Hey all!

So-- like a lot of other people, I found an amazing airfare to BZE and I’m coming in for a long weekend at the very end of April/early May.

I’m coming alone, mainly to do some diving. I’m kind of a newbie… only have about 5 dives logged.

So, to some of you seasoned divers who really know the reef system/atolls near Ambergris – should I bother with the Blue Hole?

At my level, am I better off doing some other dives, and save the Blue Hole for next time?

Would love to hear what you all think.

Thanks!!

IMHO - since you are a "newbie" you can get a mindblowing number of dives right there on the reef at varying depths without the rather long ride out to the hole. The reef is sooo convenient and if you use the same dive master they will make sure you go somewhere different every dive. We did 9 dives in 5 days on AC for the first time last Sept/Oct and loved it so much we are going back this June for even longer. You get in 2 dives with surface time before noon and have the entire rest of the day to goof off, drink or lay around the pool.

A warning though - after diving the reef there, you will be disappointed in a lot of other dives sites! I've been diving since 1978 and it is some of the best anywhere.

Dear Copy
You have several things going against you for a Blue Hole dive.
1. The amount of time you will be here. The Blue Hole Trip is from early in the morning until sunset and you will be too exhausted to do anything that night.
2. You do not have your own experienced dive buddy. I have taken a couple of guest who were recently certified ONLY when there were two of us experienced buddies to watch; one lead the way the other followed.
3. There are just so many wonderful dives here on the reef that you will add to your dive history. You can actually do three dives a day; two morning and one afternoon. And, you should try to get in at least one night dive.

Every diver was new once and we do understand the excitement you are experiencing. Just go slow – there is a lot to see and believe me – you will be back.

Agreed. Do the local dives on this short trip and save the hole for later and bring (or meet) a partner to share the experience with.

Are you the person who posted a similar question on Scubaboard? If not, see my response there, which is much what others have written above.

Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto.

The blue hole is wonderful but not so much for a relatively inexperienced diver.

In 2003 a couple who had just finished their certification and had done about five days of diving the reef went out to the Blue Hole on the same trip with me and my buddy. At one point the woman decided to swim down and see the pretty sharks at the bottom. He husband realized what she was doing and caught her at about 200'.

I'm a big Blue Hole fan, however, I stand with the others. I believe it is not for novice divers.

If you had told me that you had 50 dives (within a year or so) and were going to be diving a minimum of 2 dives a day for the week and that some of those dives would be deeper than 80' . . *before* going to the Blue Hole, then I'd have encouraged you to go.

For clarity, I stand with the others here and recommend that you do not go to the Blue Hole this trip. You may hear differently, once you are on the island, but please try and resist the sales job. For the time and money, you just aren't ready to enjoy it as it should be enjoyed, and flatly, you don't have the diving experience to ensure that you will make this dive safely.

Not only dont bother with Blue Hole, but I would suggest that you make one of your dives at Hol Chan.

Even though this is only a 10-25 ft dive, you will see more marine life there than anywhere else ....and it takes a little more co ordination to hover at 15' than at 80', so you will have to work on buoyancy control, which is a good exercise.

Also remember no dives for 24 hours before you flight home (from BZE that is, the San Pedro -BZE flight is all below 1500 feet)

Enjoy

Just a word of caution. Although the risk from flying in a puddle jumper is massively less than from an airliner it isn't nil. For people who are especially predisposed towards decompression sickness that flight can still be potentially hazardous. Minimal alcohol and lots of water in the 24 hours before the flight are the best precautionary measures.