Belize or Roatan

[coloradodiver]

I've been to both Belize and Roatan, and from what you have said in your post I would recommend Placencia, Belize. It has a nice beach (nicer than Ambergris Caye) and is a much more charming town than San Pedro. You'll find a pretty good array of accomodation and restaurants; check out this site:

http://www.belizenet.com/

The diving is good, and you can even do the Blue Hole trip from there. In between two local dives, just offshore from Placencia, we stopped for lunch on a tiny caye with a beautiful beach and wonderful snorkeling. (When we, the 3 divers, arrived, there was a group of snorkelers there as well). The DM made a great lunch for us, cooked in a sand pit! (Same had happened on the Blue Hole trip, which we did from Ambergris). Your wife and youngest might have to boat out to snorkel, but it's a great daytrip, and no sand fleas.

From Placencia you can also do some fun land-based activities, such as a boat trip up the Monkey River and a canopy tour in Blue Creek. (This is not a zip wire tour; they have bridges that you walk over while attached to a safety harness). What impressed me most about the boat tour (compared to one that I've been on in Costa Rica) is that it was a very small boat with just 4 tourists and a local guide. And the tour included a small hike - to better mingle with monkeys - and lunch in Monkey River Town). Overall you can get a klot of exposure to Mayan and Garifuna culture in this area. And the Jaguar Preserve is also nearby. =)

Good luck deciding!

Pigletfish,
This is all such interesting information to me. I am hoping for quite a bit of "ecotourism" during the first two weeks of our trip when we'll be in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Then the plan is for our third week (my first 3-week vacation since college days!) to be at a beach resort so by that point we'll have done enough of cloud forest, rain forest, lakes, animals, etc. (at least for that trip). Any advice for a family of 5 (with boys ages 9-17) going through those three other countries? I certainly want to be reasonably safe so we'll avoid Guatemala City in favor of Antigua, stay in the safer neighborhoods of Teguchigulpa, etc. But I've heard everything from: "don't even think of taking a family to Guatemala/the police are a joke" to "use common sense, don't wear or carry expensive stuff, and you'll be fine."
Does anyone know of a "chatroom" for people traveling through those countries?
Again, thanks for your help.
Tom(coloradodiver)

 

[Cudabait]

Cudabait,
Wow! This is super helpful information. I definitely will check out those places. Do you know if there is windsurfing at Deep Blue or Laguna Beach? I guess I "want it all"!
Thanks for your help.
Tom(coloradodiver)

Tom,

I've spent quite a bit of time on Utila (our favorite dive location) and I do not think there is a lot of wind surfing. If I recall, Laguna Beach has kayaking, don't know about Laguna beach. The noseeums (sand flies) are prevalent throught the bay islands. DEET is a travelers must.

Regards,

 

[coloradodiver]

Thanks for the help cudabait.
Tom(coloradodiver)

 

[tatonkadive]

I spent about 10 days on Ambergris Caye and 4 days in Placentia before heading to Utila about a month ago where I am now. Here's my very brief assessment...

Ambergris (San Pedro): A small touristy town, with nice beaches and certainly the longest stretch of accessible beach of the three. Has some (maybe 1) windsurfing, fishing, snorkeling, and I'm sure other stuff. Definitely the most populated, "busy", and expensive of the three. Obviously has the draw of the Blue Hole for experienced divers. Other excursions can be made from Belize City. Caye Caulker looked great and more quiet from what I saw from a distance.

Placentia: Very tiny town. When I was there it was QUIET. Some of the places may be closed this month it's so quiet. The Monkey River Tour and other excursions are great. The beaches are more secluded, but the sand is more harsh (IMHO) and there is more seaweed that floats in, compared with the others. I didn't notice windsurfing, but there are a lot of sailboats there so there's probably possibilities.

Utila: Somewhere in between the two in size, nightlife, and general access to amenities. WAY, way cheaper than the others (although going the all-inclusive route is probably much more expensive than what I'm doing...and I'm staying at a really nice, very clean place, with cable and hot water). I'm not sure what people do here if they are not diving. Beach, snorkel (although easier with boats), kayak, hike a bit (but it's a small island with one hill), jet ski (which you have to watch out for if you are snorkeling and not out with a boat). The sand fleas are the worst (of the three, from what I experienced) here, but controlled with Off (or Deet shower of choice). The diving has been great here by the way, with plenty of sea-life.

Since you're visiting a number of countries, I'd recommend hitting all of them. You won't find many (if any) cheaper places to dive than Utila. Get your AOW certs in Utila and then head to Belize and hit the Blue Hole and Turneffe with greatly improved buoyancy control. And as you move there will be plenty to do to keep everyone laughing!