Need advice - Family Trip, Diving and top-side

[mangus]

Hi all. I'm looking for good recommendations for a high end resort to stay for a week, preferably with a stellar dive operation on site. I'm the only serious diver in the family, but my daughter (12) will likely do adventure dives, so I want to make sure she has a great first experience. Hamanasi seems to get great TA reviews and has lots of activities other than diving, but they're booked. Turneffe seems great for a dive-only trip, but that's not what we're looking for. We don't have to have an AI resort, but do want really nice accommodations (well-appointed rooms, beds and linens) and great facilities (including pool for the kids). I'll want to dive with an op that will gauge its divers well and not do an "all up at the same time" drill. For that reason I tend to go with small boats, 6 divers or 12 split into two groups. Kids are 12 and 9, and we want to be able to plenty of top-side activities in Belize in addition to diving (nature hikes, zip lines, etc.). Also looking for a place with great personality (not uptight) and excellent food. I guess my final thought is that the other criteria are more important than an on-site dive op if I can find a really good op nearby that can also accommodate the adventure dives for my daughter and hopefully at least get my wife and son in on some snorkeling.

Thanks in advance, we're getting excited about the trip already!

 

[Downing]

Consider Placencia as it matches up well with your criteria.

Placencia has several high end resorts, Francis Ford Coppola's Turtle Inn and Chabil Mar are the ones that immediately come to mind but there are more.

Although it wouldn't be an onsite dive op, I'd recommend Splash Dive Center because it's not only the best dive op in Placencia it's the best I've seen anywhere, including Hawaii, the Keys and Mexico. They usually run several boats a day, so you have choices. The dive groups are always small as in 3 or 4 divers or less to 1 guide. No "up with the group" mentality. They run a kids club for local kids to learn how to dive for free, so they're excellent with children and beginners. I've dived with them for three years for a total of about 8 weeks and am headed back for another 3 weeks in June. I've seen a lot of happy divers come and go over that time. It's been fun watching kids come up through the club to become instructors and guides.

Splash is right across the street from Chabil Mar at a very narrow point in the peninsula right above the village proper, with Chabil Mar on the ocean and Splash on the lagoon, about a two minute walk. You could also walk from Turtle Inn, but Splash would pick you up and drop you off in one of their shuttle vans, about a two minute ride.

Although Placencia is a peninsula and so it's part of the mainland, it feels very much like an island and has a very laid back vibe. Lots of little places to eat and drink on the beach and several more high end restaurants, like the Maya Beach Bistro up the road. It's kind of a fishing village meets tourism place. As far as top-side activities, there's a ton of that. You can rent a car from Barefoot Service, but I recommend first timers use a guide and leave the driving to him. Drive up the road to the mainland and you'll have access to a tour of a banana farm (cooler than it sounds), Mayan ruins you can clamber over, a Mayan village where you can walk around a cacao farm and watch chocolate being made, the Cockscomb Basin where you can hike through the jungle, swim under a water fall or float down a creek. Keep going and you can go zip lining. Drive up the gorgeous Hummingbird Highway through the Maya Mountains to cave tubing/zip lining and the Belize Zoo (again, cooler than it sounds).

Yeah, there'a a lot to do, lol. You should be excited! Belize is a blast.

 

[large_diver]

We took our first trip to Belize during X-mas week in 2014. We are a family of 4 (kids are 18 and 20), 2 certified divers and 2 that wanted to try a discovery course but not much more.

Given all of the great stuff inland, we decided to split our 8 days between a jungle resort near Belmopan and Ambergris Caye. Although it obviously requires a mid-week transfer to a new resort/hotel, we loved it.

We stayed at Caves Branch Lodge in Belmopan. CB is in the middle of a 50,000+ acre property owned by the same guys who owns Caves Branch (the resort itself is a small portion of this). The big advantage is that the majority of the adventures they offer take place right on the property. Accommodations are in various small cottages and treehouse rooms spread throughout the jungle a short walk from the main lodge. No air conditioning, but nights are cool and there are ceiling fans. very cool to listen to the jungle at night. Rooms are really very nice, lots of space, indoor/outdoor showers and very private. There is a pool. Dining is buffet style with great food in a open air dining area. Each night the guides come to your dinner table and ask you what adventure you want to join the next day....no pre-booking of outings required, so you can choose based on how you're feeling and feedback you've heard from the guides and other guests. We did a jungle hike/300 ft rappel into the "black hole; cave tubing, climbing waterfalls inside a cave system (and then jumping back down the waterfalls on the way out) and a day trip to Tikal in Guatemala. We also did a night hike with one of the guides around the lodge where we saw tarantulas, monkeys, etc. I think they had something like 15-20 varied options offered while we were there - ziplining, overnight camping trips....all kinds of stuff. Very active, very fun and all family members loved it. You often share tables with other guests during meals - we found this to be fun as well. If you are looking for jungle adventure without long transfers in a beautiful lodge setting, CB is worth a look.

Ambergris - the place we stayed (Sunbreeze) likely doesn't fit what you are looking for, but if part 1 sounds good, for the second half you could choose one of many other coastal locations in Belize to meet your diving needs. Transfer for us to Ambergris was really easy; Caves Branch provides direct transfer to the tiny Belize City airport (a trailer), we arrived literally 15 minutes before the flight (which is literally all you need....we even had to wait 5 minutes) and flight to Ambergris was 17 minutes. Very safe and easy. There are also direct flights from Belmopan airport to various Belize locations.

I did a trip report here on SB back in Jan...

Hope this helps.

Chris

 

[ron_dodge]

I'll add another vote for Cave's Branch. If I weren't so hooked on diving I'd return there almost yearly. If you reserve one of their tree houses I can vouch for not needing air conditioning. Generally I won't consider anywhere without A/C as trying to sleep in hot humid conditions makes me grumpy.

But, our last stay there was June 2012 in one of the canopy tree houses and it was honestly quite pleasant at night with the fans going. Honestly it was cooler in CB's tree house then in our air conditioned casita on the beach on Ambergris Caye.

 

[diversteve]

Hamanasi level properties in the Placencia area also include Roberts Grove or Almond Beach Inn. At one time Turtle Inn also did a split week with their other property Blancaneux Lodge, inland - it looks pretty interesting and is near the Caracol ruins site. Some friends dove with Splash recently and would recommend them.

Had them all bookmarked so:

https://www.coppolaresorts.com/turtleinn
Belize Resorts | Belize Beach Resort | Belize Diving | Placencia | Hotels - Robert's Grove
Belize Resort | Belize Beach Resorts - Almond Beach

The issue with Ambergris for non-dive activities is the transfer to the mainland for any of the better ones. They're cheap fast flights but with 4 that can add up fast. The Atoll resorts don't even offer it - they usually only exchange guests via boat once or twice a week.

 

[Downing]

I've never spent the night at Roberts Grove, but I've eaten there a couple of times. I think of it as a notch below Hamanasi, Turtle Inn and Chabil Mar but it looks very nice.

I haven't stayed at Caves Branch either, but it's certainly centrally located to all the jungle stuff you'd ever want to do. Too far from the water to dive, though, but it sounds great for a place to stay on the mainland.

Another good choice for the mainland would be the San Ignacio Resort Hotel. Right in the heart of the Cayo District and just up the hill from the center of town, it's a lovely hotel with lots of amenities. I've stayed there before, and my wife and I are booked for three nights in early July. We'll use it as a base to go into Guatemala to check out Tikal and maybe, if I can talk her into it, Actun Tunichil Muknal.