Belize, Ambergris Caye: Which do you suggest?

[pupdiver]

Turneffe Island Lodge is fantastic. My wife and I went there two years ago. Great diving within a 15 minute boat ride. Very nice resort with great food. The bartender (I think his name was Sherman) was hysterical. The dive staff is excellent. It is pretty much a dedicated diving and fishing resort. You do three dives a day except the last day. It is definitely an eat, sleep, and dive kind of place. If you like to shop or go to different restaurants and stuff, it isn't for you.

By the way, $1400 per person for a week is a bargain for TIL. I think it is normally about $2000.

 

[peterbj7]

Is food included in the price? If not, what does it cost?

 

[Namaste]

Sorry for the confusion. The $1400-$1500 range is what I was trying to keep around for the trip (airfare excluded) ... The list of hotels ( provided by my travel agent) listed in the poll section of my post was just for info gathering purposes. I don't think Turneffe Island Lodge will be in our budget now that I look into it ... and I'm not sure if they include food in their price. I actually did get a quote from my agent for Ramon's for $1371.00 (garden view room)-> includes, 7 nights/6 days of 2 tank boat diving, 3 meals daily, hotel, tax and airport transfers.

 

[WyattEarp]

I wouldn't book an all inclusive trip to Belize at least not Ambergris Caye. A la cart is the way to go there. Thats what we did last year and are doing again in March. Book a flight and book a room then deal with everything else when you get there. It will be no problem.

 

[peterbj7]

And you can get cheaper than Ramon's.

 

[polysemous1]

We stayed at a little place about a 10 minute walk from town, it is called "The Tides" and has, I think, 8 rooms. They have the very well respected Patojo's Dive Shop as part of the inn. Rates are really reasonable, we were off season but paid $70/night and it included breakfast. Diving was $55/2 tanks and they had 3 boats. They didn't ask us for a credit card until the day we left, Butch the bartender was great. A small pool for lazy afternoons...oh, and a modest breakfast was included. We are going back in May. I think its a great place to stay and dive from (divemasters/mates take care of all your gear, it is easy to get spoiled.) Check out the website at:
http://ambergriscaye.com/tides/index.html
And all above are correct, too much great food to lock in an all-inclusive.

best,

Dave

 

[kf6alc]

Stayed at the Sunbreeze about 5 years ago, it was great! Perfect location being so close to town, SO close to the airport that I couldn't believe it, great restaurant, Dive Op on site, everything we needed.

Loved it so much, we're going back in March!

 

[DiverBeth]

I stayed at the Sunbreeze a little over a year ago. Rooms are ok nothing fancy but they were clean. If you do stay in San Pedro I would at least try the restaurant at the Sunbreeze it was excellent. But then again we ate at a number of really good restaurants around town.

 

[Namaste]

I first wanted to send a heartfelt "THANK YOU" to all of you that have chimed in and taken the time to reply to my original post. I'm extremely grateful for that. This is the first time that I've ever tried to put a trip together myself. So ... anyway - I think we are now looking seriously at Sunbreeze hotel and NO meal package so we can roam free for our meals and try out the local flavor. I do have a few more questions. The other accommodation that I ran across was Aquamarina Suites (http://www.aquamarinasuites.com). Does anyone have an opinion or feedback on this place? Another question I have is that my agent quoted $110 for a round trip air ticket from Belize City, but I also read that there are water taxis. Are those more economical? I see that Ambergris Caye is only about 18 miles or so from the mainland. I just didn't know if that would be a better and more scenic route. And lastly [for now ] what other activities are there on Ambergris Caye?

Thanks again for all your replies - I'm extremely grateful. What wonderful people divers are!!

~Brooke

 

[lynny_lynny]

you can do both. We flew though.....quite the experience. The pilot had his lunch under his seat, and the instruments on the right side did not jive with the ones on the left...lol If you like the scenic route, and you are not that in a rush, take the water taxis. You can always charter something from Belize City as well. There are people always looking to make a buck there, so getting volunteers is not hard...
There are bars and restaurants on Ambergris Caye...but most of all...great diving and other divers. We met a lot of nice people from all over. Enjoy!