Ambergris Caye, Turneffe Island, or Placencia

[War Eagle Diver]

Currently in the infancy of planning a trip to Belize and looking for any and all great recommendations. We are planning on going sometime in the April - June window and right now are likely looking at Amergris Caye, but due to the time of year we have also considered going to Palencia to try and dive with whale sharks (high on my bucket list). We are looking for good diving overall as well though and the Blue Hole and Lighthouse are also high on my bucket list. My question is, is it better to take our first trip to Belize to Ambergris Caye or Turneffe? Or go to Palencia and pray for a whale shark sighting? I am not familiar with the general diving around Palencia.

 

[Hank49]

If you want to just dive the best sites and aren't interested in night life...just dive, Turneffe. You're 5 to 15 minutes from some world class diving.

If you want to be able to dive the Blue Hole and Turneffe on day trips (1.5-3.5 hour boat rides to Turneffe and Blue Hole) but want night life and restaurants etc....and easy access to reef diving. Ambergris. The reef dives there are not great but usually have great vis and easy access.

If you want long boat rides from a quiet little town (by comparison to San Pedro) and the possibility of whale sharks, Placencia. The diving on the reef there is really good but it's 20 miles minimum and if it's choppy, it's a long ride.

I would rate them in that order. I can do without the night life. If I'm on a dive trip, I eat, sleep and dive. No night life.

 

[Downing]

It really depends on your priorities.

AC is by far where most tourists head. Lots of hotels, restaurants and dive shops. More shopping and nightlife there than elsewhere. You can get to Turneffe and Lighthouse from there but it's a full day trip.

Turneffe Island Resort, along with two other resorts out on the atoll, Turneffe Flats and Blackbird Caye, offers a very different experience, more like a deserted island. No cars, phones, televisions. And no shopping and no nightlife other than hanging out with the other guests. Kind of a "less is more" experience. About an hour away from the BH and LH, where they go once a week. TIR likes to brag that there are 70+ dive sites within a five minute boat ride, including The Elbow, which you might want to put on your Bucket List as well. Those three resorts are more about diving, then relaxing in a tropical island setting.

Placencia is more off the "beaten track" than AC and has the Whale Shark dives, tied to the full moon. The best months are supposed to be April and May but they'll give it a shot in March and June. Splash Dive Shop offers an overnight trip to the BH and LH, with diving along the way there and back. There are a few shops and restaurants there but not on the scale of AC. Placencia diving is on par with AC and Turneffe but not as spectacular as LH. The boat rides are longer, about an hour each way, but there are lots of small cayes to check out along the way.

You didn't mention it but if you're planning on doing any mainland stuff like jungle hiking or Mayan ruin sightseeing then Placencia is by far the best for that. It's right below Cockscomb Basin and very close to a number of Mayan ruins. And there's always Punta Gorda. You can immerse yourself in the Mayan or Garifuna culture in no time.

Depending on the length of your trip, if you're going for two weeks or more you could split it up into two of the three places pretty comfortably. There are local flights covering the entire country that make traveling quick and easy.

The good news is that there's no right or wrong answer. You'll have a fantastic time where ever you go.

 

[Rescue Diver68]

I found the diving around Ambergris disappointing with the exception of a Hol Chan night dive which was excellent. Turneffe diving was very average and we discussed this with our DM who told us that she thought the diving was much better down around Glover's Atoll.

 

[Hank49]

I found the diving around Ambergris disappointing with the exception of a Hol Chan night dive which was excellent. Turneffe diving was very average and we discussed this with our DM who told us that she thought the diving was much better down around Glover's Atoll.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you qualify as "good diving"?

I'm curious because I've lived and dived in SE Asia and am aware of the lack of flora and fauna in the Caribbean by comparison. But the Elbow of Turneffe ranks right up there with Sipadan and Tubbataha, Philippines in my book as far as numbers of fish.

But I am beginning to wonder if tourist scuba divers see the masses of fish there. I rarely see it posted here.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

I retired to Belize after researching places to retire to - Belize best fit my criteria. I checked out all (at least most) of Belize by paper research and site visits before deciding to move to Placencia because it offered more of what I was interested in than other very appealing spots in Belize. While I came here to retire, I am now co-owner of Splash Dive Center Ltd which was started by Patty Ramirez about 12 or so years ago. While diving and snorkeling are our core businesses, we are a destination marketing company so offer adventure tours and diving all over Belize. We do most of our diving including Lighthouse and the Blue Hole from Placencia but partner with other operators if customers are interested in overnighting in more than one area. I have dived most places in Belize but few dives at Turneffe so can't comment/rate Turneffe compared to others. That said, you know my biases before I comment on the best places to dive.

Patty says Lighthouse is the best and she has several thousand dives in all over Belize from her days working on the live aboards. My preference is Glovers. I like the Elbow at Turneffe. I like South Water Caye area and I like Silk Cayes. I can't count how many times I dived at Laughing Bird Caye and I still enjoy going there. I don't dive at Ambergris very often, but I like that too.

I think your decision should be based on your personal criteria in the same way that I decided on Placencia based on my personal criteria and I have to say I have never regretted my decision to move here. You can check out some of the dive sites on our website Belize Scuba Diving Packages, Snorkeling & Whale sharks|Splash Dive Center|Placencia Belize

I think Downing did an excellent summary of your options.

Regards
Ralph

 

[Rescue Diver68]

If you don't mind me asking, what do you qualify as "good diving"?

I'm curious because I've lived and dived in SE Asia and am aware of the lack of flora and fauna in the Caribbean by comparison. But the Elbow of Turneffe ranks right up there with Sipadan and Tubbataha, Philippines in my book as far as numbers of fish.

But I am beginning to wonder if tourist scuba divers see the masses of fish there. I rarely see it posted here.

Sure Hank, (my personla dive scale) the Elbow is one good dive site of Turneffe.

Good diving - Half Moon Caye Belize, Long Caye Belize, Dominica, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Providenciales.

Turneffe is average like Utila, St. Thomas, Grand Bahama, Riviera Maya.

All my opinion but Ambergris is not a place I would ever return to for the diving.

 

[Downing]

***But the Elbow of Turneffe ranks right up there with Sipadan and Tubbataha, Philippines in my book as far as numbers of fish.But I am beginning to wonder if tourist scuba divers see the masses of fish there. I rarely see it posted here.

I've done the Elbow maybe 20 - 25 times as it's always a crowd favorite at TIR and literally five minutes away. Almost all of them were fantastic dives with the rest being very good, imho. There may have been a dud in there somewhere that I can't remember.

I don't think very many divers have done The Elbow unless they're staying at one of the atoll resorts, in which case it would still be a bit of a trip for those staying at Blackbird or TF.

On the other hand, LH is in a class by itself.

 

[Hank49]

I've been in the water there among a huge school of cuberas with another school of dog snappers close by, and muttons cruising around. Also some horse eye jacks and permit. On three occasions scuba divers got in the water and the fish disappeared. Kind of weird. After the scuba divers got out, the fish were back.

I've done the tour dives at Lighthouse but it's a bit far for my 25 foot Carrot Juice. I'd need to haul about 60 gallons of fuel.

 

[War Eagle Diver]

First, I want to thank you all for your always wonderful insight and recommendations. I have found scubaboard members to always be very knowledgable and very helpful and this case is no different. I do have a couple of more things to add and questions if I may.

First, it appears to me after looking further that Turneffe is full of amazing diving and large pelagics (which is totally my thing.) One question I have is that my girlfriend's parents are going and are relatively new divers and I read that the Elbow is considered to be "advanced" diving. What exactly does that mean in layman's terms? Just some currents? I don't want to get them in a situation where they are in over their heads (pun intended). My girlfriend and I are also by no means experts but have had around 20-30 ocean dives a piece plus we have our AOW certifications.

Also, just in general, how "advanced" is Belize diving as a whole? We have been to Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, and Grand Cayman thus far with no troubles so just curious.

Finally, as far as Turneffe is concerned, we would like to do a day of seeing Mayan ruins and being in the jungle. Is it possible to leave Turneffe for the mainland or once we get there, are we there for the long haul?

Thanks again,
John