staying at ramon's village. dive with them or elsewhere?

[ericandbella]

my family's going to belize and staying in ramon's village in AC for about 5 days. i'll probably be able to get in 2 days of diving out to the atolls and will be the only one in my group diving. is it advisable to dive bigger trips with another shop or should i go with ramon's? and if so, who would you recommend?

i'm decent on air and would like to dive as long as air and computer allow. i dive mostly in taiwan, which means i've had my fair share of crazy/bored show-off divemasters, boats of 20 that do a 30 minute dive (when it could've been 60 mins) because somebody ran out of air, and operators telling you whatever they think you want to hear and then changing plans at the last minute. all of that, i want to avoid. been making myself crazy looking at reviews the past few days, but haven't found too much about ramon's.

 

[peterbj7]

Ramon's dive shop is probably the best part of Ramon's, though I can't say exactly how your dives will go.

 

[AWMIII]

Ramon's dive shop is probably the best part of Ramon's, though I can't say exactly how your dives will go.

Tell them that their megatrons suck.

 

[peterbj7]

They've already booked, so no point. If they hadn't I would certainly mention them.

 

[ericandbella]

didn't have any input with the choice of place.

Originally Posted by peterbj7
Ramon's dive shop is probably the best part of Ramon's, though I can't say exactly how your dives will go."

yes, but do they run a good dive shop? how does it compare to the ones you've recommended on other threads? i assume other shops will do pickups for a bigger trips so is shop location actually an issue?

incidentally, how do you quote each other?

 

[peterbj7]

es, Ramon's dive shop is well run and well liked. It is a little expensive compared with most shops in the area, though there is now one that is more expensive.

Shop location is not an issue. Ramon's do some of the longer trips themselves, but if they're not going they'll probably book you with Amigos del Mar. If they don't, so so yourself.

I don't know what your last sentence means...?

 

[Wookie]

I have thousands of dives and own a liveaboard. I've dived all over the world. With that said, one of the best experiences I ever had was diving with Ramon's Village 12 years ago during my honeymoon. Obviously, things change, but they still have a good rep, the diving was eh? around Ambergris, but Half Moon Caye wall was excellent.

 

[Downing]

incidentally, how do you quote each other?

Go to the post you want to quote.

Click on the "Reply With Quote" button at the lower right corner of the post (in the gray shaded area of the post box).

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you'll see the entire quote in the "Quick Reply" box. Feel free to click on the "Advanced Reply" if you wish as you won't lose the quote.

Highlight that portion of the quoted text that you wish to delete and hit your delete key. Don't delete the bracketed computer html language.

Then post your reply underneath the quoted text.

Voilà!

Welcome to SB. Be sure to write a trip report when you return.

Btw, I think the "megatrons" above is a reference to do with Ramon's signage around San Pedro, which if I remember right are supposed to be big, bright and unpleasant to see. Peter?

 

[AWMIII]

Go to the post you want to quote.

Click on the "Reply With Quote" button at the lower right corner of the post (in the gray shaded area of the post box).

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you'll see the entire quote in the "Quick Reply" box. Feel free to click on the "Advanced Reply" if you wish as you won't lose the quote.

Highlight that portion of the quoted text that you wish to delete and hit your delete key. Don't delete the bracketed computer html language.

Then post your reply underneath the quoted text.

Voilà!

Welcome to SB. Be sure to write a trip report when you return.

Btw, I think the "megatrons" above is a reference to do with Ramon's signage around San Pedro, which if I remember right are supposed to be big, bright and unpleasant to see. Peter?

Ramones has obnoxious billboards as well as large video screens all over town. They are tacky and suck.

 

[peterbj7]

I couldn't agree more, and if the OP wasn't already committed to staying there I would have made alternative suggestions. The accommodation looks idyllic, but the reality is sometimes rather less so, and their food is not noted for its excellence. But Rick runs a good dive operation, and the OP should have no reservations about going with them.

Wookie - a great deal has changed since you were last here. 12 years ago predates my arrival here, and for my first few years this place was buzzing with large visitor numbers and excellent diving with many large pelagics seen each dive. That's all changed, and not for the better.