We stayed here because it's advertised as a resort with a great location and on-site dive operation. The grounds are immaculate and well kept. It's located next to the ocean and the views are spectacular. The dive shop has its own mixing station and can give you any percentage you ask for, including tri-mix. The dive guides are very professional and knowledgeable. Individual gear lockers are not provided and storage is in a large communal area. The boats were good and the trips to the dive sites are pretty quick, since the resort is close.

Our room had a king size bed, balcony, and refrigerator. We found the room, furniture, and linens to be old and dated. The food in the restaurant was adequate, but nothing to write home about. Wifi is available in the reception area, but is spotty, at best. This resort is the original hotel on Chuuk and has not aged well. A refurbish and upgrade are due.

Be sure to visit the small museum at the resort. It will give you insight into the history of Truk Lagoon. Keep in mind that Chuuk is a very remote and impoverished island. It's not an ideal vacation destination, but a fantastic dive destination, unlike anywhere else in the world. The world class wreck diving outweighs the shortcomings of the resort. Add Truk Lagoon to your bucket list.

We've traveled to Turks & Caicos many times; several visits to Providenciales (Provo, as the locals call it) and once to Grand Turk.
Provo is the most developed and highest populated of the islands. Each time we visited, we were traveling with a small group of friends and rented a villa to accommodate all of us. Being able to cook for ourselves and buy our own liquor and wine, helped defray part of the food and beverage costs. Each villa had a pool and ocean access, so we felt it was a more private experience. There are many to choose from and there are websites dedicated to T&C villa rentals. If this isn't an option for you, there are many hotel options.

We used rental cars as our transportation to get to the dive boat, restaurants, shopping areas, and exploring. Restaurants range from five star gourmet to small local food joints. One of our favorites is a local spot specializing in the conch taken directly from the ocean to the restaurant’s kitchen. In Provo, there's food available to please everyone.

This island has a lot of gorgeous beaches, and its most popular one is Grace Bay Beach, which makes every world's most beautiful beach list. The turquoise water of Chalk Sound is likely the most beautifully colored water anywhere on earth. Other topside activities are too numerous to list here. There is also a robust nightlife.

The scuba diving around Provo mostly concentrates around the great wall diving of Northwest Point. This area can be crowded with boats from several dive operators. The dive shop I used took us instead to West Caicos, French Caye, and Sandbore Channel. The wall diving at these sites was fantastic. I can't remember a single dive that sharks weren't spotted. These locations require a longer boat but are worth the trip.

Grand Turk is a smaller, quieter, and more laid back Island. We stayed at a beachfront dive resort with only 16 rooms. There are beautiful beaches here as well. Topside activities are limited to watersports, beach combing, and exploring the island, including Cockburn Town, the very small capital city of Turks & Caicos. We went beach combing and found a good collection of sea glass. Keep in mind that cruise ships come here and the town may be crowded when a ship is in port. Most of the passengers stay at the cruise center, an enormous facility with restaurants, shops, a simulated surfing machine, and one of the largest swimming pools in the Caribbean. I highly recommend staying away from this place, as it is mostly a tourist trap packed with people when a ship is in.

The dive sites here are much closer and require only a short boat ride. We did mostly wall diving with swim throughs, canyons, and coral arches. There's an abundance of corals (including black coral at easily diveable depths) and plenty of marine animals, including friendly groupers.

Bottom line: Turks & Caicos is not a budget destination. Prices here are higher than many other Caribbean locations. That being said, it is one of our favorites. The beauty, people, food, and spectacular diving are all top notch. Don't forget to drive on the left!

I traveled to Fiji in October. The second week of my trip was spent at Waidroka Bay. This is somewhat of a rustic resort, perfect for divers and surfers. We had an ocean view bure with king-size bed, air conditioning, large bathroom, and mini-refrigerator. The staff is super friendly and they greet you with a big smile and an enthusiastic “bula” each time they see you. We had a meal plan which provided 3 meals per day. Breakfast and lunch were prepared to order and dinner was a fixed menu. The food was very good and plentiful.

We had a Fijian lovo night complete with a kava ceremony presented by resort staff, who all joined in. The festivities went late into the evening. The resort celebrated Fiji Day a few days late due to their party supplies and special t-shirt’s being delayed. Lucky for us, we were able to celebrate the holiday twice in just a few days.

The dive center is modern and well-stocked with rental gear. The dive boat was very comfortable and took us to the dive sites with ease. The dive staff was very experienced and knowledgeable. The diving was at both Beqa Lagoon and the local reefs. I found the diving on the local reefs to be just as enjoyable as the Beqa reefs. The world-famous shark dive is incredible and a must for any diver visiting this area. Favorite dive spot: Frigates Wall. I thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Highly recommended.