Hotel recommendations for Belize

[jaydub]

I would have to agree and say dive with protech. I felt very comfortable with their DM's, and if you will be renting gear they have the best rental gear out of any dive operation on ambergris caye.

 

[RIDIVER501]

Thanks for all the replys, I have looked into mayan princess and banana beach and both look nice. Who do you recommend for dive operators?

I always dive with Amigos Del Mar.

Excellent operation for local diving and the long haul trips.
Blue hole and turniffe elbow trips

 

[hil71]

Liked sunbreeze for a hotel and have only dived with Amigos - felt really comfortable there - they taught me to dive so i guess i am pretty loyal!!

 

[puravida02]

I have been there twice and have only dived with Amigos Del Mar. What a fantastic operation!!! Their service is so good and they pamper their clients so much - they don't let you do any work, they take care of your gear, change your tanks without you even noticing, serve drinks and snacks, give you great tips, etc etc - that when you go diving somewhere else you kinda miss them...

BTW, last time I stayed at the Banana Beach and Amigos del Mar would pick us right at the pier in front of our hotel, always clock work punctual.

 

[steffi]

yeah chicken drop at the spindrift (I think). I stayed a ways out of town at banana beach and although the hotel was very nice and it was rather quiet and peaceful, I wish I had stayed closer to town because eventually I grew tired of the drunken stumbling down the beach in the dark to the hotel all the way from town. They had two great pools and the monkey business travel shop which will arrange pretty much anything you want to do. Not to mention the great free breakfast they serve in the morninig which is included with the price of your room.


If you would like to see pictures I took of banana beach while there just PM or email me.

I like the idea of biking around town (read it some where on this Board). Is Banana Beach to town bike-able?

Thanks!

 

[Ecologic Divers]

Banana Beach is definitely a short bike ride away from town. you can rent bikes from a number of places. All the dive centers will pick you up and return you to the dock .

This is an old thread and many things have changed in San Pedro over the past 3 years,
for example the roads from Banana beach are now paved all the way into town. There are 3 to 4 new dive centers. there are about a dozen new resorts since then. Banana beach is still one of the best for the money and location.

 

[steffi]

Thanks very much! Do you have a dive op you recommend then?

 

[steffi]

banana beach uses Monkey Business as their dive operator. what's your review on Monkey Business as a dive op?

 

[peterbj7]

duplicate post.....

 

[peterbj7]

Monkey Business is not a dive operator or any other sort of operator - it is a hotel tour desk that books with operators it has established a business relationship with. Many/most other hotels have similar functions. They justify their existence by the commission they are paid by their chosen tour operators, and you must bear this in mind whenever you are "advised" to use a particular operator.

The only way to get objective advice is to listen to other's experiences, and I'm afraid there's no shortcut to that - you need to peruse these pages and those of other "blog" style websites to see what people say. Also remember that bigger operators get more posts (because more people have passed through their hands), so look out for quality rather than quantity.

But I don't think you'll find any "bad" operators on AC, just ones that maybe approach diving a different way. For example, some will "mother you" and do everything for you even if you'd rather they didn't - great for many beginners. Some will pre-plan dives so you know in advance where you'll be going; others will only decide where and how deep to dive once they have all divers on the boat and have assessed their wishes and competence.

Any operator in the town area will be happy to work with you, picking you up at your hotel and dropping you back afterwards. It's normal for the operator to rinse and store your gear between dive days if that's what you want.

It's generally recommended to do your homework before you come down but not to book anything until you have visited your shortlist and formed your own initial views.

Walking up the beach towards town the first dive operator you'll find is "Bottom Time" at Banyan Bay Hotel - the oldest dive operator still in existence and one with a solid reputation. I'm not particularly recommending them, just saying that they're within short walking distance. It's a bit of a hike from there till you reach the next established operator. Don't ignore the small operators though, as they may be more sensitive to your wishes. If you're looking for the best (ie. cheapest) deal you're best off going straight to one of the big operators.

Good luck.