Help - my son is 13 in february and we are diving in Belize on Dec 21

[gkornfeld]

Help...my son and I are newly certified and he will be 13 in February. We have flights to land in Belize on 12/21 and then depart 12/28.

I'm looking for the right dive center that is kid friendly; i need help on a dive agenda and if you have good ideas on a place to stay - that is appreciated.

 

[peterbj7]

Big place, Belize. Where will you be going?

 

[Jorgy]

We have dove (dived??) all over the Caribbean with our then young children, but not Belize specifically......

We never had any issues, just told the dive op that we needed shallower dives and they always accommodated us......

In the end, you just may need to stay a bit above the main group, just watch your depth.......

Do you have wrist computers? It is very easy to monitor depth with them, if you don't own them perhaps you could rent them......

Hope this helps........M

 

[gkornfeld]

We don't know yet. I was assuming Abergris Caye... I wanted to stay where I would be able to get to diving ....and I wasn't 100% sure given I have a 13 year child I might want to stay someone else...

 

[peterbj7]

All the dive centers I know, here on Ambergris Caye and elsewhere, are used to having child divers and I don't think that aspect will give you any problems. I've taken children to the Blue Hole and given them shallower dives which still show them much of what there is to see. I think your focus should be on where you'd like to stay, and then which hotel. AC is quite large with many hotels and dive operators, and can be fairly impersonal. Caye Caulker, 15 miles away, is much smaller, generally rather cheaper, and has a much more "laid back" feel. Fewer dive operators, but at least one very good one. Question is whether you'd find the quieter feel more relaxing or (for your boy) possibly a bit boring.

The other main diving area is Placencia, on the mainland way to the south. I don't know it very well but feel that you'd be better on AC. Or there are some lovely private island resorts (you may see mention of Thatch Caye in these pages) which offer a great deal. Again, a 13-year old might find them a bit too quiet, but it depends on the 13-year old!

Write back with a bit more info on the sort of place and ambience that might work, an idea of the budget, and I'll recommend further.


I should add that as your visit is over Christmas you need to move fast. Some of the more popular places are undoubtedly full already.

 

[gkornfeld]

Thanks Peter...

Is AC air conditioning....Just to be sure.

I think I want to be in an area that offers diving ...but might also offer other things to do... Like one day we are not diving to go caving or something like that. Our budget is medium...we are not trying to go super low end; we do want air conditioning....but we don't need a resort either...

Thanks for all the help.

Gregg

 

[peterbj7]

In this context "AC" is "Ambergris Caye".

There's certainly more to do on AC than on CC (Caye Caulker), but if you're thinking of mainland trips you probably won't want to be too far from town. A lot depends on just what you do want to do. A
If you haven't already seen Belize Lodging Guide, Resorts, Hotels, Accommodations, Reservations, Rooms in Belize then look at it. Remember that Christmas isn't very far away and anywhere offering good value at a medium price point is likely to be in high demand and hence already full. But this year in particular visitor numbers are down because of the recession so you may still find some bargains.

At that time of the year you may not miss air conditioning - I'm not using mine at present.

 

[Thatch Caye Belize]

Thatch can accomodate kids of all ages for diving. You will not need air conditioning because the air during December is always in the low 70s and high 60s at night. Unless you set your ac at 60 degrees, ac should probably not be necessary. Thatch does caves and Mayan ruin tours included in their packages as well.

 

[DandyDon]

We had a child on a group trip to AC several years ago that the Operator (Op) we used did not have any smaller tanks. Poor kid had a full 80 leaning off to the side on every dive. That was the worst Op I've ever seen, but I understand they have improved substantially. If you child is smaller, I hope you can find an Op with 65 cf tanks.

We don't know yet. I was assuming Abergris Caye... I wanted to stay where I would be able to get to diving ....and I wasn't 100% sure given I have a 13 year child I might want to stay someone else...

Belize City is not a place to go wandering you know. We flew from BC airport to AC on local shuttles. Ensure that you coordinate safe transfer plans with your final arrangements, ASAP.

 

[Eau_Girl]

Hi there,

I spent a week at Turneffe Island Lodge in April 2005. It was sort of a liveaboard on land in the sense that you are only 5-10 minutes from dive sites (except the Blue Hole day -- you can snorkel at the Blue Hole and then dive the other sites later that day).

In the group on my dive boat, we had an 11 year old boy who had recently certified. Most dives were gentle drift dives. He and his grandmother (also fairly newly certified) stayed shallower than the rest of us. His parents kept an eye on both of them, but dove a bit deeper. The guides were good at accomodating, but he was a good diver and didn't have any problems.