How to combine Lighthouse & Turneffe w/ Placencia & Whale Sharks in one trip?

[Shimon]

I think my title says it all.....but also interested in comments as to the overall health and vibrancy of the reefs at the 3 atols.

 

[peterbj7]

I'm sure others from Placencia will respond, but I can think of several ways this could work. If you stay in Placencia and dive with Splash, Avadon or Seahorse, I think you'll be able to do all of this with any of them (depending of course when your visit is). I can't suggest accommodation, but they will be able to. I have stayed at Thatch Caye (TCR), a private island some miles north of Placencia, and from there I did exactly what you desire. TCR is a wonderfully peaceful spot but with great access to everything. No good if you want "night life", but excellent for bird watching and lying in your hammock at night looking up at the stars.

 

[Shimon]

Thx! Is it also possibe to stay at TIR for say 5 days and then fly from Belize City to Placencia and stay there for 5 days. Do any of the liveaboards allow you to stay for less than 7 days?

 

[Ralph Capeling]

At Splash we regularly dive Lighthouse and Turneffe out of Placencia as an overnight trip. We leave early in the am, have breakfast on the dive boat, dive Southwater Caye, then during the surface interval have something to eat while we head north to dive the Elbow at Turneff, then during the surface interval, head to Lighthouse to dive the Aquarium (three of the best dives in Belize). We overnight at a resort, then dive the Blue Hole before breakfast and it is a great time to dive it as there is no one else there at that time (you see the dive boats from San Pedro on the horizon as we are heading back to the resort for breakfast). After breakfast we do two more dives on the way home - all in all 6 tanks.
Depending on the sea state, we could dive Glover's on the way back, but most people who come to dive with us want to do several dives there as it is less visited and has some excellent diving.
We do our whale shark dives from Placencia. We do packages that include the Blue Hole trip as overnight or day trip, Glovers and whale sharks.
The corals seem to be doing well but we have not done a formal CoralWatch Coral Health Chart to put numbers to it.
Regards
Ralph

I think my title says it all.....but also interested in comments as to the overall health and vibrancy of the reefs at the 3 atols.

 

[Shimon]

How long a boat ride from Placencia to Lighthouse? Wouldn't it be easier to stay at TIR for 5 days and then fly to Placencia and then dive with Splash for 5 days to cover whale sharks, Glover and perhaps a land trip or two?

 

[Downing]

It's not possible to stay at TIR for 5 days unless you charter a boat or helicopter. TIR shuttles its guests only twice a week, Saturday and Wednesday, so you would have to stay there 3, 4 or 7 days to avoid the extra expense of a charter. If 10 days is your trip limit, then I'd recommend staying on Placencia and do the Blue Hole/Light House trip and any mainland trips through Splash.

I'm considering taking a similar trip next summer, although I haven't broached the subject with my wife yet. I'd like to fly to Punta Gorda, hang there for two days, then fly up to Placencia and dive with Splash for the rest of the week, then fly to BZ City, hook up with my wife and catch the boat to TIR for a week there. But this would be 15 days, not 10, which makes splitting up the trip easier.