Willar
Contributor
Just back from our first trip to Ambergris Caye so we thought we'd give a few thoughts. This was not a dive-dive-dive trip but a romantic getaway with some diving included.
We stayed at Victoria House which we loved. Very peaceful and lovely. The grounds are beautiful with a relaxing vibe. The staff were great at every turn. The food was excellent. We stayed in an oceanview casitas with a nice patio - loved it! The room was small but having our own private patio with lounge chairs and a hammock was fabulous. We just had the best experience here and highly recommend it for a couples retreat.
We didn't arrange diving until we arrived and decided on Amigos Del Mar because we liked their boats. We did a two-tank morning dive to Amigos Canyons and Victoria Canyons. Immediately upon jumping in we had a large number of nurse sharks greeting us and following us for the whole dive with a few reef sharks joining the group as we moved along. It was pretty obvious the divemasters have been feeding lionfish to the sharks enough that it's like cows to the feed truck. The dive sites were very nice and we enjoyed ourselves. They did spear lionfish and feed the sharks several times on both dives. I understand the lionfish threat and agree they need eraticated but not sure if they are creating a problem with all the sharks expecting to be fed.
We did the Blue Hole trip with ADM as well because of the large boat they have. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great as we had heavy clouds and a good bit of rain during much of the trip. The Blue Hole dive was as reported elsewhere... a neat thing to see and experience but we decided once was enough for that dive. The stalactites were amazing but the depth made our time so short that it went very quickly. They told us ahead that we should max at 130 for 8 minutes and some conservative computers may go into deco mode but "don't worrry about it, just follow along and it will clear as you ascend." Not exactly by the book. We maxed at 135 with some maxing around 140. We did a very slow ascent and an 8 minute safety stop to be extra safe and never had a problem with our computers.
The next dive was Half Moon Wall which was excellent. Lots of fish life and great corals and creatures. I could do that one over and over. We did see a spotted eagle ray, turtles, plenty of large grouper, and a reef shark. We then headed to the island and ate on the boat as it was raining. The rain stopped long enough to walk to the bird watching tower which was fun. I would love walking the island in nice weather. The last dive was West Bay Wall I think. It was similar to Half Moon Wall but more lionfish here. The divemasters speared a bunch of lionfish and fed most to nurse sharks but left some for scavangers. We were picked up at 5:30 in the morning and returned about 5:00 p.m. They had plenty of drinks, snacks, and lunch for us to keep you satisfied throughout the trip. The divemasters and boat crew, especially Carlos, were excellent and took care of all our needs.
Carlos talked to us about diving more with ADM and we asked about doing a night dive. He was willing to take just the two of us out on a night dive. We were to have a boat driver with Carlos as our guide. We arranged pickup for the next evening. Upon pickup we found out we were going out just the 3 of us to Hol Chan. Carlos handled the boat and tied us off to one of the mooring balls, then we all entered the water together, leaving the boat unattended. I was not happy about this method and later decided I should have said "no dive without a boat driver." This was very unsafe. Had anyone had a problem or had the current shifted during the dive we could have had a major issue, but it all went well. We had a fabulous night dive seeing nudibranch, several octopi, lots of rays, huge dog snapper, free swimming morays, several varieties of shrimp, and a cave with sleeping rays and a huge loggerhead sea turtle. It was one of the best night dives for sea life I've ever done. Still, I was not happy that the agreed-upon boat driver wasn't there and I should have spoken up. That was not a safe situation. I think Carlos wanted all the earnings for himself so he didn't have to share the fee or tip with a driver.
We loved Ambergris Caye and had a great time exploring the island and local dining. Our favorite dining was Neri's Tacos, Blue Water Grill (great ceviche!), and Elvi's Kitchen. This is my 6th Caribbean island and will go down as a favorite for the laid-back style.
Questions? Comments?
Dean and Tami
We stayed at Victoria House which we loved. Very peaceful and lovely. The grounds are beautiful with a relaxing vibe. The staff were great at every turn. The food was excellent. We stayed in an oceanview casitas with a nice patio - loved it! The room was small but having our own private patio with lounge chairs and a hammock was fabulous. We just had the best experience here and highly recommend it for a couples retreat.
We didn't arrange diving until we arrived and decided on Amigos Del Mar because we liked their boats. We did a two-tank morning dive to Amigos Canyons and Victoria Canyons. Immediately upon jumping in we had a large number of nurse sharks greeting us and following us for the whole dive with a few reef sharks joining the group as we moved along. It was pretty obvious the divemasters have been feeding lionfish to the sharks enough that it's like cows to the feed truck. The dive sites were very nice and we enjoyed ourselves. They did spear lionfish and feed the sharks several times on both dives. I understand the lionfish threat and agree they need eraticated but not sure if they are creating a problem with all the sharks expecting to be fed.
We did the Blue Hole trip with ADM as well because of the large boat they have. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great as we had heavy clouds and a good bit of rain during much of the trip. The Blue Hole dive was as reported elsewhere... a neat thing to see and experience but we decided once was enough for that dive. The stalactites were amazing but the depth made our time so short that it went very quickly. They told us ahead that we should max at 130 for 8 minutes and some conservative computers may go into deco mode but "don't worrry about it, just follow along and it will clear as you ascend." Not exactly by the book. We maxed at 135 with some maxing around 140. We did a very slow ascent and an 8 minute safety stop to be extra safe and never had a problem with our computers.
The next dive was Half Moon Wall which was excellent. Lots of fish life and great corals and creatures. I could do that one over and over. We did see a spotted eagle ray, turtles, plenty of large grouper, and a reef shark. We then headed to the island and ate on the boat as it was raining. The rain stopped long enough to walk to the bird watching tower which was fun. I would love walking the island in nice weather. The last dive was West Bay Wall I think. It was similar to Half Moon Wall but more lionfish here. The divemasters speared a bunch of lionfish and fed most to nurse sharks but left some for scavangers. We were picked up at 5:30 in the morning and returned about 5:00 p.m. They had plenty of drinks, snacks, and lunch for us to keep you satisfied throughout the trip. The divemasters and boat crew, especially Carlos, were excellent and took care of all our needs.
Carlos talked to us about diving more with ADM and we asked about doing a night dive. He was willing to take just the two of us out on a night dive. We were to have a boat driver with Carlos as our guide. We arranged pickup for the next evening. Upon pickup we found out we were going out just the 3 of us to Hol Chan. Carlos handled the boat and tied us off to one of the mooring balls, then we all entered the water together, leaving the boat unattended. I was not happy about this method and later decided I should have said "no dive without a boat driver." This was very unsafe. Had anyone had a problem or had the current shifted during the dive we could have had a major issue, but it all went well. We had a fabulous night dive seeing nudibranch, several octopi, lots of rays, huge dog snapper, free swimming morays, several varieties of shrimp, and a cave with sleeping rays and a huge loggerhead sea turtle. It was one of the best night dives for sea life I've ever done. Still, I was not happy that the agreed-upon boat driver wasn't there and I should have spoken up. That was not a safe situation. I think Carlos wanted all the earnings for himself so he didn't have to share the fee or tip with a driver.
We loved Ambergris Caye and had a great time exploring the island and local dining. Our favorite dining was Neri's Tacos, Blue Water Grill (great ceviche!), and Elvi's Kitchen. This is my 6th Caribbean island and will go down as a favorite for the laid-back style.
Questions? Comments?
Dean and Tami
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