Belize diving in late September / October - good or bad timing?

[Yobubba]

September and October are the pit of the slow season and it would be wise to check and see if the dive shop is open. Several close for September as do a lot of restaurants and other tourist dependent businesses. .

 

[Downing]

I started reading this thread and was stunned to see a reply from Peter and then Gaz.

Way to resurrect a nearly ten year old thread, lol.

Peter and Gaz were frequent posters here when I first came across ScubaBoard. They both lived on Ambergris Caye and for whatever reason they hated each other. There were some battles royal between them here at times. I'm kind of surprised they never hooked up and just duked it out mano a mano. Eventually, Gaz moved away, although he would still check in from time to time while on a motorcycle trip across Asia. Sadly, Peter passed away a few years ago, right after helping the family of another ScubaBoarder who died while on vacation on AC.

A trip down memory lane for me!

 

[Caye Caulker Diver B]

Thanks for the history lesson Downing. Much appreciated! RIP Peter.

 

[jlevine]

FWIW, I have not let hurricane season detract from diving. The summer/fall season in the Western Caribbean can be quite nice, especially because the crowds are thinner. You might check to see which dive shops are open but from what I've seen the "low" season is getting shorter each year. My biggest problem with Belize in the summer/fall isn't the weather, but the flight schedules. Since it's the off season there are fewer flights. If you're concerned about a storm, consider travel insurance. I usually do anyway. If the storm comes before you go, most airlines will let you rebook. Ask your accommodations if they will let you get a credit for a future stay if a storm comes. Your credit card might include insurance (but read the fine print). Each person's situation is different and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Personally, I would not hesitate to go to Belize in the summer/fall.

 

[Yobubba]

Well said Jlevine. We stayed open this September. It rains, it's the tropics, quickly followed by the sun. The divemaster always says ,"You're gona get wet anyway."

 

[Downing]

I got trip insurance my first couple of trips to Belize. But it was so expensive I decided to just take my chances ever since, which would be around 10 or 12 trips now. Haven't been burned yet, knock on wood (tap, tap, tap). Plus, like jlevine said, if something comes up you can usually just reschedule. Even if there are fees involved, it won't cost as much as trip insurance. We had to do that the year Cozumel got wiped out by a hurricane and ended up going to Hawaii instead.

Dive insurance, on the other hand, is a must for me. I always go with DAN's most expensive plan, which still works out to less than $10 per dive day.

 

[jlevine]

I like the site squaremouth.com. You can easily search across multiple insurance providers. For me, my major concern is medical & evacuation. I can usually get a policy that covers this for less than USD 50. I am not concerned about hotel and airfare. I can work through those. I care more about my health. Again, it's a personal choice. Also, one other tip, don't just accept the price on the hotel's web site. E-mail the hotel or, if they have it, chat online. You may be able to get a much better deal during low season that what the hotel publicly advertises.