Dive shop for newer diver

[Tamfar]

I am planning to go to Ambergris Caye in July and am staying at Xanadu resort. There will be 3 of us staying. I booked the diver's dream package with the resort but am wondering if I should book with a local dive shop instead? There will be 3 of us diving together. I just came home from diving in Cozumel and we had few people on our boat and 1 dive master to 5 or less of us. The boat also has a bathroom on it. Are there any dive shops that offer this type of service? Small group and a little bit larger boat with a bathroom? The driver of the boat in Cozumel also drove pretty slow which was nice. I have to take Dramamine when boating/diving but it's worth it.

Anyway, thank you for suggestions!

 

[Downing]

Hey Tamfar, although I've been all over Belize, AC is one of the few places left I haven't been so I'll let others answer your questions.

I just wanted to say Welcome to ScubaBoard in general and the Belize board in particular.

Keep in mind that we were all brand new divers once, so don't let your ego get the better of you. Just be upfront with your dive shop about your experience level. A good dive shop will go out of their way to take care of you and to not put you in a situation where you're out of your comfort zone. If it doesn't, move on.

Have fun!

 

[nodakdive]

I've haven't stayed at Xanadu, but I have stayed at Ramon's. Check with Xanadu, but I'd be very surprised if they don't come back to the resort between dives. I didn't see the exact location, but their website does describe dive sites as being 10 minutes from the resort, which is about what it was at Ramon's, and we came back to the resort between dives. Anyhow, boat rides won't be long with the exception of the Blue Hole diving. Also ask Xanadu about boat size and heads, which I suspect their boats don't have with the exception of the boat for the Blue Hole trip which appears to be included in your package.

 

[Tamfar]

Thank you Nodakdive for responding. That clears it up for me and I'm really glad they go back to the resort. I was worried because I wear a full wet suit and I don't pee in them. haha. That is definitely a difference from Cozumel where we drove a long way to get to our dive sites so we stayed on the boat for about 4 hours. The lady at the resort did say that the boat to the blue hole would be bigger with a bathroom.

 

[nodakdive]

Thank you Nodakdive for responding. That clears it up for me and I'm really glad they go back to the resort. I was worried because I wear a full wet suit and I don't pee in them. haha. That is definitely a difference from Cozumel where we drove a long way to get to our dive sites so we stayed on the boat for about 4 hours. The lady at the resort did say that the boat to the blue hole would be bigger with a bathroom.

I'm not a wetsuit peeer (heh) either. A solution in Cozumel is to go with a shop that does their surface interval on shore. Many do. This is what I do and I also wear plenty of neoprene on top and none on the bottom.