The Trip
March 31st to April 9th with my husband and 23 yo daughter. When we arrived it was too windy to dive. Apparently March is windy, a fact I failed to check. We also arrived during the tail end of Easter week, so many of our first choices for accomodations were booked, something I should have known. Luckily, we only got blown out for a day and a half. The first windy day we rented a golf cart and explored. Loved The Truck Stop and Secret Beach. The next day the wind died down and we were able to get in 2 afternoon dives. One afternoon we took the ferry to Caye Caulker and hung out at the Lizard Bar at the split; I highly recommend this. Then on our last day we booked a Belize Zoo/Cave Tubing tour with Searious. Had a blast; Searious does a seriously (ha!) good job.
AC Diving: The reefs are pretty, the dive sites are nice and close, the vis is good, the town itself is a blast but the fish population seems to be a little weak. I suspect this is due to local fishing. I am a fish geek, so I found this a little disappointing. Next time I visit Belize I will head to the outer atolls or board the Sun Dancer/Aggressor. AC diving is good, but the diving at Half Moon and Long Caye was incredible.
The Dive Shops: We dove most of the week with Ecologic, mostly because it was right in front of the hotel. Got to dive our computers, small boat, great chips and dip during SI and they give you hot towels after the dive. Great small operation. We dove with Amigos Del Mar twice, once for the blue hole and once because we decided to dive Hol Chan late in the afternoon and they were willing to take the 3 of us on short notice. We choose them for the blue hole because they have a big boat with well-padded seats, they run there several times a week and they were also right in front of the hotel. There were only 16 of us on the big boat so we had room to nap. There were 12 divers and 2 DMs for the blue hole dive and they gave a very thorough dive briefing. Underwater, they did a very good job of herding cats and dealing with bouyancy issues. But that is a different thread, as is the the blue hole itself. The highlight of my trip was the dive at Half Moon Caye.
Sunbreeze Suites: It was okay; a solid 3 stars. The units are a little worn but they were clean, the staff was friendly, its centrally located and they play Bob Marley at the pool all day. I think next time I'de prefer something with a bigger, more relaxing pool/beach area. I did enjoy watching the kids walk home from school along the beach every afternoon and also found watching their parents at Cholo's amusing.
The Black Orchid: Stayed here the night before an early morning flight instead of Belize City. Nice country location with pretty rooms on the Belize River about 10 miles from the airport. They offer free airport transfers, the food is superb and they make a sneaky rum punch. A fine alternative to staying in Belize City.
Food:
#1 Original Pupusaria $: Our favorite, we ate here 3 times.
Casa Picasso: $$$ Very good.
Blue Water Grill: $$$ Excellent and on the beach.
El Fagon: $$$ Excellent. Try the conch/shrimp/octopus mixed ceviche and the citric shrimp.
Neri's Tacos: $ A taco stand. Johnny cakes, fry jack, empandas....try it all.
Crazy Canucks: Great wings, fun bar.
Truck Stop: (bar and food trucks) Good pad thai, great bar.
Estele's: $$ Good beach lunch.
Palapa: The big sign drew us in. Fun bar, ok food.
March 31st to April 9th with my husband and 23 yo daughter. When we arrived it was too windy to dive. Apparently March is windy, a fact I failed to check. We also arrived during the tail end of Easter week, so many of our first choices for accomodations were booked, something I should have known. Luckily, we only got blown out for a day and a half. The first windy day we rented a golf cart and explored. Loved The Truck Stop and Secret Beach. The next day the wind died down and we were able to get in 2 afternoon dives. One afternoon we took the ferry to Caye Caulker and hung out at the Lizard Bar at the split; I highly recommend this. Then on our last day we booked a Belize Zoo/Cave Tubing tour with Searious. Had a blast; Searious does a seriously (ha!) good job.
AC Diving: The reefs are pretty, the dive sites are nice and close, the vis is good, the town itself is a blast but the fish population seems to be a little weak. I suspect this is due to local fishing. I am a fish geek, so I found this a little disappointing. Next time I visit Belize I will head to the outer atolls or board the Sun Dancer/Aggressor. AC diving is good, but the diving at Half Moon and Long Caye was incredible.
The Dive Shops: We dove most of the week with Ecologic, mostly because it was right in front of the hotel. Got to dive our computers, small boat, great chips and dip during SI and they give you hot towels after the dive. Great small operation. We dove with Amigos Del Mar twice, once for the blue hole and once because we decided to dive Hol Chan late in the afternoon and they were willing to take the 3 of us on short notice. We choose them for the blue hole because they have a big boat with well-padded seats, they run there several times a week and they were also right in front of the hotel. There were only 16 of us on the big boat so we had room to nap. There were 12 divers and 2 DMs for the blue hole dive and they gave a very thorough dive briefing. Underwater, they did a very good job of herding cats and dealing with bouyancy issues. But that is a different thread, as is the the blue hole itself. The highlight of my trip was the dive at Half Moon Caye.
Sunbreeze Suites: It was okay; a solid 3 stars. The units are a little worn but they were clean, the staff was friendly, its centrally located and they play Bob Marley at the pool all day. I think next time I'de prefer something with a bigger, more relaxing pool/beach area. I did enjoy watching the kids walk home from school along the beach every afternoon and also found watching their parents at Cholo's amusing.
The Black Orchid: Stayed here the night before an early morning flight instead of Belize City. Nice country location with pretty rooms on the Belize River about 10 miles from the airport. They offer free airport transfers, the food is superb and they make a sneaky rum punch. A fine alternative to staying in Belize City.
Food:
#1 Original Pupusaria $: Our favorite, we ate here 3 times.
Casa Picasso: $$$ Very good.
Blue Water Grill: $$$ Excellent and on the beach.
El Fagon: $$$ Excellent. Try the conch/shrimp/octopus mixed ceviche and the citric shrimp.
Neri's Tacos: $ A taco stand. Johnny cakes, fry jack, empandas....try it all.
Crazy Canucks: Great wings, fun bar.
Truck Stop: (bar and food trucks) Good pad thai, great bar.
Estele's: $$ Good beach lunch.
Palapa: The big sign drew us in. Fun bar, ok food.
