Belize vacation Planning 2 weeks..one week wet, the other dry.

[diverrex]

Storm - for our two trips to Belize we simply did lots of internet research and booked every bit of it individually ourselves through the internet or once we were actually on the ground in Belize. Belize is English speaking and very tourist friendly. I'll quickly go through our trip with links and also provide some links at the bottom.

We stayed four nights at Chaa Creek lodge near San Ignacio. Chaa Creek is very pricey but has great "treetop" rooms in the jungle and worked well for us. While there we did two days of horseback riding through the jungle, canoeing on the river and just walking in the jungle with a day spent on the ATM tour through Mayawalk tours. I can't speak highly enough about doing the ATM tour, one of the best vacation things we have ever done. There are also some Mayan ruins near San Ignacio but we did not have time to explore them, on a trip back we would. There are other less expensive lodgings in the area that also get good reviews.

We arranged transport to Tikal through Mayawalk where the owner, Eddy, simply drove us to the Guatemala border, we walked across the border and Eddy's "cousin" picked us up for the drive to Tikal. At Tikal we stayed at the Tikal Inn, simple but very pleasant. The advantage of staying overnight at Tikal versus a day tip is being there early morning and late evening when the day trippers are gone and it's not as busy, plus it's not nearly as hot as mid day. We did an afternoon tour the first day and the whole second day we explored on our own. In a day and half we still did not see all of Tikal as much as we wanted to. On our first day at Tikal up at the top of Temple V we met a security guard who arranged to meet us in the evening and for $20 he took us back into Tikal park at night and we climbed back up Temple V in the full moon while the park was officially closed. I must admit walking through the park when it was dark was really cool but a little spooky, just my wife, I and a young security guy we had just met who didn’t speak any English (we speak very little Spanish).

We took a taxi from Tikal into Flores where we caught a Tropic Air plane to Belize City and then switched to another for the ride to AC. Tropic Air is the best run short hop airline I’ve ever been on. They don’t seem completely stuck on their schedule, they may make an unplanned stop to let someone off, but they get people where they need to go, efficiently, quickly and reasonably priced. They didn’t used to have weight restrictions on baggage but that may have changed.

On AC we stayed at Banyan Bay condos. We actually got certified on our first trip by Elbert Greer while he was still at Ramon’s. He is now on his own north of San Pedro. We would dive with either Elbert or Ramon’s again, but lots of shops get good reviews in AC, just read through the Belize posts on SB. Gaz is the local expert but I can say that Belize is very laid back and not rigid and full of so many rules as other places. I’d be very surprised if you couldn’t find a shop that wouldn’t let you use gloves as long as you discuss it ahead of time.

San Pedro is a cute little town, not much to do other diving and relaxing but for a small place it has a surprising amount of good restaurants.

For comparison we have also been to Curacao, Akumal MX, Cozumel, Dominica and Grand Cayman. We enjoyed the diving off AC more than Curacao, Akumal, and Grand Cayman. AC has more of the bigger stuff, eagle rays, turtles, nurse sharks and groupers, than any of the other places we’ve been.

BTW if you have a couple weeks and like jungle and diving Dominica is also a great place to go. It’s hard to get to and they don’t have much tourist infrastructure but the diving is great and the inland jungle is fantastic.

Here are some other Belize links:


Belize First
BelizeNews.com
Crystal Auto Rental
Belize message board
San Pedro Daily
ScubaDivingBelize.com
Tikal Tours
Belize Tourism Board (very slow to load)
You Better Belize It

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Sorry to take so long to chip in on this one - have been travelling. The move director Francis Cupola Ford has Turtle Inn (which would be 5 star but which by design does not have air conditioners) close to Placencia and Blancaneaux in the Cayo district if the idea of one operator is important to you. There are a number of other hotels and resorts in the Placencia area that are upscale - I would consider Chabil Mar to be of higher standard that Turtle Inn and would consider Laru Beya excellent value for money. There are also a number of other upscale resorts and hotels in the Cayo district but these are not under common ownership.

I think you will find that while the use of gloves is discouraged, you will be able to dive from Placencia using gloves with the explanation you have given. Belizeans tend to by very hospitable people.

Your plan of a week by the water followed by a week inland is fine but you may find that you cannot dive everyday during the first week due to weather conditions. Forty percent of Belize is protected by reserves and parks and the majority of these are in the southern half of the country and are land accessible from Placencia. The same applies to Maya ruins. You can check these out at our website splashbelize.com. In addition to the famous ones you are getting info on from other readers, a very good and fun one is the Monkey River tour out of Placencia. You go 30 minutes south through the mangroves to the village of Monkey River and then up the river which has seen very little human habitation where you will see crocodiles, huge iguanas, lots of birds as well as beautiful rain forest. Up the river, hike into the rainforest to find howler monkeys and experience a hike with very knowledegeable guides. There is also the Cockscombe Reserve which has the higest concentration of big cats on the planet which is a great place to hike and can be done with or without a guide. This access is the reason I chose Placencia over other are as when I moved here from Canada five years ago.

I am not recommending Splash as your destination dive operator as we partner with a number of hotels that cover a range of budgets (although Chabil Mar is probably the most upscale resort in Placencia) but we do not have our own resort and do not intend to do so. Our focus is on our dive and inland tour operations and we have programs such as teaching local kids who cannot afford dive lessons and we sometimes combine these free teaching trips with regular dive trips.

 

[peterbj7]

I like it that Ralph declares his personal interest up front. Well done Ralph. I wish all others would do the same.

As to gloves, they are only prohibited in the various marine reserves (Hol Chan, Southwater Caye Marine Park, Bacalar Chico, to name but three. In all other places gloves are permitted. They're in fact rarely worn as for most people they aren't necessary, but in local diving off San Pedro a while back I was wearing one glove because of a bad cut on that hand. I did in fact wear it one one dive at Hol Chan - technically illegal, but necessary for me and of course I didn't touch anything I shouldn't have. Other than in the marine reserves have no qualms about wearing gloves. Please don't use them as an excuse for touching coral and other sensitive organisms though.

 

[Storm]

... Please don't use them as an excuse for touching coral and other sensitive organisms though.

I take it this is a general statement and not necessarily directed to me personally but if it is, believe me, the only thing my gloved hands touch during a dive is my gear, my camera and occasionally my wife to get her attention.

I'm not perfect (who is), and on a rare occasion that my proximity gets too close, I do the single finger push off from a safe place, usually a dead piece or rock, etc. However, frankly this has only happened once so far, it was caused by an excessive surge on a shallow dive, and the surge just simply over powered my reverse kick.

It would never had happened of I had not allowed my proximity to the reef to get too close, and I've since learned to keep my distance. I rarely swap out my WAL for my Macro lens anymore as I found that macro photography tends to get me too close in on the reef, and after that one incident, I made the decision not to shoot macro unless it is in dead calm conditions.

In fact, I'm one of THOSE divers who has no issue calling out a toucher/grabbite after a dive. While diving in Curacao's Mushroom Forest, I watched as one fool decided to play with a conch. Unfortunately for this idiot, that conch was sitting in a small sand bowl surrounded by a fairly healthy fire coral grove. Well it didn't take long for this guy, who was bare handed and couldn't control his buoyancy worth a crap, to get a good lashing.

Back on the boat, he was in some pain and the DM tried to help him out. I have to admit I felt no sympathy for the fool whatsoever. People like that make it all the harder for me to dive with charters because they take one look at my gloves and freak out.

Oh well such is my life.

Thanks all for the info you supplied. I’ve got some reading to do. Please keep the suggestions coming...all advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[ecologic diver]

hi storm , i was just having a look at how this thread was going. as i dive shop owner (ecologic divers) i get to see alot of this kinda a thing. The dive masters that work here are the best and will protect the reef at all costs, saying that , you have a medical problem so you would be ok , and for your wife th guys would keep a tight eye on her as it is a big problem here. the best solution is to dive with the guys and let them check you out in the water , on the flip side they will not think twice to remove a diver that is doing damage to the reef. i believe gaz coverd all your outher points and if you need a hand or have any more questions about ambergris you can mail me at ian@ecologicdivers.com

thanks
ian

 

[Storm]

Thanks Ian. Will do.

BTW I hpe I didn't sound to brash it's just I find it easier to get the parameters out of the way first..I find it saves a lot of time and exxecive back and forth. I'm used to the whole "Glove" issue and have found that it usualy takes one check out dive (which we do upon arrival anyway as you never know what had happened to your gear during tansit) to settle the apprehensions of the local staff. After that most have pretty well left us to ourselves.

In all honesty the last time, Curacao, the staff didn't even get into the water with us. They stood by took one look at the BP/Wing, long hose set up, safety gear, camera and strobes, and watched the team methodology that we used when gearing up, smiled and walked away.

I'm not saying we are pros, or ultimate divers, but it becomes apparent fairly quickly that we are not the typical vacation diver who oly hit the water one or twice every three or four years.

BTW I did not hea anyone mentioning the cost/avaiability of Nitrox. I am assuming that, given the number of divers who hit the area, there must be shops with Nitrox avaiable. For those shops that DO have Nitrox avaiable, are they pretty well the basic 32% or do they blend to request?

 

[ecologic diver]

hi there ,
nitrox is not a problem we can blend what ever mix you would like. we charge 12$ per tank.

thanks
ian

 

[tarponchik]

On land, I would recommend a trip to Barton Creak/Maya ruins and Belize zoo. You can book a tour with Discovery Expeditions who provide excellent tour guides. Folks who did cave tubing 2 weeks ago told us it totally sucked: the water was low, the current was zero, so they just froze their butts in cold water. But this could be seasonal, of course.

 

[Storm]

Hey folks.

Sorry not keeping up with my post, but work and life has been getting in the way of my trip planning.

Now that we are getting closer to the date and we've hammered out a bit of a budget, here's what I'm thinking are the basics to start off with. These are all still in the planniing stages so advice/warnings etc are greatly appreciated.

Getting there..
Dec 27
Flight Toronto to Belize International (one stop Miami)

Island hopper from Belize City to Ambergris Caye
- need to find out how/where to connect a good air hopper service from airport.
- need to pick a hotel/resort for this leg
- need to pick a dive op for this leg of the trip
- hopefully their schedule has good dive spots for that week. (not really interested in the Blue Hole but will keep in on the list for the time being)
- need to find a great place for News Year's Eve

Jan 3 -Jan 13 - I really need to figure out the itineary for this part of the trip including accomodations in San Ignacio (ATM) , Tikal and Lamanai
So far...
Island Hopper from Ambergris back to Belize International
- Pick up rental
Drive to San Ignacio
- ATM is on the list if MUST DOs
- like the idea of Tikal but pehaps I need to retkink the order of this and fly out from Belize City to Flores and Return before picking of the rental and headng out to San Ignacio
- After Tikal, and the ATM, I was thnkng of Lamanai, but again the online maps are note very helpful and they don't tell me alot abot the travel times

So oibvioulsy I've goit a lot more fleshing in to do..

Suggestions??

Thanks again for your help.

 

[peterbj7]

A few tips. From the International Airport, once you've cleared formalities go through the door at the end of the hall and turn left. That takes you into the domestic departures hall. Directly opposite you will be Tropic Air's desk, and I recommend you pre-book with them. There's nothing wrong with Maya Island Air, the alternative )and indeed they may be a bit cheaper), but if your international flight is delayed (and they know you're coming) Tropic will move heaven and earth to get you to San Pedro, even putting on special planes if required and flying well after dark (normal flights are daytime only). Maya won't do any of this, and their departure times are a bit hit-and-miss anyway.

As your gear is not the normal rec gear you'll be better off with a dive center that's comfortable with such gear. I'm sure Ecologic will be one of those, and so will AquaDives (who have the only technical compressor gear on the island) and Island Divers (small but very flexible). And also Patojo's Dive Center.

I mention Patojo's in particular as they are the only resort here with their own in situ dive center. The whole resort is in traditional San Pedro style and is run by locals. They offer very attractive package prices, and they are putting up an advanced dive group around that time - the fourth stay at Patojo's by that group. PM me and I can give you more specifics. The hotel is technically known as "The Tides".

Otherwise you will be looking for an hotel, and at that time of year I suggest you decide and book soon. You can get useful information from Belize Lodging Guide, Resorts, Hotels, Accommodations, Reservations, Rooms in Belize .

I have some ideas about accommodation inland but I don't really know enough about it to offer specific recommendations. Just a few comments though. Think out your transport needs carefully, as rental cars here are extremely expensive and you don't want to leave one standing for days on end. And other than a few main roads our roads are pretty poor, so you may prefer to be driven. Once you've decided on an inland resort you may find they can offer you a transfer service, or hook you up with one, and once in the Cayo area you may well find you want to take organised trips or taxis. In any case, I don't think you'll be allowed to take a Belizean rental car into Guatemala.

The ATM trip is indeed a "must do" - make sure you bring shoes with solid toecaps that you don't mind immersing in water for a day. Book that with a local tour operator in San Ignacio. Lamanai is a good set of ruins to visit, though more easily from San Pedro or Belize City rather than Cayo.

But if you've been to Tikal you won't want to visit Lamanai. I would suggest while staying in/near San Ignacio you visit Xunantunich (a short taxi ride away and a half day trip) and perhaps Cahal Pech (also a short taxi ride away - much older and intrinsically more interesting than Xunantunich but way less excavated). Actually, the Cahal Pech Hotel would be a great place to stay - moderately priced, on a hill overlooking the valley that contains San Ignacio, and right next to the ruins. In fact built over part of them before people realised how extensive the ruins were.

A fascinating day trip is to go on an organised trip to Caracol, in its day the most important Mayan settlement in the region and one of the most important anywhere in the Mayan empire. That trip needs to be organised and is generally conducted in an armed convoy, because of occasional raids across the nearby border by Guatemalan bandits. Well worth the small risk though.

There is a danger you may end up all "ruined out". There are other activities available in the area, such as horse trekking and mountain biking.

You will have no difficulty filling your few days in the area. If you go to the Astrum Helicopters website you will find a video of a typical aerial tour they run, and if the budget extends to it you might find it a fascinating way to get an overview of the country.

There are lots of expensive mountain lodges in the Cayo area, and you would thoroughly enjoy any of them. But if you don't want to spend that sort of money you can still have a great experience on a far smaller budget, and dare I say that by being a bit closer to the local people you might actually have a more memorable trip.