to liveaboard or not?

[jcroy66]

I can't claim either the dolphin pic or the turtle pic. The dolphin shot (which is AMAZING) was taken by another diver on our boat. I was actually the diver in the turtle pic, which was also taken by another couple on our boat.

In our previous diving experiences, the native sealife was "agnostic" towards us - they basically just ignored us. Whereas when we were diving on Turneffe, we had lots of "hey, who are you, I think I'm going to check you out" experiences. The aforementioned experiences near Blackbird with the loggerhead and the dolphins. And then here are some shots (taken by my husband) of 2 remora and a sharksucker that decided to hitch a ride with me at The Elbow. They stuck with us for probably 15 minutes or so, until they actually started nipping at me, at which point I let them know I'd had enough.

Our "home away from home" at Blackbird:

The rest of our pictures from that trip can be found at:
Belize April 2010 - philandjen's Photos

 

[Damselfish]

With only a week in Belize I think it is best to focus and not try to fit in everything, otherwise you can't do justice to any of the things there are to do. And you risk needing a vacation after your vacation.

If you're there primarily to dive, I vote try the liveaboard, I think Belize is a great place to do one. You don't have to do 5 dives a day if you don't want to, most people don't. (On the Sun Dancer they give a little prize or certificate to anyone who does every dive and it's generally 1-2 people at most.) I tend to skip the late afternoon dive if I'm going to night dive, or vice versa. I feel like I don't get enough hammock time if I do 5.

While 5 dives a day may sound exhausting, diving on a liveaboard involves so little effort and overhead compared to land based its not as tiring as you might expect. Stroll a few steps to the dive deck, slip into your gear (which sits there assembled the whole week with tank filled in place,) jump in the water, get out of the water, slip out of your gear, shower right on the dive deck, grab a hot towel if they haven't already wrapped one around you, plop into a lounge chair while they bring you fresh baked cookies or something.

I've done the Sun Dancer several times and toured the Aggressor. I think the outside spaces (dive deck, sundeck) are better on the Aggressor and the inside spaces (cabins, dining room) are better on the Dancer. Of the boats I've been on I've generally preferred the food (mostly buffet style) on the Aggressors over the food (sit down dinners) on the Dancers - but I found the dining area on the Belize Aggressor claustrophobic. If the Sun Dancer is a much better deal that would be my choice. (If it were more expensive I'm not sure which way I would go.)

 

[Hank49]

I would do 3-4 days on Glovers or Turneffe and 3-4 days at a resort between Hopkins and Placencia. You'll get full on diving, at least 4 a day on the atholl and then can kick back a bit on the mainland and do some land based things.
The only resort I've been to on the atholls is Marisol, on the south end of Glovers. Nice water there. Really nice, but so is Turneffe.
I like Placencia a lot, and lived back in the lagoon for 5 years.
Hopkins and Sitee River are nice too (Jaguar Reef and Hamanasi resorts are there) and closer to the reef and some mountain adventures like Mama Knute's and the Jaguar reserve.

 

[Hank49]

jcroy66, we see those big remoras down here in the spring months. Maybe they lose their resident whale shark?

 

[Darnold9999]

Nekton is no longer in Belize

Gaz

Read again - I was comparing Aggressor and the PH boat.

 

[potato cod]

Thanks to all for the great info!

After weighing the options and our goals for this trip, I think we're going to do the liveaboard. It makes sense not to try to see "everything" on one trip, so we'll focus on the diving + we'll have an afternoon of visiting the ruins at the end. Somehow I suspect this won't be our last time visiting the area...

 

[darkstar]

You'll have a great time. From what I saw, the PH experience is 500m different from the Aggressor experience. On both of my Aggressor trips, we could see the PH boat on the next mooring probably 50% of the time.

And, you don't get bitten by sand fleas. Except on Halfmoon Caye day.

 

[DeputyDan]

Thanks to all for the great info!

After weighing the options and our goals for this trip, I think we're going to do the liveaboard. It makes sense not to try to see "everything" on one trip, so we'll focus on the diving + we'll have an afternoon of visiting the ruins at the end. Somehow I suspect this won't be our last time visiting the area...

In all honesty - Belize is really a two week vacation destination.

Great on/in/under water and great off water.

 

[Lorenzoid]

You made a good decision. Inland, Belize has a lot to see, especially if you are interested in the eco-tourism thing, pyramids, caves, etc. Much of the coast is not that interesting (though someone said Placencia has nice beaches--dunno, haven't been there). But if you want to dive, you're best off out on the atolls. If you enjoy both diving and sightseeing, it's really two separate trips. There is something to be said for being able to strech one's legs by walking on a beach at the end of a dive day, but the advantages of a liveaboard probably outweigh that.

 

[Utila Simon]

Am not going to comment on the shore based diving as I haven't done it, but I do up to 10 dives a week on Lighthouse Reef Atoll and I have to say i love it.
Last week coral spawning, this week a large Manta Ray... You never know what you are going to see!
The reason why the Sun Dancer II doesn't go to Gladdon Spit for the Snapper Aggregations and all the life that goes with it (Whale Sharks) is that she is simply too big. Peter Hughes has had a license for it but actually gave it away to a Avalon (??) Divers down there in Placencia. We would love to go there but its just not possible!
I can tell you that the price difference between BAIII and SDII may not be around for long so I would hurry up and make your choice!
Hope to see you aboard with us.
Capt Simon
Sun Dancer II, Belize