Belize in May? Info

[tmp]

I am potentially looking at booking the Aggressor for a trip to belize in early May 2011Can anyone tell me what the water temps / viz etc would be at that time period?

Also from what I have read many say that May-June is the best time to dive Belize? Is this due to the weather/seas?

Aside from staying at the hotel where the Aggressor docks does anyone have any other suggestions for topside locations/hotels in the area? I heard Belize City itself is not the greatest place to stay??

Any help/info would be great. Thanks

 

[Gaz]

May and June are good months to Dive Belize and I think that is because the wind drops after feb march which made sea conditions rather choppy in places like Ambergris and Caye Caulker Placencia etc however diving from the Aggressor allows for the boat to find a leeward side for diving no matter what direction the wind is blowing.

Water temps 80 ish

Good choice the Aggressor

Gaz Cooper

 

[Gaz]

Dbl Post

 

[Scared Silly]

Check out the moon phase in May as whale sharks come into Gladen Spit. Though you cannot dive it via a live-a-board as they stay to the north. Most come Placencia.

 

[darkstar]

I am potentially looking at booking the Aggressor for a trip to belize in early May 2011Can anyone tell me what the water temps / viz etc would be at that time period?

Also from what I have read many say that May-June is the best time to dive Belize? Is this due to the weather/seas?

Aside from staying at the hotel where the Aggressor docks does anyone have any other suggestions for topside locations/hotels in the area? I heard Belize City itself is not the greatest place to stay??

Any help/info would be great. Thanks

The Aggressor folks will tell you that any time is good to dive Belize, but if you press them, they'll also tell you that mid April to mid June are optimal as you often get glass-like seas and fantastic vis. I was told that winds start to pick up near the end of June and into July.

I flew in Friday's for both my trips as missing a connection from Canada would mean missing the boat and the hassle of hiring a water taxi. On the first trip, I stayed at the Radisson Fort George. It is comfortable, but accommodations in BC in general are overpriced and the city is a hole and not very interesting.

On the second trip, we just flew (on Tropic Air) to Ambergris Caye and spent the night. Way better choice and one of the best non-diving parts of the trip. Going between Aggressor and Ambergris Caye it is cheaper to fly through the municipal airport. The flight is about half the price and the cab ride is cheaper too because Radisson dock is close to the municipal airport. Flights and water taxis run between Belize City and Ambergris Caye about once per hour and so it's an easy transition and well worth the effort.

To transition to/from an international flight to Tropic Air you just need to walk out of one side of the terminal building and into the other (about 20 feet, door to door).

On both the Aggressor and Sundancer, you can get your fill of Belize City on the Friday of the trip. The boats usually come in by noon. If you don't elect to take a side trip to the caves, zoo or ruins then you can check out downtown.

Water temp should be 80-82F. Colder on the Blue Hole dive.

You'll enjoy Belize Aggressor. Captain Marc and his crew are fantastic.

 

[Hank49]

The Aggressor folks will tell you that any time is good to dive Belize, but if you press them, they'll also tell you that mid April to mid June are optimal as you often get glass-like seas and fantastic vis. I was told that winds start to pick up near the end of June and into July.

It's not that predictable. This year May and June were windy and not so good vis. July, and so far Aug have had a lot of calm days. Last weekend the weather was calm and the vis at Turneffe and here on the barrier reef was as good as it gets. I could see bottom clearly 90 feet down from the boat.

 

[tmp]

Thanks for all the initial information guys.

I have heard nothing but positive things about the Belize Aggressor - and its time to check them out.

DarkStar,
I looked at Ambergris Caye reference staying there before the Aggressor Departs, I am assuming that you then flew into Belize Municipal Airport and then took a local flight to the Caye, and then a Local Flight back to meet the boat? I might be interested in doing that as well - I too (coming from chicago) do not want to miss the preverbial boat!!. How did you book your local flights and was there a weight / luggage restrictions on what I assume would be small(er) planes? Even though we will pack "light" because we will be on the boat all week we would still have two fully packed Dive Gear bags, and at least (I am guessing) One normal sized bag packed with clothes etc...any other info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[darkstar]

Thanks for all the initial information guys.
DarkStar,
I looked at Ambergris Caye reference staying there before the Aggressor Departs, I am assuming that you then flew into Belize Municipal Airport and then took a local flight to the Caye, and then a Local Flight back to meet the boat? I might be interested in doing that as well - I too (coming from chicago) do not want to miss the preverbial boat!!. How did you book your local flights and was there a weight / luggage restrictions on what I assume would be small(er) planes? Even though we will pack "light" because we will be on the boat all week we would still have two fully packed Dive Gear bags, and at least (I am guessing) One normal sized bag packed with clothes etc...any other info would be greatly appreciated.

We actually arrived a bit early on purpose because I wanted to check out Ambergris for a future vacation. We flew Miami to Belize International and took the Tropic flight from the International airport to Ambergris. Hung out in Ambergris for the rest of that day and then just took the 3pm flight the next day to the municipal airport. It's about a 10 minute cab ride from the municipal airport to the Aggressor. If something goes wrong with Tropic, you can take a water taxi back from Ambergris and easily make the boat on time.

I booked the Tropic flights ahead on then net. They are great, and if you get in early, they will put you on the next available flight. We had our standard luggage allowance from the domestic flight (less than 65lbs total, gear bag, clothes bag) and Tropic took it without a problem. I've heard that you if you have too much gear, you can have them fly it on the next flight, but I've not actually heard of anyone needing to do that.

Tropic uses newer Cesna Caravans, which can haul a lot. There are some pictures of the planes and the municipal airport in this album.

Belize Aggressor - Dec 2009 - a set on Flickr

Tropic flies out of the domestic side of the International terminal. It's about 50 feet from the final customs clearance so don't get sucked in by the porters who are trying to grab your luggage. Just walk out the door, turn left and into the next door, and you are there.

In total, it cost just a little more than staying at the Radisson, but it was way more fun.

Pack light. On the boat you'll wear almost exclusively bathing suits and T-shirts. Collapsible luggage works best.

 

[tmp]

Darkstar,

Awesome,

Thanks alot I am going to look at that myself....


And thanks to Gaz and everyone else for the input, now its time to scour the internet and do some planning research, let you all know how it comes out!!