Looking for Belize package

[Biggar]

i would like to go to Belize to dive and im wondering if there are any good package deals anyone knows about.

Does not need to be 5 star hotel, we want 5 star diving.

please recommend reefs and location to dive there too

Do you fly to San Pedro or Belize City? Im lost

thanks

 

[DiverAmy]

I wonder if you would have better luck in the Central America forum? I have not dived in Belize, cave tubed there once, years ago from a cruise ship.

 

[diversteve]

First start here - the official Belize Tourism site: http://www.travelbelize.org/

You fly to Belize City then take a local airline - Mayan Island Air, Tropic Air or other local to San Pedro or anywhere else in the country. Besides Ambergris that could be the Hopkins area or the Placencia area further south. Assuming Ambergris Caye is where you want to stay/dive from - there's also a ferry. Caradonna lists a few packages on Ambergris - Scuba Diving Vacations in Belize - Caradonna Dive Adventures

The better diving is off the Atolls but on most the dive resort is the only thing there. Most you'll travel via their transport once per week and stay there. So if you want to do any of the other eco-things on mainland Belize, Mayan Ruins, Cave Tubing, River tours, the Jaguar Preserve etc. you may want to find something on the mainland. I think there's options from Ambergris but I'm not familiar with that area. There's day tours from Placencia also.

Besides the Blue Hole, some of the best dives are at Turneffe Atoll, Lighthouse Reef and Glovers Atoll.

Some of the Atoll options are:

Belize Scuba Diving | Belize Flats Fishing | Belize Resort | Turneffe Island Resort
cocoplumbelize.com
Belize Vacation Resorts | Belize Honeymoon | Belize All Inclusive Vacation | Isla Marisol Resort | Family Vacations | Belize Tours
Caribbean Dive Resorts - Turneffe Flats - The Best Belize scuba diving resort - Turneffe Flats Belize

In the Hopkins area I only know of a few pricier luxury options. The reef is farther out there necessitating a longer boat ride out/less dives per day.

The Best of Belize Hotels & Belize Resorts | Welcome to Hamanasi!
Roberts Grove
Turtle Inn.

Still farther south in Placencia - Splash Dive bundles packages with several local resorts in all price ranges. Same longer boat ride out as from Hopkins - usually means 2 dives/day plus an optional night dive. There's no shore diving there, it's too flat. Some friends recently did an affordable trip with Splash staying in a decent local hotel nearby - booked it all thru Splash. We had planned a trip there last year and liked the looks of this place - affordable, beachfront and they package thru Splash also. Laru Beya - Placencia Belize Resort

Belize Scuba Diving Packages, Snorkeling & Whale sharks|Splash Dive Center|Placencia Belize
Avadon Divers Belize

Late spring the draw in Placencia is diving with the Whale Sharks off Gladden Spit. It's only certain weeks during/after a full moon when the Cubera Snapper spawn. Either operator ^ has dates/details on their site.

I moved this thread to the Belize sub-forum...

 

[peterbj7]

It would help if you gave a bit more info. How many people? Age range? Type of accommodation? Cost? Whether it's primarily a diving holiday, or a Belizean holiday featuring a lot of diving? When you're coming?

I have in mind several options, but more info would help me to distinguish.

 

[Biggar]

It would help if you gave a bit more info. How many people? Age range? Type of accommodation? Cost? Whether it's primarily a diving holiday, or a Belizean holiday featuring a lot of diving? When you're coming?

I have in mind several options, but more info would help me to distinguish.

ok, here is my wife and i's situation. We would like to leave Oct 22nd for our anniversary. We have only 5 dives under our belt now, but are doing AOW and Nitrox this weekend and im sure will have more by late october. We are 35 and this would be a diving trip. We would like to stay 5 nights and get some nice reef dives in too..... we own a reef aquarium at home.

We would like to get about 10 dives(5 dive trips) if possible

Again, cheaper is better. But willing to spend a bit more if its justified

---------- Post Merged at 09:25 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:07 AM ----------

Thankyou so much for taking the time to write down all this!

Its sure is alot of info.

Ill look through it soon ( ;

First start here - the official Belize Tourism site: http://www.travelbelize.org/

You fly to Belize City then take a local airline - Mayan Island Air, Tropic Air or other local to San Pedro or anywhere else in the country. Besides Ambergris that could be the Hopkins area or the Placencia area further south. Assuming Ambergris Caye is where you want to stay/dive from - there's also a ferry. Caradonna lists a few packages on Ambergris - Scuba Diving Vacations in Belize - Caradonna Dive Adventures

The better diving is off the Atolls but on most the dive resort is the only thing there. Most you'll travel via their transport once per week and stay there. So if you want to do any of the other eco-things on mainland Belize, Mayan Ruins, Cave Tubing, River tours, the Jaguar Preserve etc. you may want to find something on the mainland. I think there's options from Ambergris but I'm not familiar with that area. There's day tours from Placencia also.

Besides the Blue Hole, some of the best dives are at Turneffe Atoll, Lighthouse Reef and Glovers Atoll.

Some of the Atoll options are:

Belize Scuba Diving | Belize Flats Fishing | Belize Resort | Turneffe Island Resort
cocoplumbelize.com
Belize Vacation Resorts | Belize Honeymoon | Belize All Inclusive Vacation | Isla Marisol Resort | Family Vacations | Belize Tours
Caribbean Dive Resorts - Turneffe Flats - The Best Belize scuba diving resort - Turneffe Flats Belize

In the Hopkins area I only know of a few pricier luxury options. The reef is farther out there necessitating a longer boat ride out/less dives per day.

The Best of Belize Hotels & Belize Resorts | Welcome to Hamanasi!
Roberts Grove
Turtle Inn.

Still farther south in Placencia - Splash Dive bundles packages with several local resorts in all price ranges. Same longer boat ride out as from Hopkins - usually means 2 dives/day plus an optional night dive. There's no shore diving there, it's too flat. Some friends recently did an affordable trip with Splash staying in a decent local hotel nearby - booked it all thru Splash. We had planned a trip there last year and liked the looks of this place - affordable, beachfront and they package thru Splash also. Laru Beya - Placencia Belize Resort

Belize Scuba Diving Packages, Snorkeling & Whale sharks|Splash Dive Center|Placencia Belize
Avadon Divers Belize

Late spring the draw in Placencia is diving with the Whale Sharks off Gladden Spit. It's only certain weeks during/after a full moon when the Cubera Snapper spawn. Either operator ^ has dates/details on their site.

I moved this thread to the Belize sub-forum...

 

[Hank49]

Isla Marisol Resort (Glovers Reef Atoll, Belize) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor

I've been here about 4 times. I live and dive pretty much every week on the reef and Turneffe but Glovers is really nice. And this resort is on the south tip of it. Kind of like the Elbow of Turneffe. A very fishy place. Dive sites are 5-10 minutes from the dock.

 

[flareside]

If you are looking to get away from civilization, consider Belize Resort - Huracan Diving - All Inclusive Island Vacation. It is very relaxing and located near the best diving Belize has to offer. Also consider upping your trip to 7 nights as 5 is just a bit too short to fully melt into Belize. And don't forget trip insurance as it is hurricane season.

 

[ibj40]

I'd strongly suggest you look into Turneffe Flats Resort. My wife and I went there a couple of years ago, and even though it primarily caters to fishing, we were the only two divers there for the entire week, and they took us places that they don't normally take divers if there is a bigger group.

Secluded, diving only, good food, great folks. We are planning to go back, just need to find a hole in our schedule.

 

[peterbj7]

OK. Belize is a small country but still offers many diverse experiences. For diving I would say your main options are (from North to South) Ambergris Caye (the only town is San Pedro but there's a lot more to the island than that), Caye Caulker, Hopkins, Placencia, and various resorts on the outlying atolls.

As new divers, especially at a time of the year when there may be storms, I think you would be better choosing somewhere well connected. So I would disregard the atolls, for this time around. All of the remaining four areas have much to commend them, though I would hazard an opinion that Caye Caulker may be VERY quiet at that time. The problem of being somewhere that is VERY quiet is that many businesses may be closed. But certainly you'd find enough to satisfy your needs both on Ambergris Caye and in Placencia.

Of those areas I know most about Ambergris Caye, which is in any case where most diving in Belize is conducted. As new divers you won't yet have "seen everything" and you needn't take too much account of reports from seasoned visitors, as they probably won't apply to you. One thing you must remember though is at that time many businesses will be closed everywhere, so you need to be careful in your planning.

As I write this I have one option very much in mind. At the far northern end of Ambergris Caye, some 15 miles from San Pedro town, is a small resort called Tranquility Bay resort. It scores highly for you in that it has superb diving right on the doorstep (a 5 minute boat ride away) and a small bespoke dive operation that will cater for YOUR needs and timetable. It's the closest you'll get to having your own boat and boat captain. Look up the resort - it isn't the cheapest around but it does have excellent food and at that quiet time prices can probably be negotiated. Communications to town are all by boat but are frequent and available. Trips off island (atoll trips, inland ruins visits, etc) are as easily organised from there as from anywhere in town, though they will take a little longer. But the key thing is the diving, which will fit your needs exactly. TBR will be open at the time of your visit.

Alternatively you can stay closer to San Pedro town and use a cheap hotel and different dive operation. Pedro's Inn isn't on the beach but is an economical and fun place to stay, and they offer dive packages with certain of the operators here. Other cheap hotels include Ruby's and Spindrift. My preferred dive operation is Island Divers, though (if they're open) you'll also get excellent service from Chuck 'n Robbies, Belize Diving Adventures, Belize Dive Connection, and others.

If you'd like to know more about the above or anything else please PM me. Placencia has three main dive operations, Seahorse, Avadon and Splash, but I don't know much about local accommodation. The main negative for a diving holiday is that the reef is a long and quite costly boat ride away. But inland trips are very easy to organise from there. At Hopkins further up the beach the Hamanasi Hotel has its own dive operation, and both are highly regarded. But again boat rides are long.

 

[Hank49]

I wouldn't disregard the atholls for beginner divers because they offer one aspect that Ambergris, Caulker, Placencia and Dangriga do not. A lee side, out of the rough trade weather should it come. This is a nice option when divers are new to the ocean.