I'm headed to Ambergris Caye this December and I am looking for insight into water temps and conditions as well as recommended Dive Ops. I will be there for about a week and hope to get in at least to Dive trips, probably to Blue Hole one of those days.
Ambergris Caye Mid December
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Water Temps for that time of year will be in the low 80's and conditions normally are ok but quite a few christmas's have been wet ones but in general ok. Visability will be the norm 80-120ft
Dive Ops
For Ambergris Caye some of the better dive shops are Ecologic consitently high marks as do Amigos del mar but they are a large op, Also Chuck and Robbies get good reviews also.
Really depends on where you will be staying but I dont think you can wrong with Ecologic.
If you visit my website you will have a wealth of information on diving including dive sites articles on diving the Blue Hole and reccomendations on where is the best place to stay since Ambergris offers multiple areas to stay and each ahs postives and negatives.
Gaz Cooper
Dive Ops
For Ambergris Caye some of the better dive shops are Ecologic consitently high marks as do Amigos del mar but they are a large op, Also Chuck and Robbies get good reviews also.
Really depends on where you will be staying but I dont think you can wrong with Ecologic.
If you visit my website you will have a wealth of information on diving including dive sites articles on diving the Blue Hole and reccomendations on where is the best place to stay since Ambergris offers multiple areas to stay and each ahs postives and negatives.
Gaz Cooper
Nice Hotel one the nicest on the island
They use Belize Diving Adventures a very small operation, I dont know much about them except Enis used to work for me before she was a diver and her hubby is the Dm. From the little bit I have heard they seem to provide a good service and the fact that Victoria House works with them is a good indication they run a decent op.
Gaz
They use Belize Diving Adventures a very small operation, I dont know much about them except Enis used to work for me before she was a diver and her hubby is the Dm. From the little bit I have heard they seem to provide a good service and the fact that Victoria House works with them is a good indication they run a decent op.
Gaz
Enis is now a PADI Staff Instructor, and Everett is also an instructor. They do get (variable) good reports. Supposedly VH has its own dive operation but I never see any activity there. As of 1st May the closest operation will actually be AquaDives, as they are moving down the beach from their current location at Sunbreeze Hotel. They used to have a poor reputation, but for the past three years they have been up there with the best of the rest. I prefer to use them for atoll trips to the main alternative, which is Amigos del Mar.
For completeness, the third option for atoll trips is Ramon's Dive Shop, who also do a pretty good job for local dives.
My personal preference for local dives would be Island Divers, based in the centre of town but like most other operators serving VH amongst others. They offer normal group boats (though with not many divers on board) as well as private charters. I recommend them because I really think they're very good, not because of any commercial connection (I don't receive commission from anyone).
For completeness, the third option for atoll trips is Ramon's Dive Shop, who also do a pretty good job for local dives.
My personal preference for local dives would be Island Divers, based in the centre of town but like most other operators serving VH amongst others. They offer normal group boats (though with not many divers on board) as well as private charters. I recommend them because I really think they're very good, not because of any commercial connection (I don't receive commission from anyone).
Well Peter I dont see any diff in reviews on Aqua Dives over the years I see they have nice boats now but I see there reviews are still very mixed and I was just reading a trip report on them yesterday from April 2nd which was not complimentary to them.
I think visitors should book with consistent providers of good service to ensure the best dive experience possible.
Gaz
I think visitors should book with consistent providers of good service to ensure the best dive experience possible.
Gaz
I dive with most of the operators here from time to time (I live here and dive almost daily) so I speak from direct personal experience. I also listen to what divers I meet have to say, and most people without a prior opinion have no problem with AquaDives. I hear as many negatives about most all other operators as I do about them.
Since you insist and back up what you say I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt and to read 46 reviews of Aqau Dives and out of 46 reviews of divers with DIRECT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE of Aqua Dives 18 are terrible and the most recent reviews are not good some of them are really damming reviews by REAL paying divers that did not have any prior opinion but after diving with them they did.
So close to 40% of real divers reviews advise against diving with Aqua dives. Not me saying it real past customers of Aqua Dives.
And since you also said that you hear as many negatives of other operations I decided to read 100 reviews of Ecologic divers who had more than twice the amount of reviews and only 4 bad ones and a couple of them were not really that bad thats just 4% and very acceptable in fact rather 2% as they had twice the number of reviews than Aqua Dives.
So then i read Chuck and Robbies who had 40 reviews by real divers who have dived with them just like you have and Chuck and Robbies got a 100% satisfaction with no bad reviews.
So then i decided to review Amigos Del Mar and out of 28 reviews they had 2 bad ones so a 10% which is acceptable
Then I read the dive operation that you are commercially associated with which is Island Divers they did not have enough reviews to make a determination they only had 5 but to be fair all 5 were good.
I dont think I need to continue as you can see where it is going.
In this day and age of the internet you have to provide good service else you will not last long as your customers will soon let others know of there experience and the past history.
On another note you make inuendos in your posts about me and imply I make commissions (which I do) so somehow dont give honest advice as I am being paid to do so. I pride my self on providing HONEST REAL NO BS info on diving Belize and will not give out mis information to make a dime.
My goal is to give honest information in helping anyone planning a trip to Belize i will advise people to dive the best parts of Belize based on there experience level and will reccomend the best operations and steer them clear of ones that do not provide a good service.
I dont care about commisions Peter which is why if you go to my BelizeDiscounts site you will see I give all the commision as a discount to the diver., so lets not have anymore of the inuandos.
Best regards
Gaz Cooper
So close to 40% of real divers reviews advise against diving with Aqua dives. Not me saying it real past customers of Aqua Dives.
And since you also said that you hear as many negatives of other operations I decided to read 100 reviews of Ecologic divers who had more than twice the amount of reviews and only 4 bad ones and a couple of them were not really that bad thats just 4% and very acceptable in fact rather 2% as they had twice the number of reviews than Aqua Dives.
So then i read Chuck and Robbies who had 40 reviews by real divers who have dived with them just like you have and Chuck and Robbies got a 100% satisfaction with no bad reviews.
So then i decided to review Amigos Del Mar and out of 28 reviews they had 2 bad ones so a 10% which is acceptable
Then I read the dive operation that you are commercially associated with which is Island Divers they did not have enough reviews to make a determination they only had 5 but to be fair all 5 were good.
I dont think I need to continue as you can see where it is going.
In this day and age of the internet you have to provide good service else you will not last long as your customers will soon let others know of there experience and the past history.
On another note you make inuendos in your posts about me and imply I make commissions (which I do) so somehow dont give honest advice as I am being paid to do so. I pride my self on providing HONEST REAL NO BS info on diving Belize and will not give out mis information to make a dime.
My goal is to give honest information in helping anyone planning a trip to Belize i will advise people to dive the best parts of Belize based on there experience level and will reccomend the best operations and steer them clear of ones that do not provide a good service.
I dont care about commisions Peter which is why if you go to my BelizeDiscounts site you will see I give all the commision as a discount to the diver., so lets not have anymore of the inuandos.
Best regards
Gaz Cooper
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My word! I'm not going to continue this pointless discussion. I'm wondering where you have seen these reviews - TripAdvisor? Bear in mind that only highly motivated people post there, and there is a significant occurrence of spoof posts which must be disregarded. That's true for dive operations and it's certainly true for hotels.
I hear reports at the time from divers, and yes, I have heard significant negatives about all of the operators you mention. I'm not going to give specifics. With the exception of Ecologic, which of course is now a different business and I have heard no negatives about them in their new incarnation. I also know other aspects of various dive operations which I'm not prepared to discuss. You may remember that I was closely involved with the management of the Recompression Chamber here.
You have just said for the second time that I am commercially associated with Island Divers. I don't know where you get your information, but this is highly misleading. My "association" with them is that I have sold them some business assets. I have absolutely no involvement in any of their operations, and I do not receive any commission on divers I refer to them. I have similar "associations" with four other dive operators in San Pedro, and three others elsewhere in Belize.
Gaz - I have absolutely no problem with you earning commission and running such a business. Lots of people do it, and it can be a valuable service. I do however have a problem with people, and this may or may not include you but it certainly does include some others who post here, running a commission-based business secretly, and recommending only those businesses from which they will receive a commission. Even to the extent of running down other businesses which don't. It isn't just here on the internet - I often hear stories of "helpful" staff at resorts, who recommend particular operators because they're "better", or "safer", or "more reliable" or (and this is a good one) "cheaper, but only if you book through me". Sadly many visitors leave their brains at home and don't seem to realise when they're being hustled.
If you feel I'm making innuendos about you then that's because that's the way your mind is working - others that I have spoken to don't see any innuendo, and I don't intend any.
By contrast, I know several people who openly run commission-based businesses and are quite happy to recommend an operator who won't pay them commission if they offer a product that significantly better matches the requirements of the customer. These people generally do very well. A shop which tells me that although they can provide some of what I want, a competitor down the road has exactly what I need, is a shop I will return to time and again. It's called ethics.
Since you feel the need to attack me in these pages, rather transparently I feel, let me remind you of the $700+ that you owed me when you left the country, that we have discussed in the interim, that you gave me a rubber cheque for, that you gave me a Paypal instruction for all in Dutch and then revoked before I could work out what to do with it. I am still waiting for you to pay me, Gaz. And when you left several years ago there was some talk amongst others here who were also owed money by you. Those people may have written off their debts to experience and be prepared to have another go at business with you. The San Pedro way. I don't operate that way.
Please don't send me any more PMs - they'll just be deleted unread. State publicly here that you are making arrangements to pay me and we can take it from there.
Lastly, I apologise for putting other readers through this personal squabble, which has no place here. I won't initiate or respond to any further such posts, though I may respond to statements of "fact" that I disagree with.
I hear reports at the time from divers, and yes, I have heard significant negatives about all of the operators you mention. I'm not going to give specifics. With the exception of Ecologic, which of course is now a different business and I have heard no negatives about them in their new incarnation. I also know other aspects of various dive operations which I'm not prepared to discuss. You may remember that I was closely involved with the management of the Recompression Chamber here.
You have just said for the second time that I am commercially associated with Island Divers. I don't know where you get your information, but this is highly misleading. My "association" with them is that I have sold them some business assets. I have absolutely no involvement in any of their operations, and I do not receive any commission on divers I refer to them. I have similar "associations" with four other dive operators in San Pedro, and three others elsewhere in Belize.
Gaz - I have absolutely no problem with you earning commission and running such a business. Lots of people do it, and it can be a valuable service. I do however have a problem with people, and this may or may not include you but it certainly does include some others who post here, running a commission-based business secretly, and recommending only those businesses from which they will receive a commission. Even to the extent of running down other businesses which don't. It isn't just here on the internet - I often hear stories of "helpful" staff at resorts, who recommend particular operators because they're "better", or "safer", or "more reliable" or (and this is a good one) "cheaper, but only if you book through me". Sadly many visitors leave their brains at home and don't seem to realise when they're being hustled.
If you feel I'm making innuendos about you then that's because that's the way your mind is working - others that I have spoken to don't see any innuendo, and I don't intend any.
By contrast, I know several people who openly run commission-based businesses and are quite happy to recommend an operator who won't pay them commission if they offer a product that significantly better matches the requirements of the customer. These people generally do very well. A shop which tells me that although they can provide some of what I want, a competitor down the road has exactly what I need, is a shop I will return to time and again. It's called ethics.
Since you feel the need to attack me in these pages, rather transparently I feel, let me remind you of the $700+ that you owed me when you left the country, that we have discussed in the interim, that you gave me a rubber cheque for, that you gave me a Paypal instruction for all in Dutch and then revoked before I could work out what to do with it. I am still waiting for you to pay me, Gaz. And when you left several years ago there was some talk amongst others here who were also owed money by you. Those people may have written off their debts to experience and be prepared to have another go at business with you. The San Pedro way. I don't operate that way.
Please don't send me any more PMs - they'll just be deleted unread. State publicly here that you are making arrangements to pay me and we can take it from there.
Lastly, I apologise for putting other readers through this personal squabble, which has no place here. I won't initiate or respond to any further such posts, though I may respond to statements of "fact" that I disagree with.
Well Peter up untill the last paragraph i was quite impressed with your post and pretty much agreed with you then you let yourself down by being unproffesional again.
If the only way you can try and discredit me is by telling lies in a open forum then so be it
With regards to your bill of which I have no idea what you are talking about but explains your attitude towards me, and would also explain why you take little digs in your posting at me, it now makes sense.
Lets put this to sleep right now since you have bought this up i tried to Pm you when you posted about this a few weeks ago however you chose to ignore me Hmmm interesting but now you want to post the same thing again.
I can now see why you failed on the island with a attitude like that, and why you made so many problems for yourself with BYC it all starts to come clear now.
When i sold my resort, as with any business when it changes hands all bills are cleared and handed over to the new owners, as they are ultimately responsible for all outstanding bills when they take over a business. Now when this happens the seller deposits money into an escrow account to cover any outstanding bills that might show up after the sale has concluded.
Additionally an advert in the local papers MULTIPLE times is placed to advise all business's and entities that the resort is under new ownership and anyone that has outstanding bills is to submit it to the resort for payment by a certain date.
All this was done Peter and can be verified with the subsequent owner as $10,000 dollars was left in escrow to cover any outstanding debts, after 3 months and adverts placed and people paid the remainder of the escrow was returned to me.
It was a very public sale and people did submit there bills to Mike and were paid thats the way business is done Peter unfortunatley you dont seem to know how to conduct yourself in a proffesional manner.
I am not, was not aware of any outstanding bill to you but if you had such a bill and a rubber check then you should of submitted your bill at the time, and received your payment, not bring it up 3 years later on a public message board to try to discredit somebody.
When you saw me post after I stopped travelling and came back on the scene a normal person would of sent me a polite pm and said Hey Gaz hows it going I need to let you know etc etc and then we could of gone from there but you chose to try and discredit me instead, I am not sure of your intent or why but can only presume you have some issues and sound really fed up and NEGATIVE with the island and Belize in general based on reading into your posts.
I am not attacking you, you posted a misleading post where divers might book Aqua Dives based on your advice of which I disagree and I provided proof to the effect.
With regards to tripadvisor it easy to see the fake posts as normally its people that post just one good or bad review and dont post again and those should be ignored. But I could actually go to another forum and do the same again but i think the point is proved.
Regard to Island Divers, if you take money from them for any business conducted like instruction then its a commercial relationship and you have many times said you do instruction for them and therefore receive commerical remuneration so you have a commercial realtionship with them that was my point and it is correct.
and you also said
Lastly, I apologise for putting other readers through this personal squabble, which has no place here.
Then why did you post it here instead of a Pm or even answer the Pms I sent you,
I also aplogise to readers of this ridiculous sqabble that could of been dealt with privatly and proffessionally.
I had Pm'ed Peter multiple times but as you read his words he just deleted my Private messages unread, and did not respond to me, instead chose to post the same issue a few weeks later, even after i tried to contact him on multiple ocassions on multiple message boards.prior to his latest posting.
Same here last post from me on this matter, however if Peter posts bad information that I disagree with or is misleading i will call him on it.
Gaz
P.S I had to add this as since Peter is implying I ran out on a bill to him, I still have no idea about this bill but wanted to do some research so I did some digging and went back 3 years and found a post that peter made under his previous MO of Pedro2 it reffered to emails that I was not responding to him as I had already left the island and the company email address had been handed over to new owners.
Peters post was dated 29/03/07 his post was answered by another person immediately and he was given CLEAR instructions who to contact and what to do. that was 3 years ago. If Peter chose not to follow the clear instructions given to him in writing and if indeed there was a legitimae bill the only persons fault that it was not paid is Peters as he could of submitted his Bill had it verified and paid out just like others did.
To bring it back on me 3 years later implying i ran out on people owing money when I did everything absolutely legally correct is clearly misleading and wrong and a clear case of trying to damage someones reputation.
If needed i can post the copy.
If the only way you can try and discredit me is by telling lies in a open forum then so be it
With regards to your bill of which I have no idea what you are talking about but explains your attitude towards me, and would also explain why you take little digs in your posting at me, it now makes sense.
Lets put this to sleep right now since you have bought this up i tried to Pm you when you posted about this a few weeks ago however you chose to ignore me Hmmm interesting but now you want to post the same thing again.
I can now see why you failed on the island with a attitude like that, and why you made so many problems for yourself with BYC it all starts to come clear now.
When i sold my resort, as with any business when it changes hands all bills are cleared and handed over to the new owners, as they are ultimately responsible for all outstanding bills when they take over a business. Now when this happens the seller deposits money into an escrow account to cover any outstanding bills that might show up after the sale has concluded.
Additionally an advert in the local papers MULTIPLE times is placed to advise all business's and entities that the resort is under new ownership and anyone that has outstanding bills is to submit it to the resort for payment by a certain date.
All this was done Peter and can be verified with the subsequent owner as $10,000 dollars was left in escrow to cover any outstanding debts, after 3 months and adverts placed and people paid the remainder of the escrow was returned to me.
It was a very public sale and people did submit there bills to Mike and were paid thats the way business is done Peter unfortunatley you dont seem to know how to conduct yourself in a proffesional manner.
I am not, was not aware of any outstanding bill to you but if you had such a bill and a rubber check then you should of submitted your bill at the time, and received your payment, not bring it up 3 years later on a public message board to try to discredit somebody.
When you saw me post after I stopped travelling and came back on the scene a normal person would of sent me a polite pm and said Hey Gaz hows it going I need to let you know etc etc and then we could of gone from there but you chose to try and discredit me instead, I am not sure of your intent or why but can only presume you have some issues and sound really fed up and NEGATIVE with the island and Belize in general based on reading into your posts.
I am not attacking you, you posted a misleading post where divers might book Aqua Dives based on your advice of which I disagree and I provided proof to the effect.
With regards to tripadvisor it easy to see the fake posts as normally its people that post just one good or bad review and dont post again and those should be ignored. But I could actually go to another forum and do the same again but i think the point is proved.
Regard to Island Divers, if you take money from them for any business conducted like instruction then its a commercial relationship and you have many times said you do instruction for them and therefore receive commerical remuneration so you have a commercial realtionship with them that was my point and it is correct.
and you also said
Lastly, I apologise for putting other readers through this personal squabble, which has no place here.
Then why did you post it here instead of a Pm or even answer the Pms I sent you,
I also aplogise to readers of this ridiculous sqabble that could of been dealt with privatly and proffessionally.
I had Pm'ed Peter multiple times but as you read his words he just deleted my Private messages unread, and did not respond to me, instead chose to post the same issue a few weeks later, even after i tried to contact him on multiple ocassions on multiple message boards.prior to his latest posting.
Same here last post from me on this matter, however if Peter posts bad information that I disagree with or is misleading i will call him on it.
Gaz
P.S I had to add this as since Peter is implying I ran out on a bill to him, I still have no idea about this bill but wanted to do some research so I did some digging and went back 3 years and found a post that peter made under his previous MO of Pedro2 it reffered to emails that I was not responding to him as I had already left the island and the company email address had been handed over to new owners.
Peters post was dated 29/03/07 his post was answered by another person immediately and he was given CLEAR instructions who to contact and what to do. that was 3 years ago. If Peter chose not to follow the clear instructions given to him in writing and if indeed there was a legitimae bill the only persons fault that it was not paid is Peters as he could of submitted his Bill had it verified and paid out just like others did.
To bring it back on me 3 years later implying i ran out on people owing money when I did everything absolutely legally correct is clearly misleading and wrong and a clear case of trying to damage someones reputation.
If needed i can post the copy.
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