Belize Please

[djanni]

Comments on Belize appreciated.

We're on holiday the week of December 5th.

Suggestions for:

1. Where to stay
2. Who to dive with
3. Where to dive
4. Hotel

Any damage by Wilma? Viz still good? Etc.

Thanks, this is last minute trip we're trying to put together.\

Don

 

[hopefulist]

You might want to check out the Belize Forum:

http://www.belizeforum.com

 

[Damselfish]

You might want give some more specifics on what sorts of hotels and dive ops you're looking for, and did you have any particular area of the country in mind? You will probably get more responses if you narrow it down a bit more. The most stuff is in Ambergris, but there's liveaboards leaving from Belize City, and more and more down south towards Placencia. There are also a variety of small resorts out on various atolls. Many consider the best diving to be out on the atolls like Lighthouse, which are done by the liveaboards and by (long)dayboats from Ambergris & Belize City (and of course the resorts on them.)

 

[peterbj7]

Unless you're on Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker or perhaps in Placencia you're unlikely to have a lot of choice as to dive operator. If you're in one of those places the best thing you can do is read www.belizeforum.com and www.ambergriscaye.com and try to sift the facts from the dross. Then book as little as you can safely get away with up front. The best operators are not necessarily the biggest, and certainly aren't the ones who advertise most. As in all things, try to determine the median price for various activities in any particular area, and examine closely any operator who is away from that - it might just represent better or worse value, but it may also represent poorer or better quality. If you just opt for the cheapest that's what you'll get, in all senses.

As to hotels, there's still plenty of choice at that time, but you need to get moving. As Damselfish said, no-one can help you unless they know where you're going. If you haven't decided on area yet, the main choices are between busy tourist-orientated areas (though still a million miles away from places like Cancun), quieter places which may not offer a lot of choice but may well be cheaper, and isolated resorts which won't give any choice at all but may be idyllic - and expensive.