THE BIG BLUE DIVING EXPERIENCE
Scuba diving is all about the experience, your experience and our experience. From the very beginning we always felt a lot was missing when diving in big groups, on a timetable with maximum time and depths limiting every aspect of every dive. We believe that the diving program must be flexible enough to accommodate weather, tide, dive site profiles, likely fish life and habits, as well as your own personal diving history and experience.
If you are a seasoned diver then you should be given the freedom to exercise your passion to the maximum in the safest way possible. Equally, if you are a new or nervous diver then you will want the attention and comfort offered by being surrounded by top level professionals whose sole concern is your experience.
DIVE TOURS
Private Diving
Extended bottom times, flexible profiles, small groups, attention to detail all under the supervision of our expert guides. What more do you want? We specialize in customized private charter diving and visit all the main dive spots around Provo. Grace Bay, Pine Cay, North West Point, West Caicos, French Cay and much more. Join us.
Rates
From $1795 (certified up to 4 divers)
‘Discover Scuba Diving’ Experience
Known as the DSD or ‘Try-Dive’ this PADI entry level course provides an amazing opportunity for a supervised and easy dive in ideal tropical conditions. Basic training keeps you safe whilst minimizing the need to learn complex dive theory during valuable vacation time.
PADI Courses
Big Blue Collective is a PADI training center offering a full range of course. The most popular way to learn to dive and obtain your PADI Open Water certificate is to sign up for eLearning at home and complete the course work prior to your arrival in the Turks and Caicos. Then you’re straight into pool training and your 4 open water certification dives. Most certification courses are conducted privately on demand.
5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DIVING IN TURKS AND CAICOS
1
Scuba diving put Turks and Caicos on the map, long before our beaches did. The many world class dive sites around Provo and beyond are beautiful and varied, some are super close (10 mins) some a little futher (45+ mins). We always try to pick the best ones as conditions dictate.
SMALL GROUPS - FLEXIBLE PROFILES - EXTENDED SURFACE INTERVALS
We only do small group diving, really small groups from 4-6 on our smaller vessels to MAXIMUM 9 on our 40’ foot vessel. Less is more in every sense of the word when diving. Think about this for a minute: you want attention. In small groups you’ll be the centre of attention. Less people in a group means more time to get ready.
It means less people in the water scaring away fish life and makes it easier for our guides and instructors to watch you and show you the cool stuff. Our impact is reduced, which is better for the marine life and coral life. YOU WILL SEE MORE.
LESS PEOPLE, MORE FLEXIBILITY
We can change plans at a moment’s notice, swim with dolphins or whales. No rush, no crowds. We do not set maximums outside of industry standard recommended time and depth limits. We issue computers free of charge and if you can stay under for 60 minutes we want you to. If you want to explore, we let you. If you want to be guided, we will guide you. We are down there to have an amazing time and want to share that with you. If we have a good time, you will have a good time, guaranteed.
INSTRUCTORS AND GEAR
Our scuba team is the most well-rounded and experienced dive team in the Turks and Caicos. Our combined scuba experience alone exceeds well over 200 years!
We know diving and in the Turks and Caicos some of us have been diving since the late 80’s and early 90’s. We know when to go, where to go and when not to go.
SEA CONDITIONS
For the most part we can go diving almost any day of the year, winter or summer. Weather does play its part and to that end when we get strong cold fronts piling in from the North courtesy of North American winters, diving can be very difficult indeed. There are a few spots we can get to but strong winds out of the west and north are not ideal for the dive sites. Turks and Caicos dive sites thrive on weather from the east. Trade winds, heavy or light don’t really affect these sites. Grace Bay, Pine Cay, West Caicos and North West Point are protected, the latter two being very protected. Often boat rides can be rough while dive sites and underwater can be very calm. Don’t be fooled. Trust us, we don’t like diving in bad visibility either.
The Turks and Caicos Islands don’t have mountains and thus there is almost no run off from rivers, which we don’t have or rain. Our visibility is affected by wind, current, tide and recent weather history, which we watch very closely. Bottom line, these Islands were made famous and put on the map by scuba divers and so you should be very excited to jump into some of our world class dive sites.
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
You DO NOT have to be a seasoned scuba diver to dive with Big Blue! We love teaching beginners and showing the beauty of the underwater world while introducing you to our philosophy and way of diving, which we are sure will spoil you forever, in a good way.
Come with us no matter your skill level. The better you are the more you have to gain – Bottom time, bottom time and more bottom time.
NITROX
An enriched air nitrox tank has an increased percentage of oxygen and a reduced amount of nitrogen. It is used to increase the safety factor of a dive or extend non-decompression limits. It should be the gas of choice for all recreational dives but it is particularly recommended as divers get older or are not as physically fit as they could be.
The nitrox course covers the theory behind mixed gas and the importance of analyzing the dive tank. It is a short course that can be combined with a 2-tank dive trip.
DIVE SITES
Big Blue Collective is located in the ideal location in the Leeward Channel on the east end of Providenciales. From here the dives boats can head to both the north side and south side dive locations with equal ease. West Caicos and North-West Point are approximately equal distance in either direction around Providenciales.
This provides flexible to ensure the smoothest boat ride possible, look for Humpback Whales during their winter migration or pick-up private charter guests at their villa docks along the south shore of Provo. Experience, knowledge and this unique ability to access all the dive sites ensures that Big Blue Collective delivers the most versatile and adventurous dive program in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
GRACE BAY
Grace Bay dive sites are located along the north shore of Providenciales and only 10 minutes from Big Blue. The dive sites range from 30 feet to 100 feet at the bottom of the ‘mini’ wall. The top of the wall is characterised by lively spur and groove coral formations and large plateaus of sand, which provide some picturesque diving in easy conditions. Grace Bay is located within the Princess Alexandra National Park and as such is vibrant and healthy. The tidal currents and Atlantic weather patterns can govern the condition of the water. Dive trips are timed accordingly when possible.
PINE CAY
Pine Cay is a 15-minute boat journey from Leeward and lies to the north east of Providenciales. This area is a little deeper than Grace Bay and is characterised less by sand and more by large undulating coral hills. Large schools of fish, lobster and turtles are common here. It is an excellent area to dive offering high water clarity. It is one of the favourite dive areas for the Big Blue instructors.
NORTH WEST POINT
North West Point is famous for its steep wall and is approximately 45 minutes from Leeward on the west coast of Providenciales. Starting at 40 feet in the sand it does indeed drop off several thousand feet into the blue. There is an incredible amount of life on the walls, which is also marked by several gullies, cracks and overhangs. It is worth bringing a flashlight on these dives, as much of the marine life is lives in the recesses along wall. North-West Point is also an excellent training area offering good sand and coral in a 20-30ft-depth range.
FRENCH CAY
French Cay can be among the best diving in the Turks and Caicos and is another favourite destination for Big Blue. The diving is more advanced here with potential currents, heavy seas and deeper water below the boat. The sea life is outstanding with a high chance of encountering reef sharks and eagle rays. The top and sides of the wall host an estimated 80% coral cover and support large amounts of fish and invertebrates life. French Cay is a 60-minute boat ride away from Big Blue in Leeward.
WEST SAND SPIT
West Sand Spit is 6 miles south of French Cay. Its namesake derives from a long sand bar that marks the end point of the westward drift of oolitic sand across the Caicos Banks from the Ambergris Cays. The protection afforded by the sand bar has allowed a healthy coral system to flourish and its remote location sees few divers.
WEST CAICOS
West Caicos also offers some excellent diving about 75 minutes by boat from the Leeward. Stretching along its leeward shore there is an outstanding and awe inspiring wall that starts at 50 feet and disappears into the abyss. Here too there is a good opportunity to see eagle rays, reef sharks and other large pelagic. The proximity of the wall to the shore provides favourable surface conditions and is a popular location for private boat adventures as well as Big Blue’s ‘Edge of the Banks’ Adventure. Just north of West Caicos lies Sandbore Channel, which, although very tidal when timed accordingly, does offer exceptional, if not some of the absolute best diving with prolific marine-life.
INSTRUCTION & DIVE COURSES
Big Blue Collective provides high quality dive instruction on a private or semi-private basis. Thorough training is essential at all stages of diving and no more so than at the beginning of a student’s dive career or during their first ‘try dive’ experience’. Scuba diving can be a daunting prospect for some and a natural extension of snorkeling for others.
It is a sport that should be taken seriously by all and there is no substitute for good instruction, a solid knowledge base and a good habit of safe diving practices. The Big Blue instructors teach through the PADI agency; a respected and professional organization the world over.
DISCOVER SCUBA DIVING (DSD)
This is a relatively quick, non-certifying course for beginners that include pool training and a supervised dive(s) to a maximum of 40ft. If you do not have much time to spare on your vacation, or you are just looking for quick introduction to the sport then this can be an excellent choice. Sea conditions in Grace Bay on Providenciales or at the North-West Point of the island are usually ideal for this beginner course and provide a safe and easy location for your first underwater breathing experience. The DSD training can be credited towards the full open water certification if this is continued within less than a year.
