Thanks to all who answered questions before my trip. Thought I would pass on a quick trip summary to those still planning. 7 days. Tropic Air to San Pedro. Diving 2 days with Island Divers. Stayed at Blue Tang. Small inn we liked. Office staff very helpful. Ate at Playa Chel, Lilly's, Waraguma, Carumba, the Reef and DandE's. Caye Caulker Water taxi to Belize City. Budget rental car - got a 2012 Kia Sportage. Belize Zoo on trip to Santa Elena/San Ignacio. Stayed at the Aguada. Again, small place we liked. Very homy feel and nice staff. Ate at Hanna's and Hodie's(sp). Desert at Sweet Thing. Tikal through Maya Heart. ATM cave through Pacz. Both tours were great. Then drove to Anderson's Caves Branch. Black Hole drop - fun. Only stayed one night due to budget. Ate at Cheers and drove to Howler Monkey Lodge. Night Crocidile Tour with CBS. Big ones scared off by some fishermen. Saw small ones and lots of birds and stars. Glowing mushrooms, fireflies and stars in the dark is quite a sight. Morning Community Baboon Sanctuary Tour, stop at Black Orchid for lunch and then flight home. Great trip. I liked all the places. Family a little shook up when we found a scorpion in the room by the door at Howler Monkey. I think just a result of the less traffic to the cabins. Did want to be honest on the board. Did not metion to Ed or Mel. They were nice hosts. No complaints or problems. Could recommend all the above. Not the fanciest places but all clean and nice hosts.
Specific for divers, I liked the location of Blue Tang. Island Divers picked us up from the dock. Also within walking distance to Island Divers and a couple of the other dive shops. They also had a basic contintental breakfast that was good before heading to the boat. Also Blue Tang is close to the grocery stores and easy walking to downtown restaurants.
We are still beginning divers, ranging from 16 - 20 dives. Overall, I would give Island Divers a good review. Good pre-trip communication and they answered all emails timely. We were there on spring break and it was very busy. It felt like the shop was a little overwhelmed, especially the first day. Everyone was nice but we were one of the last groups to get picked up and delivered to the shop and the selection of fins, for example, was pretty low. First day did Hol Chan dive and then snorkel. Got there much later than other boats and felt rushed to get in the water. One son had problems with his tank falling out not once but twice due to the way they put a weight in the retaining strap and possibly other equipment issues. That caused him have two incidents under water where his tank fell out of the BC. I and a diver from another boat helped him the first time and fix it back the way the shop had it. The second time I helped by myself and took the weight out and then it worked better. Also, by the time we got to the snorkel sight most of the other boats were leaving and the sharks and rays seemed tired of people. Finally got a small shark to come in and an overly friendly ray. Crew was nice and patient. I just think it was an off day caused by the crowds during spring break. Dove outside the reef the next day with just one son. Spouse and other son decided not to dive. Had a very full boat and was afraid of repeat of prior day but was pleasantly surprised. Some first time divers went with their own dive master. Some clearly more experienced divers went with their own seperate guide. Remaining son and I went with Chino (excellent) and a group of lionfish hunters on the boat. Got to see a lot of sharks that were wanting to eat the lionfish after they were speared. Second day was two of my best dives ever getting to see the sharks, eels and the usual array of fish and coral. I think the first day was just a busy/off day and they really did a good job on the second day. Everyone was nice and polite on both days. Also, it was VERY rough the secon day outside the reef due to a passing storm. They were excellent in getting people out and in the boat in some challenging conditions. Even some of the very experienced divers were talking about the rough conditions and being seasick.
Specific for divers, I liked the location of Blue Tang. Island Divers picked us up from the dock. Also within walking distance to Island Divers and a couple of the other dive shops. They also had a basic contintental breakfast that was good before heading to the boat. Also Blue Tang is close to the grocery stores and easy walking to downtown restaurants.
We are still beginning divers, ranging from 16 - 20 dives. Overall, I would give Island Divers a good review. Good pre-trip communication and they answered all emails timely. We were there on spring break and it was very busy. It felt like the shop was a little overwhelmed, especially the first day. Everyone was nice but we were one of the last groups to get picked up and delivered to the shop and the selection of fins, for example, was pretty low. First day did Hol Chan dive and then snorkel. Got there much later than other boats and felt rushed to get in the water. One son had problems with his tank falling out not once but twice due to the way they put a weight in the retaining strap and possibly other equipment issues. That caused him have two incidents under water where his tank fell out of the BC. I and a diver from another boat helped him the first time and fix it back the way the shop had it. The second time I helped by myself and took the weight out and then it worked better. Also, by the time we got to the snorkel sight most of the other boats were leaving and the sharks and rays seemed tired of people. Finally got a small shark to come in and an overly friendly ray. Crew was nice and patient. I just think it was an off day caused by the crowds during spring break. Dove outside the reef the next day with just one son. Spouse and other son decided not to dive. Had a very full boat and was afraid of repeat of prior day but was pleasantly surprised. Some first time divers went with their own dive master. Some clearly more experienced divers went with their own seperate guide. Remaining son and I went with Chino (excellent) and a group of lionfish hunters on the boat. Got to see a lot of sharks that were wanting to eat the lionfish after they were speared. Second day was two of my best dives ever getting to see the sharks, eels and the usual array of fish and coral. I think the first day was just a busy/off day and they really did a good job on the second day. Everyone was nice and polite on both days. Also, it was VERY rough the secon day outside the reef due to a passing storm. They were excellent in getting people out and in the boat in some challenging conditions. Even some of the very experienced divers were talking about the rough conditions and being seasick.
