Just returned from an awesome trip at Huracan Diving on Long Caye at Lighthouse Reef. Here are a few notes from our stay:
Our first night in Belize we stayed at the zoo, which was beautiful and relaxing. The next day we got a ride into Belize City to catch the boat out to Long Caye. The boat ride took about an hour and a half, and it was simply beautiful. Riding through the mangroves at Turneffe and then out to Lighthouse, we took dozens of photos. Weather was nice so it wasn't too rough.
The island of Long Caye is located roughly 20 minutes south of the blue hole and 5 minutes from Half Moon Caye. Half of Long Caye is undisturbed jungle and mangrove, while the other half is home to Huracan, Calypso, and a resort currently undergoing renovation. There were no sand flies, but there were lots of mosquitoes. If you go, bring DEET.
Huracan is a small resort with only 4 rooms, one of which was empty during our stay. 6 guests plus the 2 hosts, Ruth and Karel, made for a very personal and intimate experience. And luckily we were all around the same age, so that helped a lot. The rooms were borderline luxurious, with nice private bathrooms and 2 fans. Personally we don't like A/C for these trips because it can cause congestion and you're never able to acclimate to the weather. So we were happy with just the fans.
Besides diving, we read a lot, explored the island, kayaked, snorkeled, had a campfire with the staff and crew, and relaxed.
Ruth is a fantastic cook, and almost all of the meals included fresh local seafood. We also went fishing and ate our catch of barracuda and red snapper.
Karel is an extremely competent Instructor/Divemaster. There were 6 of us in the dive group for the week, and he brought in an additional freelance DM to help split the group up on some of the dives according to experience. My gf had to do her referral OW dives while there, and Karel made it easy and fun.
The diving was excellent. I love swim-thrus and coral formations, and some of the dives off of Half Moon Caye were the best I've ever done. Long Caye, particularly the Aquarium dive site, had more marine life due to the stronger currents, and the wall drop off to 3000m was pretty amazing. Turtles, moray eels, spotted eagle rays, nurse shark, reef sharks, lobsters, crabs, trigger fish, etc.
Because we were so close to the blue hole, we did 2 dives; one on the north side and one on the south (the only sides with stalactites). A handful of reef sharks accompanied us on our decent and ascent, and the stalactites made for a very unique dive. It was also the deepest dive I've ever done (145 feet), but the DMs made it seem easy and safe, incorporating a 10 minute deco stop along the shallow edge of the sink hole. I was delighted to see that my computer handled two consecutive deco dives without freaking out.
While I'm glad I got to cross the Blue Hole off my bucket list, I would trade the two blue hole dives for two more off of Half Moon Caye any day.
Our reluctant return to the mainland was just as beautiful and calm as the trip out. We stayed the night in-land at Black Orchid Resort, which was nice, and then flew back home the next day
Overall, I highly recommend Huracan Diving. Most times it felt like we had the entire island to ourselves, and the diving was some of the best I've ever done in my life. But if I was by myself, it would probably be a bit lonely and I think it's more expensive.
Our first night in Belize we stayed at the zoo, which was beautiful and relaxing. The next day we got a ride into Belize City to catch the boat out to Long Caye. The boat ride took about an hour and a half, and it was simply beautiful. Riding through the mangroves at Turneffe and then out to Lighthouse, we took dozens of photos. Weather was nice so it wasn't too rough.
The island of Long Caye is located roughly 20 minutes south of the blue hole and 5 minutes from Half Moon Caye. Half of Long Caye is undisturbed jungle and mangrove, while the other half is home to Huracan, Calypso, and a resort currently undergoing renovation. There were no sand flies, but there were lots of mosquitoes. If you go, bring DEET.
Huracan is a small resort with only 4 rooms, one of which was empty during our stay. 6 guests plus the 2 hosts, Ruth and Karel, made for a very personal and intimate experience. And luckily we were all around the same age, so that helped a lot. The rooms were borderline luxurious, with nice private bathrooms and 2 fans. Personally we don't like A/C for these trips because it can cause congestion and you're never able to acclimate to the weather. So we were happy with just the fans.
Besides diving, we read a lot, explored the island, kayaked, snorkeled, had a campfire with the staff and crew, and relaxed.
Ruth is a fantastic cook, and almost all of the meals included fresh local seafood. We also went fishing and ate our catch of barracuda and red snapper.
Karel is an extremely competent Instructor/Divemaster. There were 6 of us in the dive group for the week, and he brought in an additional freelance DM to help split the group up on some of the dives according to experience. My gf had to do her referral OW dives while there, and Karel made it easy and fun.
The diving was excellent. I love swim-thrus and coral formations, and some of the dives off of Half Moon Caye were the best I've ever done. Long Caye, particularly the Aquarium dive site, had more marine life due to the stronger currents, and the wall drop off to 3000m was pretty amazing. Turtles, moray eels, spotted eagle rays, nurse shark, reef sharks, lobsters, crabs, trigger fish, etc.
Because we were so close to the blue hole, we did 2 dives; one on the north side and one on the south (the only sides with stalactites). A handful of reef sharks accompanied us on our decent and ascent, and the stalactites made for a very unique dive. It was also the deepest dive I've ever done (145 feet), but the DMs made it seem easy and safe, incorporating a 10 minute deco stop along the shallow edge of the sink hole. I was delighted to see that my computer handled two consecutive deco dives without freaking out.
While I'm glad I got to cross the Blue Hole off my bucket list, I would trade the two blue hole dives for two more off of Half Moon Caye any day.
Our reluctant return to the mainland was just as beautiful and calm as the trip out. We stayed the night in-land at Black Orchid Resort, which was nice, and then flew back home the next day
Overall, I highly recommend Huracan Diving. Most times it felt like we had the entire island to ourselves, and the diving was some of the best I've ever done in my life. But if I was by myself, it would probably be a bit lonely and I think it's more expensive.
