Recommendation needed

[gkornfeld]

HI, my son (14 years and has 25 dives) and I are coming back to Ambergris Caye...looking for accomodation recommendation and even Dive company recommendations. It has been 1 1/2 years since there...

We are budget oriented and looking for a small dive trips.

Thoughts

PS. Timing is April 16 - April 22

Thanks

Gregg

[yakivet]

HI, my son (14 years and has 25 dives) and I are coming back to Ambergris Caye...looking for accomodation recommendation and even Dive company recommendations. It has been 1 1/2 years since there...

We are budget oriented and looking for a small dive trips.

Thoughts

PS. Timing is April 16 - April 22

Thanks

Gregg

Hi Greg- My wife and I have been to ambergris yearly for the last 6 years. The last 2 years we have done our diving with Island Divers Welcome to Island Divers Belize (http://www.islanddiversbelize.com/) "Rudy" the owner and "Nef" is main divemaster have taken very good care of us. We will be returning to dive with "Rudy" shortly before your visit, March 26th-April 2nd. His groups are small-less than 6 divers and are very well run. Dive times run 50-60 minutes. "Nef" owns the only real dive supply store in town and also has pretty good rental gear if you are in need of it.

We have stayed several times at Paradise Villas and rented through Nellie's Property management Welcome to Paradise Villas in San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, Belize! Great Accommodations, Great Service, Tours, Excursions, Vacation Get Away! (http://www.nelliesproperty.com/) Comfortable small condo type setting, nice pool, small kitchen, etc. and pretty affordable for what you get. Some friends stayed at the villas and rented through Tradewinds Belize Tradewinds - $99.00 Special EXTENDED (http://www.tradewindsparadisevillas.com/) and were equally pleased.

[peterbj7]

What Ken said. Excellent dive center. A good budget place to stay is right at the other end of Island Divers' dock, Spindrift. A still cheaper alternative is Rubies, a few yards away down the beach. Paradise Villas isn't far away and as Ken says is very good, with a peaceful atmosphere that belies its proximity to the town. Nellies and Tradewinds book for different condos in the "hotel". Paradise Villas has a swimming pool, unlike the other two places I've mentioned.

An alternative that I like is The Tides small hotel just north of town, with its in-house dive center Patojo's. I have a group staying and diving there for this coming week and I'll be joining them. Very good value accommodation, but AFAIK not "suites" as Ken describes. If this interests you please PM me as I can give you a ling to better rates than Patojo (the owner) normally gives.

There are very few dive centers I'd choose to dive with, and these are two of them.

[hydroknot]

Suggest you consider Turneffe Island Resort located on a small island within Turneffe Atoll. We just returned from a week's stay. See my post of today. Also, search "Turneffe Island Resort". You will see nothing but positive comments. PS ... Weather will be much warmer with less wind in April 2011.

[calicant]

I can give a thumbs up for Island Divers. We went out with them on three of our six days diving last week and they really looked after us. Rudy even let us use his BCD's on our trip to the Blue Hole with another dive shop which fitted our schedule.

[Midget]

I just had a look at their website. Their photo gallery flaunts pics of divers molesting (because touching & holding IS molesting) sharks. Why would a responsible dive operator promote that behavior?

[mrbeast1414]

I just had a look at their website. Their photo gallery flaunts pics of divers molesting (because touching & holding IS molesting) sharks. Why would a responsible dive operator promote that behavior?


because they get money. If they don't allow their divers to do that then their customers will be unhappy and go to another dive shop that allows it.

touch sharks=customer happy=money

[calicant]

I don't like the shark petting but I do like the spearing of lion fish

[Hank49]

Most likely the pics of petting nurse sharks were taken at Shark Ray Alley. The place is fed by shops and locals so the rays and sharks stay there and are really tame. I haven't seen anyone molesting marine life anywhere but there.

[BDSC]

I just had a look at their website. Their photo gallery flaunts pics of divers molesting (because touching & holding IS molesting) sharks. Why would a responsible dive operator promote that behavior?

Just because someone touches something doesn't mean they are molesting it. If those sharks felt like they were in danger or didn't want to be touched or held, they could very easily swim away with no chance of being caught by any diver.

[calicant]

Gordon Ramsay was drenched in gasoline and held at gunpoint by a shark finning gang in Costa Rica. I hate the thought of sharks having fins cut off and dumped back in the water alive.

http://http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8237505/Gordon-Ramsay-threatened-at-gunpoint-during-illegal-fishing-investigation.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8237505/Gordon-Ramsay-threatened-at-gunpoint-during-illegal-fishing-investigation.html)

[Midget]

Just because someone touches something doesn't mean they are molesting it. If those sharks felt like they were in danger or didn't want to be touched or held, they could very easily swim away with no chance of being caught by any diver.

The underwater world has become too many divers' petting zoo. Anyway you slice it, it comes up selfish.

How do we know this doesn't cause the creatures stress and alter their natural protective mechanisms?

I'm sticking with DATA's attitude.

[Hank49]

The underwater world has become too many divers' petting zoo. Anyway you slice it, it comes up selfish.

How do we know this doesn't cause the creatures stress and alter their natural protective mechanisms?

I'm sticking with DATA's attitude.

I'm not all for petting either. But, I've been here 11 years and people have been handling the nurse sharks at Shark Ray Alley the whole time. I would guess you'd see some stress damage on some of the sharks by now if it was harming them. They appear very healthy every time I've been there.
And no, I don't touch them.

[yakivet]

Gordon Ramsay was drenched in gasoline and held at gunpoint by a shark finning gang in Costa Rica. I hate the thought of sharks having fins cut off and dumped back in the water alive.

http://http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8237505/Gordon-Ramsay-threatened-at-gunpoint-during-illegal-fishing-investigation.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8237505/Gordon-Ramsay-threatened-at-gunpoint-during-illegal-fishing-investigation.html)

This must be where all the hammerheads have gone in Belize.

[Hank49]

This must be where all the hammerheads have gone in Belize.

I'll try to get a picture this week if I can. I was in the local fish market in Dangriga and saw about 30 baby hammerheads being sold. I don't know if they got them by gill net or what, but it was a lot.
The fish were only about 2 feet long.
The good news is, I've seen 8-10 foot hammerheads while out on the reef. Had two come right up in my face on the same day.

[peterbj7]

Up here in San Pedro I used to see two or three hammerheads a week. I haven't seen one in well over a year. And like you Hank, I have seen fishermen, the "old school" variety, landing considerable numbers of small sharks (several varieties, no hammerheads). As many as twenty in a week. Sharks that will never grow to maturity and produce offspring, sharks that won't be there for divers to see. I do think San Pedro needs to decide whether it wants to attract fishermen or divers, because their activities seem incompatible to me.