Where to stay in Belize

[Eyal K.]

Hello Girls & Boys,

I'm planning a trip to Belize end of June and wanted to get some ideas in terms of places to stay.

Things that are important to me:

• Not too touristic - something on the nicer side of things but doesn't require breaking out all my savings
• Close proximity to the good dive sites (shorter boat rides if relevant - my gf is seasick queen )
• Good dive shop - smaller and less crowded boats, interesting sites, cool staff and less of a big operation
• Shore dive is a plus but not a must....

 

[Dado]

Turneffe Island Resort checks all your boxes.
We spent 3 weeks there in January and had a great time. We couldn't ask for nicer staff and dive guide.

 

[Eyal K.]

Turneffe Island Resort checks all your boxes.
We spent 3 weeks there in January and had a great time. We couldn't ask for nicer staff and dive guide.

Great thanks for your reply.
Did you do any shore dives of boat only?

 

[jmcgilroy]

I had the same question last month and passed on a place called Belize Dive Haven as they never returned my emails. There is a great dive/trip report that a member (Dan) posted, you can find it a few posts down in my thread (Belize Dive Haven). He stays at Ramon's and it looks fairly nice. That really helped my decision and I'm there starting June 12th. So, while I can't give any recommendations yet, Dan's trip report is worth reading.

Jim

 

[Hank49]

Anywhere on the mainland is going to be fairly long boat ride.
San Pedro and Caulker are close to the reef.
San Pedro is the "Waikiki" of Belize. Caulker has the same type diving. Much smaller and less people.
The atholls have the best diving. But that's about all there is to do as there are no restaurants, etc or land based activities available without a full day or two travel.
June has a gathering of mutton snappers at the Elbow (south tip) of Turneffe. Unreal spot.

 

[Dado]

Boat dives only, most were only 5-10 minutes away.

 

[Downing]

You'll probably have a hard time getting everything on your list.

I don't think there's shore diving anywhere in Belize.

Anywhere on the atoll is an hour and a half by boat.

You might want to get on TIR's mailing list. They offer a fair number of discounts from time to time, like 2 for 1 guests, 7 days for the price of 4, that sort of thing.

Also check out Black Bird Resort and Turneffe Flats. I know BBR is cheaper plus you can fly there instead of taking a boat.

San Pedro on Ambergris Caye is closer to the mainland and the reef but could be crowded. Normally it's packed with tourists but maybe not so much this year.

Ramon's Village shouldn't be rundown. The entire place burned to the ground a few years ago but was quickly rebuilt so it's actually fairly new. I think it's supposed to look like that. Think Gilligan's Island.

Placencia and Hopkins are on the mainland so you don't need to a boat to get there but they're both about an hour out from the reef. Placencia has accommodations for any budget. Hopkins a little less so.

Caye Caulker probably comes the closest.

 

[Eyal K.]

Anywhere on the mainland is going to be fairly long boat ride.
San Pedro and Caulker are close to the reef.
San Pedro is the "Waikiki" of Belize. Caulker has the same type diving. Much smaller and less people.
The atholls have the best diving. But that's about all there is to do as there are no restaurants, etc or land based activities available without a full day or two travel.
June has a gathering of mutton snappers at the Elbow (south tip) of Turneffe. Unreal spot.

Yeah I'm starting to get a good hang on where is what.... ;-)
we are all divers and travel mostly to dive so Turneffe sounds pretty cool actually

I'm waiting for replies from a couple of resorts.. .hopefully one will catch...

 

[Eyal K.]

You'll probably have a hard time getting everything on your list.

I don't think there's shore diving anywhere in Belize.

Anywhere on the atoll is an hour and a half by boat.

You might want to get on TIR's mailing list. They offer a fair number of discounts from time to time, like 2 for 1 guests, 7 days for the price of 4, that sort of thing.

Also check out Black Bird Resort and Turneffe Flats. I know BBR is cheaper plus you can fly there instead of taking a boat.

San Pedro on Ambergris Caye is closer to the mainland and the reef but could be crowded. Normally it's packed with tourists but maybe not so much this year.

Ramon's Village shouldn't be rundown. The entire place burned to the ground a few years ago but was quickly rebuilt so it's actually fairly new. I think it's supposed to look like that. Think Gilligan's Island.

Placencia and Hopkins are on the mainland so you don't need to a boat to get there but they're both about an hour out from the reef. Placencia has accommodations for any budget. Hopkins a little less so.

Caye Caulker probably comes the closest.

Strange... I could swear I replied to your post but I don't see my reply anymore... So here we go again

Thanks for the detailed info. Very helpful.

If I got it correctly, in terms of areas and diving, the best would be Turneffe then the reef where we would want to stay outside of San Pedro - either north of it or south of it.

I'm still waiting for reply from Blackbird as all other resorts on Turneffe are booked for our dates (6/24-7/1)

We may have to settle for mainland accommodation for this trip as it is right around the corner

We are also looking again at Ramon's after reading your comments and Coco Beach Resort

 

[Downing]

If you have to stay on the mainland, then Placencia followed by Hopkins would be my choice.

There aren't any other viable options. Staying in Belize City for more than a night while you transfer either to or from diving would be a bad idea. There is a dive shop there, Sea Sports, but they cater to the cruise ships.

If you go to Placencia, there's a wide range of options for accommodations. I'd recommend Splash for diving. Thy would also help you find a place to stay. (Disclaimer: I'm very good friends with the owners/operators but regardless I think they're the best dive shop.) If you stay in Hopkins, take a look at Hamanasi.

Or maybe Hank's house in Sittee River, lol. (j/k, Hank)