Me and my gf did a Cozumel/Belize trip early December 2015 and this details the Belize portion. On Wednesday, we departed Playa del Carmen on an ADO bus to Chetumal ($20usd), caught a taxi to pier ($5usd), water taxi to Caye Caulker ($65usd plus $10/extra bag fee, with immigration stop in San Pedro), then golf cart taxi($5usd) to De Real Macaw($65usd/nt). It took all day and was very tiresome especially with a lot of bags but the stress melted away quickly.
We went with no diving reserved except for tentative emails with Frenchies. As we explored for dinner, we passed by Black Durgon Dives shop where we started chatting with owners Sim and Cory about diving, dining, traveling, and life. We decided to dive with them Thursday and Saturday (had Blue Hole plans with Frenchies for Friday) and they signed us up on our word since we had no cash and hadn't hit an ATM yet. For dinner, we were hustled into Roberto's for a $25usd lobster dinner that was just alright and service was lacking. They took our drink order but forgot them until we spoke up after seeing rum punches delivered to a group that had arrived after we had placed our order. Then they "forgot" the "free appetizer". But we're on vacation on an island so no worries. Caye Caulker is a laid back island loaded with backpackers, with only golf carts on a couple of packed sand roads (except for a few construction vehicles). It had an off the beaten path feel although there was lots of construction going on so who knows how long it will last. The shops and restaurants were all small local owned places, no chain stores yet. Everyone we met was friendly and had an interesting story. Sim is Belizean born but lived 15 years in Austin TX, Jesse (owner of De Real Macaw) lived many years in South Florida.
Next morning we went to the shop, did the paperwork, and were on our way to dive Tackle Box and Esmeralda off San Pedro. Sim is the kind of guy that after ten minutes you feel like you're chatting and joking with an old friend. The boat was spacious (could handle ten but they only take six) and seemed well maintained. Cory was a competent DM all around. One guy had no business being in the water. He said he was certified 9 months ago but hadn't dived since so after he was unable to do the first dive, Cory gave him a twenty minute refresher in 10' water during our interval, and held his hand the whole second dive. The diving was nice and the viz clear. Overall, we like Coz better but we saw more curious nurse sharks on that dive than we have in five years of going to Coz so that was cool. The finger and groove reef structure made navigation easy and allowed you to choose your depth and we could dive as long as we wanted.
After getting back and cleaning up, we went to Frenchies who told us Blue Hole trip was all full (day before they didn't know if they would have enough to go). With only a few days here, it was back to Black Durgon to see if they could help and they hooked us up for a trip next morning. After walking the streets, dinner was a tasty bacon chicken dish at Barrier Reef sports bar followed by a few beers then a few more on our porch before calling it an early night since we had to be at dock at 6:30am.
The Blue Hole trip was with Aqua Scuba and the boat was large and roomy, only 4 other divers and half dozen snorkelers. The Blue Hole itself was a rather quick and boring bounce dive to 135' looking at rock walls but we had to have it in our logbook. Next time we will focus on the outer atolls. Second and third dives were at Half Moon Caye and Aquarium, which were the best two dives of the trip and reminded me of Roatan. The DM was hard working, technically proficient, and friendly but we didn't like how the dives were structured, being strictly limited in dive time. We came up each dive with over 1500psi. On both dives 2 and 3, the first 30 minutes were nice but then the DM took us on long ten minute journey over sand and seagrass for some reason. The lunch and visit to Half Moon Caye was awesome and we would be interested in an overnight trip there next time.
Our last day we showed at the shop and they had no other divers and weather looked bad but they said they would take us out to a nearby reef. We delayed an hour to let some squalls pass over then headed to Rock Beaty and Island Queen just off the Caye Caulker reef. Outside the reef the seas were 4-5' swells. The dives were good, lots of rock beauty and queen triggers, imagine that. Surface interval was a snorkel in Shark/Ray Alley where dozens and dozens of rays and nurse sharks swam all around. Dinner was at Roses Bar and Grill, probably the most hyped place on the island. It was pretty good though nothing special.
Well our flight left late Saturday and our plan was to explore in the morning then take the water taxi over but on a whim we had booked a Tropic air flight to BZE that morning. Such a whim that we didn't consider baggage restictions. Our two 50lb bags plus backpack each wasn't going to mesh with their one 25lb checked limit so we were real concerned. Jesse helped us call the airport and they said bring the bags early next morning and they should be able to get them to BZE before our flight. Plan B was if they weren't transported by noon we would have to take the water taxi (even the wwater taxis frowned on lots of baggage). But all went well, we took our 1:30pm flight and our bags were waiting for us on a cart with our names at BZE.
All in all, we had a great time, loved the island atmosphere and the people, the diving was good, and it's a place we would consider again. But we won't waste a day doing the bus/ferry bag drag again and we'll pack lighter. Weather was nice, air temps ranged from pleasant to quite muggy, and we had hard rains every day but they passed over quickly and didn't affect our plans.
We went with no diving reserved except for tentative emails with Frenchies. As we explored for dinner, we passed by Black Durgon Dives shop where we started chatting with owners Sim and Cory about diving, dining, traveling, and life. We decided to dive with them Thursday and Saturday (had Blue Hole plans with Frenchies for Friday) and they signed us up on our word since we had no cash and hadn't hit an ATM yet. For dinner, we were hustled into Roberto's for a $25usd lobster dinner that was just alright and service was lacking. They took our drink order but forgot them until we spoke up after seeing rum punches delivered to a group that had arrived after we had placed our order. Then they "forgot" the "free appetizer". But we're on vacation on an island so no worries. Caye Caulker is a laid back island loaded with backpackers, with only golf carts on a couple of packed sand roads (except for a few construction vehicles). It had an off the beaten path feel although there was lots of construction going on so who knows how long it will last. The shops and restaurants were all small local owned places, no chain stores yet. Everyone we met was friendly and had an interesting story. Sim is Belizean born but lived 15 years in Austin TX, Jesse (owner of De Real Macaw) lived many years in South Florida.
Next morning we went to the shop, did the paperwork, and were on our way to dive Tackle Box and Esmeralda off San Pedro. Sim is the kind of guy that after ten minutes you feel like you're chatting and joking with an old friend. The boat was spacious (could handle ten but they only take six) and seemed well maintained. Cory was a competent DM all around. One guy had no business being in the water. He said he was certified 9 months ago but hadn't dived since so after he was unable to do the first dive, Cory gave him a twenty minute refresher in 10' water during our interval, and held his hand the whole second dive. The diving was nice and the viz clear. Overall, we like Coz better but we saw more curious nurse sharks on that dive than we have in five years of going to Coz so that was cool. The finger and groove reef structure made navigation easy and allowed you to choose your depth and we could dive as long as we wanted.
After getting back and cleaning up, we went to Frenchies who told us Blue Hole trip was all full (day before they didn't know if they would have enough to go). With only a few days here, it was back to Black Durgon to see if they could help and they hooked us up for a trip next morning. After walking the streets, dinner was a tasty bacon chicken dish at Barrier Reef sports bar followed by a few beers then a few more on our porch before calling it an early night since we had to be at dock at 6:30am.
The Blue Hole trip was with Aqua Scuba and the boat was large and roomy, only 4 other divers and half dozen snorkelers. The Blue Hole itself was a rather quick and boring bounce dive to 135' looking at rock walls but we had to have it in our logbook. Next time we will focus on the outer atolls. Second and third dives were at Half Moon Caye and Aquarium, which were the best two dives of the trip and reminded me of Roatan. The DM was hard working, technically proficient, and friendly but we didn't like how the dives were structured, being strictly limited in dive time. We came up each dive with over 1500psi. On both dives 2 and 3, the first 30 minutes were nice but then the DM took us on long ten minute journey over sand and seagrass for some reason. The lunch and visit to Half Moon Caye was awesome and we would be interested in an overnight trip there next time.
Our last day we showed at the shop and they had no other divers and weather looked bad but they said they would take us out to a nearby reef. We delayed an hour to let some squalls pass over then headed to Rock Beaty and Island Queen just off the Caye Caulker reef. Outside the reef the seas were 4-5' swells. The dives were good, lots of rock beauty and queen triggers, imagine that. Surface interval was a snorkel in Shark/Ray Alley where dozens and dozens of rays and nurse sharks swam all around. Dinner was at Roses Bar and Grill, probably the most hyped place on the island. It was pretty good though nothing special.
Well our flight left late Saturday and our plan was to explore in the morning then take the water taxi over but on a whim we had booked a Tropic air flight to BZE that morning. Such a whim that we didn't consider baggage restictions. Our two 50lb bags plus backpack each wasn't going to mesh with their one 25lb checked limit so we were real concerned. Jesse helped us call the airport and they said bring the bags early next morning and they should be able to get them to BZE before our flight. Plan B was if they weren't transported by noon we would have to take the water taxi (even the wwater taxis frowned on lots of baggage). But all went well, we took our 1:30pm flight and our bags were waiting for us on a cart with our names at BZE.
All in all, we had a great time, loved the island atmosphere and the people, the diving was good, and it's a place we would consider again. But we won't waste a day doing the bus/ferry bag drag again and we'll pack lighter. Weather was nice, air temps ranged from pleasant to quite muggy, and we had hard rains every day but they passed over quickly and didn't affect our plans.
