Trip to Belize this February

[MelasLithos]

Hi,

It's a bit of a last minute confirmation, but I will take a trip to Belize this February. I will be there from February 6th to 29th.

I am a freshly certified OW diver (with PADI), and basically just did my certification dives (I got certified this November), but would like to take the time to dive more and be more at ease underwater. Do you have any recommendations of places I could do that? Any nice and "easy" place for diving? Also, I must say that I will be travelling alone, what would be the best way to proceed in this situation?

More generally, for this trip, I hope I'll be able to manage a mix of diving and travelling and visiting (it will be my first time in Central America and I am quite interested in the Mayan ruins, with maybe a quick detour to Guatemala too).

As you can see, I am quite new to all this, and as this is all a bit last minute, haven't have had a lot of time to prepare, but will gladly take all recommendation and advices you can give.

Thanks!

 

[Ralph Capeling]

If you want to combine inland adventures and diving, the south coast (Hopkins or Placencia) would suit your needs. Also provides a lot of flexibility if you get a windy day you can divert from diving to visiitng ruins or other inland adventures.
Regards
Ralph

 

[MelasLithos]

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into that!

 

[Edward3c]

Have a look at ReefCI

 

[Downing]

I'm a big fan of Placencia, although you'll find most divers head for Ambergris Caye. Regardless, the diving in Belize is very easy, with warm water, good viz and little current, great for beginners. Just be sure to let your dive operator know your experience and comfort level (the good ones will ask). We were all new divers once, so don't let your ego get in the way.

There are tons of Mayan sites in the country, with Caracol being the biggest and most glorious but also the hardest to reach. Here's a pretty good list: The Top Ten Maya Sites In Belize - Descriptions and How To Get There.

My wife and I popped over to Guatemala last year to see Tikal. It was my first time ever going from one third world country to another and back. We used San Ignacio as a base of operations for that trip.

 

[PADI Travel]

Hi there MelasLithos!

As an Open Water diver, you should find a lot of calm, clear, shallow dives in Belize. We would recommend that you try out the Cayes and Atolls, especially Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker. Any of the dive shops in the area should be able to cater to your skill level and match you up with a dive buddy. Traveling alone in Central America is great as there is always a local or another traveler to dive with. If you’d like to take a look at some more in depth information or the weather conditions for your trip, please take a look at our page on diving in Belize. Happy diving!

 

[MelasLithos]

Thanks every one for all your nice recommandations. It's a good thing I'm staying quite a while over there, there is so much to see and do!

For now, the plan is to stay the first week around the Cayes and Atolls (maybe Ambergris Caye), second inland around San Ignacio, and the third one more in the south, around Placencia/Hopkins. I've contacted ReefCl too, it looks like quite an interesting program, and am currently waiting for their answer. I still need to book all my hotels and confirm the exact schedule though.

I am glad to hear that travelling alone will not be an issue, and that there is a lot of diving for Open Water divers.

I still have a couple of questions though:
- is it possible to dive the Blue Hole as a beginner diver, or is it a bit too much/too deep?
- what is the tipping habit in Belize?
- how easy is it to go from San Ignacio to Tikal? Will I need to spend the night there, or a day trip is fine?

Thanks again for all your answers!

 

[Edward3c]

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Thanks every one for all your nice recommandations. It's a good thing I'm staying quite a while over there, there is so much to see and do!

For now, the plan is to stay the first week around the Cayes and Atolls (maybe Ambergris Caye), second inland around San Ignacio, and the third one more in the south, around Placencia/Hopkins. I've contacted ReefCl too, it looks like quite an interesting program, and am currently waiting for their answer. I still need to book all my hotels and confirm the exact schedule though.

I am glad to hear that travelling alone will not be an issue, and that there is a lot of diving for Open Water divers.

I still have a couple of questions though:
- is it possible to dive the Blue Hole as a beginner diver, or is it a bit too much/too deep?
- what is the tipping habit in Belize?
- how easy is it to go from San Ignacio to Tikal? Will I need to spend the night there, or a day trip is fine?

Thanks again for all your answers!

Hi,

The Blue Hole (BH): most operators will take you there as your the paying guest. They will not be responsible for you exceeding your qualification depth, because you will not be under training therefore you're on your own. Its not unusual for people to hit 40+m (130+ft) without the additional kit I consider essential for those depths. Personally, there are many more interesting and safer sites then the BH.

I've tended to take flights when travelling round Central America.

 

[Downing]

Ah, the Blue Hole. I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner, but on the other hand I think I had maybe twenty dives under my weight belt first time I did it. If you decide to do it, be sure to let the dive op know your level of experience. You may get some pushback from them, however.

Tipping habit? I think the "going rate" is typically $5/tank if you're talking about diving. I choose to tip more.

SI to Tikal and back in one day is a long day but doable. Your tour guide will make the arrangements. We used Maximum Adventure Tours. They picked us up and dropped us off at the hotel. I think we left around 7 in the morning and were back by 5.

 

[MelasLithos]

Well, I wouldn't feel comfortable and don't want to dive past my certification limits (18m). So the consensus seems to be to skip the Blue Hole. I was wondering if it was still interresting without going deep, but it looks like it's not really the case.