Favorite place to dive in Central America and South America

[seawolf7]

Roatan and Utila are both nice. Belize is nice as well. Costa Rica was probably the best diving I have ever done if you don't mind not having clear water. As far as price, you can stay anywhere cheap if you are willing.

Cool what is the marine life in Costa Rica like? Heh, non clear water as in 2m visibility?

hopefulist: Belize sounds beautiful. Affordable accomodation is also good.

What is the length of the ideal average dive trip in places like Belize and Honduras in terms of number of days and number of dives per day?

 

[buceadora]

We stayed at http://www.glovers.com.bz , Glover's Atoll Resort. It's the budget traveler's access to Glover's Atoll - $100-$250 per person per week for the 40 mile boat trip out and back and accommodations ranging from camping to beach and over-the-water cabañas. You can buy meals or cook for yourself, facilities provided. Definitely NOT a "resort" - no running water, no electricity, pretty much like camping even with a cabaña, so not for everyone (but heaven for us!); I got my Open Water Certification there. In addition to Isla Marisol mentioned above and Glover's Atoll Resort you could also check out the Manta Resort: http://world.altavista.com/tr (all on separate islands). Happy trails!

Thnks hopefulist & jaydub for the suggestions. I would love the camping, but my boyfriend is a bit prissy about things like running water and electricity. Go figure, at least he loves diving as much as I do.

 

[buceadora]

By the way, back to the topic of the post, from my limited experiences in diving in central america, including Utila, Caye Caulker, and Roatan, Roatan was my favorite.

 

[Diver Lori]

In Central America I have dived Costa Rica (Pacific Coast), Belize (Turneffe Atoll) and Roatan. Costa Rica was by far the best, Belize coming in a close second. As far as Roatan is concerned, I would prefer going someplace I haven't been yet, or someplace I have that's superior. I found Roatan lacking.

 

[puravida02]

I live in Costa Rica and so I dive our North Pacific for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, I have been to Belize, Utila, Roatan and Bonnarie. I think each place has its own magic. Honestly, I would repeat any of those places anytime. I think that Roatan and Belize are somewhat similar in terms of reef health, viz, life, etc. Belize IMHO is a bit more pricey. Utila, very relaxed diving, more affordable, more laid back; I liked it very much. Bonnaire, if you want a lazy vacation and enjoy shore diving, this is the place to go. Also, I love going to Bocas del Toro, Panama, on the Caribbean coast. Diving is not world class; but the place is fun, very affordable, perfect for beginners or when you just want to do easy, shallow, no-current, warm water dives.

Finally, I definitely love the surprise factor that diving in our low-viz Pacific waters has. Every dive, even in the same place one dive after another, is different. Big marine life, plenty of fish, etc.