Dive Review of Oasis Divers/Osprey Hotel in
Turks and Caicos/Grand Turk

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Oasis Divers/Osprey Hotel, Apr, 2006, by Glenda Ester, WA, USA . Report 2417.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The good - Went to Grand Turk in 1993 and we were so pleased to see that the island hasn't been total changed because of the new cruise ship dock and influx of cruise ship visitors. It's still the small, quite island that we remembered. The largest change was the telecommunications capability (internet, telephone & a couple of cell phone providers) and the selection of television channels to choose from. This was my son's 1st dive trip after being certified so we selected this location because of the level of diving required at the dive sites. Oasis Divers is a great dive operation! Well run, well organized, good boats and great divemasters (Tim & Mackie were the greatest). Comunicated through email with Dale, the owner to arrange air transportation between Provo & Grand Turk, hotel and dive package. Very responsive to all questions, concerns and special requests. Selected this dive operation based on reviews in the Chatbook and was not disappointed. Dale gave us all different options for hotel accomodations and helped us select one based on our requirements. Decided to rent gear from the dive shop rather than haul our own because of the weight restriction of Sky King (44lbs) and reports of gear being stolen at the airports. All gear was new or in great condition. Well worth the money spent to rent vs carry gear. Tanks, weights & belts, BC's were on board boats and ready to go for every dive. Never changed out a tank the whole time we were there. Typical morning was arrive at the dive shop by 9AM. Dive shop is across the street from the shore where the boats (California skiffs) were waiting for us. If you are too far to walk to the dive shop, they arrange for you to be picked up from your hotel or rental house. We'd take our personal gear with us to the boats and the crew would assist helping us board the boats. Travel out to the 1st dive site was 5-15 minute boat ride. Dive boats were never crowded. On the way to the very 1st dive site encountered a school of dolphins. The divemaster stopped the boat so we could hop in the water to swim with the dolphins. Once arriving at the dive site, the divemaster would brief us on the dive site, depths, times, directions and special things to look for. Divemaster would help us into our gear and we'd back roll into the water. Divemaster would be last in the water and 1st out to help us back onto the boat. After the 1st dive, we'd head back to the beach and spend the surface interval back at the dive shop. Water, snacks & towels were available on the boat and fresh water showers, rinse tanks for cameras, drinking water and restrooms were available back at the dive shop. During the dive interval, the crew would change out our tanks and get the gear reassembled for the 2nd dive. Oasis Divers also offered afternoon and night dives. Their only requirement was a minimum of 4 divers and since we were a group of 4, we could take advantage of the afternoons and night dives anytime we wanted. Divemasters were very accomodating on requests for dive sites. They made sure that we didn't dive any dive site twice unless we specifically requested it. Oasis Divers also offers afternoon trip to Gibbs Caye. On the way to the small island, the boat stops so the group can free dive for conch. After you get to Gibbs Caye, you feed the sting rays while the crew prepares hamburgers and hot dogs and the boat drivers clean the fresh conch. They then prepare a conch salad for dessert that is out of this world. Bring your snorkling gear, sunscreen, a hat and sandles to explore the island. Osprey Hotel was 1 block away from the dive operation. Clean and nicely furnished rooms. We had 2 rooms with a connecting door. One room had a king with a small refrigerator and coffee pot. The other room had 2 double beds, a kitchenette with microwave, refrigerator, table and chairs, and cooking utensils. Breakfast was served at the Courtyard cafe around the corner from the hotel. Great food to start off the day. Lunch and dinner were available at the Osprey and a barbeque was available on Sunday & Wednesday evenings. Best restaurant on the island was the Guanahani located at the Bohio Hotel. Also check out the Sandbar (best rum punch and conch on the island) and the Breakwater. If your doing night dives, plan ahead with the restaurants to get food after 9PM or you could be out of luck. The bad - the weather wasn't perfect. It rained with thunder and lightning a couple of days during the time we were there. Caused a lot of surge and stirred up the sand underwater which reduced the visibility down from the normal Carribean standards. Once the weather cleared, the visibility returned and so did the schools of fish. Even though vis was down, we still saw a Manta ray, a couple of nurse sharks and lots of turtles. Very pleased with the accuracy in the reports about Oasis Divers and the Osprey Hotel in the Chatbook. The dive operation and the hotel more than met our expectations. We will dive with Dale & Oasis Divers again on our next trip to Grand Turk.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Bonaire, Cabo San Lucas
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy, surge
Water Temp	75-80°F / 24-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No restrictions were enforced. Dive masters would tell us what depth would be their maximum for a given dive. Dive master would watch new divers closely for the first couple of dives and once they were comfortable with each divers ability, they allowed computer profile diving.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Boat would return to dive shop between dives. Seperate rinse tank for cameras only. Benches available to lay camera gear on while the photographer either changed film or rested and relaxed.

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Dive Review of Oasis Divers/Osprey Hotel in Turks and Caicos/Grand Turk

Oasis Divers/Osprey Hotel, Apr, 2006,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Oasis Divers/Osprey Hotel in
Turks and Caicos/Grand Turk