Where to dive on Caye Caulker

[AWMIII]

I have dove way too many times at Esmeralda and Tuffy. It is almost straight out off of the center of San Pedro. I feel like it is the place the requires the least gas and I would rather go up above Tres Cocos. It is also the place to wow tourists with shark and eel feeding spectacles. I have also had some amazing diving between Tuffy and Hol Chan on the outside of the reef. Many of the "sites" do not have buoys though. I have never dove from Caye Caulker, but I just can't believe that it is worth the 25 minute boat ride up to Tuffy to dive there. There is a lot of reef between 25 minutes south of Caye Caulker and Tuffy. Is Tuffy really a premier site that is worth the ride? Is it so that the boat can make its surface interval tied up in San Pedro so that the crew can hang out in San Pedro for an hour? Do they buy gas there? I see the BDS and Frenchies boats tied up on AC. Take me North!

 

[jlevine]

Hi Chilly,

I went out three years ago with Ecologic using their big boat. I don't know the specifications of the boat. The 3:00 time I mentioned included some extra time we spent waiting to enter. I'm including the time we waited to pay the park ranger and get into the water. I should have been more specific.

Thanks!

 

[jlevine]

...There is a lot of reef between 25 minutes south of Caye Caulker and Tuffy. Is Tuffy really a premier site that is worth the ride? Is it so that the boat can make its surface interval tied up in San Pedro so that the crew can hang out in San Pedro for an hour? Do they buy gas there? I see the BDS and Frenchies boats tied up on AC. Take me North!

I would like to go north more often as well. On one of my trips with Ecologic we did a trip up to Basil Jones and some of the sites in that area. We stopped at the Tranquility Bay Resort for lunch. We actually saw a manta ray during one of the dives. I didn't know mantas ever came so far into Western Caribbean. That was a treat! Ecologic needs a minimum number of divers for that trip because of the distance. I had thought about staying further north but it's a bit too isolated for me.