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Travel / Belize
Overview
Dive Travel in Belize
- one of the smallest countries in Central America - packs a lot within its borders, from the hemisphere's longest reef and the amazing Blue Hole, to whale sharks, atolls, Mayan ruins and jungle trekking. It's the ultimate location for dive travel.
Deciding where to stay in Belize is harder than it seems - your choices range from the quaint ambience of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye to the dive-only atolls to the nature-loving South.
The barrier reef off Ambergris Caye starts five miles north of the Mexican border and is so near shore that dive sites are only five minutes away. Experienced divers like to visit Hol Chan Cut: Strong tidal currents make it tricky to dive this site, but also supply food to filter feeders such as sea fans, sponges and gorgonians and to fish like grunts and mutton snappers. Divers stay close to the channel sides where irregularities in the walls blunt much of the current's strength.
Three of the four true atolls in the hemisphere - Lighthouse Reef, Turneffe Islands and Glover's Reef - lie 30 to 60 miles off the mainland, beyond the immense barrier reef, and offer fish- and coral-packed walls that plummet 3,000 feet below. Ranked among Belize's best wall dives, the Elbow at Turneffe's southern tip is a busy intersection of currents and big fish; you'll see schools of jacks, permit and barrel sponges. The walls at Lighthouse Reef's Half Moon Caye are shot through with innumerable tunnels and swim-throughs and packed with huge barrel and tube sponges, yellowtail snappers, eagle rays and garden eels.
Gladden Spit, near Placencia, is a hot dive travel spot for whale shark encounters between March and June. Placencia dive operators take small groups of divers to this reserve, where whale sharks, drawn by spawning dog and cubera snappers, come in search of an easy meal.
Dive In
Subtropical, which means pretty warm year-round, especially on the coast, cayes and atolls; luckily, a brisk prevailing wind from the Caribbean moderates hot summer temps. Expect summer highs in the mid-80s and lows in the mid-70s. Winter is cooler, with highs in the low 80s and lows in the high 60s.
High 70s in winter to mid-80s in summer.
On the barrier reef and atolls, vis is often 100 feet or more, but a bit less inside the reef.
The Belize dollar (BZ$). The fixed exchange rate is BZ$2 to US$1. Credit cards and traveler's checks are accepted throughout the country.
The same as U.S. Central Standard. Daylight saving time is not observed.
011-501.
English is the official language. However, many Belizeans speak a creole—clipped English with a smattering of Spanish. Spanish is also widely spoken, especially in the north.
110 volts.
A passport is required, plus a return or ongoing ticket.
$35, payable in U.S. currency.
Belize Tourism Board, www.travelbelize.org, Turneffe Island Lodge, www.turneffelodge.com.
Dive Deals
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You know those “Swim with the Dolphins” excursions they offer at touristy beach resorts? Well, this dolphin experience is exactly the opposite. Your teen will search for these playful and intelligent creatures in Belize’s stunning offshore cayes and other dolphin hot spots. They’re out there. And so is the exhilarating rush that often accompanies the experience of observing dolphins in their natural habitats. This trek is hands-on, expert-led field research that will assist the Belizean Oceanic Society in their ongoing quest to protect these big-brained creatures and create a marine sanctuary. Receive 10% off your teen’s Belize Dolphin Studies Program when you book by June 1, 2012.
$4842.00
from 06/12 to 07/12 | 20
7 Nights, all meals, 17 boat dives, transfers
$1566.00
from 06/12 to 12/12 | 182
5 Nights, tax, air from Belize City, 3 days diving
$544.00
from 08/12 to 11/12 | 101
7 Night package $948 per person, double occupancy
$948.00
from 04/12 to 12/12 | 247
Discover the best of Belize on and offshore! 8 day/7 night package with 10 dives or 5 adventures! Includes domestic air and land transfers within Belize, meals and your choice of 5 adventures! Choose from Barrier Reef diving or snorkeling, Mayan ruins, Jaguar Preserve, caving, jungle river kayaking, rainforest waterfall hike or tropical birding. Ideal for divers and non divers.
$1731.00
from 06/12 to 11/12 | 7
You know those “Swim with the Dolphins” excursions they offer at touristy beach resorts? Well, this dolphin experience is exactly the opposite. Your teen will search for these playful and intelligent creatures in Belize’s stunning offshore cayes and other dolphin hot spots. They’re out there. And so is the exhilarating rush that often accompanies the experience of observing dolphins in their natural habitats. This trek is hands-on, expert-led field research that will assist the Belizean Oceanic Society in their ongoing quest to protect these big-brained creatures and create a marine sanctuary. Receive 10% off your teen’s Belize Dolphin Studies Program when you book by June 1, 2012.
$4842.00
from 06/12 to 07/12 | 20
Discover the best of Belize on and offshore! 8 day/7 night package with 10 dives or 5 adventures! Includes domestic air and land transfers within Belize, meals and your choice of 5 adventures! Choose from Barrier Reef diving or snorkeling, Mayan ruins, Jaguar Preserve, caving, jungle river kayaking, rainforest waterfall hike or tropical birding. Ideal for divers and non divers.
$1731.00
from 06/12 to 11/12 | 7
7 Nights, all meals, 17 boat dives, transfers
$1566.00
from 06/12 to 12/12 | 182
7 Night package $948 per person, double occupancy
$948.00
from 04/12 to 12/12 | 247
5 Nights, tax, air from Belize City, 3 days diving
$544.00
from 08/12 to 11/12 | 101
5 Nights, tax, air from Belize City, 3 days diving
$544.00
from 08/12 to 11/12 | 101
7 Nights, all meals, 17 boat dives, transfers
$1566.00
from 06/12 to 12/12 | 182
You know those “Swim with the Dolphins” excursions they offer at touristy beach resorts? Well, this dolphin experience is exactly the opposite. Your teen will search for these playful and intelligent creatures in Belize’s stunning offshore cayes and other dolphin hot spots. They’re out there. And so is the exhilarating rush that often accompanies the experience of observing dolphins in their natural habitats. This trek is hands-on, expert-led field research that will assist the Belizean Oceanic Society in their ongoing quest to protect these big-brained creatures and create a marine sanctuary. Receive 10% off your teen’s Belize Dolphin Studies Program when you book by June 1, 2012.
$4842.00
from 06/12 to 07/12 | 20
Discover the best of Belize on and offshore! 8 day/7 night package with 10 dives or 5 adventures! Includes domestic air and land transfers within Belize, meals and your choice of 5 adventures! Choose from Barrier Reef diving or snorkeling, Mayan ruins, Jaguar Preserve, caving, jungle river kayaking, rainforest waterfall hike or tropical birding. Ideal for divers and non divers.
$1731.00
from 06/12 to 11/12 | 7
7 Night package $948 per person, double occupancy
$948.00
from 04/12 to 12/12 | 247
7 Night package $948 per person, double occupancy
$948.00
from 04/12 to 12/12 | 247
7 Nights, all meals, 17 boat dives, transfers
$1566.00
from 06/12 to 12/12 | 182
5 Nights, tax, air from Belize City, 3 days diving
$544.00
from 08/12 to 11/12 | 101
You know those “Swim with the Dolphins” excursions they offer at touristy beach resorts? Well, this dolphin experience is exactly the opposite. Your teen will search for these playful and intelligent creatures in Belize’s stunning offshore cayes and other dolphin hot spots. They’re out there. And so is the exhilarating rush that often accompanies the experience of observing dolphins in their natural habitats. This trek is hands-on, expert-led field research that will assist the Belizean Oceanic Society in their ongoing quest to protect these big-brained creatures and create a marine sanctuary. Receive 10% off your teen’s Belize Dolphin Studies Program when you book by June 1, 2012.
$4842.00
from 06/12 to 07/12 | 20
Discover the best of Belize on and offshore! 8 day/7 night package with 10 dives or 5 adventures! Includes domestic air and land transfers within Belize, meals and your choice of 5 adventures! Choose from Barrier Reef diving or snorkeling, Mayan ruins, Jaguar Preserve, caving, jungle river kayaking, rainforest waterfall hike or tropical birding. Ideal for divers and non divers.
$1731.00
from 06/12 to 11/12 | 7
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One of the four mustdive locations on this blue planet,” was how renowned oceanographer Jacques Cousteau described Belize. Considered one of Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secrets, Belize is home to the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest in the world, and boasts three of only four coral atolls in the Caribbean.
