All advice will be greatly appreciated - 4 adults in Belize but only one diver

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Radi-x

Registered
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Manitoba, Canada
# of dives
25 - 49
We would appreciate any advice we could get in our attempt to plan our trip to Belize. Please consider that I am a 10 yrs old going on 11 as I honestly know nothing about Belize. We are looking to get there in Dec 2015 or spring 2016.

Here is my story. We are two couples - middle age - whatever that is, with no kids. They are too old to travel "with the old turtles". One of us is a triathlon junkie who loves lap swimming, biking to no end and snorkelling.
His wife is a beach bum who loves spending time on a sandy beach with nice water entry. My wife has a strong taste for convenient snorkelling, sometimes off shore snorkelling and beach. I am the only diver but not an avid one. Had some experience diving in Aruba, Hawaii and Cayman - not to mention some cold water diving - where the 4 of us travelled together.

So, yes, we know what we are looking for. Not a resort unless there is some kind of a surprise out there. Ideally, condo-type or house accommodation that is not going to break the bank with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with its own laundry, WiFi and A/C located on the beach on very, very close by. A pool is a big plus. We are looking for maybe $2,000 or less per week. That should narrow it down. isn't it? Grocery shopping is a another concern as we would love to BBQ and maybe spent just 1/2 of the evenings dining out. Liquor store near by as we all love a cold one every 5 minutes :). Finally, convenient access to a reputable dive operator who can take me places while the rest of the gang sleep late in the morning or bumming it on the beach. Am I dreaming or what? Thanks in advance for your kind assistance. Let me know if you prefer to email me directly.
 
We would appreciate any advice we could get in our attempt to plan our trip to Belize. Please consider that I am a 10 yrs old going on 11 as I honestly know nothing about Belize. We are looking to get there in Dec 2015 or spring 2016. Here is my story. We are two couples - middle age - whatever that is, with no kids. They are too old to travel "with the old turtles". One of us is a triathlon junkie who loves lap swimming, biking to no end and snorkelling. His wife is a beach bum who loves spending time on a sandy beach with nice water entry. My wife has a strong taste for convenient snorkelling, sometimes off shore snorkelling and beach. I am the only diver but not an avid one. Had some experience diving in Aruba, Hawaii and Cayman - not to mention some cold water diving - where the 4 of us travelled together. So, yes, we know what we are looking for. Not a resort unless there is some kind of a surprise out there. Ideally, condo-type or house accommodation that is not going to break the bank with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with its own laundry, WiFi and A/C located on the beach on very, very close by. A pool is a big plus. We are looking for maybe $2,000 or less per week. That should narrow it down. isn't it? Grocery shopping is a another concern as we would love to BBQ and maybe spent just 1/2 of the evenings dining out. Liquor store near by as we all love a cold one every 5 minutes :). Finally, convenient access to a reputable dive operator who can take me places while the rest of the gang sleep late in the morning or bumming it on the beach. Am I dreaming or what? Thanks in advance for your kind assistance. Let me know if you prefer to email me directly.


Contact Patty with SPLASH Dive Centre, and head down to Placencia.

Haven't been to Amberges, there maybe something up there that fits your requirements as well.


BRad
 
Look at the Blue Tang Inn is you are focused on Ambergris Caye
 
Ditto Brad.

$2K/week for accommodations seems really high to me unless you stay in a top-end type place.

In any case, Placencia has what you're looking for in spades. Contact Patty with Splash. She loves to set up trips for people.
 
Belize, I was there last in June of 2014. I stayed on Ambergus Cay in the town of San Pedro. Many hotels and house type of accommodations as well. The town offers a barrier reef about 1 mile from shore. Water inside the barrier reef is about 6 feet deep. Snorkeling available just about anywhere on the East side of the Cay. The west side is swamp and gators so not a good snorkeling site. Staying in San Pedro offers you convent access to restaurants, roadside food carts (best and cheapest place to eat), shopping, bars, stores etc. The predominate mode of transportation is walking followed by golfcarts. The Cay in San Pedro takes about 2.5 minutes to stroll from one side to the other. I stayed at the Sunbreeze located on the water across the street from the airport. Easy access to everything and good service. Houses for rent with a pool will be a challenge as the ocean is 80-84F and right there. Hotels have pools, many private homes do not. Enjoy
 
Great, clean condos next to Ramon's with a pool. It's close to shopping, restaurants, dive shops. Never had problems with loud partiers, mostly families & couples. We have stayed there several times and always enjoy! The Palms Oceanfront Suites - Come stay with us...
 
Definitely contact Patty at Splash Dive as Placencia sounds like what you're looking for....you probably don't need the pool as the ocean is close by or you can rent a place on the canal. Some vacation rentals come with bikes, canoes/kayaks or you can rent these separately. Lots of grocery/convenience stores in Placencia that also sell liquor. It's also easy to rent a vehicle if you want to explore more of Southern Belize. Placencia is a laid back place with a nice mix of natives, ex-pats and tourists.....no "rocking" night life but a lot of good places to get a drink, have some food and listen to some live music. (plus gelato to die for)
 
Beaches are unusual in Belize and usually only created artificially, by destroying the mangrove ecology - with very negative consequences.

Placencia is a rare exception, with miles of natural sand.
 
Beaches are unusual in Belize and usually only created artificially, by destroying the mangrove ecology - with very negative consequences.

Placencia is a rare exception, with miles of natural sand.

Contact Beth Hart at Isla Bonita Yacht Club. She is the manager. It is far enough outside town that it is quiet at night and close enough to be an easy walk. We never bothered with a golf cart there. Great property. www.islabonitayachtclub.com

I have stayed at the Blue Tang. It is more of a small hotel than a condo property. The rooms are cozy and clean. The pool is extremely small and the beach is very busy there. It can be loud a few nights a week from the surrounding bars. The location is busy, but convenient. There are a couple of other nice condo properties down in that part of town (Boca del Rio) which are nice. I have also stayed at Oasis Del Caribe which has a nice pool and huge condos. The beach is very busy there especially on Sundays when it becomes an unofficial soccer field.

Because the reef is so close, the beach is pretty narrow. It is shallow between the reef and shore. Turtle grass grows in the knee deep water at the waters edge. Most people swim off of the long docks. Most of the docks seem to have stairs at the end. Some of the resorts have artificial reefs made under their docks. Isla Bonita Yacht Club is one that does. Isla Bonita YC has a sea wall as do several other resorts. Friends spent a lot of time snorkeling off the end of their dock and had a great time.


Being right on the reef, makes the diving super convenient. The boats leave at 9am for the first dive. I am usually back at the dock by 12:30 after the second dive. My wife, if she doesn't dive that day, typically meets me for the surface interval which is done in town. Sometimes I eat breakfast during the surface interval, sometimes I just have a smoothie or iced coffee.

I use Island Divers. www.islanddiversbelize.com. They seem to have the right balance between fun and safe and keep the groups very small most of the time. The owner is Rudy.

While Placencia always seems to be represented strongly on this board, it is important to know that it is on the mainland. Therefore diving involves a substantial boat ride to even the closest sites. Surface intervals are likely on the boat or deserted cayes. Also if I heard correctly, beginning in October, it will receive cruise ships. I expect that this will forever change the character of the town. That said, I have not been to Placencia since 1997. We dove Laughing Bird Caye and it was nice. It was about 45-60 minutes from town if I recall correctly but that was a long time ago.
 
Yes, Placencia is on the mainland which makes it an ideal destination for people who want to do more than dive - close to lots of inland adventure and cultural tours so easy to swtich back and forth between diving and adventuring depending on your whim or the weather. It should be particularly suitable for one diver and three non divers.

Laughing Bird Caye is about 35 minutes out, the other destinations are further but we do the Blue Hole, Glovers Atoll and South Water Caye every week as well as daily trips to Silk. When the cruise ships start arriving, we will be taking people to Silk only on days when the cruise ships are not here. We do two tank and three tank dives and most of the time, lunch is on a caye (not deserted although it would be nice if they were).

We don't expect many cruise people in Placencia, as NCL is building a facility near Independence where they will line up their buses to take people to some of the inland adventure sites - again, we will not take people to those destinations when the cruise ships are in (same as we do not now take them to Jaguar Paw zip line and cave tubing on days cruise ships are in Belize City).

Regards
Ralph
While Placencia always seems to be represented strongly on this board, it is important to know that it is on the mainland. Therefore diving involves a substantial boat ride to even the closest sites. Surface intervals are likely on the boat or deserted cayes. Also if I heard correctly, beginning in October, it will receive cruise ships. I expect that this will forever change the character of the town. That said, I have not been to Placencia since 1997. We dove Laughing Bird Caye and it was nice. It was about 45-60 minutes from town if I recall correctly but that was a long time ago.
 
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