drjrt
Registered
I wanted to give some feedback having just returned from Belize.
I appreciate everyones input on prior threads.
We stayed at Banyan Bay Resort which is about 1.5mile south of San Pedro.
The 2 bedroom suite was clean, large, and nicely furnished. The grounds
were very well maintained. We thought their main restraunt (Rico's) was
reasonably priced (for a resort); particularly breakfast and lunch (very good value).
Lot's of staff and everyone was very helpful.
However, there are many great looking resorts along the shore both North and South
of San Pedro. If you don't mind walking to town I would stay out of the center
of San Pedro as it seemed quieter. The entire length of the beach is VERY clean;
they take very good care of their shore. Don't expect to swim off the shore, though.
It is grassy and not very inviting although some resorts (like Ramon's and Xanadu)
have cleared out swimming areas.
This island is not as "refined" as other resort areas we have visited (which really isn't
that many!). We really liked that. One street over from the main tourist street was
mostly locals and their businesses. This is where we ate most of our meals.
We saw an amazingly diverse ethnic mix. Unlike the "feel" I have gotten at places
like the BVI and the Leeward islands, I didn't feel like there was this great divide
between the "have and the have not's". Don't get me wrong; I realize that I wouldn't
have gotten quite as many "smiles" if I didn't have $. But I feel that people were
genuinely friendly. My wife (who doesn't dive) made friends with several locals
that she ended up having coffee with and visiting daily.
The only annoying thing was that everyone and their brother (literally) expected
a tip getting from Belize International Airport to Banyan Bay. Even the luggage
handler that worked for the airline expected something.....
Now, as far as the diving: this place is great! There are inumerable sites along
their huge reef. We saw lot's of sea-life and great coral. The dive shops must
have a system so they don't overlap and on a total of 8 dives we never had
another boat around us. Granted, it is slow right now (according to the locals).
We had a great experience with Ecologic Divers. There are MANY companies to
choose from. We chose Ecologic Divers because they are PADI 5 star, had some
good comments on this Board, had good prices, and responded to my pre-trip
e-mails. My 2 teenagers did their open water dives and then dove on additional
days. The kids really liked Ian, Shorty, and the crew. My 15year old daughter
was very comfortable with them (which says alot). I was very pleased with the
whole process. They will pick you up at your hotel dock (most of them do); my
only suggestion is to call and re-confirm their pick up 10 minutes before time as
we did have some problems with that.... Also, some of their regs are "well used"
but Ian said they had 20 new ones on order.
This was one of the best vacations we have had and the children area really looking
forward to going back. I don't have a huge amount of experience but I would think
this diving would be hard to beat....
I appreciate everyones input on prior threads.
We stayed at Banyan Bay Resort which is about 1.5mile south of San Pedro.
The 2 bedroom suite was clean, large, and nicely furnished. The grounds
were very well maintained. We thought their main restraunt (Rico's) was
reasonably priced (for a resort); particularly breakfast and lunch (very good value).
Lot's of staff and everyone was very helpful.
However, there are many great looking resorts along the shore both North and South
of San Pedro. If you don't mind walking to town I would stay out of the center
of San Pedro as it seemed quieter. The entire length of the beach is VERY clean;
they take very good care of their shore. Don't expect to swim off the shore, though.
It is grassy and not very inviting although some resorts (like Ramon's and Xanadu)
have cleared out swimming areas.
This island is not as "refined" as other resort areas we have visited (which really isn't
that many!). We really liked that. One street over from the main tourist street was
mostly locals and their businesses. This is where we ate most of our meals.
We saw an amazingly diverse ethnic mix. Unlike the "feel" I have gotten at places
like the BVI and the Leeward islands, I didn't feel like there was this great divide
between the "have and the have not's". Don't get me wrong; I realize that I wouldn't
have gotten quite as many "smiles" if I didn't have $. But I feel that people were
genuinely friendly. My wife (who doesn't dive) made friends with several locals
that she ended up having coffee with and visiting daily.
The only annoying thing was that everyone and their brother (literally) expected
a tip getting from Belize International Airport to Banyan Bay. Even the luggage
handler that worked for the airline expected something.....
Now, as far as the diving: this place is great! There are inumerable sites along
their huge reef. We saw lot's of sea-life and great coral. The dive shops must
have a system so they don't overlap and on a total of 8 dives we never had
another boat around us. Granted, it is slow right now (according to the locals).
We had a great experience with Ecologic Divers. There are MANY companies to
choose from. We chose Ecologic Divers because they are PADI 5 star, had some
good comments on this Board, had good prices, and responded to my pre-trip
e-mails. My 2 teenagers did their open water dives and then dove on additional
days. The kids really liked Ian, Shorty, and the crew. My 15year old daughter
was very comfortable with them (which says alot). I was very pleased with the
whole process. They will pick you up at your hotel dock (most of them do); my
only suggestion is to call and re-confirm their pick up 10 minutes before time as
we did have some problems with that.... Also, some of their regs are "well used"
but Ian said they had 20 new ones on order.
This was one of the best vacations we have had and the children area really looking
forward to going back. I don't have a huge amount of experience but I would think
this diving would be hard to beat....
