4 days pure diving - Is Ambergris Caye the best choice?

[MrTW]

Hi there,

I am planning a trip to Belize for pure diving in May.

Arriving at BZE at around noon on day 1 and planning to hop over to Ambergris Caye the same day, pending boat transfer timetable. After that I would have 4 full days of diving before heading back to the mainland to stay at a hotel closer to BZE before flying back home the next morning.

I am looking to stay at Ambergris Caye to avoid a lengthy boat commute to other dive sites. However, i will likely also go to the Blue Hole at one of those days as a full day trip.

Budget wise, I am looking at a $100/night hotel with access to reputable dive operators. Since I am a single traveler on this trip, i would rather not stay at an ultra secluded spot.

My main question is whether Ambergris Caye is the best choice to spend 4 days of diving or if I should consider going elsewhere given the length of my stay.

I highly appreciate any input and suggestions - thank you.

 

[KeithG]

IMHO:

The best diving in Belize is off Half Moon and Long Caye's (just south of the Blue Hole). That is where the LOBs stay. That said it will likely be very tough to find a 4 day stay near them. The LOBs are all week long, not sure what Huracan Diving Lodge - Belize Scuba Diving & Snorkel Vacation Packages (on Long Caye) offers.

Second best would be some place on Turneffe?

Third choice could be down south at Placencia?

Ambergis is for tourist, not divers?

YMMV

 

[flyboy08]

We went and very much enjoyed Ambergis Caye! Liked the feel of the place and diving with ADM was great! Just sayn......

 

[Hank49]

Awesome Diving!! - Review of Glover's Atoll Resort, Glovers Reef Atoll, Belize - TripAdvisor

This is a nice place. Glovers has nice diving too. Instead of hopping to Ambergris, you get a plane 15 minutes south to Dangriga.
Turneffe is good too.
Ambergris is nice....I guess it's relative to what you're used to diving.

 

[MrTW]

IMHO:

The best diving in Belize is off Half Moon and Long Caye's (just south of the Blue Hole). That is where the LOBs stay. That said it will likely be very tough to find a 4 day stay near them. The LOBs are all week long, not sure what Huracan Diving Lodge - Belize Scuba Diving & Snorkel Vacation Packages (on Long Caye) offers.

Second best would be some place on Turneffe?

Third choice could be down south at Placencia?

Ambergis is for tourist, not divers?

YMMV

This is great information.

I reached out to Huracan and Christian got right back with his response. Unfortunately, I think this place is too expensive for me considering that this trip is meant as a long weekend gateway only... Looks like fantastic diving though.

 

[MrTW]

We went and very much enjoyed Ambergis Caye! Liked the feel of the place and diving with ADM was great! Just sayn......

Thank you - that's the feedback I'm hearing in general about Ambergris.

Did you make the trip to the Blue Hole and is it worth it since I assume it's a busy dive?

 

[MrTW]

Awesome Diving!! - Review of Glover's Atoll Resort, Glovers Reef Atoll, Belize - TripAdvisor

This is a nice place. Glovers has nice diving too. Instead of hopping to Ambergris, you get a plane 15 minutes south to Dangriga.
Turneffe is good too.
Ambergris is nice....I guess it's relative to what you're used to diving.

Thank you! I will check these out as well. Great information.

 

[flyboy08]

Thank you - that's the feedback I'm hearing in general about Ambergris.

Did you make the trip to the Blue Hole and is it worth it since I assume it's a busy dive?

It was a once and done trip to the BH. Wouldnt consider it again...

 

[Damselfish]

Turneffe Island Resort does transfers on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so a 3 or 4 night stay is possible. Not remotely going to fit in a 100/nt budget though, even considering it's AI. I think Blackbird Caye and Turneffe Flats have a similar schedule and are less but still going to be more than Huracan, especially since everything is based on double occupancy. It seems I have heard of some less expensive places on other atolls and islands but can't recall. Maybe Hugh Parkeys on Spanish Caye?

BH is heavily marketed with those classic aerial photos, so it's something many people need to do and get out of their systems. Some people think it's really cool and would maybe go back, others don't think it's worth doing once let alone repeating. (I did it once from a liveaboard, skipped it once from a liveaboard in favor of a hammock, even though it was right there under me and I didn't need to travel. And my 3rd liveaboard trip there the whole boat voted against it, if that tells you anything.) Going on a 3 tank trip from Ambergris that does the BH is nice because you get to do other dives out at Lighthouse. Whether it is worth the cost and long day to dive there over the local diving at Ambergris, I haven't dove AC so have no opinion. If you could find a 3 tank trip that did 3 dives out there but skipped the BH that would be nice, but I'm not sure anyone does that.

 

[MrTW]

This is all great information - thank you!

Turneffe seems to be one of the diving highlights but too expensive for this trip.

How would Caye Caulker compare to Ambergris in terms of local diving and as an attempt to avoid the extremes of touristy hotspots?