Belize 2020

[chillyinCanada]

Actually what is coloring my opinion is comparing what I experienced here against what I experienced in other places - Bonaire, Dominica, Grand Cayman, Key Largo, Nassau, Roatan, and even local lakes in upstate New York.

The fact that I was outright lied to isn't entering into my opinion. That will be in a different discussion. It's a simple oranges to oranges comparason. Perhaps, since you are a Belize fanboy, that is coloring your opinion.

No, it's that I don't believe you were lied to. Sorry about that. You didn't see any whale sharks, yet your trip was conducted the same way mine was and I saw many whale sharks. Further, I had recommended to you (during your scubaboard inquiry stage), that April was likely to be too early and that May would give you better chances.

 

[Tank601]

Does anywhere in the world let you scuba with these whale sharks? I heard it was snorkel only around them. Not exactly sure why

 

[chillyinCanada]

Further, I am not necessarily a Belize fan boy, one way or another but I have indeed been many times. Ergo, I know a lot about the place, a number of the dive ops, accommodations in many different areas.
I have not been to Bonaire and so am unable to compare the diving to that of any Bonaire fan boys.

For all I know the diving at the Belize Atolls is equivalent.

Yes, the diving at Ambergris Caye most likely is not. However, the diving there is over finger corals (tongue and groove), there are swim throughs, free swimming nurse sharks, eagle rays and many other things that may appeal to newer and intermediate divers.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Does anywhere in the world let you scuba with these whale sharks? I heard it was snorkel only around them. Not exactly sure why

Isla Mujeres and area is snorkel only.

Maldives you may dive with them if you are already diving when they happen along otherwise, it's a snorkel.

I'm not sure about Oslob, where it's more like a feeding station.

 

[Damselfish]

Where is the great blue hole? That hits all the top lists?

In Lighthouse atoll. As said, long trip from Ambergris. Short trip if you're on a liveaboard already out there. I was on a liveaboard out there once where the entire boat voted to skip it. That might tell you something.

Search on it here, it is often discussed. Some think it's great but I would guess more (including myself) consider it a "been there done that" dive at best.

You'll discover diving "top lists" aren't reliable for much, except marketing.

 

[Damselfish]

I'm not sure about Oslob, where it's more like a feeding station.

We dove with them at Oslob, don't know if anything is changed. I'm guessing not since their point is to make money off the venture.

Does anywhere in the world let you scuba with these whale sharks? I heard it was snorkel only around them. Not exactly sure why

They're generally interested in protecting the whale sharks, and presumably figure there is less chance of people messing with them while snorkeling. There are other places you might see them with similar rules as the Maldives - if you're diving and a whale shark shows up, not much you can do about it. I know people who have done this.

You can scuba with the whale sharks off Placencia (Gladden Spit), they can be found around certain full moons. Snorkel probably wouldn't work there, I believe they are mostly deep. (We were unsuccessful there and stared at a lot of blue water, but it wasn't quite the right time.)

Utila is pretty well known for decent whale shark sightings especially certain times of year, and I believe you can scuba with them there. Supposedly you can get lucky anytime, we have not. And there are other places.

 

[chillyinCanada]

We dove with them at Oslob, don't know if anything is changed. I'm guessing not since their point is to make money off the venture.



They're generally interested in protecting the whale sharks, and presumably figure there is less chance of people messing with them while snorkeling. There are other places you might see them with similar rules as the Maldives - if you're diving and a whale shark shows up, not much you can do about it. I know people who have done this.

You can scuba with the whale sharks off Placencia (Gladden Spit), they can be found around certain full moons. Snorkel probably wouldn't work there, I believe they are mostly deep. (We were unsuccessful there and stared at a lot of blue water, but it wasn't quite the right time.)

Utila is pretty well known for decent whale shark sightings especially certain times of year, and I believe you can scuba with them there. Supposedly you can get lucky anytime, we have not. And there are other places.

Yes, you can snorkel with the whale sharks at Gladden Spit, Belize, but like with the divers, they have to show up. Sometimes the snorkelers see them but the divers don't and vice versa.

When I had my successful whale shark dives, the snorkelers also had a great time; potentially, an even better time than many of the divers.

 

[FT]

Hi Inkedobiwan, glad you are looking at new horizons.

We spent a week recently on Glover’s Atoll diving with Off the Wall. There could be as many as 10 divers on the boat; on the other hand, there were no other boats around.

The scenery and sea life were nicely varied and, I would say, very good indeed by Caribbean standards. Have not been to Ambergris, Placencia or other atolls so cannot compare within Belize. Am willing to believe those who say that a live aboard is the way to get the best of Belize diving.

For newish divers, Glover’s is well set up. You would not get out to the Blue Hole, but if you are not yet AOW, you shouldn’t go there anyway. Any of the atolls will offer lovely diving with shorter rides than from Ambergris, Caye Caulker or Placencia, but they’ll leave a hole in your wallet too.

Allow me to recommend the Philippines. If you can stand the longer flight(s), you will find much more interesting diving and value for money. Read Trailboss’ recent diary of a trip to Puerto Galera. I did some of my early learning there and can vouch for Asia Divers.

Only got a week? Not on an unlimited budget? Juliet Sailing and Diving out of Miami to the Bahamas. Healthy coral and sea life, and many sharks.

 

[Kharon]

No, it's that I don't believe you were lied to. Sorry about that. You didn't see any whale sharks, yet your trip was conducted the same way mine was and I saw many whale sharks. Further, I had recommended to you (during your scubaboard inquiry stage), that April was likely to be too early and that May would give you better chances.

Sorry Fanboy dude. I was lied to. I did due dilligance and also contacted the owner. Here is a direct quote from his email:
“We use two methods to look for whale sharks – looking for the snapper or looking for the birds.
1. We use fish finders to find the snapper as the whale sharks come to feed on the spawning aggregation and put the divers in the water above the snapper. The divers try to stay with but well above the snapper and try to stay in a tight group so that the bubbles are concentrated. The idea is that the whale shark will see the bubbles, think that is the spawn and come directly to the divers. As the bubbles go to surface, often the whale sharks do too, so the snorkelers get a close encounter. We have had some situations where the whale sharks came from the side rather than from the deep, so the snorkelers saw them but the divers who were looking down, did not see them. Other times, the whale sharks have come close to the divers and then gone back down without tasting the bubbles.
2. We watch for birds circling as when they flock over the sea, it is usually because they are feeding on bait fish. Whale sharks also feed on bait fish and they do that on surface. When we see the birds, we head for the spot. Usually in this situation, the divers tend to stay at snorkel depths..”

Sounds great – right? Total bushwah!!! I depended totally on the honesty of the owner – my bad.
It is an outright lie. The boat had neither GPS nor sonar/fish finder, nor was here any search for birds. We were taken on an hour long, rough water trip to be dumped into the open ocean. The DM’s dive talk said we would drop and the DM would go to 80 feet and we were to maintain 50-60 foot depth until she (hopefully) found a school of fish. Then she would call us down and hope that the school would spawn. No sonar, no GPS, no looking for birds – no looking for schools of fish. Random wandering in the open ocean and hoping to see something. Are you kidding me?

So, Splash Fanboy ===> Ignore.

 

[Kharon]

Further, I am not necessarily a Belize fan boy, one way or another but I have indeed been many times.

And where else, If anywhere, have you been?