The Turks Island Passage

The Turks Island Passage is a deep channel about thirty kilometres wide separating the Turks group from the Caicos Bank, and it drops to well over two thousand metres. Each winter humpback whales pass through it heading south to the Silver and Mouchoir banks off the Dominican Republic to calve, and again heading north with calves in the spring. Salt Cay in particular sits close enough to the deep water that whales are seen from the shore, and boat trips run from there and from Grand Turk. The passage also gives the wall diving on both sides its exceptional depth and clarity.

What you actually see

• Humpbacks in the passage - southbound and then northbound with calves.
• Shore sightings from Salt Cay - close enough to see from land.
• The wall - the drop-off on both sides of the channel.
• The depth - over two thousand metres in the middle of the passage.

When to go

January to April is the whale season, with the peak generally in February and March. Boat trips run from Salt Cay and Grand Turk in that window. Outside it the whales are gone. Crossings are cancelled in wind.

Honest expectations

The season is short and rigid and outside it there is nothing. Boat trips are weather-dependent and often cancelled. Regulations on approaching whales exist and should be followed; some operators push closer than they should. Salt Cay has very limited accommodation and it books out for the whale season.

Nearby

Salt Cay and Grand Turk are on the eastern side; South Caicos is on the western.