Ambergris Caye- Open Water Referral Dive Sites?

[SingingPixie]

Hello,

My boyfriend and I are planning a trip to Belize next year, the traditional land/sea combo. We'd like to get our open water checkout dives done on a referral basis while we're on AC. What are some of the sites often used for these 4 dives?

Also, any suggestions for a dive op we should use? Cost is of course a concern, as is safety. It would be a bonus if someone could grant us a discount if we used cash, or if we booked all of our tours through them (we'll want those 4 dives, as well as a snorkel trip to Shark-Ray Alley, and a trip to Lamanai, at least- and would entertain more activity options depending on time, cost, etc).

Thanks so much!

Megan

 

[Downing]

Megan, I can't help with AC since I've never been there, but I did want to chime in on the Lamanai ruins. If your flight home is in the afternoon, you should consider doing Lamanai that morning since the ruins are about a 30 minute drive past the BZ City international airport.

Touring the ruins from AC would make for a very long day, imho, but if you wait until you're on your way home you can avoid a long roundtrip plus it beats sitting around the airport all morning.

 

[peterbj7]

Against that the boat trip from AC to Lamanai is a major attraction of the day. You leave AC at around 8am and are usually back by 4pm'ish, so it's not such a long day. Part of the boat journey is through mangrove swamps with all sorts of critters to see including basking or swimming crocodiles.

On the diving, most dive sites off AC are suitable for OW course dives and you will neither need to nor be able to select them. You wouldn't have the knowledge to anyway. As to recommendations for a dive operator, my first choice would be Island Divers, now located on a dock just south of the center of town at Holiday Hotel (San Pedro's original hotel). If you're staying anywhere in the southern part of AC I'd say using them is a no-brainer. There are cheaper (slightly) but you definitely get what you pay for. They observe all safety standards and have all the necessary equipment (not all have) yet they make the whole experience fun. Have a look at their Facebook page.

If you're staying "up north" then a good bet would be White Sands Dive Center, a few miles north of town. if you're way, way north at Tranquility Bay then without doubt use their in-house dive operation.

There are some other dive operators I would NOT recommend.

A tip to save money is indeed to pay in cash, to book directly with every operator you use, and to try haggling. If you're the only people on the boat there won't be much wiggle room, but if there are others there may be scope for a reduction.

Do remember that these are certification dives, very much part of the training process, and you will still be learning during them (if they're done properly). They are NOT just "checkout" dives.

 

[SingingPixie]

Thanks, Peter. Yes- I spoke poorly when I referenced "checkout" dives; more typing quickly without thinking, than anything!

I agree with you about Lamanai. Actually, we would be spending part of our trip in Cayo and probably seeing Caracol, so a big part of why I'd want to do Lamanai as well is the boat trip. I'm an animal nerd in general- land or sea- so I wouldn't want to miss that opportunity.

Right now I'm looking at Hotel del Rio as a possibility for where to stay. We're ok with basic, but like the idea of the cabanas, and they seem to have pretty good reviews on TripAdvisor, especially for the price.

And I know I won't be able to choose the dive sites. I'm more just curious about what locations are frequently visited for these dives, since I'm a nerd and want to research where we might get to go!

Thanks so much.

-Meg

 

[slenderff]

We had a fantastic experience with Belize Dive Connection, they are at the Sunbreeze Hotel. The instructor was excellent and everyone made our time in Belize fantastic. They were very saftey orientated and thorough and i cannot recommend them enough.

 

[peterbj7]

Most of the dive sites are shown here http://ambergriscaye.com/maps/art/Poster1bmed.gif between Hol Chan in the south and Mexico Rocks in the north.

I don't know anyone who's stayed at Hotel del Rio. I went there once to investigate for some people and didn't think a lot of it.