Bubbles Up

[ScubaCat11]

Hello, all SCUBABOARD members. I am glad to be back under the water and joining your forum. My husband and I have been inactive for a bit, but now we are back. Heading to Belize next week, hope to make some fast friends here on your forum!!!

Also, here are some questions I have for the masses.

Hello All!

I am hoping to get a little advice here. My husband and I are heading to Belize (Ambergris Caye) next week for the first time. We are very experienced divers and our friends are very inexperienced.

Here are some of the things I have been told that I am looking for help with:

1) We were thinking of catching a cab from the Intl. airport to the muni. airport. Some have told us, absolutely, save the money and others have said no way, no how, do NOT leave the airport in Belize city, it is way too dangerous. Also, any info on the water taxi that is available?

2) Conflicting reports on the worth of the Blue Hole dive. I have heard some say that this is an awesome dive, others say don't waste your time and money, long boat ride, lots of money, not a lot of life. A local dive operator told us that the only reason to dive Blue Hole is to say you've been that deep (140 ft). We are not impressed.

3) We are staying at Banyan Bay, anybody know anything about the accommodations and the dive operation there?

4) Can we expect a big difference in dive prices from dive shop to dive shop and what is the average price for diving on Ambergris Caye?

Thanks in advance for any info. that you might offer.

 

[Doc]

2) Conflicting reports on the worth of the Blue Hole dive. I have heard some say that this is an awesome dive, others say don't waste your time and money, long boat ride, lots of money, not a lot of life. A local dive operator told us that the only reason to dive Blue Hole is to say you've been that deep (140 ft). We are not impressed

Add to that one very critical factor: A long way from help.

Brush up your dive skills, and I'm not just talking about early in your week at Belize. Then, if you have to go to 140', by all means, do so.

Just know that you're that far back to a chamber.

 

[RockyHeap]

The blue hole is a wonderfull dive, for the stalagtites and sharks (not just for the hole), and its only 1 of the 3 dives you'll do that day........the outer reefs like Lighthouse or half moon caye are spectacular and easily have 4-5 times the coral life and HUGE barrel sponges compared to any close in Ambergris Caye fringe reef which pales in comparison. Just do it.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

As someone who has actually "been there, done that" I can say we really enjoyed the full day Blue Hole trip - but obviously it's not for everyone. If it's not for you, don't do it.

The shark action (and I'm not speaking of nurse sharks) both at depth and in the shallows, in murkier waters than are found outside the fringe, during a week of high visibility water diving, was definitely a touch of something different. We used 28% O2 EAN for this dive, but we were the only Nitrox divers on the boat during that trip.

The picnic lunch and other 2 dives that day in the high vis waters were definitely part of what made the whole package of the day trip something we enjoyed, as referenced above.

We dove to 150 feet for our tech cert checkout dives at Grand Cayman, so we've definitely been deeper than our Blue Hole dive - the depth of the dive was not the reason we chose to take the Blue Hole trip during one of our dive days around the middle of our 10 day stay on Ambergris Caye.

You can try www.ambergriscaye.com to find links to operators that often include pricing you can compare. We used Amigos Del Mar for the Blue Hole day trip and Protech Belize for our other diving on Ambergris Caye, but there are definitely plenty of operators for you to choose from to get what you're looking for.

 

[SStrecker]

2) Conflicting reports on the worth of the Blue Hole dive. I have heard some say that this is an awesome dive, others say don't waste your time and money, long boat ride, lots of money, not a lot of life. A local dive operator told us that the only reason to dive Blue Hole is to say you've been that deep (140 ft). We are not impressed

Add to that one very critical factor: A long way from help.

Brush up your dive skills, and I'm not just talking about early in your week at Belize. Then, if you have to go to 140', by all means, do so.

Just know that you're that far back to a chamber.

The Blue Hole is 55 miles from Ambergris Caye. I would definitely pick a reliable dive operation, using a large, fast boat (with a head). I plan to take a similar trip in 8 weeks.

 

[bridgenet]

My wife and I are experienced divers, and like others been deeper, but it was a good dive. Not sure I would do a 55 mile boat trip for it though. We were on the Aggressor so made it easy. Not sure I would suggest it for inexperienced divers just a matter of whether they have experienced deep diving before. If not then it is similiar to hanging out in the blue on a Cayman wall dive, with no bottom, straight down, and vertical walls. Some people panic or drift downward and loose track of their depth. We had some newbie's that had that problem so felt like I was a part-time DM keeping an eye on them. Still is a good day out.

 

[Cudabait]

How inexperienced is the other couple.....are their skills up to the task? Have you dove with them before? Like Doc said, it's a long boat ride.

Regards,