The Blue Hole, Belize

[Symon Oliveri]

Hi All

I will be in Belize at the end of this year and I am considering diving the blue hole. I have read some of the other threads about inexperienced divers. I have my open water and have completed the deep dive module of the advanced. But I have only done about 10 dives since getting my open water. I plan to do some other dives in Mexico and Belize before I would attempt the dive. But I am still unsure of whether I should attempt this dive. I am not amazingly confident. What would other divers recommend

 

[vladimir]

You probably read THIS THREAD already, but if not, have a look.

I would recommend that you not do the dive with an AL80; it's really cutting it close on gas supply.

Most of your fellow ScubaBoarders will also recommend that you not do it, probably under any circumstances other than years of experience and tech training. It's a pretty risk-averse bunch, in my opinion.

I would be fine with you undertaking the risk, with a bigger tank and the additional training and experience you mentioned, but I still don't think a diver of that experience is in a position to properly assess the risk. (Which is why you are asking—good idea.)

You have to fly past a lot of fabulous diving to get from Sydney to Mexico and Belize. I hope it's not just a dive trip.

 

[koozemani]

We were recently there on a lob and opted to dive the surrounding reef instead. We saw 100 times more than those that did dive it. It's a big hole, nothing more.

140' ft on an al80. Not my cup of tea.

 

[Symon Oliveri]

No I am not just heading there to dive. I am travelling and volunteering in Mexico then heading down to Belize. But thought I would do some diving as well. But I think I will stick with the shallower dives

 

[vladimir]

We were recently there on a lob and opted to dive the surrounding reef instead. We saw 100 times more than those that did dive it. It's a big hole, nothing more.

140' ft on an al80. Not my cup of tea.

I disagree. A quarry is nothing more than a big hole. The Blue Hole in Belize is a sunken cave system that opens up to the ocean and is fringed with stalactites at about 40 to 45 meters. It's pretty cool to see, and an interesting geology lesson. Lighthouse Reef has more to offer for those whose interest runs more to biology than geology, but you probably have a better chance of encountering sharks (reef and bull) in the Blue Hole, albeit due to baiting by the day boats.

It's not my favorite dive—it's not even my favorite Blue Hole—but it is certainly more than a big hole.

 

[peterbj7]

I would suggest that with your minimal level of experience you skip the Blue Hole, though if you make the standard day trip you'll find the two following dives superb (and themselves taxing your experience - they're walls with the bottom at several thousand feet). If you've managed to get quite a few dives in before you pitch up here and are keen, then you should do some "build-up" deep dives on the local reef first. Contact me via SB when you get here and before you book a trip - I can give advice and specific help.

The Deep Dive of PADI's AOW course only takes you to somewhere between 61ft-100ft. Most people who dive the BH go to near the shelf at the side, above which you'll find stalagmites and columns. The shelf is at 150ft. You can see "everything" without going below 130ft, but most don't. Depending on the level of chumming, you may see grey reef sharks and bull sharks - you won't see the hammerheads that are prolific in the BH as they usually stay much deeper than that.

If you'll be in the Yucatan the best way of getting to Belize is by bus to Chetumal, and then a ferry direct from there to San Pedro, Belize. Leaves Chetumal at around 3pm every day.

 

[jlevine]

I agree with Peter about not doing the Blue Hole. If you go, you can dive in the shallow area and look down from the top of the hole. The other two dives are very nice as is the picnic lunch that's typically done on one of the cayes.

Please post a trip report when after you return!

 

[Queen Triggerfish]

It seems as though there's a pretty unanimous consensus, so you may not need another opinion, but I'd also suggest to not do it. If you were more experienced and really into underwater cave systems, I'd recommend it. Otherwise, I'd recommend any of my friends to pass on it. Depending on where you're coming from, it's a very long boat ride (I recall 2-3 hours from Ambergris Caye, but others might correct me on this). That's a fairly significant time investment when you could be doing other things, including diving of course. Bottom line though: I'd say no just from a safety aspect, but if you do decide to go, it's crucial that you inform the dive masters of your relative inexperience ahead of time, and stay close to one of them.

 

[DeputyDan]

When we did a LOB in Belize everyone on the boat except my daughter voted to skip the blue hole.
My daughter really didn't want to dove it she just wanted to see it.

 

[vladimir]

It seems as though there's a pretty unanimous consensus, so you may not need another opinion, but I'd also suggest to not do it. If you were more experienced and really into underwater cave systems, I'd recommend it. Otherwise, I'd recommend any of my friends to pass on it. Depending on where you're coming from, it's a very long boat ride (I recall 2-3 hours from Ambergris Caye, but others might correct me on this). That's a fairly significant time investment when you could be doing other things, including diving of course. Bottom line though: I'd say no just from a safety aspect, but if you do decide to go, it's crucial that you inform the dive masters of your relative inexperience ahead of time, and stay close to one of them.

The boat ride is worth it, whether you are diving the Blue Hole or not. The diving on the surrounding Lighthouse Reef is some of the best diving in Belize, in my opinion.