Solo Dive trip to Belize

[kradatzke]

I'm thinking about maybe trying Belize as a dive destination, my last few trips have been to Cozumel/ Playa / Cancun , Bahamas ( live aboard) and Hawaii........ time to try a new destination

It will be a sol trip so I'm just wondering about any suggestions on where to go and good dive operators. I don't mind simple "rustic" accommodation's and as far as dive operators go I prefer smaller shops , smaller boats with 8-12 divers over the large operators

I'm looking at about a 10 day trip next Jan ( doing Blackbeard in Nov with local dive shop again)

 

[flyboy08]

Plenty of info under search!

We enjoyed diving with Amegos Del Mar on Ambergris Cay.

 

[drrich2]

The best diving out of Belize is reputed to be amongst the outer atolls region (e.g.: Lighthouse atoll), often via Belize Aggressor III or IV (formerly called Sun Dancer II). Here's my trip report from 2015; others have posted some more recent. If you're going alone, no non-divers to entertain, and by history you've done live-aboard diving before...there's a lot to be said for it.

That said, is there anything other than diving you want to do?

Richard.

 

[Downing]

Belize is a small country but it's still a big destination, so I suggest you narrow down where you want to stay and go from there.

Ambergris Caye is by far the biggest draw so it has more of everything. More places to stay, more dive ops, more places to eat and drink and with all of that of course comes more people. I'm not sure that the accommodations would qualify as "rustic," however.

Heading south, there's Caye Caulker. It's smaller and more laid back.

There are a number of high end resorts out on the cayes (pronounced "keys," btw) like Turneffe Flats, Blackbird Caye, Turneffe Island Resort and Hatchet Caye. These are expensive but everything's included. Think summer camp for adults.

Back to the mainland and still headed south, there's Hamanasi in Hopkins. A very nice resort, not exactly rustic but they do have some tree house rooms. They have their own dive op in-house.

Continuing south there's Placencia, my destination of choice. Although the village is actually at the tip of a peninsula, it has a definite island vibe because it's so small. Accommodations run from the high end, like Francis Ford Coppola's Turtle Inn, to ultra basic youth hostels and all points in between. I always dive with Splash Dive Center, which has one large boat and three smaller ones. On the smaller boats, groups tend to be around 3 or 4 divers and the same number of snorkelers. The big boat, a 42-foot Newton, can accommodate something like 20 divers but typically there's no more than eight to ten and the staff breaks us up into groups of four or five. Typically, the snorkelers are dropped off on one of the cayes and the divers then dive the area, returning to the caye for lunch and then dive again. There is at least one other dive op in Placencia, but the name escapes me at the moment, and some of the hotels sometimes run their own dive ops. But if they don't have enough divers, they send them to Splash because Splash goes out every day.

And then there's Punta Gorda, the most rustic of them all. So much so, that it can be difficult arranging diving in advance. Reef CI used to run dives out of PG, but they're now based in Placencia so I don't know if they still do. There's also Garbutt's Marina but Dennis Garbutt can be hard to reach. Great guy.

The further south you go, the longer the boat ride to the reef, if that's important to you.

Belize is very easy to get around. There are two local airlines, Maya and Tropic, that fly all over the country. If you're headed for one of the high end resorts, except for Hatchet they'll arrange to pick you up at the airport and take you into Belize City where you may have to spend the night before catching their boat to their caye, If you don't already know this, Belize City is not a tourist town and tourists are strongly advised to stick to main streets during the day and not to venture out at night. If you go to Hatchet, my guess is you would fly into Dangriga and catch their boat from there.

 

[robint]

I'm thinking about maybe trying Belize as a dive destination, my last few trips have been to Cozumel/ Playa / Cancun , Bahamas ( live aboard) and Hawaii........ time to try a new destination

It will be a sol trip so I'm just wondering about any suggestions on where to go and good dive operators. I don't mind simple "rustic" accommodation's and as far as dive operators go I prefer smaller shops , smaller boats with 8-12 divers over the large operators

I'm looking at about a 10 day trip next Jan ( doing Blackbeard in Nov with local dive shop again)

Are you set on Belize? January is possibly not the best time of year.
I would look farther south in the Caribbean...like Bonaire. You can go there (airfare isn't cheap) but lots of small boutique hotels, shore diving and boat diving 24/7. Might be a better option for January.

 

[drrich2]

If you opt for Bonaire, a couple of things to mention. I assume by willing to accept rustic, you're interested in budget containment, not desperate for a low end rural experience. Back in 2012 I spent a week on Bonaire based at Dive Hut, a budget option, which I liked. I didn't like it 'better' or 'worse' than Buddy Dive Resort, anymore than I'd like a budget car over a luxury car; it occupied a different niche.

Back around Sept. 2017, I contacted some offerings in Bonaire to get prices for an 8-day all-shore diving solo trip I hoped to do in 2018 (a plan discarded once Aggressor live-aboard fleet put out too good a deal to pass up on another destination I had my eye on). I wanted waterfront (to enable convenient house reef night diving; a house reef substantially increases my dive count, though the resort tends to cost more). Here are my notes from the package deal I liked best:

Prospective Bonaire Trip (Sand Dollar, from Sept. 2017 info.):

1 Studio Condo. ‘ride to the reef’ package for 7 nights is $1579. An extra night with room tax, added $161.50. Upgrading to an automatic truck & add 8th day adds $94. So $1,834.50. On that 8th ‘extra’ day, breakfast adds $16.50 and adding an extra unlimited shore diving day adds $34.

Basic Package: $1579.
Extra night: $161.50.
Automatic Truck with extra day: $94.
—————

$1834.50.

Breakfast 8th day: $16.50.
Extra shore diving day: $34.

$1,885.

Compared to my prior experience with Buddy Dive, that upcharge for an automatic transmission truck is cheaper (I think Buddy charged me $150 once, for 7 days, not 8). I don't know whether you'd get the same package offering for low season; January would be high season, so expect to pay more even if prices haven't changed.

Airfare is what'll kill you on a Bonaire trip, and from some locations, travel can be lengthly. If you only shore dive, you won't likely be tipping for it, so you save some money (for that tank of gas at the end of the week!).

I'm not pushing Bonaire over Belize (though the water's warm and the weather pretty stable year round). If it's of interest, I thought this info. might help.

Richard.

 

[Kharon]

For Bonaire I wouldn't ever use any resort that has a single suppliment or double occupancy required. If you rent at Hamlet Oasis you can get a studio with kitchen, truck, and unlimited air for just over $1000. The house reef is Cliff and is wonderful for day or night dives. Dive Friends Bonaire is on site. The night dives feature groups of tarpon accompanying you close enough to touch.

 

[Edward3c]

I'm thinking about maybe trying Belize as a dive destination, my last few trips have been to Cozumel/ Playa / Cancun , Bahamas ( live aboard) and Hawaii........ time to try a new destination

It will be a sol trip so I'm just wondering about any suggestions on where to go and good dive operators. I don't mind simple "rustic" accommodation's and as far as dive operators go I prefer smaller shops , smaller boats with 8-12 divers over the large operators

I'm looking at about a 10 day trip next Jan ( doing Blackbeard in Nov with local dive shop again)

Why not give ReefCI a look.

 

[katzgar]

Placencia is 20 miles from the reef so not optimum. Ambergris caye is far and away the most popular for reef dives. The atolls are the best diving but pricier.

 

[Downing]

Why not give ReefCI a look.

Edward, where is Tom Owens Caye? I can't find it on a map. Is that where you stayed when you dove with them? I'm guessing it's closer to Placencia than Punta Gorda since RCI moved it's mainland headquarters there.

Looks nice and it's a lot cheaper than the atoll resorts. Can you stay on the caye over the weekend or do you have to go back to Placencia?

I've been trying to dive out of Punta Gorda for years, specifically the Sapodilla Cayes, but now that RCI has moved to Placencia Garbutt's is the only "op" down there and it's just not economically feasible for them to take one diver. Dennis is a lot more about fishing than he is about diving. I can never seem to time it so that I'm there when a group is going out.