Disappointed in Belize

[ScubaJill]

I didn't do a liveaboard, but I stayed at Huracan last year and saw liveaboards near where we were diving. Sea life was scarce.

 

[USdiver1]

Belize is kind of like the USA, the further south you go, the better life gets.

 

[Ayisha]

Speaking of Huracan, anything to add, @Stoo ?

 

[Stoo]

Speaking of Huracan, anything to add, @Stoo ?

Sorry... wasn't paying attention!

I was last at AC maybe 24 years ago. I wasn't impressed with it then. The reefs were all the same and I don't recall being impressed at all.

As others have mentioned, the best diving in my experience is in the outer cayes, at Turneffe and Lighhouse Atolls. Don't tell anyone, but Mrs Stoo and I have travelled there for nine consecutive years.

The liveaboards spend most of the their week in these two areas. That speaks columns... I may be wrong, but I don't think that they go anywhere near Ambergris.

If anyone wants to get an idea of the diving, this is a link to my FB gallery from March. Most of the "warm water" galleries on my website are from Lighthouse and Turneffe Atolls.

Images from Warmer Latitudes - wetspot
https://www.facebook.com/stuart.seldon/media_set?set=a.10155373393424505.1073741927.632159504&type=3

 

[Stoo]

I didn't do a liveaboard, but I stayed at Huracan last year and saw liveaboards near where we were diving. Sea life was scarce.

That's surprising...

 

[Damselfish]

As others have mentioned, the best diving in my experience is in the outer cayes, at Turneffe and Lighhouse Atolls. Don't tell anyone, but Mrs Stoo and I have travelled there for nine consecutive years.

The liveaboards spend most of the their week in these two areas. That speaks columns... I may be wrong, but I don't think that they go anywhere near Ambergris.

I've been on the Sun Dancer - now Belize Aggressor IV - 3 times. It goes nowhere near AC, and the BA III tends to be in sight often enough. (We did do one special trip that was a southern Belize itinerary, which we cut short on and went to Lighthouse. I have yet to even dive Turneffe, have always been told either Lighthouse is better, or the currents at the Turneffe sites you'd really want to do ruled it out since these boats are set up to dive from the mothership.)

The thing I remember most from these trips is the big schools of large fish that tended to gather under the boat towards night, like a huge swirling fishy rodeo. Hopefully that hasn't changed.

 

[Stoo]

Turneffe has some specatcular dives like The Elbow, but it's less welcoming to divers I find. Many of the reefs start "deeper"... 45' - 50' you as the days progress you develop a whack of residual nitrogen, and nitrox really helps

 

[KeithG]

Sorry... wasn't paying attention!

I was last at AC maybe 24 years ago. I wasn't impressed with it then. The reefs were all the same and I don't recall being impressed at all.

As others have mentioned, the best diving in my experience is in the outer cayes, at Turneffe and Lighhouse Atolls. Don't tell anyone, but Mrs Stoo and I have travelled there for nine consecutive years.

The liveaboards spend most of the their week in these two areas. That speaks columns... I may be wrong, but I don't think that they go anywhere near Ambergris.

If anyone wants to get an idea of the diving, this is a link to my FB gallery from March. Most of the "warm water" galleries on my website are from Lighthouse and Turneffe Atolls.

Images from Warmer Latitudes - wetspot
https://www.facebook.com/stuart.seldon/media_set?set=a.10155373393424505.1073741927.632159504&type=3

The LOBS spend all of their time on Half Moon and Long Cate. They do a pair of Friday morning dives at the south end of tourneffe. These are the poorest dives of the week. The first dive is so early that the light is bad.

 

[morey000]

Hah. I shouldn't have read this thread. I'm going to be on Ambergris tomorrow. Guess I'm going to find out what you're all talking about. My normal dive spot is in the Sea of Cortez. No coral, but pretty good biomass. Especially if you include the friendly Sea Lions.

 

[AZNetEng]

I've been on the Sun Dancer - now Belize Aggressor IV - 3 times. It goes nowhere near AC, and the BA III tends to be in sight often enough. (We did do one special trip that was a southern Belize itinerary, which we cut short on and went to Lighthouse. I have yet to even dive Turneffe, have always been told either Lighthouse is better, or the currents at the Turneffe sites you'd really want to do ruled it out since these boats are set up to dive from the mothership.)

The thing I remember most from these trips is the big schools of large fish that tended to gather under the boat towards night, like a huge swirling fishy rodeo. Hopefully that hasn't changed.

It hasnt! Huge schools of fish and alot of Tarpon around the boat and the divers on the night dives. We did BA III last week and saw tons of fish at every dive spot. There was one spot that the reef was pretty unpopulated and we did the Friday AM dive there, then actually sailed back to a better spot for the last dive of the week.