Belize Diving Trip

[Damselfish]

I'm assuming even doing a shallower dive the blue hole would be a site to see.

No, it wouldn't. Really.

 

[Edward3c]

No, it wouldn't. Really.

Must second that.

 

[Hoag]

The Great Blue Hole (GBH) is a once in a lifetime dive. That is not to say that it is spectacular. It is to say that doing it more than once isn't worth the effort unless you happen to be there anyway. (I have been there twice, both times on the Belize Aggressor.)

The GBH is shaped kind of like a bell. It is narrow at the top and then it opens up as you get a bit deeper. When I was there, it had very little life in it, either small stuff or pelagic although I have heard that occasionally sharks are seen there. It has a very vibrant reef around the top (I actually liked that reef better than the GBH itself especially the 2nd time I went.) Getting back to the dive profile, Roughly the first 90 feet there is little to see. It just keeps getting darker and darker as you descend. At between 100 and 130 feet, the bell shape starts to open up and there are some stalactites dropping down from the overhang. You only get a couple minutes here though because your NDL starts to climb pretty quickly and it is soon time to start working your way back to the shallower water. The remainder of the dive is gradually "riding" your NDL as you ascend.

On my second trip to the GBH, one member of our group "narced out" pretty severely. They became fixated on their depth gauge staring at it blankly as they dropped like a rock. Two of us saw this as she plummeted past the group and we went after her. We caught her at about 140 feet and had her stopped by 149 feet. Given that you have 0-24 dives, this is something that you need to be aware is a real possibility. Also, because of the Nitrogen loading that you will get during this dive, you might want to sit out the day before and possibly the day after to off-gas. (I would really recommend this if you are using rental computers that are not tracking your own N2 loading for the whole week.)

I think that the GBH is a good dive, and certainly one that is pretty cool when in a group of divers you can say "Yup. Been there. Done that.", but as a new diver, to only stay at 70 feet I think that your hard earned dive dollars would be better spent doing other dives until you are able to do the GBH safely to the 100 - 130 foot depth. Giving yourself a "hard deck" of 70 feet will not give you what I think most divers are looking for when they dive the GBH.


**Edited to correct a typo.

 

[Scubafanatic25]

The Great Blue Hole (GBH) is a once in a lifetime dive. That is not to say that it is spectacular. It is to say that doing it more than once isn't worth the effort unless you happen to be there anyway. (I have been there twice, both times on the Belize Aggressor.)

The GBH is shaped kind of like a bell. It is narrow at the top and then it opens up as you get a bit deeper. When I was there, it had very little life in it, either small stuff or pelagic although I have heard that occasionally sharks are seen there. It has a very vibrant reef around the top (I actually liked that reef better than the GBH itself especially the 2nd time I went.) Getting back to the dive profile, Roughly the fist 90 feet there is little to see. It just keeps getting darker and darker as you descend. At between 100 and 130 feet, the bell shape starts to open up and there are some stalactites dropping down from the overhang. You only get a couple minutes here though because your NDL starts to climb pretty quickly and it is soon time to start working your way back to the shallower water. The remainder of the dive is gradually "riding" your NDL as you ascend.

On my second trip to the GBH, one member of our group "narced out" pretty severely. They became fixated on their depth gauge staring at it blankly as they dropped like a rock. Two of us saw this as she plummeted past the group and we went after her. We caught her at about 140 feet and had her stopped by 149 feet. Given that you have 0-24 dives, this is something that you need to be aware is a real possibility. Also, because of the Nitrogen loading that you will get during this dive, you might want to sit out the day before and possibly the day after to off-gas. (I would really recommend this if you are using rental computers that are not tracking your own N2 loading for the whole week.)

I think that the GBH is a good dive, and certainly one that is pretty cool when in a group of divers you can say "Yup. Been there. Done that.", but as a new diver, to only stay at 70 feet I think that your hard earned dive dollars would be better spent doing other dives until you are able to do the GBH safely to the 100 - 130 foot depth. Giving yourself a "hard deck" of 70 feet will not give you what I think most divers are looking for when they dive the GBH.

Thank you for the response. Definitely have me second guessing doing the blue hole. I'm not looking to push the boundaries of diving with my still limited experience. I respect the sport and dangers so we may have to plan other dive trips instead of the BH

 

[JimJam2]

+1 on Amigo's Dell Mar; that is the outfit I did my BH dive with. Nice lunch spread on Half Moon Caye and free rum drinks on the way back in. I would take the trip out there even if I had to sit out the BH dive (as the other 2 dives are quite beautiful). You could drop to the sand around 40 feet (were the group assembles for the dive) and hang out with the nurse sharks while the rest of the group proceeds down the BH if you are more comfortable with that.

 

[lowflyer]

If you stay at one of the resorts on Turneffe atoll, the Blue Hole is a shorter trip and the local diving at Turneffe would be what you are looking for in general.

As far as the Blue Hole is concerned, IMO, it's over rated, but the other two dives that are part of the Blue Hole excursion are well worth it. When your boat is anchored in the Blue Hole, it doesn't look much different than being anchored anywhere else. That beautiful picture of the BH taken from the air is not replicated when at sea level.

One option would be to snorkel the reef at the Blue Hole (If the dive op won't let you do the deep dive itself because of your experience level) and then do the two nice dives off Half Moon Caye on Lighthouse Reef Atoll. The bird sanctuary on Half Moon is worth the visit also.

 

[MichaelMc]

+1 on no BH, especially as OW diver. I missed out on an atoll trip and wanted to do BH trip but to sit out BH and rather do other two dives on it. To me BH seems not worth the nitrogen load when far from shore with other good dives to do.

If you do not stay on an atoll, San Pedro is easy place to do local dives from and have a place to kick around or relax. Or caye caulker depending on your more hippy vibe. See my white sands trip report in Belize forum.

 

[drrich2]

Just in case you'd like to see a 'mini' trip report from the Blue Hole part of our Sun Dancer 2 trip. Dive Trip to the Blue Hole & Visit to Half Moon Caye - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/belize/506647-some-blue-hole-impressions.html Pictures & description may give you some idea what's involved.

Richard.

 

[DeputyDan]

When we did a liveaboard in Belize - only one person on the boat wanted to go to the Blue hole and that was just to see it - not to dive there.

I would have the 3rd the recommendation to skip it... especially at a 70 foot floor.

 

[lowflyer]

When we did a liveaboard in Belize - only one person on the boat wanted to go to the Blue hole and that was just to see it - not to dive there.

I would have the 3rd the recommendation to skip it... especially at a 70 foot floor.

Not sure what you mean by a 70 foot floor.
The Blue Hole is somewhere around 300-400 feet deep, and the dive is to about 130 ft.