Hotel and dive shop recommendations?

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thegrandpoohbah

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Location
Terrace, BC, Canada
# of dives
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My wife and are are novice divers with 8 logged dives. We are planning a trip to Belize in February or May. Does anyone have any good hotel and dive shop recommendations for Ambergris Caye? Also, whats the food scene like? My wife is vegetarian and has Celiac disease and requires a gluten free diet. Will that be an issue down there?
 
Lots of vegetarians on Ambergris Caye. Shouldn't be a problem. The celiac not so sure about.

What's your budget? Do you know if you want to be near the action in town or south of town or more remote north of town? Are you looking for a bigger resort type feel or could you be happy in a condo? Is a pool a necessity?

I'm not a travel agent or anything like that, no vested interest. That said I spend a few weeks at a time on the island, 2-4 times per year, every year since 1999.

If you tell me your budget and your wish list, I should be able to help you find a very good vacation. :)

---------- Post added December 30th, 2014 at 04:33 AM ----------

Dive op recommendation is going to be dependent on where you choose to stay on the island.
 
Looking to spend up to $2000 per person including flights and accommodations. I figure a budget of another $1000 for food should be about right. And then diving of course I will have to price out. I think in town will be better, ideally a beachfront property with a pool. I was checking out Ramon's Village Resort and that doesn't look too bad.
 
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
 
Thanks for the info Chris. Our last trip was to Akumal and we were quite comfortable at the Akumal Beach Resort (2.5, maybe 3 stars depending on who you ask) so not expecting too fancy.

I've been looking at the Athens Gate Resort which looks really nice. Just waiting to hear back from them on availability.
 
Athens gate is very far south from town. Are you happy to be that far from town?

---------- Post added December 31st, 2014 at 03:19 AM ----------

Ramon's never makes my list because i believe there are much better places for the money. But if you want the thatched roof Survivor look, a liitle bit of Gilligan's island look thrown in, overpriced everything, then this might just be the place for you.

Checkout Oasis del Caribe condos and/or Xanadu.
 
Ramon's never makes my list because i believe there are much better places for the money. But if you want the thatched roof Survivor look, a liitle bit of Gilligan's island look thrown in, overpriced everything, then this might just be the place for you.

Gee, Sherryl, you make it sound so appealing, lol.

To the OP, I've never been to AC so I got nuthin but wherever you go if you would write up a quick trip report complete with as many top-side photos (we've all seen the fish many, many times) you care to include that would be much appreciated.
 
I like the Palms!!! Great location, the pool is in the back of the building instead of beachside but it's pretty back there. I don't recommend the one single cabana room by the pool due to noise issues. Otherwise, you'll be happy there. This is very close to Ramon's and Ramon's has a great dock for swimming snorkeling. Very handy. And one can stop by and buy an overpriced drink and enjoy Ramon's tropical ambience without paying for an overpriced room. :D
 
Glad you're going to Ambergris Caye! It's a great location in terms of the mixture of diving and top side life. In terms of vegetarian food, most restaurants have some items that are vegetarian. In terms of gluten-free menus, here's a link on Tripadvisor that might help:

Any Gluten Free Menus? - San Pedro Message Board - TripAdvisor

Also, I do recall seeing some gluten-free cereals in the grocery stores as well as alternative milk products (e.g. soy milk, almond milk, etc.).

With regard to diving, I'm a fan of Ecologic Divers. I like their location towards the north end of town. For places to stay, I really like Paradise Villas and the Blue Tang Inn. Both are near the north end of town and are within walking distance of grocery stores and restaurants. Paradise Villas is self-catered and has a great pool. The Blue Tang Inn is more like a hotel. It all comes down to location and price.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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