whale shark diving in belize, may 11-16, 2017?

[novasquid]

we're arriving in hopkins on may 10, departing may 17, and would like to set up 2 days of whale shark tours (WST). full moon is on may 10, so our plan is to do a whale shark dive on may 11 and may 13, but are flexible for switching those dates around.

so far i've contacted only these two dive shops listed below. can someone recommend other dive shops that do WST that will pick us up from hopkins, or operates out of hopkins? i guess i'm not really expecting anyone to know all the answers to my questions, i just wanted to throw them out there in case anyone had some insights to share based on their past experiences.

Whale Shark Dive Trips | Splash Dive Center | Placencia Belize
i contacted splash dive center with a bunch of questions, got a copy-paste response, sent more questions, but haven't received a follow-up response yet.
1. their form response says they will only take you whale shark diving if you've been on one of their tours in the past. we've never been with them before, yet they sent a sign-up form and price list. how strict are they on this policy?
2. they said they provide land transportation from hopkins to placencia for the WST, how early is the pick-up at hopkins to get to placencia by the 8am WST boat departure time?
3. why is the pricing for diving the same as snorkeling on the WST?

Whale Shark
i contacted belize underwater, but haven't heard back from them yet. their price for the WST is cheaper than splash, so i assume it doesn't include transport from hopkins to placencia?

 

[diversteve]

Ralph Capeling and his S/O Patty (Ramirez?) own Splash.

 

[novasquid]

thanks for the tip. i'm sure they're busy running their business so i'll wait a couple more days before reaching out to them again.

 

[Downing]

I think Ralph and Patty may be in Canada right now, but still that's no excuse for not getting back to you and they won't be happy to hear you're having trouble making contact. I'll send them an email to let them know you're trying to get in touch and direct Ralph's attention to your post. I'm sure you'll hear from them soon.

Sometimes email just doesn't work for Belize. Not making excuses, just my experience. I often just pick up the phone and make a call to wherever I'm going there, then follow up with email. Seems to work better.

As far as Whale Sharking, it may be that by a "prior tour" they mean you went on one of the other dives first so they can make sure you've got the skills, weights dialed in, etc. It's a proactive blue water dive done typically around 70 feet with 80 feet max, so you have to watch your air and depth closely and newer divers could get themselves in trouble quick. I'm just guessing since I've done so many dives with them that I've never run into that issue. Maybe you could get an exemption if you have enough dives or the right type of dives documented in your log book.

They may have changed the way they do the pickup in Hopkins, but in the past we just swung by there in the boat and picked up the Hopkins divers before heading out, then dropped them off on the way back. If you do have to travel by car, it would take about a half hour.

I have no clue about their pricing. I usually dive with them for two out of my three weeks annual Belize vacation, then just settle up at the end.

It's important to book WS dives early as they always sell out. If you haven't heard from them by Sunday, PM me or post it on here and I'll give them a call.

I've never dived with Belize Underwater so can't help you there.

Have fun! I'll be there about a month later, assuming I survive El Salvador.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Ralph Capeling and his S/O Patty (Ramirez?) own Splash.

Just for clarification, Patty and Ralph are married.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

we're arriving in hopkins on may 10, departing may 17, and would like to set up 2 days of whale shark tours (WST). full moon is on may 10, so our plan is to do a whale shark dive on may 11 and may 13, but are flexible for switching those dates around.

so far i've contacted only these two dive shops listed below. can someone recommend other dive shops that do WST that will pick us up from hopkins, or operates out of hopkins? i guess i'm not really expecting anyone to know all the answers to my questions, i just wanted to throw them out there in case anyone had some insights to share based on their past experiences.

Whale Shark Dive Trips | Splash Dive Center | Placencia Belize
i contacted splash dive center with a bunch of questions, got a copy-paste response, sent more questions, but haven't received a follow-up response yet.
1. their form response says they will only take you whale shark diving if you've been on one of their tours in the past. we've never been with them before, yet they sent a sign-up form and price list. how strict are they on this policy? WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT WHEN YOU COME TO DIVE WITH US, WE WILL NOT TAKE YOU TO DIVE IN THE WHALE SHARK ZONE UNTIL YOU HAVE DONE AT LEAST ONE OTHER DIVE TRIP WITH US. WHEN GUESTS COME TO DO WHALE SHARK DIVES WITH US, WE DO A REEF DIVE THE FIRST DAY. WE APPLY THE SAME STANDARD FOR BLUE HOLE DIVES
2. they said they provide land transportation from hopkins to placencia for the WST, how early is the pick-up at hopkins to get to placencia by the 8am WST boat departure time? WHALE SHARK DEPARTURE TIME DEPENDS ON THE TIME SLOT ASSIGNED BY SEA (SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION) IN THE LOTTERY SO VARIES FROM TIME TO TIME. DRIVE FROM HOPKINS TO PLACENCIA IS ABOUT ONE HOUR. MOST WHALE SHARK GUESTS STAY IN PLACENCIA FOR THAT REASON.
3. why is the pricing for diving the same as snorkeling on the WST? BECAUSE OUR COSTS ARE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME FOR DIVING OR SNORKELING.

Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Hi Novasquid I cannot find any unanswered emails in my inquiries inbox. Can you resend your email to me at ralph@splashbelize.com.

thanks for the tip. i'm sure they're busy running their business so i'll wait a couple more days before reaching out to them again.

Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Novasquid mentioned our prices are higher and in some cases that is true. The following explains the basis for our pricing at Splash. Sorry novasquid, this is cut and paste too.

Our prices are higher than some others in this area. We compete on the basis of quality. We have a lower ratio of divers per dive master or snorkelers per snorkel guide, provide towels, snacks and juice at our dive center, provide complimentary pickup and drop off along the main road in the village, have well maintained boats with all the required safety equipment), we have prescription masks for divers or snorkelers who are either near sighted or far sighted, probably the only dive center in Belize with satellite phone on our main boat for long distance trips like to the Blue Hole so that we can communicate with shore at all times - so our costs are higher. We are one of the two dive operations in this area that offer nitrox.

In addition, we have community support programs such as our kids program (where we teach local kids to dive for free - and have done more than 150 certifications to date which again results in us having higher costs. Two of the “kids” are now at instructor level.

We trained the BSOLT cave rescue team from open water diver to dive master level at our sole cost as part of our support program for Belize. The Belize School of Outdoor Leadership Training BSOLT is a Non-Profit Org that is trained to do rescue work in difficult areas of Belize such as in caves and in remote mountain areas.

We are also one of the few PADI shops (some advertise PADI but are not actual PADI affiliates which you should check on line to see which are which) and we are a PADI Green Star which requires us to do additional environmental things. We are the only dive center in this area that trains and develops our staff from basic open water through to instructor level and you can see the effect of that on Trip Advisor. Patty Ramirez (co-owner of Splash) is one of two course directors in Belize (which is the highest PADI level and the level required to instruct instructors).

All this adds costs but we think it brings value and many of our guests prefer to dive, snorkel and tour with Splash because of our responsibility programs. That may be why we are consistently ranked highly on Trip Advisor and why the Belize Tourism Board selected us as tour operator of the year for 2016 and 2014 and awarded us the Hospitality Award for 2016. We are highly recommended in Moon Belize and the only dive center to be awarded a star in Lonely Planet Belize.

 

[novasquid]

ralph, thanks for the reply. i also sent you an email explaining our situation for our trip in may. you guys sound like a great dive shop and hope to be able to dive with you guys in may.

 

[Ashantiashanti]

Hey guys, is it possible to go out with a local fishermen to look for the whalesharks?