Belize Turneffe Atoll worth + $200 / PP?

[pconsidine007]

Hello all -
My wife, a buddy and I will be traveling to Belize for 4 days of diving around Thanksgiving. We'd really appreciate some advice on how we should plan our trip. See two possible itineraries below:

Itinerary 1:
Thursday - Arrive Belize from New York
Friday - Local 3 Tank Dive (including refresher course - its been 18+ months)
Saturday - Blue Hole Day Trip 3 Tank
Sunday - Local 2 Tank + Night Dive
Monday - 3 Tank Local Dive (shallow final dive)
Tuesday - Depart Belize in Afternoon

Itinerary 2:
Thursday - Arrive Belize from New York
Friday - Local 3 Tank Dive (including refresher course - its been 18+ months)
Saturday - Blue Hole Day Trip 3 Tank
Sunday - Local 2 Tank + Night Dive
Monday - Turneffe Atoll Daytrip (23 hrs between last dive and take-off)
Tuesday - Depart Belize in Afternoon

Here are my questions:
1. Turneffe Atoll includes an additional $200 / pp for the Monday daytrip. Is Turneffe Atoll different enough to justify the added travel time / additional money?
2. Is the time between the last dive and our flight enough to mitigate the risk?
3. Are there concerns with doing Blue Hole on day 2 (its obviously pretty deep), followed by another relatively deep dive(s) at Turneffe Atoll?

Apologies if the above questions have been addressed elsewhere (I couldn't find it).

Thanks a bunch for any feedback you might have.
Peter

 

[jlevine]

Wow! First, I'm glad you're visiting Belize. Both of your schedules include lots of diving. The Blue Hole and Turneffe trips pretty much take the whole day as you've noted. Those are long boat rides, especially if the sea is bumpy. Personally, I would not want to do two all-day trips out of four days of diving. That's just me. If you're open to it, I suggest leaving some afternoons doing some sight seeing on land. What part of Belize will be your base? San Pedro? Placencia? That could influence what you do.

 

[chillyinCanada]

To OP, first, have you already confirmed that the boat is going to your chosen destination out at the Atolls on the days that you want to go?

Second, my suggestion is that you do a bunch of local diving, and save Blue Hole dive day for later in the week.

Considering your short time on the island, I agree with the poster that said to just pick one of the Atoll trips. Myself, over the years, I've had a great time out at Turneffe, but just as often didn't find it all that. Given a choice between the two, I'll go with Blue Hole dive day every time!

Whatever you chose, hope you have a wonderful time.

 

[Downing]

Based on the possible itineraries, I'm assuming you're staying on AC, not Placencia.

I agree with both posts above that two all day trips out of four diving days would be too much. I suppose there's always time to sleep on the plane ride home if you really think you're up for it (oh, to be young again). But I would choose one or the other and save the remaining trip for next time.

To Blue Hole or not to Blue Hole is a topic of endless debate on this board. If I had never been to either the BH or the Atolls I would choose the former. Unique, bucket list kind of dive with some fantastic diving later in the day around Half Moon Caye, which in itself is worth a visit.

I've dived around the atolls a fair bit, and while the diving there is pretty great I don't know that it would be worth the time and money to do it from AC. From what I understand, except for the Elbow, it's not like the atoll diving is so incredibly different from the AC diving that it's worth the extra time and expense.

As tempting as it is, I don't dive the day before I fly out. I know there are guidelines as to when it's ok, but my personal rule is easier to remember, even safer than the guidelines and gives my gear a chance to get good and dry before I pack up to head home.

 

[Damselfish]

I wouldn't do an all day trip the day before I leave. I'll dive in the morning if the flight schedule allows, but there's much to be said for a nice (hopefully) sunny afternoon to help get your gear really dry and just relax otherwise.

Also not sure I'd do 2 long all-day trips in 4 days unless there was something really special to see - while there is nice diving out on the atolls I don't know that it's worth the time and expense either. I haven't been to AC to compare. You should read some of the threads on the Blue Hole if you haven't already.

 

[flareside]

...or you could just stay at Turneffe in the first place.

(It would greatly simplify your problem.)

Edit: And I understand why you are flying on Thanksgiving Day as it is one of the best days of the year to fly. Just remember that airlines randomly cancel flights on that day due to small passenger loads so have good trip insurance as you may miss a connection.

 

[pconsidine007]

Thank you all for the advise. Definitely helped make our decision. We are staying in San Pedro so will just stick to the one Blue Hole day trip. Very excited for the trip!

---------- Post Merged at 08:16 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:12 PM ----------

 

[jlevine]

If you think about it, please make some notes and create a trip report!