Diving in Belize August good idea or not?

[Hank49]

June is good for me. I'm always here. I have 4 tanks.
I really like the overnight deal on your boat Ralph. I'll put in gas (diesel?) and can get all the ice we need here at the farm.
We could do Turneffe....Glovers....unreal.
Do you have a compressor onboard?
Man Downing....you should just move here. haha.

 

[Downing]

Two issues with moving there:

1. I would need a job; and
2. My wife would refuse to come with me.

But if I could resolve the first issue, then I'd really miss her.

 

[Hank49]

Well, let's hook up this time when you come for sure. It's easy to get to Placencia now. The road from the Southern Hwy to Placencia village is the finest road, by far, in the country. Paved all the way with lights on perimeter and center line.
Good luck on finding whale sharks. I've seen them there once and one time off of San Pedro. I pulled up to one outside the reef. It swam by my boat as I was looking over the side admiring the visibility.
But I'm actually more interested in what brings the whale sharks in.

 

[Downing]

Well, if we don't find a Whale Shark that will be a good reason to return.

Yet again.

(As if I really need another reason.)

 

[robdog]

Hi Craig . I dive in Akumal quite a bit . It is only a few hours drive to Belize . It's way too hot in Aug and the bugs (biting flies ), are horrible. I can get rooms in sept very cheap but it's not worth it. Hurricanes come in Oct normally.

 

[Hank49]

Hi Craig . I dive in Akumal quite a bit . It is only a few hours drive to Belize . It's way too hot in Aug and the bugs (biting flies ), are horrible. I can get rooms in sept very cheap but it's not worth it. Hurricanes come in Oct normally.

It's no hotter here than it is in Ohio in Aug.
The sand flies come in waves. It's been cool here for the last two months and they're as bad as ever. It's more related to wind and time of day, dawn being the worst time, than temperature.
It's a trade off. Come during howling trades winds and there's no sand flies but you'll take a beating on the long boatrides. Come when it's really calm and they're bad....but the water is glassy.
I'll take glassy conditions anytime.

 

[Riddim]

I'm a bit late to the thread but I'm trying to organize a trip to Belize for this September, 8th to the 14th about, and was wondering if the hurricanes will wreck any possibility to diving or even just enjoying my stay in the country. Is visibility negatively influenced or are the rains so bad to the point of canceling trips? Thanks!

 

[Damselfish]

Where in Belize are you going? The weather does vary some depending where in the country you are.

Hurricanes, well it depends if there is one or not. You'll be there near the peak of hurricane season but that doesn't mean for sure you will be affected by a hurricane in any way. Your guess is as good as mine. As far as viz, that will vary too - if you were say on one of the atolls, there's not enough land that I think runoff is a problem. Not sure about Ambergris. An actual hurricane even before you get there would probably stir things up more.

FWIW, one time I was there was around late July or early August. We lucked out with great weather, but they said it had poured the entire week before. That was a liveaboard, and it didn't actually stop them from diving, but would have been a drag. We then headed inland for a week, and the rains still affected river levels, so we had to juggle plans for various excursions.

Early September wouldn't be my first choice of timing, but it could turn out to be beautiful. Trip insurance might be a good idea.

 

[Riddim]

Thanks Damselfish! I think we decided to go to Cancun/Playa del Carmen/Cozumel instead since airfare is more affordable. I've been there before but didn't get to dive. I'll save Belize for another trip in the future!

 

[craigY]

Thanks Damselfish! I think we decided to go to Cancun/Playa del Carmen/Cozumel instead since airfare is more affordable. I've been there before but didn't get to dive. I'll save Belize for another trip in the future!

The one nice thing about Cancun is that if the ports are closed you can dive in the cenotes, I highly recommend the pit. I used scorpio divers and Jorge was awesome Scuba Diving | Scorpio Divers | The Best Scuba Diving Operation

happy diving