AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Chat Area Avid Divers..Where to Stay?

Come and get me!!!

I thought these folks were looking to stay in AC, now I see their post says Belize. I guess anybody who can read knows that the atolls are fantastic diving. My first trip to Belize, so I picked AC
for it's noted ambiance, and yes, I admit it - convenience. Plus, you can book dives to those outer areas, day trips, overnights, and use AC as a homebase. If you choose to stay on AC, try Gaz.

20 years of Diving..over 200+ dives....naa I'm not qualified...

I agree, the outer Atolls are the place to go!

The worse dive I had in AC was wonderful...and I don't wear glasses.
It is true that many sites were wacked by storms, and yes compared to Bonaire or Great Barrier Reef AC is paled.
That said, you can't find a place with people like AC and Divemasters who are willing to spend time at your pace. Most will go out of their way to make sure you see the best AC has to offer.

Crawfish..how many times have you been to AC?

Axeman,
More times than is necessary to determine better diving can be had elsewhere, remember they asked about Belize, not just A/C. It sounded to me diving was high on their list of priorities.

They asked "where diving is extremely convenient" IF that were the case one would find a different location all together. Like Bonaire, all the beach diving you can stand and easy access, well not real easy. Anyway they asked about Belize, not Bonaire or just A/C.

My first trip to Belize was to stay on Long Caye and dive the Lighthouse Reef. It was great wall diving and spectacular sea life, but it wasn't my favorite dive experience. The dives seemed to be a major production because of the substandard boats on the island, and I went home bruised badly from having to crawl up a ladder that banged against the boat constantly in the rough seas. The island is very remote and has one choice for dining--like it or not. I was glad I took a box of chocolates with me. OK, so the walls were wonderful, but I'm interested in more than what's down at 100 ft.

I've been to Bonaire, and while the diving is convenient and easy, there is no big sea life there. The sea life was colorful and plentiful, but the biggest fish we saw all week was a parrotfish. My favorite experience was in the macro life--and I saw my first sea horse there. It's a different kind of diving experience than at AC.

On AC, the diving is easy, convenient, and offers a variety of sea life. We took the Blue Hole trip on two separate trips and enjoyed the dives on that trip. But we were glad to be back to AC where the diving is so effortless. I'm an avid diver but not a die hard diver. I like to get out there, enjoy the dive, and get back to shore for a rest and a guaranteed good meal.

Hi! The other folks have a point. There's lots to be seen on the outer cayes. Ambergris has been 'over-dived' to an extent, but still worthwhile. Still has many nice places, I'm particularly fond of Esmeralda Canyons. The color is beautiful. And, you can get day trips out to the outer cayes if you wish. The benefit of AC is that there is more to do than dive and sit at the bar. I like that. And, you do not need to stay in an overly expensive dive resort. Most hotels have piers, so find the place you like then make the arrangements. We have all our gear, except the tanks and weights. That doesn't matter, you can rent. We stay at a relatively inexpensive place, Paradise Resort Hotel ([email protected] - max rate for a huge room with kitchenette is $130US - down to about $78 for a smaller room without kitchenette, and they are beautiful, thatched roof places, on a huge lot, with tons of flowers -I love it). Check out the web site..Paradise Resort Hotel, Ambergris Caye, Belize. The site so does not do it justice. It is beautiful and loaded with wonderful flowers. We dive with our former dive instructor, Sylvin Forman (from the US call 011-501-226-2452). The best thing about Sylvin is that he will pick you up at your dock and keep (and rinse) your gear for the whole time you are there (he works out of Bottom Time) and is literally one of the first Padi certified dive instructor in Belize. Knows the place like the back of his hand. He also sets up the gear, so all you have to do is check it out. He'll take you out if he isn't instructing, or will refer you to Rudy who is very excellent too. You can also reach Sylvin through Bottom Time at [email protected], but I prefer to deal with him directly. Tell him Marie sent you. Have a wonderful time. You'll fall in love with AC. Marie

If you want to stay on Ambergris Caye and money is no object for this anniversary trip, then I recommend Victoria House. I toured it the other day and my first comment was, wow, I've got to get married just so that I can honeymoon here.

It was beautiful. I loved the rooms and they have a number of different styles, some quite unique. Fabulous well tended grounds and the sand is brilliantly white.

I mentioned to the resort's guide that the sand was whiter there than any other place I had been to on the island. He replied "We work very hard at maintaining it".

I toured most all of the resorts when I was there a couple of weeks ago and Victoria House was my top pick. They do have their own dive op on site. I can't necessarily recommend the op.

I can recommend Amigo's del Mar, who will pick you up at Victoria House, if you are dissatisfied in any way with the onsite op.

Another option...

Just for your reference, we plan our vacations around diving. What we like to do is go on a live-aboard for a week then do a land based extension. At the end of this month, we will be boarding the Belize Aggressor for a week. We decided to do our 4 day extension in A/C mainly because of this message board. We like the idea of just relaxing and doing however much or however little we like. Most of the time we tend to add a few more dives to our overall trip at our extension. Generally, we do not prearrange our diving due to the fact that we may not be able (ear infection or something) or may not want to do more than take it easy. If you haven't been on a live-aboard before and you are dive-enthusiasts, you might want to check it out. They tend to average 4-5 dives a day. We chose to stay at the Mayan Princess due to the board recommendations and the location to town and the dive shop (Amigos Del Mar). Hopefully I will be able to post a trip report upon our return. Happy researching...

We have had the good luck to dive Lake Tahoe and several other high Sierra Nevada lakes, North and central Califorina coast, Panama, Roatan, the coast and Ceonotes of Mexico, amd many dive sites in Belize including Turneffe Atoll and Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Never sell what you have short, it is amoung the best around.

In rebuttal to Crawfish and as a qualifier, I've done copious dives in San Pedro over the past couple of years. My first trip was shortly after Hurricane Mitch had done it's best or worst, depending on perspective.

I've particularly enjoyed watching the reef recover over the past couple of years. I don't believe it has been over dived, though I do occasionally see fin damage. Myself, I take off a bit from the pack and so don't travel so much in the same direct route as the divers that are sticking with the DM. Regardless, I've had plenty of wonderful experiences doing the local dives. Turtles, free swimming morays, sting rays, eagle rays, toronados of jacks, baracuda, a cast of all the usual reef fishies and the smaller stuff too (nests of Pederson Cleaner Shrimp, etc).

If you slow down and smell the roses as it were, instead of rushing from finger formation to finger formation, you will find a wonderful world beneath the sea. And yes, I've been to a few other places for comparison purposes (Bali, Thailand, South Pacific, Coz, Cuba, St. Martin). Yet, I continue to return to San Pedro.

The diving off of San Pedro is good and sometimes great. The Atoll diving is world class.

Remember, slow down, look around, dive peacefully, achieve a zen quality to your dives and you will be amazed.