Belize City or Placencia

[Scott T]

As usual, I am not disappointed in the amount of feedback I get here. Thanks for the definitive feedback and the suggestions for tour operators. We found our Cairns, Australia guide the same way here. Looks like we will likely be hitting Placencia for a week or so, then maybe another few days/week somewhere else down there inland.

 

[Scott T]

Another question: What's the best way to get from Belize City to Placencia? I see flights for about $234 and I've heard it's 3.5 hours by road. I don't mind the long drive as long as it's reliable transportation...and cheaper than $1k for the family of 4.

 

[Charles2]

It might be worth checking out Discover Hamanasi Resort | Award Winning Resort in Belize. They offer both diving and inland excursions. It is an all inclusive resort with wonderful accommodations and food. My wife and I spent a week there with another couple and truly enjoyed ourselves. On the days that the guys dived, the ladies could go to the jaguar preserve, birding, or any of the other activities. One nice thing about Hamanasi is that they include all of your transportation from the airport to the resort and back to the airport in the weekly rate. The diving is excellent and the tour guides are great.

 

[diversteve]

IDK anything about this: Belize Shuttles. Shared & Private Shuttle, Transfers, Water Taxi Shuttle | Belize Shuttle Service - Belize Shuttles it appears it would be $43pp one-way for 4.

Splash Dive in Placencia can arrange everything also. IDK if their rate is better than yours but they do provide a pickup at the airport and daily shuttle service from the resorts nearby to their shop/boats.

Belize Scuba Diving Packages & Whale Sharks | Splash Dive Center | Scuba & Accommodation in Placencia Belize IIRC one of their properties was beachfront condos also. We had planned a trip but then got a better deal on a LOB, a couple of my friends went and stayed at one of their listed properties in town. But they're cheap divers (my friends) so I doubt it was very nice. http://www.splashbelize.com/belize-scuba-diving-packages-2/

It's probably who you're diving with there anyway. Not a lot of other options unless you stay at one of the better resorts.

 

[chillyinCanada]

One person's definition of not "very nice" and another person's can easily differ.

I don't particularly like resorts, though often "resorts" in Belize are not much like we may normally understand the word.

The place I really like in Placencia doesn't appear to be on Splash's list. It has a great location and smaller rooms on the mainfloor for singles or couples. Upstairs is a fantastic 3 bedroom unit with private wrap around patio. If your party isn't that big, they'll lock off some of the rooms for you and let you enjoy the rest of the place. I was blessed to get that upstairs unit to myself. A bit ridiculous really having all that room to myself but I loved it and could imagine enjoying it with my family or group of good friends. There was no pool but heck, if you're diving, who needs a pool?

 

[JamesBon92007]

I'm looking at doing a trip to Belize but I'm not understanding how anyone gets from Point A to Point B. I inquired about a cottage across the river from Monkey Town and was told there is a water taxi to Monkey Town but if you want to get to a dive shop in Placencia it's "a half hour boat ride" but where do you get the boat? Then it looks like (on Google Earth) that there are no roads to the dive shop but ferry routes are clearly marked. Someone said it's a 3 1/2 car ride from Belize City to Placencia and after two days of travel that doesn't sound very appealing. Someone suggested Off the Wall but they are talking about $650 for a boat to take you there. The ferry to Cozumel costs considerably less Do most people take a small plane from Belize City to Placencia? In short, what is the usual procedure for going diving in Belize? I've found places to stay for as little as $32 per night but I'd rather pay more for less of a challenge to get to the dive shop. I also don't want to be in town--I want quiet. It would like to have a "vacation" from the USA and not end up some place where they think everyone wants to listen to rock and roll 24 hours a day. For once.

Is diving always more expensive in Central America? Everything was pricey in Costa Rica. I get the impression that a dive boat just above the border of Belize might cost $80 and once you cross the border it's more like $180.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Are you trying to rent the whole boat?

First, if you were to choose Ambergris Caye to dive from, rates are around $80 for a two tank. However, if you want to take the 3 tank day trip out to the Atolls, the price jumps significantly.

Second, I can't tell you how to get to Monkey River and back to Placencia. I fly from BZE International airport to Placencia. This adds a chunk of cchange to your overall airfare bill but it's a very pretty 45 minute flight. Diving out of Placencia is more expensive than diving out of Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker because of distance to the reef.

I'm not sure how you can be positive that you'll have complete serenity at Monkey River either. One never knows what the neighbors may do . . .kinda like camping that way.

There are places on Ambergris Caye that are quiet but not for $32/night.

 

[Pengelam]

Agree with the suggestion to do two locations in Belize. For land activities, consider San Ignacio. Very close to the cave tubing, Mayan ruins. etc. Stayed at Amber Sunset Jungle Resort. Also stayed at Maya Beach Resort on Maya Beach. Just outside of Placencia and a few minutes from Splash Dive. Great place. Most excellent food. Also consider hiking Cocks Comb Wildlife Sanctuary and Wildlife Preserve near Plancencia where there are Jaguars. Never see any but always worth the effort. Great tubing there too.

Went last Christmas. Diving was not too good. Bad vis. Second day of diving was called off because of high winds. Many say that the diving is better up north. We booked late and everything up north was full.

We just rented a car. Driving is super easy. Hardly any traffic. Belize to San Ignatio was about 2 or 3 hours. San Ignatio to Placencia was about five. Only really one highway in the country so hard to get lost. Lots of stops can be made on the way. Going through mountains pretty stunning.

 

[foresterab]

We went to Belize last Christmas for 3 weeks split between San Ignacio and Ambergris Caye. Flew in to Belize City and had a pick-up arranged to take us to San Ignacio...want to say $80 USD for two of us. Daily excursions were easy to get to and some amazing sights in the area. Very easy to arrange pick-ups and drivers if needed at a very reasonable cost. I sort of figured out the access and roads but not all turns are well marked and many roads have some rough travel if you're driving to excursions yourself. Not sure what conditions are like in the south though.

We did fly from San Ignacio to Ambergris Caye (want to say ~$200 USD/pp) but it saved us most of day's travel time and let us check into the hotel there. Diving was okay day 1 (limited to single dive due to wind), good day 2 (didn't dive) and 3 (2 tank local). Day 4 onwards all local diving was cancelled due to the wind and 6-8 foot waves making it a safety issue although I did get out to the atolls for a day (3 dives). Shops were all quite frustrated at the weather but better to call the dive than lose a boat full of folks. It was great weather on day 9 and 10 however due to flights couldn't go out again.

Only issue was returning home to winter and the VISA bill. Till the next trip...

 

[chillyinCanada]

I'm looking at doing a trip to Belize but I'm not understanding how anyone gets from Point A to Point B. I inquired about a cottage across the river from Monkey Town and was told there is a water taxi to Monkey Town but if you want to get to a dive shop in Placencia it's "a half hour boat ride" but where do you get the boat? Then it looks like (on Google Earth) that there are no roads to the dive shop but ferry routes are clearly marked. Someone said it's a 3 1/2 car ride from Belize City to Placencia and after two days of travel that doesn't sound very appealing. Someone suggested Off the Wall but they are talking about $650 for a boat to take you there. The ferry to Cozumel costs considerably less Do most people take a small plane from Belize City to Placencia? In short, what is the usual procedure for going diving in Belize? I've found places to stay for as little as $32 per night but I'd rather pay more for less of a challenge to get to the dive shop. I also don't want to be in town--I want quiet. It would like to have a "vacation" from the USA and not end up some place where they think everyone wants to listen to rock and roll 24 hours a day. For once.

Is diving always more expensive in Central America? Everything was pricey in Costa Rica. I get the impression that a dive boat just above the border of Belize might cost $80 and once you cross the border it's more like $180.

There's a new service, a luxury shuttle. Sounds aappealing to me.

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