Advanced Diving in Turks and Caicos

When it comes to sneaking under the radar, the forty distinct islands, cays, and atolls that make up the Turks and Caicos Islands are somewhat of an expert. The two island groups, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, sit on the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean, on the doorstep of the Caribbean Sea, and are less well-known than some of their seemingly more illustrious neighbours. The archipelago is surrounded by over 300 miles of barrier reef and separated from its neighbours by deep ocean trenches. While the barrier reef protects the beaches and ensures there are plenty of good snorkelling and beginner dive sites, the deep channels and walls make sure there’s also an array of awe-inspiring advanced diving in Turks and Caicos.

While in Turks and Caicos, choose to stay on luxurious private islands like Parrot Cay and Pine Cay or a quiet corner of nearby Providenciales for powder-soft sand and crystal-clear waters on your doorstep, while opting to venture further south via liveaboard gives you the best access to the more remote and advanced diving in Turks and Caicos.

Providenciales

Known by locals simply as 'Provo', Providenciales is the most developed of the Turks and Caicos Islands and once harboured real-life pirates of the Caribbean who needed to keep their heads down. Nowadays, the island's turquoise waters harbour a plethora of impressive marine species, with reef sharks, eagle rays and occasional hammerhead sightings all on the cards.

Northwest Point Marine National Park features deep, vertical walls and is a good place to spot Caribbean reef sharks. Shark Hotel dive site is particularly fruitful for sharks (as the name would suggest), with lucky divers spotting a lemon shark or tiger shark too, while The Hole In The Wall features a unique swim-through with its exit at 30 metres.

There can be some current at times, and this, together with the disappearing bottom, makes the sites best suited to divers who are certified as advanced. Diving in the Turks and Caicos puts you up close and personal with an array of marine life, but megafauna sightings are not limited by bottom time; keep an eye out for bottlenose dolphins accompanying the dive boat to and from the sites, and a visit between January and April could also see you spotting humpback whales during your surface intervals...

Liveaboard

While the deep walls in and around Providenciales are impressive dive sites and a great introduction to the advanced diving in Turks and Caicos, a liveaboard trip will help you reach the more remote sites in the area. During the first few months of the year, the liveaboard heads to Silver Bank to maximise your chances of spotting the migrating humpback whales. Throughout the rest of the year, the boat will head down to dive the walls and reefs of West Caicos and French Cay.

The dive sites here edge toward the more advanced diving in Turks and Caicos, with deep walls festooned with gorgonians and soft coral-covered plateaus providing a playground for reef sharks, Nassau groupers and jacks. Keep an eye out in the blue for passing eagle or manta rays, and you may just have a passing visit from a bigger shark or two too...