So you all had a blast polling who's best bartender. Can't live without dive masters on A.C. This should be interesting...

Roberto Canul......Ambergris Divers....HANDS DOWN!

Sarah, I agree with you about Roberto. He's a great divemaster. I wouldn't be fair however if I didn't also mention Carlos Santino and Adolpho Duran from Barefoot Watersports. I can't wait to see them all when I return to AC in December!!!

Billy Leslie at Hustler

I agree about Carlos @ Barefoot Water Sports!! He was the BEST!

Another vote for Billy Leslie and all the great people at Hustler Tours.

Probably would be best to ask who is your favorite Divemaster instead of the best unless of course you have dove with all the Dm's on Ambergris Caye :-)

Most of the Dm's mentioned have worked for me during the past 12 years and i agree

Roberto Canul (now at Ambergris divers)
Carlos (now at barefoot)
Elias (now at bottom Time)
Ched Cabral (independant)

All are really great DM's but we all have a favorite and mine based on 9 years of faithful service and hundreds of past customers agree it is

Andy Palacio

Everyone has a favorite and its really on how they click with you but without a doubt its normally the Divemaster that makes or breaks a persons experience on a dive trip.

Congrats to them all

regards

Gaz Cooper

I've got to agree with Gaz. Until you've dived with a selection of DM's, it is hard to say who is the *best*. Even after you've been diving with a bunch of different DM's, it's hard to say who is the best. They are each different in their own special ways. And so even after you've been diving with a bunch of them, all you think you are sure of is who might have been the better diver, the better guide, the better shepherd, but in the end it often comes down to who fit you the best. What is each person's personal skill level to be making these calls?

Now having said all of that . . . As for what else I'll totally support Gaz on, is, of all of the DM's that I've been diving with in a number of places in this world, not just Belize, Andy Palacio, was one of the very best so far.

Hi Gaz, you are absolutely right. "favorite" is the word. Thanks for your neat input.

Just as each of us has a different need for lodging, each has a different need for a dive master.
Since I like to think of myself as an underwater photographer, my needs are different, than say a spearfisherman. This means a dive master who also understand photographers.

I need to be in a small group of experienced divers who can respect my equipment and not be kicking up debris all over the place or rinsing their masks in the camera tank.

Therefore, my vote goes for Ched Cabral. Last year when I brought a small group of u/w photographers down he made sure we had LARGE separate rinse tanks for our cameras. He also took the time to understand what set-up each of us had and found specimens specific to each of our needs.
My very best dive in Belize was last November when Ched took just me out to Hol Chan on a moon-less night for an awesome dive. After we came up we simply sat in the silence and watched to stars and talked quietly for over an hour. It just doesn't get any better than that.
My other vote goes to Billy Leslie for not only being a great dive master but also an instructor and politically active in the eco/dive business. He is truly dedicated and loves the reef.
He's good looking too!

Harriette