Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of BOHIO in
Turks and Caicos

BOHIO: "BOHIO Intimate Dive Resort or Cruise Ship Beach Club?", Oct, 2015,

by BRADLEY CONDO, CO, US (Reviewer Reviewer 4 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 8528 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 3 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 3 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments BOHIO is a small resort which reminds me of the Caribbean that I visited in the 70s. The beach is absolutely gorgeous and you are never more than a few steps from the water. There are ~16 rooms in total. The rooms were good sized, spotless, cleaned daily and nicely furnished. The beds were comfortable and the bathrooms well laid out. The bar featured live entertainment on several nights. The dive op is owned by BOHIO.

The conundrum at BOHIO is that they market to cruise ships as a day-tripper beach club. As a result the resort goes from an intimate experience to a party with 50 or so of your new best friends. They try and segregate the day-trippers, but the experience for resident guests is not optimal. For what we paid I felt the cruise day-trippers degraded our experience. You can't be all things to all people.

We purchased a dive package consisting of 2 boat dives a day, with breakfast and lunch included in the price. An afternoon dive was priced at $89. Night dives were available, but no-one was interested perhaps due to the water clarity. Dinner at the resort was $100++ with a few drinks. T&C is expensive and their pricing reflects this. Meals were good and the fish fresh. Taxi service - the most expensive I have ever experienced.

The Diving.

We arrived on Oct 10 for a five day stay. Unfortunately, the hurricane had left the normally "gin clear" water cloudy - viz was about 50ft, sand covered much of the reef structure and the water had plenty of "stuff" in suspension. It was dark at 100ft. Disappointing, but it was hurricane season.

The reef is perhaps a quarter mile from BOHIO and runs the length of the beach. No site is more than a 5 minute run. Diving is from a Carolina skiff - a six pack - with a bimini cover. Standard safety equipment is on board. There is adequate water on the boat.

Entry is bankroll, recovery is gear off in water and hand gear to boat and up the ladder you go! The boat either clips into a fixed mooring or the DM sets the anchor. The boat is left empty during the dive. We experienced minimal to no current. Wind ranged from calm to breezy. Seas were light chop. A thunderstorm or two passed quickly during our stay.

The anchor is dropped from the boat's stern and left at about 20ft if divers need help holding their ss its easy to grab. The surface interval is back to BOHIO. Our experience was just OK - easy diving in a nice environment - the hurricane negatively impacted the experience. Few of the usual suspects were found on the reef - save for a few sharks and turtles.

BOHIO assigns each diver to a cubicle and has adequate hanging space for wetsuits and other gear. The space is locked at night, but the day-trippers have easy access to the storage area during the day and I suggest caution with computers, cameras, and other valuables.

Cylinders were filled off-site. BOHIO advised their compressor was being serviced in FL for the past 6 months. NITROX (>21) was not available. Numerous cylinders' markings showed last hydro more than 5 years ago. Fills (AL80/11L) were eye popping at 220-240 BAR, with one of mine at 250 BAR. I saw AL63s, but 100CF/15L cylinders were not available. The rental equipment consisted of basic jackets, SP MK2 regs - wetsuits were available.

I'd like to experience T&C, Grand Turk, BOHIO in optimal conditions. This trip the hurricane took the edge off of the experience and reflects our 3 star average rating.
Websites BOHIO   BOHIO

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving This year we have been to Komodo/Indonesia for a month of diving, cave country in Florida and a week on a T&C liveaboard.
Closest Airport JAGS McCartney International Airport Getting There interCaribbean from PLS to JAGS. We flew on a Beach 99 - twin turbo, 15 passengers, 1x1 seating with the cockpit open to passengers. Returning, we were on the larger Embraer turbo.

Going to JAGS the Beach was weight limited and as a result our bags stayed in PLS - a frequent occurrence that should be considered. The bags caught up with us about 9PM the day of our arrival.

Excess baggage charges were reasonable - we paid $50 outbound and $25 returning to PLS.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas choppy
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions No, not really. The limiting factors are; 1- AL80s and 2- the wall is relatively deep. Most profiles were; 1- swim out to wall, 2- time on the vertical wall at depth of ~90-110, 3- return to boat mooring and explore reef below. Our longest dive times were 70+ and the shortest ~55 if were deep.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? no

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments No rinse tank on the boat - of little issue as the SI is spent at the resort. The on-site rinse tank has a small dedicated camera area, but I would keep a sharp on on your camera. There is no charging area or air available. A power strip - with a long cord - is a good idea for in-room charging. Power is standard US. In the end our pics/video reflected the aftermath of the hurricane.
Was this report helpful to you?
Report currently has 1 Helpful vote
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 401 dive reviews of Turks and Caicos and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest, Dive & Adventure Travel
A full service dive travel agency that specializes in Turks & Caicos. We know the best Caribbean and Pacific diving

Want to assemble your own collection of Turks and Caicos reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

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.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.15 seconds