Diving in Belize (Blue Hole) or Honduras (Utila or Roatán)??

[Damselfish]

You will see all sorts of arguments for and against diving the Blue Hole of Belize. For the record, I'm in the "not worth it" camp.

Belize has many interesting land activities, so if you want a mix of things it's a great choice. (Do keep in mind the things you read about are scattered around a decent size country and it's islands, not all on a small island like some places, so locations of things are important in trip planning.) But if your main reason for choosing Belize is the Blue Hole, I think your odds of being disappointed and deciding that wasn't a very good reason are pretty high. So choose Belize (or not) for other reasons. Then if you decide to go there, figure out if it makes sense for you to do the BH.

It's also important to do your research if you have a strong desire to see whale sharks, manatees, or any specific animal. In some places known for certain creatures, sightings may be somewhat rare or at least very dependent on timing and conditions. (Unless of course it's a thing where animals are fed or otherwise lured into being there.) So think twice before hanging a whole trip on something like that, make sure it's a trip and diving you would otherwise enjoy if Mother Nature does not cooperate.

 

[jpecht]

To answer the OP question though. I've done Belize (3 times), Utila (1 time), and Roatan (~4 times). If you are talking about strictly diving, I think the diving in Roatan/Utila is consisently better than Belize, unless you are doing Lighthouse the entire time on a live-aboard. The quality of Roatan diving is high and the best dive spots are minutes from the shore. Belize has some spectacular non-diving options though (Roatan less so, and Utila even less so) so I'd factor that in. The caving/jungle/ruins of Belize are a must-see. Your odds of seeing whale sharks in November are low, so I wouldn't plan a November trip just for that.

 

[adshaikh]

Is there any concern about safety in Roatan? I've read mixed reviews concerning safety.

If you are going with a group of divers + non-divers, would Belize be better?

 

[Doc]

Is there any concern about safety in Roatan? I've read mixed reviews concerning safety.

If you are going with a group of divers + non-divers, would Belize be better?

Probably better on a different or new thread, this one is old and about Whale Sharks.

You will indeed read mixed reviews about safety. It all depends upon exactly where the person was standing when he had his experience.

Or in the case of most internet reportage, it has NOTHING to do with first-hand experience, merely repeating exciting stories. Most "negative personal interactions" spring forth from some previous engagement, whether it was paying attention to some local's "sister" (ahem), negotiations involving drugs, and similar late night chicanery. Three of the most widely reported murders in the last 10 years turned out to be long standing "love triangles" when it sorted itself out. Of the wide-spread stories of the very few murders that have occurred on the Bay Islands, there have been exactly ZERO that were random acts perpetrated on wholly innocent tourists who were doing standard tourist things. Some day, this statistic will change, but for now, the truth of the matter is simple: Act as a (librarian style) tourist, stay on that marked path, don't attempt to immerse yourself in the non-existent "island culture", have a nice time. Anything you do beyond that, just as it does in in St Louis, ratchets up your exposure level to negatives.

In example, the Mainland of Honduras is often lumped into the same kettle as the Bay Islands in terms of dire warnings from our sacrosanct State Department (not that they have any agenda).

Somehow, the same US Government Agency does manage to see and draw a distinction between Belize City (the only hole above ground) and the actual paradise- the outlying Cays where vacationers actually stay.

So, in Belize, we know that you are going to stay in the outlying Cays... as you are divers. We also assume that your mainland transition will very quick through and out of the airport in Belize City (which has great shopping right there in the Airport) If you decide mid-week to go back to the mainland and go all Indiana Jones river tubing or visit the raggedy-ast Zoo, you're on your own, pilgrim. Spend no time in (the actual mainland) Belize City other than in transit. Before all of the Belize fans start howling, yes- there are much worse places in this world and the Caribe than Belize City, that's not the point.

On Roatan, take the same advice for the only real mercantile town, Coxen Hole. (Funny name that means something entirely different from what any teenage boy might think)

And, in the Bay Islands (Roatan), most visitors arrive to the airport direct from a US Gateway City. If you want to save $39.78 some people route through the mainland and change planes in San Pedro Sula. You would have to be nuttier than squirrel poop to wander off any mainland airport, much less the transit lounge. If the $39.78 is that important, stay in the transit lounge, you'll be fine. Overnight on the mainland? YHGTBFKM. (google it) Otherwise, throw down for a direct flight from Houston or Miami and get yourself directly to RTB (Roatan Airport), skip the mainland. That was easy.

On Roatan, you can select to stay in one of many different locales. If you stay at an AI or many places in West End/West Bay, your overall exposure to personal crime is fairly limited. Some are like Fort Knox. If you stay further away from population centers and general activity, this exposure can increase.

Gosh, no different than anywhere else, even Missouri.

But, the hidden point in your question....

... going with a group of divers + non-divers, would Belize be better?

Yes, likely it would. Roatan for non-divers... it's not the first destination that comes to mind.

 

[Hollieag02]

We just went to Belize in May. Diving was fantastic. Choppy at the surface, but good viz and tons of life.
The two atoll dives after Blue Hole are incredible. We had a grouper and a barracuda that escorted us the entire dive (could have been because the DMs feed them lions)
the reef is a 5 min boat ride from Ambergis Caye, but the Blue Hole trip is 2.5hr out.

---------- Post added August 26th, 2014 at 11:19 PM ----------

Oh, and the night dive at the marine park was incredible too!

 

[LittleFrog]

If your dive count is correct, I HIGHLY suggest you search through the threads here for Blue Hole warnings. Dive operators take guys with not NEARLY enough experience on decompression dives into overhead environments on one tank with no redundancy and no backup plans. I'm cave AND deco certified with hundreds of dives, and I wouldn't do that dive with one tank. Most people also vehemently believe that the Blue Hole isn't worth it. It's worth doing once to say you've done it, and there's little or no reason to return.

Please, look around before you go. The regular diving around Belize and Roatan/Utila is all fantastic. There's no need to pay all the money to head out there for one short dive and risk what you'd be risking in those conditions.

I agree wholeheartedly. I am one that didn't think it was worth it. It was a LONG boat ride out and back, quite miserable in my experience, for a very short bottom time. I'd skip it.

 

[chillyinCanada]

You went out and back JUST to do the Blue Hole?! What about the followup dives? The beauty of Halfmoon Caye? Which boat did you go on? Comfort and enjoyment can be based on that too.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I was in Utila this year. Diving there was awesome to me for whom this was the first Caribbean destination. This means that I do not have any other place to compare it with but a few pictures that I took should help you decide for yourself.



Whale sharks are a good the months mentioned above but do not like the way those dives are done. Normally between a surface interval you are thrown on a passing whale shark and you might see a tail sometime depending in where you were in the line-up.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Jesti, November isn't the right time of year to go looking for whale sharks at Utila, Isla Mujueres or Placencia. All i can say is that I've had 100-150 dives at Roatan in the months of November, December January, May and. June. Never saw a whale shark though we've chased a few surface sightings. But our very own Mossman was on Roatan one Xmas when i was also there and on his first or second dive of his only Roatan trip, he saw the tail end of one near Texas dive site, IIRC and very much to my chagrin.