Belize and/or Cozumel+Tulum

[profmason]

Crazy cheap flights on TUI from London direct to Cancun. Would catch that. Take the ADO to Playa del carmen and do some cenote dives. Take the ferry across to cozumel for several days of great diving and food. Take the ferry back to PDC and then the ADO down to the border (a day stop in Bacalar is nice before crossing the boarder and taking the bus down to belize city to pick up the liveaboard. On the way back, bus from belize city to cancun to return. (I think there is a 7 pm bus that gets you there the next day)

 

[Jay_Remi]

I did some of my first dives in Placencia about thirteen years ago. Even being a new diver, I thought it was crappy diving. I went to San Pedro this spring and was not much more impressed (except for the lack of lionfish). I swore I wouldn't return to Coz after diving in 2019, but it was about the only place I could go in 2020. The reef had really turned itself around in that time with no cruise ships or the southern hotels pumping their sewage into the ground (and out into the reef). I was there last fall, and it was still a lot better than Belize.

Personally, I like drift diving. I rarely try to fight the current unless the DM really wants to show me something. Being a bigger guy, I tend to catch more of the current than others. I just hide behind a ledge or a barrel sponge and let the others catch up to me.

I agree. Diving out of San Pedro was nothing special really. That's why the LOB option is the best option for those wanting to dive in Belize.

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

I agree. Diving out of San Pedro was nothing special really. That's why the LOB option is the best option for those wanting to dive in Belize.

Would you say the diving from a LOB is better than Cozumel then?

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

Crazy cheap flights on TUI from London direct to Cancun. Would catch that. Take the ADO to Playa del carmen and do some cenote dives. Take the ferry across to cozumel for several days of great diving and food. Take the ferry back to PDC and then the ADO down to the border (a day stop in Bacalar is nice before crossing the boarder and taking the bus down to belize city to pick up the liveaboard. On the way back, bus from belize city to cancun to return. (I think there is a 7 pm bus that gets you there the next day)

I did see those but thats a lot of travelling and waiting about. The amount of moving parts would add quite a few nights of travelling in a trip that already involves 2 long haul flights. It does open up the possibility of doing Yucatan in the future

 

[profmason]

I did see those but thats a lot of travelling and waiting about. The amount of moving parts would add quite a few nights of travelling in a trip that already involves 2 long haul flights. It does open up the possibility of doing Yucatan in the future

Then with a two week trip would do the TUI to Cancun, spend a few days in PDC or tulum for cenotes and the rest in cozumel. There is a time vs money thing here. It is pretty easy to 2 dives / day with airbnb and great food in cozumel for ~150 quid/day. PDC cenotes will be more like ~200 / day. Take a trip to a mayan pyramid etc and 10 days diving for a 2 week vacation for ~3000 pounds is not red sea cheap but close. I get to cozumel 3-4 times a year as many of us US based folks do. Agree that San Pedro diving is not as nice as cozumel.

 

[Edward3c]

I did see those but thats a lot of travelling and waiting about. The amount of moving parts would add quite a few nights of travelling in a trip that already involves 2 long haul flights. It does open up the possibility of doing Yucatan in the future

As an alternative to moving between Mexico and Belize have you thought of 1 week in the Florida Keys than a week in Belize. That’s what I’m doing for the SB Invasion next month.

Glasgow - Heathrow - Miami - week’s diving - Belize - week’s diving - Miami - Heathrow - Glasgow.

 

[Jay_Remi]

Would you say the diving from a LOB is better than Cozumel then?

I have never dived in Cozumel, so I can't compare.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

Would you say the diving from a LOB is better than Cozumel then?

Yes, most definitely!
I just returned from Cozumel 2 weeks ago, the last visit was 14 years ago and probably won't go back. The diving was good but not wow. The dive sites are over run with divers and dive boats. I counted at least 20 dive boats at some dive sites. I'm in the minority, but it isn't the best diving in the Caribbean.

 

[Cornbread O'Malley]

Would you say the diving from a LOB is better than Cozumel then?

In my experience, yes, the diving via LOB in Belize is better than Cozumel. Belize has a good chunk of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef along its coast (and probably the healthiest parts of the reef compared to Mexico and Roatan, Honduras).