Belize, what is the diving like ?

[ronscuba]

I'm doing a Belize liveaboard in December.

What is the diving like ?

I've been to the following places:

Key Largo
Turks & Caicos
Little Cayman
Cozumel
Curacao
St. Vincent
Roatan

Is Belize diving similar to any of these places ?

[oceancat]

Hi.

I have been to belize twice and have dove all over the country there--Glover's and Lighthouse Reef Atolls, Placencia and off of Ambergris Caye. I really like the diving there. I have been to Utila and Roatan and didn't care that much for the Roatan diving. I LOVE the wall diving in Belize. It's cool to see the ocean continue down seemingly forever. You don't have the currents in Belize like in Cozumel. The fish diversity and numbers are good. We saw lots of eagle rays on our trips. Hopefully you will find the diving enjoyable too. The viz is usually in the 80-100' range-particularly out on the atolls. It's easy diving, but very pretty IMO.

[fda483]

I think Oceancat nailed it. Was in Belize on liveaboard last November and heading back again this year. All walls, no current to speak of, coral in great shape and from a photographers standpoint a good mix between macro and wide shots available. The fish count was certainly higher than Roatan and the coral was certainly healthier than the Keys (but I still love divining in Key Largo). You will enjoy it for sure!

Ron - by the way I am enjoying your videos!!!

Joe

[ronscuba]

Wall diving. Sounds similar to Turks & Caicos or Little Cayman.

How deep do the walls start ? Are the reefs at the tops of the walls interesting ?

[fda483]

Have to pull up logs to be sure but as I recall typical dive was around 60 - 70 ft out along the wall and about 30 ft at the top of the wall on the way back. I love the top of the walls -- lots of action!!

[ronscuba]

Sounds great. 60ft deep on the wall and then 30 ft on the top is a good recipe for capturing both wide angle and macro on the same dive.

Curious, are watching my vids on youtube or stage6 ?

[fda483]

Sounds great. 60ft deep on the wall and then 30 ft on the top is a good recipe for capturing both wide angle and macro on the same dive.

Curious, are watching my vids on youtube or stage6 ?


Both, a couple on stage6 but it was taking too long to download, then switched to youtube. Liked the Mary's Place and shark dive in Roatan, did both of them last year they were a blast.

If you are in NYC have you been to any of the meetings of the NYUPS? Great group just getting up and running, check out the link below:

http://www.nyups.org/

Joe

[ronscuba]

The August mtg was my 1st. It was a small group. Maybe 15-20 people. Were you there ? I left a little early. Right after the video presentation. I enjoyed the photo presentation more.

[fda483]

I was at the April and July meetings but was out of town for the one in August. Some great presentations so far.

[Celeus]

This May, I did a week trip at CocoView in Roatan followed by a week on the Peter Hughes liveaboard in Belize.

Now, I really loved the liveaboard in general, but I also have to say that I thought the diving in Belize was very good, easy, and moderate profiles (except the Blue Hole which I thought was a waste of time- I went deep, had relatively poor viz, saw some interesting rock formations and found a nudibranch- pretty much like a shore dive in Seattle).

It was similar to Roatan, with much more fish, turtles, rays, etc. The walls at CocoView are bigger/longer and have more coral. We did a day trip to the other side of Roatan, and the reefs there were more similar to Belize (and, in my opinion, better than the ones at Cocoview- if I go back to Roatan, I think I'll stay on that side of the island).

I think "Aquarium" may be my favorite dive so far. I hope your lucky enough to have as great a trip as I did.

[ronscuba]

This is great to hear Celeus. I really liked Cocoview and if Belize is similar with much more fish, this should be a great liveaboard.

I've heard good things about the other side of Roatan, but the dive freedom and house reef at Cocoview will probably keep me there on return trips. Shooting video or photo changes how you dive and what you look for in a dive operator and/or dive destination.

[Footslogger]

Been there twice (2005 and 2006) on the Nekton boat. Excellent week of diving. As already mentioned it's virtually all wall diving but there is some variety in terms of wall structure. Some great swim-thru's. Didn't spend too much time deep on the walls --- too much to see/photograph at wall's edge and above.

Enjoy Belize. Wonder if the recents storms will have had an impact ???

[peterbj7]

Wonder if the recents storms will have had an impact ???

Minimal effect on the facilities, none at all on the diving.

[Celeus]

The rinse tanks, photo tables and general photo support on the Peter Hughes boat were very nice, and the Captain for the trip I was on is an avid photographer who had lots of good ideas of where to get great shots and what to look for at upcoming sites. For example, he gave people lots of information that helped them decide whether to shoot macro or wide-angle on a particular dive.

But, for spending quality time with a subject, it's hard to beat CocoView/Newmans wall- 80 minute dives that you know you will see again tomorrow so there is nothing saying "but what will I miss if I spend some more time on this".

Have fun! I'm looking forward to seeing your shots.

[montychandler]

OK Ron, I'm in!!