Belize Advice

[Trevor JC Brown]

Hello all,

Thinking of planning a dive trip to Belize.
I am a 20 year veteran instructor and I'm simply looking for the best dive spots in Belize.
Any recommendations?

 

[Mr. Manfrenjensenden]

I've never done a land-based trip in Belize, but I did dive one of the Aggressor boats for a week a couple years ago. The sites we did off Turneffe were mediocre, with the better sites by far off Lighthouse reef, and that's a long trip on a day boat. So I'd certainly look into the two Aggressor boats if you really want to go to Belize.

The Blue Hole was a disappointment, in my view, and I think that view is shared by many others. I wouldn't bother diving it. I thought the shallow life on the reef around it was far more interesting than a dark cold hole with limited bottom time.

Why are you considering a trip Belize -- is there something in particular about it? All in all I thought the diving was ok to fine, but I've had better experiences elsewhere in the Caribbean.

 

[Trevor JC Brown]

I've been diving almost everywhere else in CA. Just not Belize.
Prob. not into a liveaboard, I'd rather spend the big bucks diving in Asia. Belize is convenient for a short trip.

But, if you have recommendations for other places in CA I'd like to hear them. Just not Mexico or Roatan as I have lived in both those places for multiple years.

 

[Downing]

I think the general consensus is that the diving around Half Moon Caye/Lighthouse is the best Belize has to offer. It's usually combined with a trip to the Blue Hole, on which there is no consensus. Some, like me, think it's a unique dive and well worth doing even multiple times. Others think it's worth doing once, check it off the list and move on. Still others think it's not worth the hassle and/or danger even once, especially if you're making the trip from Ambergris Caye.

You might want to look at Huracan Diving Lodge, which is by far the closest to Half Moon Caye. Nice but not fancy. The lack of air conditioning is a deal killer for my wife, but member Stoo loves the place.

 

[NorCalDM]

We stayed at Blackbird Caye Dive Resort and had a great time. The diving was better than Mexico and Roatan in my opinion.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I think the diving out at Halfmoon Caye and Long Caye is the best I've done in the Caribbean.

So, the question now is do you just feel like hanging out on Ambergris Caye and throwing in a little diving or is this trip about diving and you could deal with some isolation to enjoy the easier access to the good dives?

 

[TDiddy]

FWIW, we were on Ambergris Caye/San Pedro last May and had a blast. My daughter did her OW checkout dives there on referral, and we were able to dive as a family. The reef is a 5 minute ride from the dock, close enough to come back and do your surface interval on shore and have a snack. Were these the most advanced dives I could have done? No, but sharing the experience with my kids was totally worth it. I thought the reef was fantastic. San Pedro was great as well.

 

[letterboy]

When we went ~10 years ago, we went to the south and stayed at thatch caye resort.

I just looked them up, looks like they are now owned by a large company who owns multiple resorts and islands in Belize.

We loved the diving down there. The gf got certified that trup.the diving was good. We didn't do the blue hole, honestly it didn't have any draw for me. We did do a cool dive that was into a rock formation of sorts and had sharks swimming around us. We had a blast.

When we went the diving was from smallish open top skiffs and single outboards, looks like they now have a larger dive boat.

I liked the south because it was slower paced and I didn't have a ton of tourists around like some of the larger resorts.

It was cool when there was an earthquake and we were in our casita on stilts over water.... That was an exciting night...

 

[Hank49]

When we went ~10 years ago, we went to the south and stayed at thatch caye resort.

I just looked them up, looks like they are now owned by a large company who owns multiple resorts and islands in Belize...

Yep. Travis left Thatch Caye and is living in Colombia now, last I heard.
And yes, many resorts in the south are now managed by the same company. My step daughter works for one of them in Hopkins.
That trip 10 years ago....wasn't it you who met my son Jake ?

 

[Kharon]

Don't know about best spots. My experience at Placencia was that the visibility was poor and the marine life sparse and small, and the ride to dive sites long and very bumpy in smalish boats. My dive club went to Ambergreis Cay and the divers I talked to said marine life was lacking and the diving so-so. If you want to see marine life you could probably cross those off and look elsewhere.