Caicos Island Charters — Local services in Providenciales

Some good, some room for improvement. We had 4 private charters with Caicos Island Charters. The first was a 1/2 day with just 4 of us, the second was a 1/2 day private charter 1 day before our wedding with 40 guests, the third was for the wedding, a 1/2 day private charter to take supplies and vendors to Half Moon Bay, then return to bring the wedding party to Half Moon Bay, and the fourth was a 1/2 day charter to bring the 32 guests to the ceremony at Half Moon Bay and then return with 40 guests and wedding party.

The good and great:

The crew was fantastic on each of the 4 charters. Toro helped the young and old experience what they may have otherwise been too timid to do. He took my 80 year old mother in law snorkeling, something she hasn’t done in years. She had a great time and said she will not do it again because she wants her last experience to be perfect, as it was, thanks to Toro. He took my 5 year old niece out and taught her to snorkel. She was so at ease, she’s now hooked. He even brought her a conch shell that she brought home and will remember it forever.The food was wonderful! We asked for the fish recipe and are trying to recreate it at home. We never ran out of drinks. The boats were clean, comfortable, in good condition and felt safe at all times.

The one spot where I think Caicos Island Charters can improve is communication. On the first trip, the boat was 20 minutes late. That can happen, but we were not told they would be late until they were arriving. For each trip they confirmed the day before or so the pickup place, time, and menu. They should also confirm the drop off time and price. On our fourth trip we had planned only 3 hours (despite paying for 4). But they kept us out there for the 4. My husband asked at one point and they said “no, we’re supposed to bring you back at 7:30.” We got to our wedding reception and they said “we’ve been waiting for you for an hour”. It worked out ok, drinks were plentiful on the boat, the crew was great, and we danced and had fun. But if the confirmation had had the drop off time, we would have had the opportunity to correct it. The biggest issue was that we were charged for 6 hours on that 4th trip, and it took several weeks and emails to get it corrected. It was finally corrected (within a few hundred dollars). But again, if the confirmation had had the price, we could have...

My family really enjoyed our half day public tour with Caicos Island Charters. We were picked up a short walk down the beach from our resort, Ocean Club West, and there was an assortment of breakfast pastries and muffins for snacking. Our first stop was to snorkel at Leeward Reef. The water was a bit rough for my 7 year old so he and I stayed on the boat, but my husband snorkeled and had a ball. They had snorkels, masks, fins, and buoyancy belts (in various sizes) all on the boat for anyone to use for free. We brought our own snorkel and mask and used it since we had it, but it wasn't necessary. The second stop was at Half Moon Bay & Iguana Island. We all had about 30 minutes to wander around the island. When we returned, there were tuna and turkey and cheese pinwheels with fruit and chips for a light lunch. There was a gluten free option as well. Drinks were available throughout the entire excursion. After lunch, we stopped for another snorkel opportunity at a shipwreck. This was only a few minute ride from Iguana Island and very close to the shore with very calm water. It was kid-friendly and my 7 year old got to take part in this one. The ride back to Grace Bay was picturesque and fun with music playing and everyone having a good time. No one was rowdy and there was nothing I felt I needed to distance my child from. The crew on the boat were super friendly and attentive and helped make it a great time.

The only con I have for the experience was the booking office folks confused me with someone else with my name who had booked a tour 1 day before mine. I was emailed that I needed to pay when I already had, and I was given a meeting time for an afternoon tour when I booked a morning tour. After a couple of emails back and forth I decided to just call and they straightened it out very quickly over the phone. I would still very much recommend this company to anyone wanting to do a tour. There are many tour companies to choose from that it's overwhelming, but this was a great choice for us and we had...

We had a great experience on the 1/2 day tour with Caicos Island Charters last week. From start to finish, the team made sure our day on the water was memorable. The boat was clean, spacious, and well-equipped. One of the main reasons we chose this company was based on their newer fleet of boats in comparison to other companies. We were on the Island Pleasure II and were picked up in front of our hotel on Grace Bay Beach–I understand that the boat is dependant on the number of people confirmed on the tour and pickup location can vary. The group was a mix of couples and families with older children.

I'm not usually a big fan of snorkeling and joined the tour mainly to enjoy the clear waters and visit an uninhabited island, but it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. The reef was larger than I've ever seen with vibrant coral and plenty of marine life. The crew made sure everyone felt safe and comfortable. As well, they took time to point out things in the water that most people (including myself) wouldn't have noticed. We were lucky enough to have an eagle ray swim beneath us, and the crew mentioned that a dolphin had been spotted nearby. They took us to the area, where we were able to see a mother dolphin swimming with her baby.

The included snacks and drinks provided were a nice touch –both meat and vegetarian wrap options, a variety of fruits, chips, soft drinks, coconut water, regular bottled water, beer and rum punch. That said, this is not a booze cruise. The crew played feel-good music and provided a relaxing atmosphere which was greatly appreciated.

I can't stress enough how great this tour is whether you like to snorkel or not. We’ll definitely book with them...