Hey fellow divers! I am planning a last minute trip and have to decide between French Polynesian Islands or Belize (liveaboard 8 days). Diving is my primary focus. Would love opinions from those who have done both? I have done a 5 day liveaboard and was pretty burnt out from that so a little weary of an 8 day. Thanks in advance.
Belize or French Polynesia
- Thread starter jesskluv
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ACHiPo
Contributor
I’ve not been to Belize, but FP is great if expensive.
For me its French Polynesia hands down, but only if you go to Fakarava or Rangiroa and you like sharks! Belize is nice super easy wall dives but the pacific offers so much more when it comes to fish and sea life.
FP is very good, and as said, the Tuamotus are the best but are more remote. I have not dived Belize but Cozumel alot and have friends that dived both Belize and Cozumel who report that they have seen much that is similar. FP will be more expensive. Diving the Society islands is ok and you will see sharks - lemons and reef.
Ayisha
Contributor
Having done both, FP and Belize are so completely different. FP has a lot of hard corals, not a lot of soft corals. Back in 2007, they were already having an issue with the invasive Crown of Thorns, not sure how it is now. We saw a lot of sharks, such as black tip, grey and lemon sharks, especially in the passes. For me, a lot of the beauty of FP lies in the surroundings, and you would be missing out if you don't spend some time enjoying the beauty of the islands like Bora Bora, Tahiti, Moorea, etc. We spent 10 days, which was barely enough for sightseeing, getting into the local culture, and diving.
French Polynesia 2007
I've been to Belize twice, once for 11 days, and once for 2 weeks including a 1 week liveaboard and a couple of days in Guatemala exploring and climbing Tikal, large Mayan ruins. IMHO, the diving around Ambergris Caye was not very good; Turneffe declined a lot, and the only decent part was near the Elbow; Lighthouse was still pretty good (which is where the Blue Hole is); and Glovers had the best diving with the most life.
The Aggressor liveaboard, and maybe others, are going to Glovers now.
Belize 2006
Belize and Guatemala 2019
Belize Aggressor III 2019
If you are a fish lover, then the two locations are in no way comparable. Belize has less about 400 fish species and French Polynesia has more than 1300 species. I dive in the TWA (tropical western atlantic) much more frequently than I do in the Indo-Pacific, but this is only because of cost/travel time. All other things being equal, I would only dive where the most fish live...
Damselfish
Contributor
Any popular indo-pacific dive destination will generally be way better than a Caribbean one. But it’s best to have some extra time when you head to the Pacific to acclimate, spend some extra time on land before/after your LOB, etc. So if you’re squeezing this in might consider sticking to Belize.
As far as being wiped, if your profile is accurate it looks like you don’t actually have a ton of dives. More dives in a day is something you get used to. And, you don’t have to do every single dive offered, pace yourself - something else you will learn after a few LOBs. If you weren’t diving Nitrox, might be a good idea to try that ( or keep your ascents much slower, or ideally both.)
As far as being wiped, if your profile is accurate it looks like you don’t actually have a ton of dives. More dives in a day is something you get used to. And, you don’t have to do every single dive offered, pace yourself - something else you will learn after a few LOBs. If you weren’t diving Nitrox, might be a good idea to try that ( or keep your ascents much slower, or ideally both.)
If you were to ask me Neah Bay in Washington state or Belize, I'd say Neah Bay. Though I was doing day dives from Hopkins Bay going out to Southwater Caye and Glover's Reef. I was rather disappointed to be honest. Haven't been to French Polynesia, but that's what I'd vote for as I suspect the reefs have been less beaten up and would have more fish due to lionfish being native to those waters.
ACHiPo
Contributor
+1 on the Tuomotus. I loved Tikehau more than Rangiroa. Rangiroa was better than Bora Bora or Moorea, which were pretty darned good in their own right. Did not make it to Fakarava.
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