Thinking about vacationing in Belize.

[kevinf]

Me & the wife are thinking about vacationing in Belize. We're OW certified with just a few dives in Jamaica & few over here in Dutch Springs, PA. ( we only have our basic equiptment )

Before coming to this site, I found was looking at Xanadu Island ResortBelize Luxury Resorts, Luxury Hotels Belize, Xanadu Island Resort. I've only combed over a few threads & I see Blue Tang Inn is nice. I also see that have a pretty good dive package! Any info or help will be great. I will be combing over more threads tomorrow morning

 

[chillyinCanada]

Xanadu is lovely, just lovely! Blue Tang is a cool place, much closer to town, one might say, in town. It is in a busier area, lots of beach traffic, next to a side road that has lots of activity. There's a dive shop right out front, so quite convenient that way. So it all depends what you are looking for when you are out of the water. Do you want to be within walking distance of many restaurants, bars, shopping? Or would you prefer to be at a small enclave that almost feels like it is part jungle on the ocean?

I'm not trying to knock Blue Tang, because before it was Blue Tang, I used to stay there all the time and I loved it. But then, I particularly liked the location for ease of access.

None of this is to say that Xanadu is isolated, because it is not but it's not just a brief stroll to Central Park either. Any of the dive shops will come and pick you up at their dock for your dives and deliver you back when you've finished for the day. I regularly recommend Xanadu depending on people's preferences.

 

[koozemani]

We opted for a lob, but before that we were considering the Chabil Mar.

Belize Resorts | Vacation in Belize | Belize Hotels | Placencia Resorts

 

[kevinf]

Xanadu is lovely, just lovely! Blue Tang is a cool place, much closer to town, one might say, in town. It is in a busier area, lots of beach traffic, next to a side road that has lots of activity. There's a dive shop right out front, so quite convenient that way. So it all depends what you are looking for when you are out of the water. Do you want to be within walking distance of many restaurants, bars, shopping? Or would you prefer to be at a small enclave that almost feels like it is part jungle on the ocean?

I'm not trying to knock Blue Tang, because before it was Blue Tang, I used to stay there all the time and I loved it. But then, I particularly liked the location for ease of access.

None of this is to say that Xanadu is isolated, because it is not but it's not just a brief stroll to Central Park either. Any of the dive shops will come and pick you up at their dock for your dives and deliver you back when you've finished for the day. I regularly recommend Xanadu depending on people's preferences.

We would be going off season around June

Yeah, from the looks of it Xanadu seems more relaxing.
Do you have a rough estimate how much diving costs out there?

To add on diving package Xanadu for 5 days it's $825pp
Garden view is about $139night w/ 10% & add $280? for golf carts for 8 days = $3,061.84 w/ tax

Blue Tang Inn for (2013) (no rates for 2014 yet )
$1025pp for 7 nights w/ 5 days diving = $2050 + tax (that's if it stays the same for 2014)

 

[AWMIII]

Figure diving costs about $80/day/person for 2 tank local diving. Many of the packages have a Blue Hole trip figured into them. I might skip it if I were you due to your limited experience. The local diving is much better than Jamaica.

 

[Downing]

In case you want to see more than just the airport and Ambergris Caye: Belize Insight Guide.

Kooze, what's a lob?

 

[kevinf]

In case you want to see more than just the airport and Ambergris Caye: Belize Insight Guide.

Kooze, what's a lob?

Thank you !

 

[OnTheSpot]

I think koozemani means live on board (lob). Portofino might be worth a look, just come back and have a trip report here.

 

[koozemani]

In case you want to see more than just the airport and Ambergris Caye: Belize Insight Guide.

Kooze, what's a lob?

Yup, liveaboard. I would also highly recommend seeing some of the land based sights. We went to Lamanai, Xunantunich, and the zoo. I would recommend all three.

 

[DeputyDan]

look at the web sites for Chuck & Robbie's or Amigos Del Mar for dive prices.

You can walk to either from the Blue Tang Inn - no more than 100 yards each way - water on the right to C&R water on the left to Amigos