Help with Family Trip to Belize!

[katzgar]

there is no center to suggest. time for you to look at gmaps. you could stay on AC and make day trips to Lamanai or cave tubing which make for long but interesting days. you should split your trip.

 

[chillyinCanada]

You should do 10-14 days and split your trip.

That said, if you only have 8 days, it's my opinion that the two non-divers won't become bored while you're out diving. You'll be back by 1:00 pm from 2 morning dives (referred to as 2 tank). Get a golf cart for getting around.

No real area for divers and snorkelers except Hol Chan.

Your week will be over before you know it!

If you split your week, IMHO, you'll spend a good portion of your time just getting back and forth. That said, lots of people enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

Another three of places to stay that may suit your family, The Palms beachfront suites, Xanadu and/or Mata Rocks.

 

[katzgar]

on ambergris you can kayak out to the reef and tie off and snorkel.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Katzgar, don't you think you should qualify that by pointing out that it's not a safe practice everywhere along Ambergris Caye?
I'm pretty sure Elbert has called you on this before and as a long time resident and the owner operator of White Sands dive operation, he's probably more qualified to comment on that than are any of the rest of us. Regardless, I'll say it with my humble 16 years of experience on the island.

 

[webcubus]

Ambergris Caye is pretty awesome. We stayed at Ramon's and had a great experience diving with them as well. I believe they have 3 local dives daily (9, 11, and 2?) - you just show up when you want to go. I think the most we had was 4 guests on the local dives and their local boats are a pretty good size. They also do the longer trips out to the atolls on bigger boats.

The Blue Hole is cool, but I liked the other two dives on that trip better!

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[drrich2]

I did the Blue Hole & visited Half-Moon Caye, when based on the Sun Dancer 2 live-aboard out of Belize. Doing it when we were 'in the neighborhood,' as sort of a bucket list item, was fine.

But it wouldn't have been worth a very long round trip boat trip.

Again, my daughter and I will want to dive and my wife and boys will want to do "other stuff" (which may include snorkeling wherever my daughter and I are diving, but may not).

Would your wife & sons be off doing this other stuff while you & your daughter were diving, or would they be waiting till you got back to do it?

Different families have different ideas about the importance of 'being together' on vacation. Some people are open to separate vacations & some hardly do anything solo.

Richard.

 

[Downing]

I originally thought that we would divide our trip into 2 parts - a few days on the coast, diving; and a few days inland doing the whole caving, Mayan ruins, ziplining, etc.

Now I'm wondering if we shouldn't spend our entire trip (likely 8 days) in one location and make day trips out for different activities. Again, my daughter and I will want to dive and my wife and boys will want to do "other stuff" (which may include snorkeling wherever my daughter and I are diving, but may not). Does that sound like a better plan than booking 2 separate hotels in 2 different locations? If there is a "Central Location" (i.e. Ambergris Caye or Placencia) that worked best...how easy is it to make day trips to do the "other stuff"?

If your trip is only 8 days, I'd recommend plunking down in one spot. Even though Belize is a small country, it would still take the better part of a vacation day to move from one spot to another. Not worth it, imho. I would recommend at least two weeks if you were going to split it up.

Although I might also be accused of "marketing Placencia," I'd agree with Brad that Placencia is perfect for combining diving with mainland stuff. Patty with Splash is an excellent resource for places to stay, what to see, things to do, etc. You might want to check out Hamanasi in Hopkins, too. But where ever you decide to go, you're going to have a good trip.

 

[ScoobE]

Would your wife & sons be off doing this other stuff while you & your daughter were diving, or would they be waiting till you got back to do it?

Different families have different ideas about the importance of 'being together' on vacation. Some people are open to separate vacations & some hardly do anything solo.

Richard.

Thanks for all the input!

My wife and sons would be happy to do their own thing while we dove. Unless, they were able to snorkel while we dove. If that were the case, they would likely like to have the option of heading in during one of our surface intervals (if that were possible on any of the dives)

 

[AWMIII]

Thanks for all the input!

My wife and sons would be happy to do their own thing while we dove. Unless, they were able to snorkel while we dove. If that were the case, they would likely like to have the option of heading in during one of our surface intervals (if that were possible on any of the dives)

A typical day on Ambergris Caye goes like this.

6:00 Wake up and check on my business and do any work that I need to do.
8:00 Walk to Island Divers either stopping to eat breakfast on the way or checking in and then grabbing a quick bite from a local place. (They will also pick you up off your dock, but I love the walk down the beach in the morning.
9:00 1st Boat leaves
9:20 Backroll into the bath tub warm water
10:30 boat gets back to the dock.
11:30 2nd boat leaves
11:45 backroll
12:30 boat gets back to the dock
12:45 eat lunch at a restaurant on the way back to the condo (again, they will take you back by boat if you prefer)
1:45 return to condo for check on my business/naps/pool time
5:00 Cocktails in/by the pool with fresh pico de gallo from Maria's fruit stand and local plantain or tortilla chips.
6:00 Walk to town for dinner
8:00 return to condo after dinner/drinks/ice cream

When my wife does not dive, she usually snorkels off the dock at the condo, goes swimming, or shopping in town. Frequently she walks down the beach and either meets me after the first dive or after the second dive. Our daughter used to play with the shop owner's kids on the beach at the shop while we dove. Now she is a 12yo dive junkie and never misses a dive. AC works well for us because it is so flexible. If I wake up and I want to dive, I do. If i don't, I don't. (I sound like Forrest Gump) If my wife feels like one dive, she does only one dive and we only get charged for one dive. There is no commitment. We just pay for our dives at the end of our stay. One of the reasons that a previous poster said that the boat trips from Caye Caulker are a little long is that they frequently dive right off of Ambergris Caye as the reef is in better shape there.

We do not usually go to the mainland while we are on the caye, but we have done the Lamanai trip by flying from Ambergris Caye to Orange Walk on Tropic Air. It is a great way to do this trip and it is not that crazy expensive. Sometimes, we take the water taxi to Caye Caulker (about 25 minutes) to hang out. Sometimes, we take the Coastal Express up north to a more remote resort or a beach bar and hang out. Afterwards, we either hike, or take the Coastal Express back. We go on a family fishing trip almost every time we visit. This usually include a lot of snorkeling. Other times we rent a sailboat and go sailing along the inside of the reef.

When we want to go"experience the jungle" we stay on the mainland at Caves Branch or other places such as the cabins at the zoo. The ATM cave tour can also be done by flying on Tropic Air to San Ignacio. I would bet that ATM is a long long day based in Placencia. I have only ever done it while staying in San Ignacio.

Friends of ours stayed at Hopkins at Hamanasi. They loved it. The diving was a full day activity there. They likely dive less visited sites. It was also extremely expensive. I do not think they even ventured into the town of Hopkins staying on the resort the whole time.

---------- Post added December 22nd, 2015 at 10:39 AM ----------

I forgot. Certainly your wife and son could snorkel at Hol Chan while you dove at Hol Chan.They could also go snorkeling someplace else and meet up at lunch time at the shop. Most of the scuba spots are quite deep so most snorkeling is inside of the reef and most diving outside.

 

[SMVORCA]

For reference, I spent 38 days over 4 trips in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye in 2015. It is our go to place for diving and family vacations. I also took a group of friends down to dive this year. I have been to Belize about 20 times. I have dove Turneffe, Lighthouse Reef, Laughing Bird Caye (in 1997) and Ambergris Caye. About 4 years ago, I started using Island Divers in San Pedro. They seem to offer the best balance between fun and safe. Most of the operators on AC tend towards the fun end of the spectrum. Many visitors come back saying xxx is the best diveshop ever. YYY is the greatest most fun DM in the world. Most are ignorant of the risks. I have done about 200 dives with Island Divers. I trusted the owner, Rudy Duran for the check out dives for my 11 year old daughter. Most of the dives I have done with them included fewer than 6 divers. They have 4 boats and spread out the divers when they are busy. They also offer great family fishing and beach adventures. One other thing to mention, the internet in Belize is not the internet in the US. We have become so used to having instant gratification and responses to queries. Many people fall into the trap of thinking that the fastest response is the best shop. I do not know who is currently the fastest response, but I do know who I would never dive with. Be patient in your email expectations. Also, beware, that Island Divers is no longer in front of the Holiday Hotel. They are down south near Banyan Bay at a much improved location. If you are not staying down in that area, they will pick you up at almost any resort.

The diving off of San Pedro is great in many regards. However, there are about 6 sites (out of about 60 total) that are the closest sites to town right outside the reef. They can be a bit crowded, but are actually pretty good. When the wind is up, many times we will go there to avoid a long trip outside the reef in the swells. I know people who want to spend 90 minutes per dive looking at things that are so small that I cannot see them. It is not a great place for serious macro photographers. Much of the exciting targets exist, but the dives are all guided group dives and hanging next to the same rock in 30ft of water taking a picture of a Western Caribbean Coral Flea for an entire dive just doesn't work. In addition, because it is a lee shore, much of the pretty coral is at least 45ft deep. Because of the depth, the colors can look washed out. I also thing that the algae that lives on the live coral is also more brown than many people like. This causes many people to proclaim that the reef is dead. There is some dead coral. The entire island is made of dead coral. There is also a lot of healthy coral, but it doesn't look like finding Nemo. There are lots of big animals like 3 species of turtles, numerous nurse sharks, gigantic morays, peaceful eagle rays, playful dolphins and shy reef sharks. When coupled with the other marine life, I find that the diving is never boring. There is something to be said for 5-15 minute boat rides and surface intervals on shore. It is a great lifestyle and is easy on the non-divers in your group.

My favorite place to stay these days is Isla Bonita Yacht Club. Call Beth Hart at 877-213-7929 book. Isla Bonita Yacht Club - Isla Bonita Yacht Club is Belize's only Yacht Club and features a beautiful beachfront hotel situated close to the charm of San Pedro Town yet far enough to relax!Isla Bonita Yacht Club. It is a 10 minute walk down the beach to Island Divers. It is a resort that gain a bad reputation years ago, but it has been taken over by the condo owners and is really nice. Because of its past, it is priced very favorably. They do not have any onsite restaurant or bar, but there are probably 50 places within a 10 minute walk and all of the units have full kitchens. There is a great grocery store and fruit stand directly behind the property on the main road. We find that the Yacht Club has the right balance between quiet and convenience. Town is getting busier and busier each visit that I make. The Yacht Club is a 10 minute walk from town, but is far enough away to be quiet and private. The property has a great pool, beautiful gardens and its own artificial reef under the dock in front.

I also love Caves Branch for a serious no sissies jungle adventure. I have stayed there 3 or 4 times for a few days before or after a stint on AC.

Placencia seems to dominate this forum. I have not been there since 1997. I know it is attached to the mainland on a long peninsula. It is possible to drive to mainland adventures from there. I must be a fairly serious drive though. The trip from the International Airport is a very long drive or a longer puddle jumper flight. The barrier reef is quite far so the boat rides are much longer. Some of the sites may be less trafficked than AC. The Whale Sharks are around for a couple months in the late spring. A new cruise ship terminal is opening in the next month or so just off shore, so it is likely to become a busier place in the years to come. The rabid supporters of Splash will likely say that I am wrong on every count.

Do not bother with the Blue Hole until you have done a bunch of dives below 100ft and are comfortable at that depth. It is a very long day (5am until 7:30pm or so). I thoroughly enjoy the trip, but it is an advanced dive and will leave your non-diving partners without you for the entire day.