Ambergis Caye in January...Dive Shop Recommendations?

[RogueOne]

I'm going to Ambergis Caye in January. Does anyone have any dive shop recommendations? It's my first time in Ambergis and plan to dive the Blue Hole and Turneffe Atoll. Any other insights would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[lthomas132]

Ramones and Amigos del Mar do both trips. Turneffe is great, so are the dives after Blue Hole dive, Half Moon Caye. I'd pass on Blue Hole itself, 10-15" of rock wall, nondescript. The trip to BH is long, ~2.5', one way, Turneffe, ~1 hr.

 

[Dado]

We used Sea Star Belize and were very happy, and his bar and restaurant are very good also.

 

[Downing]

The Blue Hole is a unique dive but not for everybody. But the remaining two dives in the area plus lunch on Half Moon Caye should be fantastic.

I would definitely do it but others definitely wouldn't. You may or may not see sharks but you'll definitely see the stalactites (mites?). Pros: cool rock formation, shark potential and Half Moon Caye with remaining great diving in the area. Cons: relatively expensive, long day in the boat, boring rock formation, no sharks, too deep.

Have fun. Wish I could go.

 

[Fishyhead]

I dove with White Sands in June 2019 and would recommend them. I was diving with my DSLR rig and the DM's basically let me do my thing which is what I wanted. "Tacklebox" and "Esmeralda" were two of my favorite dives on AC. In hindsight, I would have skipped Hol Chan.

PS: do yourself a favor and bring a couple of gear straps like ROK-Straps if you're renting a golf cart to prevent your gear from bouncing off when going over the speed bumps and ditches like mine did.

 

[Hank49]

I'm going to Ambergis Caye in January. Does anyone have any dive shop recommendations? It's my first time in Ambergis and plan to dive the Blue Hole and Turneffe Atoll. Any other insights would be appreciated.

Thanks!

How long will you be there? In Jan, we get periods of strong north winds, making the trip to Half Moon uncomfortable, or not possible sometimes.
If you stay for two weeks, you'll likely get good weather at some point.

 

[travelinman2]

Last Jan I dove with Ecologic Divers and trip before with Ramon's. I've been to Blue Hole and Turneffe but really just prefer the local dives. The surface interval is back in San Pedro because of the close distance to reefs. In Jan, we did have a couple canceled days due to weather.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I'm going to Ambergis Caye in January. Does anyone have any dive shop recommendations? It's my first time in Ambergis and plan to dive the Blue Hole and Turneffe Atoll. Any other insights would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Where are you staying on Ambergris? That can assist in helping you choose which op to dive with.

Personally, I love Amigos 3 tank day trip, the Blue Hole dive day. The more time I spend in the Blue Hole, the more I enjoy it because, of course, knowing what to expect, I have no unsettled expectations; I've also become a considerably better diver over the course of time. Half-moon Caye is one of my happy places and that's where lunch is served along with a surface interval that allows for some island exploration. The two following dives are wonderful.

Turneffe 3 tank day trip is also quite enjoyable.

I've spent lots of time on Ambergis Caye in "January" and yes, there's been some disappointing weather as far as diving goes. Oddly enough, sometimes weather that stops local diving doesn't stop the Amigos boat from going on the Blue Hole 3 tank dive day. You've got to get up early in the morning and be ready to open up your piggy bank but if the trip is all about diving for you, then that's one route to get some satisfaction.

I'm quite fortunate that I don't get seasick because yes, sometimes the ocean is a bit rolly.