Dive Ambergis Caye, Belize - Report from Rob Fairall - UK Expat in the USA

Location: Belize, CA
Site: Ambergris Caye
Flight time: About 14hrs from the UK. 2hrs from Houston, TX

Situated about 20min(light aircraft) away from main Belize.

Ambergris Caye is a small island which is only about 2.5 miles in length and has just three streets in it’s breadth..(Front /Middle and Back Street). Belize is growing as a destination and is fast becoming the new Costa Rica and being renowned for it’s Tax shelter investments. Can’t be bad as Leonardo Di Caprio has bought a small Island nearby.

Moving on the diving. I went in October 2007. The welcome was fantastic. The diving was simply an experience. Visibility was fantastic….seeing on average 100ft. Water was so warm a shorty was just fine. Along the Coast it is possible to run out of dive sites there are so many to choose from….with such names as Turneffe Atoll to Shark Alley to Mermaid’s Lair….all have an array of Marine Life and something different to sample. If you do go, try July to October I think for a chance to see Whale Sharks.

I would advise before going that you do some investigation in who to dive with. The group I went with used “Aquadives” and although we’d read some interesting reports about them just shortly before leaving we found them to be more than excellent. The Captain was great in boat handling and had some tricky weather (6-8ft swells -aftermath of a Hurricane off the US shores) to navigate on two of the days and in terms of being looked after, service was second to none. “Ecologic” was an operator nearby that looked like they had a good/sound operation nearby as well……

Wining and Dining - plenty of selection and plenty of choice. My advise is to start at one end and work your way around. A must though is “Elvi’s” and the Key Lime pie is to do die for.

One last tip - if your travelling from the UK, the British Pound is currently 4:1, though most of the time US Dollars are used as common currency.

Rob F
Ex Pat in the USA