Turneff for May 2017 whale shark

[Kharon]

OK - I want to stay on Turneff for 2 weeks during the May full moon 2017. Any recomendations would be most welcome. I have absolutely no idea where to stay. I could go with anything from a cheap apartment that has a kitchen to an all inclusive. This is a one time deal. I want to dive with whale sharks so I can be flexible.

I also need recommendations on who to dive with.

I'll be flying from Albany NY or there abouts. I could leave from Rochester NY, NY/NJ, Boston, or Conneticut airports. Anyone have experience flying from this area?

 

[AWMIII]

If you are going for the whale sharks, you probably want to talk to some shops in Placencia. Most whale shark trips begin there. Turneffe is a remote atoll with 2 or 3 outpost type resorts on it. Because of the nature of the place, there are no grocery stores or outside restaurants so the resorts are pretty inclusive. They each have a dozen or so rooms and are pretty far apart on separate islands. The diving is very nice out there. It is considered to be one of the best areas to dive in the country, but the whale shark dives are in an area known as the Gladden Spit in the southern park of the country.

I have flown from Newark a few times and JFK twice. There is an early flight from JFK by Avianca. When it is on sale it is a good deal. It is pretty unique because you change planes in San Salvador before a 35 minute flight to Belize City. That flight lands at about 9am giving you a lot of time before dark to get where you are going. Most flights from the US transfer in Miami, Houston, Charlotte, Atlanta, or Dallas. I like the flight that leaves Newark (American or United) at about 5am and lands in Belize City around 10-11am. If you end up in Placencia or Hopkins (since you are looking for whale sharks) You will then need to either drive or fly to your final destination in Belize. It is a few hours to either place by car or less than an hour by small plane. If you are headed to Turneffe, you will need to get a taxi or van to Belize City to get on the resorts boat for a very roughly 2 hour boat ride to the atoll. This trip may be rough or calm.

I make a few trips a year to Belize, but I usually go to Ambergris Caye. It is a long way to the Gladden Spit from there so there are no whale shark trips. There is however a town with restaurants, styores,and many dive shops. The local diving is really nice and most sites are within 15 minutes of the dock.

 

[Downing]

I would only add that if you're going to stay at one of the resorts on the atoll, they'll take care of the transfer from the airport to the boat and back.

But if you're headed for Whale Sharks, you want to go to Hopkins or Placencia. I'd recommend Hamanasi for the former and Splash Dive Center for the latter. You might want to hurry as the WS dives are very popular and sell out in advance.

 

[Kharon]

If you are going for the whale sharks, you probably want to talk to some shops in Placencia. Most whale shark trips begin there. ... but the whale shark dives are in an area known as the Gladden Spit in the southern park of the country.

I must be mistaken. I thought I read that Turneffe was the main center, Gladden was next, and while Placencia did WS trips, it was a very long hike out to the sites and back.

 

[Kharon]

You might want to hurry as the WS dives are very popular and sell out in advance.

More than a year in advance???

 

[mmmbelows]

Turneffe is about diving the best dive sites Belize has to offer, the 2nd most famous dive site of Belize is there - the elbow which depending on where you stay is a 5 minute boat ride. The most famous site but definitely not Belize's best is the blue hole dive which you would have the option of doing, and the benefit is a much shorter ride to it. Whale sharks have been spotted on a rare dive out there but nobody is going to Turneffe on purpose to see them, the draw is being out at the atoll and accessing the dive sites there. Personally I'd myself never go to Belize only to see whale sharks, they are too hit and miss. There are other places with much better odds. But I'd certainly return to Turneffe if I was going to dive in Belize again.

 

[PADI Travel]

Hi Kharon,

There are a few options for accommodation in Turneffe. The first option you have is to join a liveaboard. Both the Belize Aggressor III and the Belize Aggressor IV sail around the atoll. You could also stay at the Blackbird Caye Resort which would offer you both accommodation and diving on the Turneffe Atoll. Finally, you could pick from the numerous accommodation options in Belize City and take a short boat ride to Turneffe Atoll one days you want to dive. If you’d like any other information on the weather, dive sites or diver reviews of accommodation options on the atoll, you can take a look at our page about the outer cayes and atolls of Belize.

Have a great trip and happy diving!

 

[Downing]

More than a year in advance???

Ha ha, no. Or at least I don't think so. My bad for not noticing the "2017."

 

[AWMIII]

Regardless, The Aggressors spend most of the week on Lighthouse Reef, not Turneffe. I like Lighthouse Reef better. They do do a couple of dives most weeks at Turneffe. The poster above who mentioned Blackbird, did not mention Turneffe Flats and Turneffe Island Resort. Your odds of seeing a whale shark at Turneffe are about 1 in 2500.

 

[diversteve]

If you want to dive with Whale Sharks you need to get to Gladden Spit only and your best odds are right before or after the full moons in Spring/Early Summer when the Cubera Snapper Spawn which brings them in.

It's also only 4 times in the late spring/summer that it's even realistically possible you'll see one.

Some friends did it a couple years ago and dove with 8 over two trips. And it is a long ride from anywhere. They did it with Splash Dive in Placencia relatively inexpensively - the shop set them up with an inexpensive apt. in "town" and shuttled them around - including pickup at the airport.

I don't think the Turneffe resorts even go there - Turneffe Island Resort doesn't mention it at all. Neither does Turneffe Flats - they both go the other way and dive the Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef on special trips.

The Hopkins resorts have reservations/optional trips but they're pricey. Hamanasi is expensive, Roberts Grove maybe slightly less. Turtle Inn is the highest. I believe - but do not know - that the boat ride from there would be even farther since it's north of Placencia. I guess it partly depends on the speed of the boat.

The liveaboards go nowhere near Gladden Spit unless Splash runs their one special trip again this year.

Start Here: Gladden Spit | Whale Sharks | Splash Dive Center | Placencia Belize or contact Ralph Capeling - it's his business. Ralph also posts a yearly thread about it here. And it's also very date specific - the current dates are probably on their website under the Gladden Spit link. Partly explains the demand also - my friends booked in early fall for the May dates IIRC.

Avalon Divers closed a couple years ago so afaik about the only other option is Belize Scuba Diving and Snorkeling In Placenica | Seahorse Dive Shop

fwiw, I personally have never been there although I partly planned and was supposed to go with my friends.