Turneffe AtolL or Hol Chan for new Junior OW diver?

[chillyinCanada]

Isn't the cruise offering anything neat to do land based in Belize? To me, there's very little to do on Roatan other than dive.
you don't have to dive Hol Chan, it's good snorkeling too, so you could take the plane to the island do snorkel at Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley or at a minimum Shark Ray Alley and then fly back for the cruise. Great adventure for the whole family with an outstanding view of the reef and islands both out and back on the puddle jumper pland.

 

[large_diver]

That's too bad about Hugh Parkey and your trip. If you are able to find another option, I would definitely recommend the Hol Chan and Shark Ray alley combo for newer divers. Hol Chan is the perfect place for new divers = you jump off the boat in 6-8 feet of water onto a sandy bottom....then you dive down a very gradual slope into the cut, typically with a max depth of about 30 feet. I've done a few dives there, both day and night dives, most with my daughter (she probably had about 50 dives at that point), also on a discovery dive with uncertified wife and son. There is plenty to see = we saw nurse sharks, sting rays, an eagle ray, turtles, morays, schooling snappers. There can be current moving back and forth through the cut, but as long as you choose a reputable operator, they will make sure you stay safe. The shark/ray alley add on is fun as well.....as you will have endless photo ops with up close nurse sharks and sting rays. The two locations are close to each other.....and are a relatively short boat ride from Ambergris if you are able to get out there from your cruise.

 

[Altamira]

The cave tubing/zip line combo excursion in Belize is pretty neat according to my non-diving family members. I am sure your family would not mind if you slipped off to dive at Roatan or Coz since your excursion in Belize was cancelled. Even if they do mind, it's your vacation too.

 

[boulderjohn]

and Cozumel the group is doing Chichen Itza Myan Ruins

That is some strange planning. Those ruins are spectacular, but they are a very, very long way from Cozumel. You can get to pretty darn good Mayan ruins much easier from Belize.

 

[katzgar]

Isn't the cruise offering anything neat to do land based in Belize? To me, there's very little to do on Roatan other than dive.
you don't have to dive Hol Chan, it's good snorkeling too, so you could take the plane to the island do snorkel at Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley or at a minimum Shark Ray Alley and then fly back for the cruise. Great adventure for the whole family with an outstanding view of the reef and islands both out and back on the puddle jumper pland.

mostly I agree with you but the little water front shacks in Punta Gorda have fantabulous sea food and there is a great golf course. Gary Lee at Fosters gave us a great tour of the island. Wish we had time for the caves.

 

[chillyinCanada]

QUOTE="katzgar, post: 7708959, member: 162662"]mostly I agree with you but the little water front shacks in Punta Gorda have fantabulous sea food and there is a great golf course. Gary Lee at Fosters gave us a great tour of the island. Wish we had time for the caves.[/QUOTE]

I've been up to Punta Gorda for lunch a few times and stopped by the golf course once. Even so, those were each times I'd been steadily diving there. Same with doing the zip line. However, if my choice was limited to a few hours on a cruise, I'd dive Roatan and not those other things.

 

[trpltongue]

You all bring up very good points. The reason for Chichen Itza is because it's a world heritage site and one of the 7 wonders of the world. Yes, there are other Myan ruins, but that's the big one, so everyone wants to go see it.

Also, most of our family will likely be going different directions in Belize due to age, health, etc, so us "skipping out" to go diving won't be as missed. The other locations offer outings which the entire 3 generations of family can participate in.

I'll likely investigate either snorkeling or perhaps diving at Hol Chan and then snorkeling at Shark Ray Alley, but will definitely need to consider the risks of flying afterwards.

 

[trpltongue]

That's too bad about Hugh Parkey and your trip. If you are able to find another option, I would definitely recommend the Hol Chan and Shark Ray alley combo for newer divers. Hol Chan is the perfect place for new divers = you jump off the boat in 6-8 feet of water onto a sandy bottom....then you dive down a very gradual slope into the cut, typically with a max depth of about 30 feet. I've done a few dives there, both day and night dives, most with my daughter (she probably had about 50 dives at that point), also on a discovery dive with uncertified wife and son. There is plenty to see = we saw nurse sharks, sting rays, an eagle ray, turtles, morays, schooling snappers. There can be current moving back and forth through the cut, but as long as you choose a reputable operator, they will make sure you stay safe. The shark/ray alley add on is fun as well.....as you will have endless photo ops with up close nurse sharks and sting rays. The two locations are close to each other.....and are a relatively short boat ride from Ambergris if you are able to get out there from your cruise.

I was a bit concerned about the currents (for my daughter). Do you have a shop you'd recommend? So far only aqua-scuba has been able to sort out a trip. Ecologic as well as a few others have been awesome at answering my questions / concerns, but ultimately were not able to sort out a trip due to the timing. Frankly, I'm not sure how aquascubabelize is able to get us out there if the others are not. They must run on a different dive schedule.

 

[large_diver]

Unfortunately no good recommendations for shops - we used Hugh Parkey's as well while we were there, since we stayed at the Sunbreeze Hotel; HP is the on-site dive operator.