Help planning Belize trip

[diveloop]

I am going to Belize for about a week and a half. I was looking at Hamanasi down near Hopkins, anyone stayed there? I plan to do half diving, half inland adventures.

I was also wondering if anyone has been to the Great Blue Hole. It looks amazing but I'm afraid that the recreational limits would limit enjoying it to its full extent. I read that the stalactites start at 130 feet so I wouldn't really be able to experience them. Anyone have any input?

Thanks for the help! Anything is appreciated!

 

[Darcey]

I know other divers will argue or disagree with me, but I did the Blue Hole the first week of March thought it was worth it. It's one of those dives that you can say "yeah, I've done that" and it's really neat to dive around the stalagtites and think about the fact that it takes about 100 years for one to grow an inch. Having said that though, I would not do it without having done your deep specialty or advanced open water first. I bumped 144 feet on that dive. Also, you need to have VERY good buoyancy and even though they have a spare tank at the safety stop you still need to have good air consumption as well.

If you don't feel comfortable diving that deep you can always snorkle the Blue Hole and do the two dives afterwards....which are by FAR better than the Blue Hole anyway and you'll be able to go deeper on those dives since you didn't do the Blue Hole dive to 130.

Like I said, the two dives afterwards would make going on the Blue Hole trip more than worth it. I had an absolute BLAST that day and will definitely do the trip again when I return to Belize!

 

[diveloop]

Thanks! I am going through either Hamanasi or Turneffe Flat so I would not be permitted to go past 130 feet in any scenario, but it should still be fun. You reassured me that it's worth the trip though!

Where did you stay when you went and how did you like it?

 

[Darcey]

We stayed on Ambergris Caye at the Blue Tang Inn and L-O-V-E-D it! Nice suites, quite private, close to everything in San Pedro, quiet (well, except for Wednesday nights when Wet Willy's has their ladies night! LOL) and very friendly and helpful staff. Plus, the dive operation we did our diving with was literally right outside the resorts gate.

When we return to Belize, we'll definitely stay either at the Blue Tang or at Tradewinds Paradise Villas which is right next door to the Blue Tang. My boyfriend stayed there his first time to Belize and said that it was very nice as well...and a little cheaper than the Tang.

 

[hopefulist]

Diving the Blue Hole from Hamanasi seems a little iffy to me - too far away. It's at least 50 miles each way which is a lot of time on the water, especially in the afternoon when the conditions sometimes deteriorate. Their website says they need at least 8 divers to make the trip, so unless you're traveling as part of a group you're probably out of luck. Keep us posted!

 

[liv2swim]

I'm going to qualify this by saying I haven't done any dives except my confined water dives so far, however, I've been to Belize five times and snorkeled all over there and loved it. There is so much to see so close to the surface in so many places, it would be hard to have a bad trip there unless the visibility really stunk (which never happened to me, but did happen to a friend of mine.)

I've stayed on Ambergris Caye and on Caye Caulker, both of which were nice. Caye Caulker is cheaper and more laid back (and there is less to do while you're on land.) The last time I went I stayed at The Tree Tops Inn on Caye Caulker which was a great deal for the money.

 

[idive2]

After a quick check it looks like the Blue hole is almost 60 miles
from Hopkins. It's no short ride from San Pedro either which it looks
to be about 50 miles from San Pedro. The barrier reef is about 12
miles from the shore in the area near Hopkins. From Blackbird Caye
in the Turneffe Islands to the Blue Hole is about 18 miles. (these are
just estimates using the scale provided with the map).

 

[peterbj7]

If you're interested in the Hopkins area you should also consider Thatch Caye, which is a private island about nine miles off the coast there. I've been to the Blue Hole from there (actually we didn't go into the Hole as no-one wanted to do it, but we dived Lighthouse Reef nearby). I forget exactly how long it took but it was (I think) less than two hours, and on that day was a pleasant trip. There was no question of a minimum of 8 divers - I think we only had three or four paying guests. And TCR is much closer to the reef for daily dives. Getting to the mainland is no problem either, as they run boats backwards and forwards daily, and even have their own tour buses.

Not pushing it, but do consider it. I love it there.

I should add that the stalactites in the BH start at around 80ft or so, and you don't have to go to 130ft though if you do you obviously see more. There is a shelf at about 150ft that the stalactites reach towards and stalagmites stand on, and on most of the standard "bounce dive" divers go to or nearly to that shelf, also swimming behind the stalactites/stalagmites/columns. On those standard trips you will rarely be permitted to enter the water unless you will go with the group to that sort of depth - they don't have the DM staff to accommodate "spin-off" groups. Another benefit of going with TCR (Thatch Caye Resort), as the groups are very small and well staffed and you can really do anything you want (so long as it's safe).

 

[diveloop]

Thanks for the help everyone! I'm traveling with a non-diver too so I'll be staying at Turneffe Island Resort, Hamanasi, and Chaa Creek (no diving ). I will post how it was there. Fingers crossed the weather is good on the day of the Blue Hole dive, can't wait!

 

[Santorini]

We stayed at Hamanasi and loved it. The accommodations were nice and clean. We stayed in their newest treehouse. Besides diving we took other excursions to the ruins and the ATM cave. The dives we did were nice, about a half hour boat ride away. Surface intervals were on a little caye. We didn't do the Blue Hole as it is a bit of a boat ride out and we were there when they had just had flash flooding. I hope to return to Hamanasi soon.