Please be my travel advisor.

[ecologic diver]

sorry caxy diver you clearly dont know much about the operation. you can spend as much or as little time on the boats and can be moved to and fro from the mainland as you please we have found very good anchorages to allow you the full belize experience, we have a fantastic mainland tour guide we work with. on board you can be pamperd and looked after by the crew on the vessel, or you could stay on land at a resort and just just what ever you choose , enjoy belize because its an awesome place to be ......

 

[diversteve]

Places we were considering for a trip this spring:
Cayes/Atolls:
Belize Vacation Resort - Isla Marisol
Tranquility Bay Resort - Ambergris Caye, Belize, Dive, Fish, Snorkel, Relax, Enjoy!!
Thatch Caye
Belize Inclusive Fishing & Diving Resorts | Turneffe Island Resort | Lighthouse Reef Atoll
Mainland:
Laru Beya Resort & Villas, Placencia Peninsula, Southern Belize - "Home away from Home, Placencia Belize"
Hamanasi: The Best of | Belize Vacations | Belize Hotels | Belize Resorts
Belize Hotels, Belize Luxury Resorts, Belize Wedding, Placencia, Best Beach Resort - Robert's Grove

Or the Coppola resorts - Turtle Inn or Blancaneaux Lodge: http://www.coppolaresorts.com/turtleinn

One consideration for us was the extra cost of in-country travel. Sometimes included.
And check the luggage size/weight restrictions on Tropic Air. Not able to determine if Maya Air does also.

 

[ecologic diver]

belize is awesome folks

 

[ecologic diver]

is that the trade winds explorer....????

 

[peterbj7]

I can speak from personal experience of Thatch Caye and Tranquility Bay. Quite different from each other - Thatch Caye has more style - but both very good in their own ways. You can have a good diving vacation at either.

I've heard of the others and their reputations but haven't visited.

Picking up on what Ecologic Diver said above, if you were so minded you could take on of their catamarans and sail it to Thatch Caye, stay there for a few days and dive with them, and then sail back. The best of both worlds. From Thatch Caye you could easily take any of a wide range of inland tours, which they run themselves in their own vehicles (no hanging around waiting for other operators, and much more flexibility). Thatch Caye has sheltered moorings in almost any weather conditions, and rare is the day when you don't see a cat moored nearby. Most come from Placencia of course as it's much nearer, but the journey from San Pedro wouldn't be too long.