Belize dives which to do?

[khough3]

Please help. My fiance and I are going to Belize in Late April and are trying to figure out which dives to do. Please let me know which you think are best. We are fairly new to diving so we do not feel comfortable doing the blue hole. We are doing the night dive at Hol Chan. But need to know which of the following to do: Caye Caulker, Turneffe Elbow or Turneffe North. Thanks.

 

[snorkymn]

I don't know about those sites, but I went to the locations off Ambergris Key, and they were great. I think the Blue Hole was totally overrated, and not worth the trip except for the dives done AFTER it. They were beautiful.

 

[Leejnd]

Where are you staying, and what dive operation are you using? We're going to stay on Caye Caulker in late June, and we're planning on using Belize Diving Services. They have a page that gives some great detailed descriptions of the various dives there:

http://www.belizedivingservice.com/The Dives.htm

 

[RussR]

We will be there April 21-28 and are diving with Belieze diving services too.

We are going to do some of the closer reefs including Hol Chan and then two 3 tank day trips one to the blue hole and one to of the Turneffe sites. (I am going to leave it up to the dive op to figure out which is best)

Maybe we will see you there.....

 

[Leejnd]

Just FYI -- we're looking into buying a package accommodation/dive deal from Belize Diving Services. The package includes 11 dives, as follows:

Hol Chan Marine Reserve & Amigos Wreck, Caye Caulker Local Reef, Turneffe North Atoll, Sergeant's Caye/Spanish Bay and Blue Hole at Lighthouse Reef.

I'm assuming they've selected a nice mix of dives that would appeal to most divers. I still have some research to do -- we may add a couple dives to those, particularly night dives.

 

[peterbj7]

You won't go wrong with BDS and that sounds a good mix of dives. How many dives do you have, and in what sort of water? The Blue Hole is survivable (!) but whether you enjoy it depends on your prior diving experience. If you haven't dived deep before I'd suggest you get a guided dive-or-two in deep water on the barrier reef first.

 

[Leejnd]

Well, I've got my AOW, and I've got 60 dives right now. I do have deep dives -- in fact I just got back from diving the Oriskany wreck off Pensacola, where I did my dives at about 105 fsw on Nitrox. (I understand there IS no Nitrox on Caye Caulker...oh well!). I live in SoCal, so most of my dives are beach dives in the c-c-c-cold waters here, which can be quite challenging when the surf's up. I've also been diving in French Polynesia and the Marquesas, where I did pass/drift dives, wall dives, and deep blue ascents. I've done a little research so far on the dives I'll be doing, and I haven't seen anything that concerns me yet.

I've read varying things about the Blue Hole. Many people say that it's really no big deal, and the other two dives that you do near there are the only real reason to do that trip. But others have raved about it. It seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing! I haven't done anything like it, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it. It'll certainly be different! I've read that there's really little marine life to see there, but I'll be seeing enough marine life on my other dives and the natural features sound fascinating enough to me, so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[ldb368]

Hi,
My family and I are back in Ambergris for the 2nd time. We dove with Ecologic and were very impressed with the dive opperation. Diving right on the reef is a great way for a new diver to experience diving. You are brought back to the dock for surface intervals which is awesome. The divemasters with ecologic are great. I dove with them last time when I was a brand new diver and I felt totally confident. We were also pleasantly surprised with a photo cd at the end of our dives.

 

[Jeff88]

My wife and I are going back to Ambergris Caye for the 2nd time at the end of April also (21st-28th). We are both still have <30 dives and have no desire to dive the Blue Hole either. Our last trip (when we were true newbies) we did a few days of local diving..then did the turneffe elbow trip with Amigos Del Mar. Can't wait to get back there. We are using Chuck & Robbie's for our local diving.

 

[dragonfly122556]

Hey from north louisiana,
Planning first trip to Belize. Can't wait. My husband and I are advance divers, but fun/safe divers. Over 200 dives. Please let me know more about Chuck and Robbies. Do they have a website. And anyone else with recommendations on any all inclusives deals for Belize. I'm the same way about Blue Hole, expecially since the boat ride itself is so long. I hear good things about Turneffe Elbow. I'm hooked on underwater photography and can't wait. Bringing 3 other couples, non-divers, but we will still do our thing. Usually 3 2tank dives is all I can take. Blew eardrum out 6 years ago on certification but still love diving. I'm the last one to get down but once down after 40ft. I'm fine. Hit 129ft in January at Cozumel. The picture of the turtles I call "First Kiss", was taken this trip.
See ya, Debbie