Belize "surf and turf" trip advice

[mtheiss]

Hello,

I am in the early stages of honeymoon planning and we are looking to go somewhere that is more than just beaches and water, but definitely want to include that as well. I figured Belize would be perfect to spend half our time inland enjoying all that has to offer (jungle hiking, mayan ruins, caving, etc.) and the other half out on one of the cayes. From what I've read AC sounds like it may be a little more built up than what we are looking for. I've been looking into Thatch Caye as a possible alternative but am somewhat concerned that we may have the opposite problem, that being it is so small we would get bored (although the idea of being bored on a small island in the Caribbean is somewhat laughable so I would not say I'm overly concerned).

Any recommendations from the board would be greatly appreciated for both inland and the cayes. Inland we are looking for a location that can take advantage of the most activities possible. So far I've found Chaa Creek which looks pretty good.

A few things about us and what we're looking for:

I dive, she does not although I'm trying to change that. She does enjoy snorkeling and would potentially go out on the boat a few times to snorkel (assuming I haven't infected her with the dive bug by then) but not all the time. How is the diving around Thatch Caye? Is it closer to some of the better atoll diving than say AC or CC? I will likely do a few dives without her but will probably be in trouble if I'm doing three dives a day for a week and she is left behind, so snorkeling off the beach would be a plus so I can still get in the water even if I'm not under it.

A nice (quieter) beach is a must since this will not be exclusively a diving trip.

We are fairly adventurous and do not need deluxe accomodations, but this being our honeymoon we are willing to splurge a little.

We do not like uptight resorts, but would do a small resort inland or something like Thatch Caye if it has a low key atmosphere (not sure if either of the ones I've listed fit the bill).

We would hopefully coordinate the inland destination and the beach destination to minimize travel time in between so that we do not spend too much time getting from Belize City to one and then to the other, although we realize travel time on a trip like this is necessary. Basically it would not make sense to book something inland really far to the south and then stay on AC which is fairly far north.

That's all I can think of. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Mike

 

[Hank49]

Thatch Caye is closer to the Elbow, the premium dive site of Turneffe, than AC. You're also only a 15 minute boat ride from Southwater Marine reserve, which has some really nice wall diving.
I've lived in San Pedro for a year and a half and spent 5 years diving around Placencia. I've been near Dangriga for 3 years now and like the water around this area better. (the area between Rendezvous Caye down to 4th cut below Southwater Caye)

 

[Hank49]

Weird. I responded to this about an hour ago, the post was there...and now it's gone.
I'll try again.
Regarding diving around Thatch Caye. It's the better reef diving in Belize if you ask me. I've lived in San Pedro and Placencia and dived both areas. It's also closer to the Elbow of Turneffe, a premium site, than you are from AC.
If this is deleted like that last post, good luck..hah.

 

[mtheiss]

Weird. I responded to this about an hour ago, the post was there...and now it's gone.
I'll try again.
Regarding diving around Thatch Caye. It's the better reef diving in Belize if you ask me. I've lived in San Pedro and Placencia and dived both areas. It's also closer to the Elbow of Turneffe, a premium site, than you are from AC.
If this is deleted like that last post, good luck..hah.

It got double posted. When I submitted the first time my computer basically timed out for a half hour and it did not look like it had posted so I submitted again only to find out that it did post, my computer just didn't feel like moving. I'm calling it a technological error, not user error (or that's my story at least and I'm sticking to it!).

Thanks for the info, from what I've read there does seem to be some really great diving in that southern area. Not that there isn't elsewhere, but the Thatch Caye area seems to have great diving and be a little more off the beaten path which sounds very appealing. Thanks again!

Mike

 

[reefduffer]

We did a surf-n-turf trip in Feb '08. Trip report here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/belize/226065-trip-report-san-pedro-belize-2-25-3-1-08-a.html

My Belize diving is limited to San Pedro, so if that's not of interest, ignore that part, which is most of it. But I'd still suggest talking to Barb's Belize (travel agent) and getting the Moon book.

There was another thread with a little more on the San Ignacio inland part of the trip here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/belize/266148-san-ignacio-where-stay.html

And of course, search/browse this forum, there's a wealth of other info.

 

[Diver0001]

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[peterbj7]

I live in San Pedro and often dive in the Southwater Caye Marine Reserve. I agree with Hank that the diving down there is superb. If you look at another recent thread you'll see that the Thatch Caye crowd saw a whale shark on one of their local dives recently.

 

[Thatch Caye Belize]

Thatch is an eco conscious place that will go the extra mile for its customers. And it is off the beaten track. Our dive boat was the only boat around out on the wall every day that it went out last week except for Gladdens Spit and even there we were the only boat out on the last dive on which all the whale sharks came out.

 

[hopefulist]

My photos with a travelogue link are here if you're interested in how our family split our time in Belize in 2003: hopefulist's collections on Flickr

Some of us are heading back this summer to hit some of our favorite spots from last time (Tikal, San Ignacio, the zoo, Hopkins, Glover's Atoll) and to visit some of the places we missed last time - even with 4 weeks we had to pick and choose: the Community Baboon Sanctuary, Lamanai Ruins, ATM Cave, Caye Caulker. Have a blast, whatever you decide and please post a travelogue for us. Happy trails!

 

[Hawkwood]

We just got back from a week at Turneffe Island Lodge and then four days at Ian Anderson's Caves Branch Jungle Lodge.

If you are looking for diving, quiet beach time, and a fair bit of luxury, then I can't recommend TIL enough. Spring the extra for a beach cabana.

For a great jungle experience, go to Caves Branch - stay in a "tree house" and do the Black Hole Drop - 2 hour hike in and then a 300 foot rappel.

Neither are "low cost" but both would provide an experience you would not forget. I'd suggest doing the jungle first and then hit the water. We did it the other way around.