Well this IS Peter chiming in! Sorry I didn't spot this thread until prompted. Obviously I would have recommended my own shop when I was running it, but as a guide I wouldn't have recommended myself. I don't think I'm a bad instructor, but I'm hopeless as a guide - I usually depend on the guests to point interesting things out for me!
You want a combination of someone who'll look out for you and your safety and someone who'll give you an interesting and fun time. One of the best individuals for that used to be Junior Tillett, who worked for me for years then moved to the then nascent Ecologic, and subsequently left there. Along the way he became an instructor, and now I think he only instructs and doesn't "just guide" any more. I'm not even sure where he works, as I don't seem to see him around, though I'm told he still occasionally teaches for Ecologic - which incidentally is no longer run by Ian, although I believe the ownership hasn't changed. Their approach now is to keep a low profile locally, quite unlike Ian's, to the extent I don't know much about them.
That said, my recommendation remains Island Divers. They run a tight and friendly operation that nonetheless maintains high levels of professionalism. Their guiding approach is slightly more "hands off" than some, which I prefer to the "mothering" approach, though as with many guides you do need to watch out for "follow my leader" guiding. That's best handled by a word in the ear during a surface interval. I've dived with lots of other centres around here and I come back to Island Divers as giving me the best overall feeling. Like pretty well all shops around here, they offer air and 32% nitrox. If pressed they can get 36%, though there's really little point in it for recreational diving. Since I closed my technical dive centre no-one has offered mixed gases or more advanced equipment, though I believe you can now get both at Belize Diving Services on Caye Caulker.
There is an option that I'd like to mention. If you decide to stay at Tranquility Bay, at the far northern end of Ambergris Caye (12 miles north of San Pedro) then without a doubt use their small in-house dive operation (which I helped to set up). It's very small, very personal, and professionally run. It's not well equipped, but it has everything you need. The diving up there is lovely, perhaps what it was around town some years back before the fishermen got at it, and I would very happily dive there for a week. Diving can be where and when you choose, and the boat goes out when YOU'RE ready. Night dives up there are a joy. There's a large expanse of interesting yet shallow diving leading to the drop-off, when you find the same sort of near-wall diving you get elsewhere. And Tranquility Bay is a peaceful, tranquil, place to stay. Although it's a long way north getting to excursions such as Blue Hole or mainland ruins trips is still easy. And the food is superb.
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