Trying to figure out if Belize in December would be good or not for me...

[Ready4Launch]

Just got to 24 dives in my log. Only OW certified. Looking for something in early December. Completely new to dive travel and the whole planning process for that type of trip.

Is December 5-12 a decent time there? From the little that I've seen weather-wise, I think it would be. Maybe there's something that I've missed or isn't shown in historical weather data.

Caye Caulker or Ambergris? Looked at Liveaboards, but the only ones available (at least that are shown on liveaboard.com) require a min. 50 dives. Is Belize a place I'd rather go with an advanced cert?

I'm not looking to blow $10K, but I'm not opposed to something that's going to run a couple G's.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Damselfish]

As far as the 50 dive thing - I've never heard of the Aggressor or Dancer in Belize requiring 50 dives. If you are interested in either, perhaps ask liveaboard.com where that info comes from. (Though it's easy enough to book with either boat directly.) Perhaps it is an error, or simply their suggestion. It's true both boats will usually dive the Blue Hole - which most people will agree isn't a great idea for a newish diver and could be the source of such a recommendation? But that's one dive and you could simply skip that dive if you're not ready, or like many folks have no interest in doing it.

I've never dove Ambergris but have never gotten the impression it's a particularly advanced dive destination. I think there might be more wall diving on the liveaboards, which would probably make doing AOW and getting some progressive experience a good thing, but that might be something you can do on the boat. Having good buoyancy control would be a good thing too, but then it always is.

 

[tuk]

My first dive trip after my OW was Belize. In fact, I got certified specifically for that trip. My girlfriend (at the time) and I stayed in Placencia and did 15-20 dives (I'm bad at logging and didn't have my own computer to track them). It was fantastic! My only gripe was with some of the equipment we rented (I bought my own regs and computer as soon as I got home). If you're weary about being in over your head, I'd make sure to discuss it with your DM. We ended up going ~90 feet on a few dives and I wasn't exactly comfortable with it at first. I look back and think about how I'd approach the situation now but overall I had a wonderful time and would recommend it to anyone who feels comfortable in the water. We experienced very little current and, despite being slightly out of my depth (literally), the experience kickstarted my love of diving.

I believe we went in November but I'm not sure. There wasn't a ton of tourist traffic and the weather was pretty mild. There was some heavy rain a few days but it actually added a little to the trip. The lack of tourists has the drawback of the beaches not being nearly as well maintained but I'll take that any day over congestion and noise. If you're not sure about a liveaboard, there are plenty of boat dives to choose from and as long as you look around a day ahead of time (sometimes the day of), you'll find someone willing to take you out to see some of the prettiest reef you'll find.

 

[donhealy]

So, December is still a great time to be in Belize. Water temp hovers around 80. Book on either of the Aggressor or Sun Dancer II. Both are great and you won't regret it! Dancer II will be out of dry dock by then and will be completely re-outfitted including a brand new upper deck bar and salon.

There is no 50 dive minimum! You can also get your nitrox and AOW cert while on board if you wish.

Just got back from a week on Sun Dancer II and crew is outstanding!

Don

 

[Darnold9999]

Belize would be a good choice. Ambergrise has some easy diving, Placencia the same.

However the best diving is from one of the two liveaboards. No need for 50 dives on either - you do want to be comfortable with diving with no hard bottom to get the most of the trip, but you want you can stay with a hard bottom and get some great diving.

 

[drrich2]

If you're interested in the Sun Dancer 2 out of Belize, here's my trip report from May 2015. Had a great time.

Richard.

 

[large_diver]

We went to Ambergris during Christmas week last year....a 1 week trip with a combo of time at a jungle lodge in the Belmopan area with diving/snorkeling on Ambergris.

We are a family of 4 - I have been diving for 15 years/500 dives, daughter 4 years ~100 dives, wife and son not certified. On Christmas Day we actually all went diving together for the first time...wife/son in a Discover course conducted out at Hol Chan Cut and daughter and me doing our own thing along with them. Daughter and I did another 7 dives spread over a few days with Hugh Parkey's Dive Connection. I would say the diving there is fine for newer divers (based on my n = 1). Pick a well-regarded dive-op and be clear with them about your experience, comfort level and how much diving you've done recently and they will take care of you. The reef tops on most of the dives we did from AC were in the 45-50 foot range (except for Hol Chan, where the boats typically moor in 10 feet of water)...but we did not experience much in the way of current. Dive sites were generally about 10-15 minute boat ride from the dock. Plenty of typical caribbean marine life - eagle rays, sting rays, friendly nurse sharks, etc. Water temp was about 80-81...visibility was prob 80+ feet. If you are there with non-divers, there is plenty to do. We took a day trip on a catamaran to Caye Caulker one day which included snorkeling with rays/sharks/turtles at Hol Chan and a few hours for lunch and exploring on Caye Caulker. Wife and son did a fishing trip on another day (1/2 day trip) where they fished, pulled up lobster traps, caught conch...and brought the bounty back to our hotel where they cooked it all for us for dinner. All in all a fun trip.

Hope this helps.

Chris

 

[Edward3c]

Why not check ReefCI out.