2019 Turneffe Island Resort trip report with pics

[Erwin Poliakoff]

My wife and I went on a return trip to Belize, leaving November 30 and returning December 7. We have been to Turneffe Island Resort twice previously, the most recent trip being last year. The resort is very nice and the diving is very good, although there were a couple of problems this year. We arrived a couple of hours before the boat transfer to the island, and waited at the hotel by the dock. We met up with a traveling companion there. The boat ride to the resort took about an hour and a half. We checked in, and when showing our dive documentation to the manager, Des, were informed that we needed to have dive insurance. We did have DAN memberships, and trip insurance, and thought that it was wrong to spring this new requirement on us when we arrived. I told him so, and requested that we be reimbursed for the added expense. When we checked out, they did end up reimbursing us. I hope that they get things straightened out for future guests, and let them know of any requirements like this beforehand (I checked their website when I was there, and it did not have any mention of this at the time). The resort itself was very nice, as expected, and the staff were wonderful. I could not say enough nice things about the diving and nondiving personnel, who were uniformly helpful and supportive. The diving was very good, and our dive guide (Marcela) was fantastic. In particular, she was an amazing spotter. But there was one very negative thing, at least for me, with respect to the diving; specifically, there was a LOT of coral bleaching. In fact, I have never been someplace in two successive years where the change was so dramatic. The sea life was still very good, very fishy and healthy otherwise. And it is possible that the hard corals that were bleached can recover, I would guess, but it is something to be aware of. The pictures that I show below were taken to exclude as much of the bleached coral as possible, so they are not representative, in that sense. Some days we did two dives, and others we did three. It was a relaxed and fun schedule. The meals at the resort were very good, and the bar was fun, too. Below are some pictures from the diving.

01_PC060056 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

58_PC050052 flamingo tongue by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

04_PC040028 moray eel by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

10_PC060009 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

84_PC030142 cleaner shrimp by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

36_PC050059 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

71_PC060044 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

51_PC040018 queen angelfish by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

and the whole set can be found here: 2019 Turneffe photo album on Flickr
-Erwin

 

[chillyinCanada]

Very nice photos, thanks for sharing.

The Atolls are one of my happy places so I'm a bit distraught with your news about the bleaching.

I have been to Belize about 25 times with day trips out to the Atolls almost as many times.

For now, my focus is on Indonesia so I won't be back to Belize for a very long time, if ever again. Still, I'm so sad about this news.

 

[Hank49]

Home sweet home....the Elbow is world class.

 

[scubadada]

Belize has also reported SCTLD, I hope that was not what you were seeing

 

[Downing]

Ahhhh, TIR. My wife and I've been twice, the first time it was Turneffe Island Lodge, which I thought was a much better name for the place.

That place changes managers like the rest of us change our shorts, which can lead to issues every time someone new arrives. But at least the staff is pretty stable.

By any chance do Brad, Marcel and/or John still work there? What about Marco, a relative newcomer from Placencia?

 

[Erwin Poliakoff]

Ahhhh, TIR. My wife and I've been twice, the first time it was Turneffe Island Lodge, which I thought was a much better name for the place.

That place changes managers like the rest of us change our shorts, which can lead to issues every time someone new arrives. But at least the staff is pretty stable.

By any chance do Brad, Marcel and/or John still work there? What about Marco, a relative newcomer from Placencia?

I agree with your comment about the staff giving the place continuity. To answer your question, I saw Brad, Marcel, and Marco (who was our dive guide last year). Not sure about John, but he probably was.
-Erwin

 

[drrich2]

Very nice photos and glad you had a good time. I agree - requirements like a demand one have dive insurance ought to be communicated well in advance, like before anyone commits to a booking/paying money.

Since this is your 3rd time to that resort, got a couple of questions that may be on interest to people who run across your thread researching trip options?

1.) Why repeatedly Belize? I enjoyed my one trip there via live-aboard, loved the reef and varied sites though I thought the Caymans (mainly Little Cayman, also via live-aboard) had more personable wildlife. I liked it just fine; just wondering what's drawing you back. Corals? The reef life (e.g. more big grouper than you'd see in Bonaire)?

2.) Why repeatedly Turneffe Island Resort? From what I understand it's far enough out you ought to be able to reach good diving (I'm guessing better than operating out of Ambergris Caye, based on what I've read?). Since you have options (e.g.: live-aboard, Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker), what makes T.I.R. your go-to?

Richard.

 

[Stoo]

Regarding insurance, are you saying that had you not had dive insurance, they would not have let you dive? Or would they have sold you some on the spot?

Out at Huracan, there is an option to pay a $2/dive surcharge, with the funds going to maintain the chamber on Ambergris Caye. In return, this becomes your dive insurance, and includes an air evacuation from Long Caye if required. We have DAN Insurance, but we opt in to this anyway just to support the chamber. DAN Insurance is great for us, but nothing to contribute to the upkeep of the chamber wile it sits idle.

 

[Erwin Poliakoff]

Very nice photos and glad you had a good time. I agree - requirements like a demand one have dive insurance ought to be communicated well in advance, like before anyone commits to a booking/paying money.

Since this is your 3rd time to that resort, got a couple of questions that may be on interest to people who run across your thread researching trip options?

1.) Why repeatedly Belize? I enjoyed my one trip there via live-aboard, loved the reef and varied sites though I thought the Caymans (mainly Little Cayman, also via live-aboard) had more personable wildlife. I liked it just fine; just wondering what's drawing you back. Corals? The reef life (e.g. more big grouper than you'd see in Bonaire)?

2.) Why repeatedly Turneffe Island Resort? From what I understand it's far enough out you ought to be able to reach good diving (I'm guessing better than operating out of Ambergris Caye, based on what I've read?). Since you have options (e.g.: live-aboard, Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker), what makes T.I.R. your go-to?

Richard.

So you raise a number of good questions, Richard. Actually, the third time back to a destination is not that high for me. I have been to both Cozumel and Little Cayman much more, and I actually prefer the diving at those two places a bit, relative to Belize. The topography is definitely better at both Little Cayman and Cozumel, and Cozumel is more colorful with all of the proliferation of sponges. I have heard some negative things from recent dive reports from Cozumel, though, and am curious to see how things look there when I go back in May (it will be my tenth dive trip there, I believe). However, the variety and density of fish at the dive sites around Turneffe is comparable to the other places I like to dive. I have only been to Bonaire once, and cannot give a very good comparison as it has been a while. There were more turtles, eels, and rays in Turneffe than most places I have been to.

With that said, I have always considered Belize high on my list. I have only been to Turneffe, and I cannot give a first hand comparison to other resorts and liveaboards in Belize. I have a friend who definitely prefers Huracan Resort to Turneffe, but an important constraint for me is that I need to have air conditioning for my wife, who has multiple sclerosis. She does fine diving, but if she gets too hot, it affects motor skills, including walking. Huracan does not have air conditioning, so it is out for us. In general, I think that Turneffe is one of the more luxurious and comfortable dive resorts I have been to in the Caribbean. It has always been a fun place to stay. I had not considered resorts around Ambergris Caye because I have always had the impression (from reviews on Scubaboard and other divers who have been there) that Turneffe Island Resort was the best fit for us that was closest to the better dive sites. Liveaboards might be a good idea, but I am not too sure if the Aggressor boats that are the main ones in this area would be a good fit for my wife and me.

I hope that this covers the main point that you raised. Of course, let me know if you have any other questions.
Cheers, Erwin

 

[Erwin Poliakoff]

Regarding insurance, are you saying that had you not had dive insurance, they would not have let you dive? Or would they have sold you some on the spot?

Out at Huracan, there is an option to pay a $2/dive surcharge, with the funds going to maintain the chamber on Ambergris Caye. In return, this becomes your dive insurance, and includes an air evacuation from Long Caye if required. We have DAN Insurance, but we opt in to this anyway just to support the chamber. DAN Insurance is great for us, but nothing to contribute to the upkeep of the chamber wile it sits idle.

Hey Stu, they said that we could not dive if we did not have insurance. They had no option for us to buy some insurance from them on the spot. They insisted that we actually buy the DAN supplemental dive insurance or the equivalent (although they did not suggest any alternatives). I say supplemental DAN dive insurance because basic DAN membership does include basic insurance, but not the cost of a hyperbaric chamber, as far as I understand.

I know that at least one other guest and I thought that it was inappropriate for them to demand that we get this insurance, and we asked to be reimbursed. In fairness to them, they did reimburse us as we checked out, as I mentioned in my post.