Trip report Provo 22APR – 01MAY and Grand Turk 01MAY-06MAY

After a long trip from Sweden, including one overnight stay in JFK area, we arrived on Saturday 22APR. Apparently our plane was not the only one arrived at that time. Time through immigration was bad, over an hour and a half. After being yelled at and almost not being let in, because I didn’t know the name of the villa we were staying, we finally made it through.

After looking for one of our bag in 20 minutes, among 500 other bags, we finally came out, and the owner of the villa was waiting for us. Went to Avis and picked up the car and then we headed to our villa on the south side of the island. We had a private suite in the villa, not the entire villa, but were allowed to use the pool, laundry etc. The hosts were nothing but lovely to us. The suite was also very nice, nothing to complain about. 10-15 meters from the sea, so all meals were enjoyed outside on the patio with a wonderful view.

Started off with a trip to IGA Supermarket which was very well stocked, some things a bit pricey others not. We found most of what we wanted and we ate most of our meals in the villa. For us food isn’t that important as experiences are. We rather spend our money on excursions and doing things, than in fancy restaurants. We did go out a couple of times in Provo and every day in Grand Turk (had no own kitchen there).

Spent the first day looking around a bit and it was perfect to have a car for that. We needed a car all the time, staying where we did. We did several stops in Coral Garden for snorkeling. For every time we went there it became better and better (except for the end of the Provo stay, when it was too windy for snorkeling.) If you want to see turtles, they seem to be in the grassy area or on the reef all the time. They are so nice to snorkel with. We did see a lot of fish, like queen angelfish, scrawled filefish, Atlantic spadefish, Nassau grouper and all the usual like parrotfish and squirrelfish.

One day we snorkeled on Smiths reef outside Turtle Cove and we saw spotted eagle ray. That was a wonderful experience. I have never seen spotted eagle rays before and they came like flying from the deep and checked us out and then turned back. Several times they came back again. Could have stayed in the water for a very long time, but a glass bottom boat came and the rays disappeared.

We tried to find a dedicated snorkel trip, but didn’t find any in the beginning of the week, so we settled with a Beach cruise with Silver Deep. That was OK, but not really what we have wanted. It was one snorkel stop (good) and a stop at Pine Cay (very nice beach– could have stayed there longer). We started with a stop to see the iguanas (very cute).

The only pre booked activity we had, was a resort dive course with Dive Provo. We did the pool session and theory at Comfort Suites and the dive after at the dive site Cathedral outside Grace Bay. Since we were beginners we weren’t allowed to go under 40 feet, we hang out on the reef edge and did not go over the wall. It was my first diving ever, and it was amazing. Normally I am a bit claustrophobic sometimes, but as soon as I came into the water I became so calm. It was like being invited to another world, and you became totally consumed by all the things that you could see. Very happy about this day and I will forever remember it. Unfortunately my husband didn’t feel comfortable with the breathing, so he decided not to do the dive, but only to snorkel. Next time maybe. He took some pictures of me down there, when he snorkeled, and that was nice.

The last days were very windy, and the wind came from the wrong direction, so it wasn’t possible to do any more snorkeling. We did finally managed to book a snorkel trip with JB tours, and were very much looking forward to it, but unfortunately that trip was cancelled due to the windy conditions.

When it came to going around the island, we visited Chaulk sound and stopped at Sapodilla bay a couple of times. We thought it was a lovely little beach, very quite. Not for snorkeling, but perfect a late afternoon, snoozing in the beach chair with a good book.

One day we went up to Malcolm's, and it was way too windy to stay. Not possible to swim and the Armanyara resort, had their red flag up. So we just went back again. When it was windy like this, our villa on the south side was much calmer than normal, so we hang out there instead. It was perfectly possible to swim from there, even if it wasn’t a nice beach like Grace Bay.

After 9 days in Provo, we took Skyking to Grand Turk. Very nervous that we had too much luggage (44 lb per person – 20 kilo) and we managed to have exactly that (and we had no idea how much our bags was.). It was an uneventful flight but rather cloudy, so we couldn’t see much of all the beautiful islands. It was much better on the way back, and then we got the chance to see all the beautiful islands from above.

Grand Turk was much different from Provo. It was more like moving back 50 years in time (for good and bad). We stayed 5 nights at the Bohio Dive resort and it was also both good and bad. We were very unlucky to arrive the day after their dive and excursion boat had been damaged in a storm. It happened the night before we arrive, when the weather apparently was very bad in GT. So they had to cancel all their diving activity and all excursions, and even when we departed, the boat wasn’t fixed yet. That must have been very bad for them, since much of their income and activity, circles around their own diving operation and excursions.

The weather was still very windy when we arrived, and again unfortunately stayed very windy and made it impossible to swim or snorkel at their beach (or any other beach on the normally calm side). It wasn’t until Friday, the day before we left, it started to calm down, but the visibility was still very bad. But the weather you can’t blame on the resort, and we didn’t of course, but it still affected our stay there. One of the reasons I chosen that resort, was because of their own diving and excursion facilities.

I wanted so much to visit Salt Cay, but that turned out to be impossible because there were no excursions due to the weather. But we went to Gibbs Cay with Oasis Divers, and that was a great trip. We stopped on the way for a short snorkel (this is on the other side of the island, so it was calmer here) and the staff free dived for conch (most of us 6 passengers also tried, but we couldn’t make it that deep – about 20 feet). The conch was brought to Gibbs Cay for preparing a fresh conch salad. They also set up a BBQ so we got fresh grilled hamburgers and sausages with bread, tomatoes, onions etc and cold drinks.

When we arrived to Gibbs Cay, several southern stingrays immediately showed up. We jumped into the water and I think there were about 5 rays that wanted some food. The staff had brought some fish, so if we wanted, we could feed them. Normally I don’t think that you should feed wild fish, but this seemed very casual and for some reason it didn’t bother me. After they had cleaned the conch, and through the rest into the water, also a spotted eagle ray showed up and even a very shy baby lemon shark (but he/she disappeared at once if someone just sat a foot in the water). It was about 2 feet long. All over, this was a very nice trip and we met 2 Danish guys!! Going this far, and meet Danes. They were very nice guys and it turned out that they just arrived and also stayed at our resort. They were on a diving trip and we did hang out a lot together after we met.

Since they dived every day, we set up a day together, just the four of us, with Oasis Divers (they were great) and went out for a dive the next day. It was the instructor, and his girlfriend who also worked in Oasis Divers, the Danes and us. My husband chosen to snorkel this time also, but I did dive. I was asked if I should just to one dive or two and I said one (but of course I ended up doing two). It was fantastic. The wall in Grand Turk is amazing, at least if was for me, but even the Danish guys who were relatively experienced divers, were very happy. We started out on the edge and it was about 30 feet deep and continued out over the wall and dove a bit down. Since I wasn’t allowed lower than 40 feet, they have to stay there with me (even if I noticed my depth to over 45 feet at some times). We say so many fishes and turtles and the corals and the wall was amazing. I have always wanted to see a gray angelfish, and now I did see two. And also a beautiful spotted drum. Of the three dives I did, I liked the Grand Turk dives best.

We dove at two different sites, called the Amphitheater and Finbar, and between the dives, we hang out in the boat to let the necessary time go between the dives. Oasis Divers were very good and can really be recommended. The Danes were also very happy with them, as we heard their dive report every day.

Except for diving, there is not very much to do in Grand Turk. We rented a scooter for two days and did the island in no time. Some nice beaches, but since it was so windy, we couldn’t swim. The resort should have provided bicycles for their guests, since it’s located a bit from town and most of the the restaurants (OK distance to bike) but their bikes were in very bad condition. That was not a good thing for us, since you didn’t want to eat in their restaurant all the time. Not that it’s not good, but it’s very expensive and in our liking, too ambitious for a casual resort. You don’t need first class food every day, in a diving resort. We found a couple of nice restaurants in town (they were all very close to the other hotels, like Osprey Beach etc and it would have been much more convenient to stay there, as it was close to everything including Oasis Divers).

The surroundings at Bohio were very nice and the room was absolutely OK (we were upgraded to a suite). The resort with 16 rooms had only 3 sun beds, which of 2 were broken. That was not good either. Even if you dive, you would maybe want to hang out in a sun bed under a tree and reading a book after your dive. Luckily there weren't so many people staying there at the moment (10-12?). We had a couple of meals at their restaurant, which one of them was very good (expensive – but worth it). The breakfast we prepared in our room, but it was very hard to find groceries (No IGA in GT). I was expecting that it should be hard to find what you want, so we were prepared and had to settle with what we could find. No big deal, it was OK. We also had a travel kettle, so we could make tea and coffee whenever we wanted.

I think we would have thought better of Bohio, if there normal operation had been working and if we had better luck with the wind. But I would probably recommend staying at some of the places in town instead, where everything is gathered closely to each other.

Should mention something about the cruise ship also. We came the same day as a cruise ship was in, and had some problems finding a cab from the airport. Apparently everyone that could make money from the cruise ship tourists, do so, and there is hard for other people to reach different services and excursions. For example, if you haven’t booked a dive in advance, you would have no chance since they are booked up. And probably you don’t want to go on excursions, say to Gibbs Cay, at the same day as a cruise ship is in, even if possible. They have built some new facilities around the islands for the cruise ship passengers, but they are locked up when no ship is in. We went up to the lighthouse, and that was locked now. We found newly built restrooms at Governors Beach, and I was so lucky heading up there....just to found out they were locked. So I hope they not forget the other tourists, that are not cruise ship passengers (or maybe divers). I would say, if you don’t dive, it would be enough with a day trip or a couple of days to Grand Turk. If you dive, a week would probably be enough.

I would as I said, have liked to go to Salt Cay, but we only ended up stopping there with Skyking at our way back (we had no idea about that, but it was nice to see the island from above so we didn’t mind).

Overall, Grand Turk was more green and lush, than Provo, a lot of Australian pines, gave nice shade at many beaches. Everyone was very friendly and locals always said hi on the street and smiled. There was some construction going on, but not in the least as on Provo.

Our impression with Provo, was that it was very nice beaches, and fantastic water (including snorkeling at some beaches). We also felt the climate to be very nice, and you always felt secure. On the downside, we would say that it’s very expensive and maybe lacks a bit of Caribbean charm. More sophisticated feel about it, than real Caribbean.

Anyway – we did have a good time and we are not disappointed. I’m just not sure Provo was totally right for us, so I don’t think we will go back, at least not now. Our favorite Caribbean island is Virgin Gorda in BVI, but we wanted to see something new this time. But there is always the dilemma when you like some place very much, should we go back again or try something new. I believe you can do both, alternate your favorite and something new. I do want to go back to Virgin Gorda in the future and do some diving! Maybe take a whole PADI course so you’ll get certified. My husband thinks we should go back to Thailand next time. Prices are extremely low and people are very friendly. Lovely beaches but it's very hot and humid there. Well, we just have to wait and see….

Maggy