Article: Belize's Great Blue Hole: Is It Really Worth Diving ?

[OttoDog]

My wife's and my first true dive after openwater cert was from San Pedro, in the finger canyons near Hol Chan. We were told that the BH was basically a "bounce dive" after a long boat ride. We were so overwhelmed by the stunning reef off San Pedro that we thought the BH wasn't worth losing more and longer dives closer to Ambergris.
Maybe in the future....

 

[vladimir]

My wife's and my first true dive after openwater cert was from San Pedro, in the finger canyons near Hol Chan. We were told that the BH was basically a "bounce dive" after a long boat ride. We were so overwhelmed by the stunning reef off San Pedro that we thought the BH wasn't worth losing more and longer dives closer to Ambergris.
Maybe in the future....

Ah, but you missed the dives on Lighthouse Reef that are usually included in the package, and are generally considered to be better dives.

 

[tkaelin]

Thanks for the article. I have not been to Belize yet but have been reading the SB posts and noted with interest the divergent opinions on the Blue Hole. Your article helped me better understand both what to expect and why there is such a varied spectrum of opinion. As with most opinions expressed on SB and on travel websites such as Tripadvisor, ones expectations play a part in ones experience and how far the two were apart I think explain how two people can experience the same dive, trip, hotel etc and come away with two wildly different opinions. Would like to dive Belize one day and still undecided about making a Blue Hole trip. Would love to see it by helicopter. Not sure for me whether it would be worth a long boat ride. Maybe I need a heli ride I can dive from. Thanks again.

 

[EdTeach]

I dove the Blue Hole many years ago. My wife and I were the first guests at Lighthouse Reef Resort in 1989 or so. We dove there for about ten days, as I recall. The reason I mention this is because the reefs were not heavily dived back then. We named most of the sites we dove. So, I don't know what the reefs are like today. I do know for a fact that EVERY dive we did was better than the Blue Hole. We dove the South side of the hole on a small boat. We were the first boat there, because we were staying at Lighthouse Reef. I think another one showed up as we were leaving. There were just the three of us, as it was all week, my wife, me and Bruce, our divemaster. The viz was good, maybe 75-80 feet, as I recall, but definitely not as good as any other dive we did. Every other one of them was virtually unlimited. I think we got down to about 130 feet in the Hole. You really have to go that deep to get a good look at the stalactites and stalagmites. That part of the dive lasts for five minutes or so and the rest of the time was spent off-gassing in the shallows, where there was very little to see. I'm not disappointed we did it. It was a very good novelty dive. If you're diving there the whole week, go see it! If you're riding a boat from the mainland, you would be better off to see any of the fabulous wall sites, particularly Half Moon Caye. It's a world class dive. You can visit the red-foot booby reserve and have lunch while doing a long surface interval before making another wall dive!

 

[smorneau]

I have been looking for the blue hole on google earth without any luck. Does anyone know where it is located or have some coordinates for it? Thanks

 

[vladimir]

17.315653, -87.531425​

 

[Darnold9999]

Have to say that I was completely underwhelmed. A bounce dive to 145 feet on an AL 80 to see rock formations. Then 20 min offgassing in the shallows with nothing much to see. The vis was actually pretty good. Sharks would have improved the dive, but it was still a long trip for a bounce dive to spend 5 min at depth.

Would much rather have done another dive at Half Moon Bay, but if rock formations are what you want to see then by all means do the dive - I prefer life, colour and long dives.

Would not do this dive again. Not very many dives on my list of dives fall into that catagory.

 

[vladimir]

Would not do this dive again. Not very many dives on my list of dives fall into that catagory.

I loved the dive and would not do it again.

 

[berick]

I was underwhelmed with the Blue Hole in Belize when I did it a few years ago. If given a choice, I'd much rather do one of the reefs. However, some of the other divers I was with were thrilled with the Blue Hole. So, its value as a divesite is certainly subjective.

 

[boulderjohn]

Yes, it is quite subjective.

The first time I did it, my thoughts were similar to those who say that it is worth the trip because the stopover on Half Moon Caye and the ext too divers are really good. I was quite underwhelmed by the Blue Hole experience.

The next time I was in Belize I was the leader of a group of divers, with none of them having a great deal of experience. I was hoping to talk the group into doing other special excursions instead, but a person who added onto our group at the last minute immediately started talking it up so enthusiastically that it had to happen. Then, the night before that excursion, he got so thoroughly drunk that he stayed in bed while the rest of us went on the trip he insisted we had to do. My feelings about the dive itself were the same as before, but in surveying the group after the trip, every single one of them thought the Blue Hole was the highlight of the entire trip, and they said that with enthusiasm. So, I guess making it a part of our trip was the right move after all, even though I didn't want to do it.