Who to Dive With - and Where

[sbroh]

My husband and I are both very new divers. We've been certified since October 2007. We have done very minimal diving since our certification, namely because we live in WI. We have done a couple of dives around here in murky lakes/quarries, and dove in Aruba and Maui. We have never done a dive where we did a safety stop-- we are always well below limits for that.

We are looking at going to Belize sometime in the relatively near future. We will want to spend a couple days diving. We prefer a little bit of hand holding, specifically in making sure we can return to the place we entered the water and pointing out cool stuff. We're relatively comfortable with buoyancy, gear, etc.

I have several questions-- what is a good dive shop in Belize that is going to have a DM/ guide that will help us out with the above mentioned things? Also, we will need to rent gear too, so gear quality is important as well.

Next question -where should we dive? Lighthouse reef? Someone else? We're looking for comfortable, easy diving where we can see a lot of neat stuff. The blue hole does draw my interest. I know that staying at the depth I am comfortable staying at means I probably won't see a whole lot there, but I'm wondering if it is worth it to dive the blue hole anyway. We're pretty much open to any location in Belize/ surrounding islands/atolls.

If I was going to be extra picky, I'd prefer an outfit that doesn't mess with the marine life too much. I have found a lot of pictures online from various places where people are "riding" nurse sharks and doing other things that I really don't like. I want to just observer the wildlife, not hassle it.

Finally, if anyone has recommendations for good accommodations, that would be appreciated as well. We don't need anything fancy, just something clean and relatively budget friendly.

Thank you all!

 

[Gaz]

Hi Sbroh

For the Blue Hole take a look at this video Blue Hole Belize is it really worth Diving

If you are only planning on diving for a couple of days then Ambergris Caye or Placencia might be the best spot and there is another video that you may find interesting

Ambergris Caye Diving is it right for you

Placencia Diving is it right for you

and one last one The Best Diving In Belize

Plus you will get lots of other information from regular posters here.

As for dive shop Belize Dive Connection, Chuck and Robbies are a couple of good outfits.

Gaz Cooper

 

[flareside]

Gaz: Great videos!

Sbroh: I spent a week at Huracan Divers on Long Cay/Lighthouse Reef in March and as the videos pointed out, the diving on the atolls is amazing. And most of the time, the dives sites were just a 5 minute boat ride from the dock with the trip to the blue hole being the longest at just under 20 minutes. The atolls however don't seem to be the place for the casual diver. They are for the people who want to eat, sleep, breathe diving for a week at a time (largely because out on the atolls there is not much else to do). And depending on weather conditions, getting to the atolls can require a very long, arduous boat ride from the coast. But hard core divers will find the effort more than amply rewarded by the quality of the diving. It really comes down to personal preferences as to how important diving is to the overall vacation.

As far as the blue hole, it's definitely worthwhile. It probably won't be the most amazing dive you will ever do but it is an experience that will stand out in your memory because of just how different it is from any other dive. The scale of the formations is somewhat mindboggling.

Overall, I do wonder if you are setting yourself up for some disappointment in only allotting a couple of days for diving. You will likely come away wishing you had allowed for more.

 

[yakivet]

From Wisconsin, Belize is a long ways to go for a couple of days diving. I think you will get a lot of feedback here if you can give us a little more infomation. Maybe we can help you maximize your experience.

You'll be flying into the Belize City International Airport. Are your plans to stay on the mainland and then head outward for a couple of days diving? Or are you looking for a good place to visit, where you can just do a couple days of diving while there. Or maybe you've already picked your destination in Belize. Let us know and the advice will flow.

 

[peterbj7]

All good info here. I agree that if you just take two days to dive you won't be doing it justice. If you're the newbies you say you are you won't have time to get comfortable before you stop.

Most of the dive centers here will look after you as much as you want/need. It's probably better to go with the smaller operations, but even the bigger ones won't necessarily have many people on any one boat. You do appreciate. I hope, that pretty well all diving in Belize is from boats?

I and others can make specific recommendations as to areas to visit, who to stay with and who to dive with, but as Yakivet says, we could really do with a bit more information to be able to help you. For example, when is "the relatively near future"? Makes a big difference if it's next month or sometime in the summer. How long will you be here? What do want to do other than dive? How restricted is your budget? - there are some wonderful but pricey places, and there are also places which offer better value for money than others.

For starters, have a look at Belize Vacations, Tours, Resorts, News, Hotels, Travels, Flights, Weather, Maps, Real Estate which has a wealth of information on Belize, not just Ambergris Caye.

Lastly, don't plan to do too many different things in a short time. Lots of people do that and they always regret it. If for example you had a week and diving was your principal activity, I'd suggest staying (perhaps) on the northern cayes and taking one or perhaps two day trips to see Mayan ruins or do other things in the jungle on the mainland. If you decide to stay in Placencia instead you'll also have land-based activities readily accessible to you.

I wouldn't bother with the Blue Hole if you're as inexperienced as you say. You won't get a lot out of it. But if you decide on the south of Belize and your visit will be in the next few months, try to be there around the full moon and take a whaleshark viewing trip - you dive with them and it's a highly memorable experience. If you want more info on this just ask.

Over to you.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

If you want to combine diving and inland adventures, you should look at Placencia. We have some great diving here and we dive all of Belize from Placencia. You can check out the dive sites on our website at Belize Scuba Diving Packages, Snorkeling & Whale sharks|Splash Dive Center|Placencia Belize. We partner with a number of hotels and resorts from budget to luxury so can arrange accomodation that will fit almost any requirements and budget or can arrange house or apartment rental.
Placencia is a 30 minute flight from the international airport (airplane makes a stop or two on the way, otherwise it would be a 15 minute flight) on either Maya Island or Tropic air.
I am a co-owner of Splash Dive Center and we have some exellent dive masters and instructors and they know how to find all the good stuff. You may want to consider doing the underwater naturalist and fish ID courses (one dive required for each plus the knowledge reviews) so you learn more about what you are seeing and enjoy the experience even more - and these count as part of the 5 dives to achieve the advanced open water certification. In fact, if you wanted to, you could do the deep dive, underwater navigation dive plus one other of your choice and become certified advanced open water divers.
We have a kids club where we teach local kids free of charge whose parents cannot afford diving lessons, so have lots of experience with inexperienced divers and put enough dive masters on the boat to make sure that both experienced and relatively new divers can get the most out of the dive.
About 25% of Belize is protected by parks and reserves and the majority of these are in the southern half of Belize (the farming is mainly in the north half). As a result, almost half of the southern part of Belize is covered by parks and reserves. Placencia is centered on the beach in the southern half of Belize so is an excellent base for exploring Maya ruins, rain forest and jungle, rivers, etc, etc. You can check some of these out by going to Amenities, Tours and Other Services|Splash Dive Center|Placencia Belize.
If we can help in any way or if you have some questions, you can e-mail my partner Patty at patricia@splashbelize.com or PM me.

 

[Downing]

Regarding the Blue Hole, what's your depth comfort level? The lip of the hole is at 50 feet, and there's not much to see there other than the lip, sand and maybe some sharks. If there are sharks, they may hang at the lip with you, which would be very cool. If not, then it wouldn't be much of a dive.

Of course, some would say the BH isn't much of a dive even if you go to 130 feet but that's a debate for a different thread.

You'll love Belize, wherever you decide to stay.

 

[sbroh]

Ok, let's hope I can answer all the questions.

As far as length of stay and diving, we would plan on staying for a week. We'd like to spend most of the time diving, so maybe four or five days, and then a couple days doing whatever else Belize has to offer - Ruins, Jungles, etc. We also have done both boat and shore diving before.

As far as where we would be staying-- that all depends on where the best diving (for us) would be. We were thinking San Pedro/AC, but are open to anywhere. Maybe Placencia, if there is good diving and a good dive shop there...

As far as the blue hole, upon looking more into it, I believe that it outside of my depth comfort zone at this time.

Thanks for all the advice so far.

 

[peterbj7]

San Pedro and Placencia will both meet your needs, in different ways. Placencia is on the mainland, so you'd drive to make a ruins trip. San Pedro is on an island, so you'd take a boat or a plane. Placencia is a long way from the reef so you'd generally go out to do several dives and only come back at the end. San Pedro is five minutes from local dive sites, so the whole diving process can be more relaxed. Diving from San Pedro is also considerably cheaper because there's less precious boat fuel used.

I can give you detailed recommendations for San Pedro, both for accommodation and diving. In fact, I know of a couple of special deals that you might find especially attractive. Ralph can do much the same for Placencia. But neither of us can decide for you which place to go to. Look at the reference I gave you, read guide books, talk to people who've been here, and make up your mind which area you want to visit. In a week you can't go to both - you have to choose.

There are other places you can visit, but generally the cost goes up and flexibility goes down. For a first visit I think I'd take one of the big two.

 

[yakivet]

I can only speak for Ambergris, as I havn't had accomodations on any of the cayes or in Placencia, but I will try to give you the Ambergris "feeling" and explain why our familiy has now visited 6 times.

I consider Ambergris an experience. It allows you to immerse yourself into the island culture as much or as little as you desire. You've got the combination of Island culture, some really good opportunities for food, a wide variety of lodging (from very expensive to very cheap), and some fantastic diving only a 5-10 minute boat ride away. Even if you want to venture North or South of town, you're only looking at a 15minute boat ride.

By basing your dive trip on Ambergris you are also within day trip distance to many of the numerous activities on the mainland. CaveTubing, Zip Lining, and Maya Ruin Exploration are all a boat ride or short plane ride away. Evenings can be spent "Golf Carting" your way around town. You will never need to eat in the same place unless you decide to. These are a bit more difficult at the off shore "dedicated" dive resort.

Having visited both Half Moon Caye (Blue Hole Area) and Turneffe, I will say that the diving out there is exceptional. Although the diving off Ambergris is nice, it does not compare to the pristine conditions of the Atolls. Both of these destinations are available as a day trip off Ambergris. You will likely base your decisions on the amount and quality of the diving you are after, and on the amount of "after-diving" activity you prefer. On Ambergris, surface intervals are generally done back at the dive shop docks. This is a nice feature as you may dive the 1st dive of the AM, the second dive of the AM, or both.

On Ambergris, My wife and I used to dive with an outstanding operation called Protech. As they ceased operation several years ago, we now do all of our diving with Rudy Duran of Island Divers. Welcome to Island Divers Belize He has several boats and some great divemasters that will give you as much or as little "hand holding" as you desire. On our last visit, I watched Rudy himself work with a couple of divers that hadn't been in the water for years. His shop, as will most, will pick you up at any of the hotels docks in the area.

One thing is certain, your visit to Belize will be a ton of fun. If you're looking for extracurricular activities around good diving, I'd suggest Ambergris. If you are in search of exceptional diving with minimal exposure to the belizean culture I'd shift to the dedicated dive resorts on Thatch Caye or Turneffe. If you're looking for something in between, but with a bit longer boat rides, consinder Placencia.
Enjoy your trip, and all its planning. Ken :42: