I was just in Belize Dec. 20-28 (combination of jungle adventures in the Cayo district and time on Ambergris Caye). This was our first trip to Belize….plus only 2 of our 4 family members are certified divers. My daughter and I did 2 days of 3 tank diving while on Ambergris.
Some of my "first time to Ambergris" impressions and recommendations:
- We decided to stay in town, as our kids (18 and 20) wanted to be more in the middle of the action. We stayed at the Sunbreeze Hotel, which is just a few piers down from Ramon's and literally across the street from the airport. Hard to imagine wanting to stay across the street from any airport, but airplane noise was really not an issue during our 4 days/4 nights there. Blue Water Grill is the on-site restaurant = they do a very nice job. During one of the diving days, my son/wife went out fishing; they caught snapper plus conch and lobster. BWG cooked it all up for us for dinner - fantastic! The Sunbreeze is not luxury, but I would call it a solid option in a very convenient location. Spacious rooms and nice bar/pool area. This hotel feels a little more rough around the edges vs. some of the lux properties in Amergris, but we really enjoyed it = laid back, nice staff and VERY casual. Full disclosure = there is a construction project going on next door (new condo development)…..fortunately for us they took the Christmas week off
. Not 100% sure if this would fit within your budget at that time of year - might be a stretch.
- On-site dive operator = Hugh Parkey's Belize Dive connection. We used them for 6 dives, including a night dive out at Hol Chan Cut. My wife/son also did a discovery dive with them on day 1 (Christmas Day…..all 4 family members diving together!). They have a large, stable boat and a very competent and helpful crew. Our dive guide provided very thorough briefings and erred on the conservative side…everything felt safe. We enjoyed the diving, although most of the diving we did (with the exception of Hol Chan) was on the deeper side, starting at 45+feet and ranging from 45-70. Their operation is generally pretty small. The boat had between 4 and 7 divers when we were out with them on a boat that can comfortably handle 12+ divers. My impression of them was sort of like the Sunbreeze = nice folks, competent operation, skilled DM….solid option.
- Food options = we have a vegetarian and another family member who is lactose intolerant….no issues in the various places we ate in Ambergris.
- Ramons = we had one meal there since it is close to the Sunbreeze = as someone else described it to me and I would agree after seeing it….it feels like a set from Survivor. Food was fine IMHO, but wife said it was the culinary low point of our trip.
- For non-diving excursions = we used SEA-rious for our Caye Caulker/snorkel trip (office/dock is right next to the Sunbreeze) = highly recommended.
Hope this helps.
Chris