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Pillory Beach,
Turks and Caicos One of the world's best wall dives is just a backstroke away While tourists gravitate to the cush resorts of Providenciales, Grand Turk remains the sleepy outpost of the Turks and Caicos, a chain of islands just beyond the Bahamas. Donkeys wander around town, and you can almost hear paint peeling off the 18th-century salt-baron mansions. But just under the surface of the water is a riot of color and life - one of the world's great wall dives, the so-called Grand Canyon of the Caribbean. The best part: You don't even need a boat. Several of the 15 dive sites are just a 10-minute swim from powder-white Pillory Beach, on the island's west shore. Divers come not only for the rush of plunging into the turquoise abyss that drops 7,000 feet into the sea, but for the various underwater gardens protected within Columbus Landfall National Marine Park. At Black Forest you can see delicate black corals - normally deepwater denizens - in just 60 feet of water. There's Finbar's, where you can stalk tiger groupers and redband parrotfish at 25 feet, and the Anchor, an eight-foot-long rusted talon encrusted with brightly colored coral. The occasional turtle, whale, shark, or manta ray has been known to stop by. Where to Stay: Bohio Dive Resort, the only hotel and dive shop at Pillory, hosts hardcore divers and sun-starved honeymooners alike. After a day in the deep, order a stiff rum cocktail and just-caught tuna coated in sesame seeds (from $138; 649-946-2135, bohioresort.com)  |
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