Belize vs Hawaii

[mcohen1021]

If I could turn the clock back and do it all over again….

I would not have dived Belize out of Ambergris, but from a liveaboard. The diving around Ambergris is good. Very good. But do you want to spend $4500 for a week to get 2 dives per day and see all of the sites that are close by and dove so much the animals are ‘trained’ or not there? That’s what you can expect out of land based Belize scuba.

Check out the route map on the Aggressor:

This remote map IMO would provide you the best value, especially if you could plan to do it on a 25% off sale they typically have.

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With Hawaii, Maui is a wonderful island and not everything is based on Scuba. I have not dived the rest of the islands. But the diving at Molokini Crater is awesome, especially the backside. Also, Lahaina Divers can take you to see the schooling hammerheads in Molokai.

Between the two, hard to compare bc the types of fish you see are so different.

I’d at this time pick the Belize Aggressor III on a 25% off sale. Tomorrow I might pick Maui.

 

[TalyonUngol]

So, the trip would be around Christmas. I wont give exact dates, but lets say middle of December. We're looking at cost effeciency, diving, and other activities.

Would it be too expensive to take a boat from one of the islands to the mainland for a day or would it be better to find a hotel on the mainland for a day or two to fit in activities? We're looking at a 7-10 day vacation.

Cost is one of the bigger factors for the trip, as we believe Belize is much cheaper than Hawaii, so it'll be easier to fit in more days instead of doing shorter days in Hawaii. That being said, we know that we could camp in Hawaii, like on the beaches and such, so the cost would go down for our stay in Hawaii if we did that.

It's a hard choice. From what I gather, diving in Belize is better, but its hard to fit in other activities, while Hawaii has a bigger selection of activities, but 'weaker' dives. Not saying they are bad though.

It would be easier for us to hike and camp in Hawaii, versus more than likely constant hotels in Belize.

Is that a good sum up?

 

[mcohen1021]

So, the trip would be around Christmas. I wont give exact dates, but lets say middle of December. We're looking at cost effeciency, diving, and other activities.

Would it be too expensive to take a boat from one of the islands to the mainland for a day or would it be better to find a hotel on the mainland for a day or two to fit in activities? We're looking at a 7-10 day vacation.

Cost is one of the bigger factors for the trip, as we believe Belize is much cheaper than Hawaii, so it'll be easier to fit in more days instead of doing shorter days in Hawaii. That being said, we know that we could camp in Hawaii, like on the beaches and such, so the cost would go down for our stay in Hawaii if we did that.

It's a hard choice. From what I gather, diving in Belize is better, but its hard to fit in other activities, while Hawaii has a bigger selection of activities, but 'weaker' dives. Not saying they are bad though.

It would be easier for us to hike and camp in Hawaii, versus more than likely constant hotels in Belize.

Is that a good sum up?

Your quickie answer, i have to run.... I have a man date with my buddies and our waterskis...

it depends on how you like to travel. if u want a hotel in Wialea, you'll get raped.

1. I rented a really nice condo in Maui for 11/10 a few years ago for about 1400 out the door. Scuba was about 140-150/day for 2 dives. I cooked in the condo and we drank our own stuff. We had a few dinners out. We flew on FF miles from DFW. I would guess we spent about the same in Maui as we did on Belieze, but we had free airfare.

2. Belize - boat ride from key caulker or ambergris is 90 min one way. triup to the outer reefs/blue hole is 3 hrs. So this is why you'd be basically stuck doing local Ambergris scuba if land based. For Ambergris - look up Capn rons - or google search ched cebral or on FB. they are are great.

There's not a liveaboard sale for ambergris right now, so unless you postpone, or have the 3300 pp for the belize aggressor, you'll be land based.

 

[Damselfish]

So, the trip would be around Christmas. I wont give exact dates, but lets say middle of December. We're looking at cost effeciency, diving, and other activities.

Would it be too expensive to take a boat from one of the islands to the mainland for a day or would it be better to find a hotel on the mainland for a day or two to fit in activities? We're looking at a 7-10 day vacation.

Cost is one of the bigger factors for the trip, as we believe Belize is much cheaper than Hawaii, so it'll be easier to fit in more days instead of doing shorter days in Hawaii. That being said, we know that we could camp in Hawaii, like on the beaches and such, so the cost would go down for our stay in Hawaii if we did that.

It's a hard choice. From what I gather, diving in Belize is better, but its hard to fit in other activities, while Hawaii has a bigger selection of activities, but 'weaker' dives. Not saying they are bad though.

It would be easier for us to hike and camp in Hawaii, versus more than likely constant hotels in Belize.

The water is generally cooler in Hawaii than Belize. December in Hawaii the water may or may not be as warm as you'd prefer, and require more exposure protection. You're getting into winter weather patterns. ALTHOUGH, maybe the water won't be as cool, as they are talking about warmer water there this year and a possible major coral bleaching event...) Things to consider.

Shore diving is a possibility at certain locations in Hawaii. You might be able to do some guided shore diving that will be less expensive than boat diving. Belize boat diving will be somewhat cheaper, but you won't be shore diving there.

The thing about going back to mainland Belize is, you're not just going back to the mainland. You then need to head inland a distance to the jungle for most stuff. So I think it's better to go stay near the things you want to do for a few days. Even when you're staying in the area a lot of things can be full day excursions. I suppose you could stay in Belize City, but that will probably cost more (at least to stay someplace safe), and make any excursions cost more and take longer, and Belize City just isn't a place you want to stay. You can find places around San Ignatio for reasonable prices, and cheap tasty local food.

Belize may be less expensive than Hawaii, but sometimes people are surprised at how expensive Belize can be. But like most places you can find ways to do either reasonably. You really need to rough out trips with the things you want to do, including airfare and everything else, figure out the bottom line and see what works for you.

I think I've done 3-ish trips each place. When diving in Hawaii, I miss the soft corals and colors typical of the Caribbean, it really has a different look. However, I have distinct memories of many more specific dives in Hawaii than Belize, due to unique scenery or animal encounters.

I do think the suggestion of Roatan is a good one and something you might want to consider (or Utila, though that requires an extra local flight or ferry.)

 

[BoltSnap]

I have done both from a Liveaboard and land based, I'll never go back to Belize (not that it was bad but it is a spot on a check list only for me) but Hawaii most definitely go back and even live and dive there. The only draw back to Hawaii is that it is probably more expensive and takes longer to get there. I did a liveaboard out of Kona, Aggressor, and land based out of Maui. Diving is fantastic out of both. It gets colder in winter and you'll need a heavier wet/drysuit there during winter. Maui is tops for things to do on land in addition to the great diving and awesome marine life. It is heaven on earth!!

 

[chillyinCanada]

Why not put Grenada on your list? It has everything you want and more.

 

[BoltSnap]

Why not put Grenada on your list? It has everything you want and more.

Does it have great diving with easy access and professional dive operations?

 

[Steelyeyes]

I've been diving off of pretty much the whole Hawaiian chain from Ni'ihau to the Big Island. My wife and I spent a week each on Caye Caulker and Grenada. Most of our diving from Caulker was with BDS and we did all but two dives on Turneffe. We did two right off of Ambergris, the blue hole, and Half Moon Caye. Honestly to me a it's a toss up. The best dives of my life (exclusive of Indonesia) Were Ni'ihau, Honokohau Harbor beach dive (saw a decent sized tiger shark about 20 feet away), Half Moon Caye (both dives, reef sharks, lots of turtles and stingrays) and the M/V Shakum and Bianca C wrecks. The first and last two on the list aren't for new divers though. Every place has it charms, except for cold water for me any more. It might take the opportunity to collect a brick of gold to get me in that drysuit again.

 

[Steelyeyes]

Does it have great diving with easy access and professional dive operations?

Yes, several. We used Dive Grenada at the end of the Grande Anse beach. We stayed across the road at the Hotel Flamboyant (named after a type of tree). Phil the owner (at least at the time) is an ex British Navy Diver and very professional.

 

[ibj40]

To the OP - I've done Belize three different ways, all seven day events.

First time (least recommended) went straight to Ambergris, and did a couple of mainland day trips to inland venues (long, exhausting days, with little time to rest for next day diving)

Second time (dive intensive) went straight to Turneffe Flats Resort (not Turneffe Island Resort), did three tanks every day and on the last day, with a little bit of time, went to the Belize Zoo before heading to the airport.

Third time (documented in link above and recommended) went to Tikal, Guatemala from Belize City for an overnight, and the back to Belize City to fly to Ambergris.

Belize is an extraordinary destination, and exposes you to one of the broadest ranges of vacation activities that you can find.