choppy
Water Temp 80-83°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 0
Water Visibility 0-50 Ft/ 0-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 130 ft max
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 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 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 2 stars Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 2 stars Shore Facilities 2 stars
UW Photo Comments Water is very scarce so camera equitment was dumped in a small bucket. Two guys had big cameras and strobes so small cameras were out of luck.
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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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