Which caye/resort in Belize

[fishwoman]

Looking for a place out on a caye for diving, kayaking, snorkelling--not looking for TV, hair dryers, or luxury, just comfort and fun for 3-4 nights as part of a 2 week Belize adventure. (6 nights in Cayo, 5 in Placencia (hopefully will get to see whale sharks), and also 3-4 nights out on a caye. )

Our 3 kids are newly certified, but as beginners can't do advanced/deep dives quite yet. Looking at Thatch Caye, Turneffe, Blue Marlin, Long Caye, Glover's.....so many choices and they all sound great! But we need someplace with easier/shallower dives.

Any advice? Also, any thoughts about where to stay in Placencia? Thanks everyone.

 

[Downing]

Hmmm. Not sure if Turneffe Island Resort is right for your situation, but I'm happy to provide a description per your criteria.

It's not exactly luxurious but the food and accommodations are definitely first-rate. No tv's except for the one in the lodge that nobody ever watches. Not sure about hair dryers.

With the exception of the Blue Hole, which you could skip, most dives are around 60 to 70 feet, which may be deeper than you're looking for. You and yours would gets lots of personalized attention, though, which would possibly help alleviate any concerns.

The diving's easy there as the viz is excellent, the water's warm and there's typically not a lot of current. My wife was a relatively new and somewhat nervous diver when we went two years ago and was a diving dog by the time we left two weeks later.

 

[Caxy Diver]

I have been to Thatch Caye and it has very nice accommodations. he divemaster Chico did a great job with the new people. I think one of the nice thing about Thatch Caye is they will fit your schedule.
Enjoy your stay in Belize it's wonderfrull
our website has all the dive centers and most of the dive friendly resorts you might want to check it out. Scuba Dive Yellow Pages | Scuba Diving Yellow Pages } Scuba Diver Yellow Pages

 

[peterbj7]

And at Thatch Caye there are all sorts of diving, including large areas of the shallow diving you are looking for.

Mind you, Tranquility Bay at the northern end of Ambergris Caye also offers very good shallow diving.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Splash Dive Shop in Placencia is probably the best place to go for kids diving. The owner has been running a program for a couple of years where she teaches local kids whose parents cannot afford diving lessons (I am an instructor, help her with this program and recently became an investor in her company). There is a lot of good diving for kids in the Placencia area, Laughing Bird Caye in particular - which is one of the prime sites we use for the Splash Junior Dive Club. There are also a lot of non diving activities in and around Placencia.
Splash partners with a number of hotels and resorts that cover a range that will fit most needs and budgets. You could check out the options on their website at splashbelize.com.
Splash has a good success rate with whale shark dives. I have seen whale sharks on 9 of 11 whale shark dives. Depending on the age of your kids and how much time we could spend with them before whale shark dives, some or all of them may be able to do whale shark dives. If not, they can at least do whale shark snorkelling with Splash on the same trip you are on.