Expensive???

[Saniflush]

@KathyV thank you for thinking about that and I did casually look into it. Unfortunately we are going with another couple that does not dive and they need more things to do other than just what the dive boat would offer. They suck at life and I make a point of telling them this regularly, however I still like them.

 

[KathyV]

@KathyV thank you for thinking about that and I did casually look into it. Unfortunately we are going with another couple that does not dive and they need more things to do other than just what the dive boat would offer. They suck at life and I make a point of telling them this regularly, however I still like them.

I understand, we've only done a LOB trip to Belize and also one Ambergris Caye trip and they've been awhile; and we haven't been to Placencia at all so others will be able to advise you.

But if you are looking for less expensive lodgings and the opportunity to dive but also enjoy topside activities then you may also want to look at Ambergris Caye, but you will need a small, local connecting flight to get there. I don't think that Ambergris is the best diving in Belize, but it's nice destination and there are lots of other amenities and attractions to enjoy.

I think that people generally assume that Belize well be as inexpensive as Mexico or Roatan, but our experiences were that it is not an especially cheap destination.

 

[KeithG]

@Saniflush I know that you are thinking about next April, but if you are interested the Aggressor still has their 35% off special going for one more day. You have to book by August 15 and travel by the end of the year. I don't know if they still have space on either of the Belize Aggressors - but it may be worth considering - because that is probably the cheapest price they will offer this year. I believe that you fly into Belize City and board the boat at the harbor.

The LOBs are in Belize City and simply require a land transfer from the airport. Both of the Aggressors dock by the Radisson Fort George Hotel - it is not a harbour, just a dock (and the new all cement dock is quite spiffy!) - I am unsure where the Belize City harbour is - or if one even exists? The cruise ship tenders and water taxis dock around the corner from the Radisson in a tourist trap mecca.

The biggest issue with any dive trip to Belize is that you always still need some sort of "in country connection" to get where you are going from the Belize City airport as there is NO diving near Belize City. The LOBs have the simplest connection: airport to Radisson via shuttle or taxi.

All other places require another plane flight or a transfer boat or both. On our last trip a bunch of weeks ago we arrived a day early and wandered by the water taxi dock. I think they were going to Ambergris Key. The boat was jammed to the rafters with people hanging on all over the place, many with no shade or splash protection. Not a water taxi my divebuddy would take.

We have only done LOB in Belize. It is the simplest connection. We did arrive a day late once due to a storm at home and used a very expensive water taxi to catch up to our LOB. This is why we pay for trip insurance.

 

[KeithG]

...
But if you are looking for less expensive lodgings and the opportunity to dive but also enjoy topside activities then you may also want to look at Ambergris Caye, but you will need a small, local connecting flight to get there. I don't think that Ambergris is the best diving in Belize, but it's nice destination and there are lots of other amenities and attractions to enjoy.
...

This is my impression as well. AC is for people who want to do a bit of diving while on vacation as opposed to people who want to go on a diving vacation. We have never been there so I could be wrong...

I have a "non diving" friend that has been to Turneffe multiple times and does a week "full" of DSDs. He loves it. He sees no reason to get certified or buy gear...

In the last few years we visited Jamaica (Mo Bay) and Bahamas (Paradise Island) on corporate boondoggles and both times we left our scuba gear at home as we thought we would be highly disappointed. We have an upcoming destination wedding in the DR and we will take masks and snorkels only...Maybe we are snobs?

 

[KathyV]

The LOBs are in Belize City and simply require a land transfer from the airport. Both of the Aggressors dock by the Radisson Fort George Hotel - it is not a harbour, just a dock (and the new all cement dock is quite spiffy!) - I am unsure where the Belize City harbour is - or if one even exists? The cruise ship tenders and water taxis dock around the corner from the Radisson in a tourist trap mecca.

The biggest issue with any dive trip to Belize is that you always still need some sort of "in country connection" to get where you are going from the Belize City airport as there is NO diving near Belize City. The LOBs have the simplest connection: airport to Radisson via shuttle or taxi.

All other places require another plane flight or a transfer boat or both. On our last trip a bunch of weeks ago we arrived a day early and wandered by the water taxi dock. I think they were going to Ambergris Key. The boat was jammed to the rafters with people hanging on all over the place, many with no shade or splash protection. Not a water taxi my divebuddy would take.

We have only done LOB in Belize. It is the simplest connection. We did arrive a day late once due to a storm at home and used a very expensive water taxi to catch up to our LOB. This is why we pay for trip insurance.

The only Belize LOB we did was a long time ago, the Nekton which is now out of business; but I am sure that we departed from the Port of Belize in Belize City. It was a harbor but maybe not a deep water harbor. The area around the hotel and docks was rather scary and we didn't venture far. We did one escorted bus excursion to the ruins before we boarded. The LOB diving was very good.

Our other trip was to Ambergris Caye and we flew into Belize City and then took a small plane to AC. We felt very safe on AC (except from the mosquitos that were ravenous!) but we enjoyed visiting the island. The diving wasn't as good as our LOB trip, but it was very nice. We've looked into going back to Belize several times over the years but haven't made it back yet.

As I said, I never felt that Belize was especially inexpensive unless perhaps you find a good special and/or travel during off season. Also, the CDC recommends food and water precautions in Belize and advises typhoid and hepatitis vaccines for travelers to Belize, so that all adds to the expense. They also recommend mosquito avoidance.

Ambergris key has a desalination plant so the water is safe to drink, I don't know about other tourist destinations like Placencia.

 

[KeithG]

The only Belize LOB we did was a long time ago, the Nekton which is now out of business; but I am sure that we departed from the Port of Belize in Belize City - the area around the hotel and docks was a bit scary and we didn't venture far. We did one bus excursion to the ruins before we boarded. The LOB diving was very good....

"Long time ago" - how many decades?

I was unaware (or have forgotten) that a Nekton did Belize. Although I have some very foggy memories that I actually saw one once, somewhere? If your google-foo is very good you can find pics of them rotting in some creek somewhere in FLA?

I feel old when we tell people that our first Belize LOB was several trips on the Wave Dancer (one with Peter himself - very nice person!). I remember in those days that everyone told us that Belize City was "dangerous" and we should hide in our hotel (the Radisson). We have become much more adventurous lately and will wander Belize City about like stupid tourists if we are a day early. Maybe our trip to Port Moresby in PNG where the hotel was surrounded by tall walls topped with razor wire and we heard gun fire all night has made us less scared?

Anyway, the area around the Radisson is no longer scary at all. The nearby Memorial Park has 2 great food stops: an all day breakfast place and a BBQ spot. We were very happy with both.

 

[KeithG]

...Also, the CDC recommends food and water precautions in Belize and advises typhoid and hepatitis vaccines for travelers to Belize, so that all adds to the expense. They also recommend mosquito avoidance...

I claim it would be interesting to have a website out there that could provide some common sense interpretation of the various CDC (and others) warnings for us mere mortals so that we did not all stay at home and hide in our closets. Note that I am not trying to pick on you, but on the scaremongers.

Because please DO NOT travel to the great white north since you will get some sort of terrible disease from our deer, or our ticks, I am not sure which - but only if you go golfing, hunting, camping, fishing or hiking: apparently shopping is totally fine! Risk of Lyme disease to Canadians - Canada.ca

P.S. mosquito avoidance - yep - everywhere...

 

[KathyV]

I claim it would be interesting to have a website out there that could provide some common sense interpretation of the various CDC (and others) warnings for us mere mortals so that we did not all stay at home and hide in our closets. Note that I am not trying to pick on you, but on the scaremongers.

Because please DO NOT travel to the great white north since you will get some sort of terrible disease from our deer, or our ticks, I am not sure which - but only if you go golfing, hunting, camping, fishing or hiking: apparently shopping is totally fine! Risk of Lyme disease to Canadians - Canada.ca

P.S. mosquito avoidance - yep - everywhere...

I have traveled to many areas of the world and risked the dangers of infection, but I do like to know the risks in advance and take precautions as much as feasible. My husband takes a medication that can weaken his immune system and so this is very important to us and perhaps to others as well.

I do feel that young women and couples of child-bearing age should keep the Zika risks and precautions in mind when planning to travel. The risks are small, but the possible consequences are tragic - having a baby with a micro brain, how terrible.

The CDC will always go for the worst-case scenario because what would happen if they said "aw, don't worry about it, the chances are small!" but then some American travelers got very sick or died. There would be a public outcry so of course they err on the side of caution.

I don't jump to embrace every recommendation that CDC makes, but I do try find out about the risks and precautions and make our best decisions. I am always amazed when I hear someone say "we're going to Roatan and plan to take our chances with Malaria!" because that is just not very smart IMO. Malaria is a terrible disease and prevention isn't difficult. The malarial strain that they have in Honduras is not resistant to anti-parasitic agents, so you are unlikely to have any serious side-affects from the preventative drug. So why not take the medicine and play it safe? And of course do your best to prevent mosquito bites because of tropical viruses like Dengue.

No place on earth is risk free, the mosquitos in my back yard could be carrying West Nile Virus right now, and our house and yard back up on a forest district with deer and lyme ticks, so that is also a possibility. Don't spend your life in a cocoon and be afraid to go outside, but just try to be smart about it. That's my opinion anyway.

 

[KeithG]

I have traveled to many areas of the world and risked the dangers of infection, but I do like to know the risks in advance and take precautions as much as feasible. My husband takes a medication that can weaken his immune system and so this is very important to us and perhaps to others as well.

I do feel that young women and couples of child-bearing age should keep the Zika risks and precautions in mind when planning to travel. The risks are small, but the possible consequences are terrible - having a baby with a micro brain, how terrible.

The CDC will always go for the worst-case scenario because what would happen if they said "aw, don't worry about it, the chances are small!" but then some American travelers got very sick or died. There would be a public outcry so of course they err on the side of caution.

I don't jump to embrace every recommendation that CDC makes, but I do try find out about the risks and precautions and make our best decisions. I am always amazed when I hear someone say "we're going to Roatan and plan to take our chances with Malaria!" because that is just not very smart. Malaria is a terrible disease and prevention isn't difficult. The strain that they have in Honduras is not resistant to anti-infective agents, so you are unlikely to have any side-affects from the preventative drug. So why not take the medicine and play it safe? And of course do your best to prevent mosquito bites.

No place on earth is risk free, the mosquitos in my back yard could be carrying West Nile Virus right now, and our house and yard back up on a forest district with deer and lyme ticks, so that is also a possibility. Don't spend your life in a cocoon and be afraid to go outside, but just try to be smart about it. That's my opinion anyway.

So you have spare room in your closet for me to hide in?

 

[Downing]

I've been all over Belize many times, eaten lots of local food and drank lots of local water. No issues. Otoh, I do try to avoid the mosquitos but only rarely have had to resort to bug spray. I probably should get a malaria shot at some point.

The worst bugs I've encountered by far were the sand flies at Turneffe Island Lodge/Resort. Luckily the near constant winds keep them at bay but whenever the wind died down they were out in force and you had to stay inside. The mosquitos at the water hole at Altun Ha were pretty bad, too.

Speaking of the Wave Dancer and Peter Hughes, on my last trip to Belize I tried to check out the harbor at Big Creek to see where the WD capsized in October, 2001. It's a very industrial area that's gated off just as you get to the harbor, so I wasn't able to see it. Seventeen divers, most if not all from the same dive club in Virginia, and three crew members drowned there in the worst recreational diving accident ever.