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

Salt Cay Divers/Tradewinds, Feb, 2006,

by Sheri Ray, TX, USA (Contributor Contributor 13 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 2316.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 2 stars
Comments On 1/3 of the dives, the vis was poor...less than 45 feet (we were there 1 week). When the vis improved, there was still alot of silt all over the corals. It looked like it had snowed underwater, all over the corals. We learned that during Humpback Whale season (Dec - Mar), that it's typical to have 3-4 days of choppy seas and poor vis, followed by 2-3 days of calm water and great vis. The locals recommended coming there for 10 days to increase our good diving days. Salt Cay Divers is a good operation and we enjoyed diving with them. We did see the whales from the boat on our final day, but they wouldn't come closer that 100 feet and the water was pretty rough. It was incredible to see the whales and they hung out around the boat for quite a while. Out of the 11 dives I did, there were 2 "WOW" dives, where the vis was great and there were abundant fish and a couple of rays. For the money we spent on this trip, we were disappointed. Above water though, I enjoyed it more...beautiful white sand beaches, slow paced life, and good food. There are 5 restaurants on the island, but we ate at only 2, the Coral Reef Bar & Grill and Island Thyme Bistro. Both were very good and offered fresh fish and lobster. We carried in some of our own food, as eating out and purchasing food on the island is both pricy and uncertain. Nelly makes wonderful homemade bread! Update on Grand Turk: A large cruise ship company has apparantely paid off the right people and now cruise ships dock virtually everyday and overrun the island with tourists. This same cruise company cut a large hole in the reef and dredged so they could come closer to the island. Too, they had all of the indigenous ponies, cows, & donkeys rounded up and penned up so that large horses could be brought onto the island for the tourists. What will happen to the penned animals? There's speculation that they will be destroyed! Greed has no conscience.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Cozumel, West Caicos, French Cay, Utila Honduras, St. Maarten, Saba
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, dry Seas choppy, surge
Water Temp 75-77°F / 24-25°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Don't dive below recreational limits.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales >2
Corals 2 stars Tropical Fish 2 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 3 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 Had to ask for bucket for cameras, and after that, one was usually provided.
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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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