Belize Travel Advice

[barfarf]

Redgraccoon you read my mind! My girlfriend and I are also going to our first trip Belize at the end of March in just of a couple of weeks. I know I am such a last minute planner. =) We have 7 days and wish to see some ruins and do some dives. I am newbie diver certified in late summer and I think I already forgot much. She is an experienced diver with about 100 dives so far.

Right now I am looking for good place to stay, dive and things to do. What about killer whales? My initial thought is we will have few days on the mainland and a few days on a caye. One for ruins and land stuff. One for diving and water stuiff.

Tip for those going to Belize regarding immunizations. Redgraccoon I work at a hospital and asked our international family doc about immunizations. He said Typhoid oral immunization is better than the shot form. It protects the blood and stomach and last 5 years and has fewer side effects. The shot form only protects blood and lasts 3 years, but you can take if you are on any antibiotics. Don’t forget about Malaria he said Chloroquine phosphate (brand name Aralen ™ and generics) is good. Does not cause bad dreams as Lariam. Also you should have hep-a and hep-b. Of course talk to your doctor first.

 

[Hank49]

Also, does any area in Belize offer shore line snorkling (that isn't super expensive to stay near) - or are cheap excusion trips the only way to go?

Being our first trip to somewhere tropical, it's not going to take anything near a trip to the blue hole or a whale shark sighting to make us impressed. So any and all advice is appreciated!

Thanks!

Anything north on Ambergris Caye is more quiet then San Pedro and I believe the bridge is almost complete so you can drive there in a golf cart now. (you still can take the ferry if the bridge isn't done). You have to go about 10 miles or more though to get safe shoreline snorkeling, which is good. But there are lots of boats going back and forth so it's dangerous as you get near town. In the south (mainland Belize) the shoreline doesn't have good visibility (at least by my standards) and the diving is a longer boatride. Dangriga and Hopkins are about 10 miles from the reef but Placencia is more like 20 due to an inward bend in the land and an outward bend in the reef off shore there.
Ramon's Village was unfairly singled out by one of the posts. If loud and beach traffic is bad, then almost all resorts in San Pedro town have the same problem. All in all, the town of San Pedro is pretty quiet. Compared to say, NYC.

 

[PaulChristenson]

http://www.journeysendresort.com/diving/index.html
http://www.belizeoceandivers.com/index.html

 

[Ayisha]

Barfarf, we were in Belize in January and didn't get any immunizations for it. After a week in Ambergris Caye, we spent 4 days at CavesBranch Jungle Lodge - no problem. We didn't meet anyone who told us they got immunized either.

That being said, we were immunized a dozen years ago against Hep A & B, and our doctors have done blood tests periodically to make sure we were still immune. This vaccine (Twinrix) is highly recommended, even if you don't travel.

From dusk to dawn, we applied insect repellent with deet, but we rarely encountered bugs on Ambergris. At the jungle lodge, we always applied insect repellent, even in the day, but there weren't tonnes of bugs there either. We used the Deep Woods Off for Sportsmen (28.8% Deet), since it's water-resistant. Maybe the repellent was very effective - the bugs didn't seem to come near us.

Check with the CDC (Centres for Disease Control). They'll have all the info for what's required or recommended for travellers to Belize.

 

[peterbj7]

If you're going to the Placencia area (best for diving Glover's Atoll) you won't find better than Seahorse. Very high reputation with locals and visitors alike. If you want to dive the other two atolls and don't want to stay on them then Caye Caulker is the best base. It's a very pleasant and characterful sleepy little place, where you'll either have a whale of a time or be bored out of your skin, depending on you. San Pedro is nothing at all like the Mexican resorts (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel) and all the better for it, but it is the busiest dive base in Belize. It's certainly not cheap, though you can keep costs down by careful choices. The diving on the local section of the meso-American barrier reef is mostly in an area of spur and groove formations, which is intrinsically interesting - more so to my mind than a straightforward wall - though it doesn't have as much wildlife and bright colors as you'll find at the atolls. The diving off Caye Caulker is similar, but the reef is in poorer condition.

 

[oceancat]

We have been to Belize a few times and dove and hiked all over it. For cheaper accomodations/food, I would recommend Placencia or Caye Caulker. We stayed right on the water (cinderblock place, but comfortable and quiet) for $55 us a night in Placencia. The diving was nice. I recommend seahorse. They are really the most safely conscious down there. GLovers is amazing if you can get out to it. So pristine. We have been to caves branch and that was a lot of fun. Also--the cave hike/swim to the crystal maiden (you can find a tour out of san ignacio) was incredible. I would make sure you are current on hepA and tetanus. We always take anti-malarials, since I am a parasitologist, but a lot of others do not. Have a blast!

 

[manitou diver]

I spent six nights in Belize a couple of years ago and loved it! Stayed at Cave's Branch for two nights and did the Cave Tubing. Somewhat rustic accommodations in a shared bunk house with very unusual outside shared showers! Then went to Belize City to catch the ferry to Caulker for four nights in a simple cabana a block from the beach. Had a kitchen so we saved $ on food. Did enjoy dinner at Rasta Pasta. I dove with Belize Diving Services a short walk away. Very professional. The dives were fairly long boat rides south..35 to 45 minutes. We dove on Sargeant's Caye as it was too rough for the Elbow and Lighthouse. Still very pretty reefs with reasonable vis..60' or so. Also dove at Hol Chan with lots of sharks and sting rays. Caulker is definately laid back and quiet. Very few golf carts, most everyone just walks everywhere. The shore snorkeling wasn't very interesting. Lonely Planet forum was very helpful in decisionmaking. Enjoy!

 

[Scuba65]

Redgraccoon & Barfarf when you guy's going to be in Belize? My hubby and I will be in Ambergris Caye on the 24th.

 

[pilot fish]

I stayed at Ramon's at the end of December and I think that the place gets an undeserved "bum" rap on this board. It offers extreme convenience, very good service, good rooms, a fun bar and kitchy "tiki" decor. The dive operation is excellent and there are plenty of amenities. To be fair, the food service is substandard and the place is a little overpriced. They have great web site but are very vague about pricing (until you call the toll-free number). Overall, I would definitely stay there again.

Yes, the Dive Op there is good, no problem with them, but Ramon's Hotel gets low marks, especailly for what they charge. If they gave an award just for great web site they would get one, but the reality is much different. Too much traffic and noise and some security concerns because of all the traffic from non hotel people walking past the hotel along the beach all day. Since you stayed there in December, when school is in session, perhpas you did not see the groups of town's kids hanging out at the end of the pier? It was so busy that you could not snorkel safely near the pier.

They are not only vague on their pricing but also on what the real situation is there. In short, the hotel and it's grounds are not secure.

 

[Hank49]

Too much traffic and noise and some security concerns because of all the traffic from non hotel people walking past the hotel along the beach all day. Since you stayed there in December, when school is in session, perhpas you did not see the groups of town's kids hanging out at the end of the pier? It was so busy that you could not snorkel safely near the pier.

In short, the hotel and it's grounds are not secure.

There are no private beaches in San Pedro and you can walk the beach from one end to the other. So Ramons is no different than any other in that regard except that is more in the center of town. The grounds are as secure as anywhere there except for the few that have walled their places in. (I lived there for a year and a half)
I don't understand how too many kids on a pier can make snorkeling unsafe. What makes snorkeling unsafe in San Pedro are all the boats going back and forth. Anyone will tell you not to snorkel there. And all piers are public also. Sounds like Belize in general isn't your kind of place.