New to ScubaBoard

[Libby]

Hi I am a new member but I've been visiting for some months now.......

My boyfriend and I are planning a scuba trip to Belize next summer. Got any suggestions to where the good diving spots are, or any advice we may need since its our first out-of-the-USA trip? Thanks!

 

[DandyDon]

Howdy!

And welcome to SB - the biggest, the best, the fastest growing, and the friendliest! If you'll simply click ScubaBoard.com above, you'll be taken to our long list of forums, a wealth of information and resources. Be sure to check our New2Scuba forum, as well as our Cent America forum for Belize info. My favorite operator on Ambergris Caye is Pro Tech, btw, and - you really do not want to do the Blue Hole. Some ops will take newbies there, but they shouldn.t

It would help in future diving discussions if you'd complete your Profile with location. You can use the Quick Links above to reach those easily. Sizing a photo for your profile or Avatar can be a challenge; I'm a fumbling amateur, but I get the job done, if you'd like any help?

PM me if I can help you learn your way around; that is - click my username to the upper left, then follow the prompts to send me a "Personal Message."

don

 

[Matt the Aquaman]

Hi there Libby,
Welcome to Scuba Board - the greatest online place, the fastest growing, and the nicest! You can meet a lot of helpful people here and it’s an awesome place to get answers about scuba diving. If you ever want to chat feel free to PM me. Take care and safe diving from Matt.

Click here to greet a new member! :happywave
No experience needed and it feels great!​

 

[SubMariner]

Moved from Introductions & Greets forum.

 

[Doc]

Hi I am a new member but I've been visiting for some months now.......

My boyfriend and I are planning a scuba trip to Belize next summer. Got any suggestions to where the good diving spots are, or any advice we may need since its our first out-of-the-USA trip? Thanks!

Belize has a lot of great diving, but two thoughts that many share:

1) Diving out of Belize City is very limiting, you are much better served on one of the cays.

2) The breadth of diving the Belizian islands is only realized fully from a live-abord (this can get pricey)

... and be certain to stop in at "Jet's Bar" in the transit lounge at Belize Airport. He reminds me to a degree of Tatoo from Fanatsy Island.

Belize is a fabulous diving opportunity.

 

[peterbj7]

I run a dive center in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, a 15 minute light plane flight from Belize City. SP is the busiest dive resort in Belize, which has good and bad points. There's most choice here, but prices are a little higher than, for example, Caye Caulker 10 miles south. But if you want to have a life outside diving there's more to do here than elsewhere. If you go to some of the island resorts you'll find them totally dead. Still, perhaps you like reading.....

The barrier reef is much closer to the land in the north, and we can get to a dive site in 5 minutes. Down south you're looking at more like an hour (though someone will no doubt correct that - I've not dived there).

The barrier reef offers very good diving at all depths, but not wall diving. For that you need to go the atolls - Lighthouse (where you'll find the Blue Hole), Turneffe (the Elbow is at the southernmost tip) and Glover's. You can stay on islands in these atolls, but as I said there's not a lot else to do. Or you can take day or 2-day trips from the principal islands, such as AC and CC.

For a compromise between good diving and an affordable holiday I'd look at CC or AC.

A good source of information is www.ambergriscaye.com.

 

[Nomaster]

Great post peterbj7!
WELCOME to ScubaBoard, LIBBY!!!
Post a new hello in "Introductions and Greetings" so you can
get a proper ScubaBoard HOWDY!!

I need inspiration to revise my stock message. Maybe if I read over may last couple hundred welcoming messages. Hmm. Maybe.
This is a great place to meet people, talk about diving, and get information on just about any aspect of diving -or other subjects sometimes- that you can think of. Roaming through the forums is great help for me.
Now get wet with us and dive into the forums to ask questions, answer those that you can and even chat with folks about diving dreams and nightmares. ScubaBoard is a great place to spend your required Surface Intervals.
When you post a question, be as sure as you can that it's in the right forum or you'll probably find it moved.
The folks here are passionate about their diving, some about their specialty, so the reading can get very interesting, sometimes very hot.
Don't forget, if you haven't already done it, to fill out you profile as completely as reasonable, it'll save you being asked and having to repeat the information often.
Enjoy!

Tom

 

[pharmguy]

My boyfriend and I are planning a scuba trip to Belize next summer. Got any suggestions to where the good diving spots are, or any advice we may need since its our first out-of-the-USA trip? Thanks!

What is your experience level? Your profile says not certified - certain dive sites are more appropriate for advanced level divers (e.g. Lighthouse - Blue Hole).

The family [myself, wife, toddler and sister-in-law (nanny)] stayed on Caye Caulker in Feb 2004. Slightly closer to the sites peterbj7 mentioned but also fewer dive ops and smaller boats (less comfortable). Do a search on dive ops for reccomendations but Paradise Down has one of the bigger boats on CC and cycles through the sites on a regular basis.There is no night diving from CC due to potential weather changes.

Turneffe was my favourite site. Reasonable bottom time (40+ mins) and decent variety of marine life.

Night life will vary - CC is pretty quiet compared to AC.