Belize or Roatan for Scuba???

[vvs]

We have 2 divers in our group the rest snorkel. Which is better, Belize or Roatan for diving? And is there an excursion that will take both out? Carnival's excursions are a bit pricey so don't mind making our own plans. Any help is appreciated.

Vicki

[scubaran]

We have 2 divers in our group the rest snorkel. Which is better, Belize or Roatan for diving? And is there an excursion that will take both out? Carnival's excursions are a bit pricey so don't mind making our own plans. Any help is appreciated.

Vicki

 

IMO Belize hands down (been to both). But with the understanding that in Belize you have to motor out about an hour each way to get to the reef where in Roatan you can actually do shore diving (but Belize has pristine reefs and loads of fish and turtles). Now the bad news, you're probably better off doing the ship's excursion. In Belize the ship has to achor fairly far off shore and you tender into Belize City. If you do something on your own, you have to 1) tender into Belize City, 2) boat out past the ship then one hour further, 3) boat back one hour and past the ship into Belize City, and 4) finally tender back to the ship. A lot of wasted time. The excursions pick you up at the ship and go to the reef from there and return you directly to the ship upon return.

 

So, I know it's not my budget, but diving in Belize is not to be missed and I encourage you to spend a bit more to see a lot more.

 

Randall

[njbirdnutz]

I just returned from the NCL Pearl - 3/15-3/22. We stopped in Roatan and Belize - and if I had a choice, definitely Belize. I usually book independently, but due to logistics, I went with the ship's excursion. They use Hugh Parkey, www.belizediving.com. Though it was pricey, it was worth it. They picked our group up after picking up a group from a Holland America ship anchored. My first worry was that the group would be so large that we would be on top of each other. After about a 20-minute ride to their shop, Belize Adventure Lodge, we were divided onto two boats. From there, our group of 14 was divided into two groups, each with a divemaster. We went to Turneffe Atoll - about a 25 minute ride from the shop. The water was like glass and extremley clear. Vis was at least 115 ft and abundant with marine life. The divemasters carried writing tablets to keep us posted on what we were actually seeing. The crew was phenomenal. They set up our equipment, placed our fins on before we jumped in, memorized everyone's name for roll call after dives and provided us with snacks between the dives. Unfortunately, each dive lasted no more than 45 minutes since they had a set time to return us back to the ship. I'm thinking about heading to Belize for a long weekend of just diving.:D

[scuabacruiser]

We have 2 divers in our group the rest snorkel. Which is better, Belize or Roatan for diving? And is there an excursion that will take both out? Carnival's excursions are a bit pricey so don't mind making our own plans. Any help is appreciated.

Vicki

Maybe it was the time of year we went, October, but Roatan was much better than Belize. Viz better, sea life better, reefs better, less than 10 min boat rides. Also Roatan was 1/3 the price of Belize. I think it would be easier to book a dive/snorkel package in Roatan since the diving is so close to shore. That being said, I would not hesitate to dive either one of them again.

[PAcop141]

We were in Belize in November and I am the only diver, the 4 other people with me wanted to snorkel. I booked a private charter with hammerhead water sports and I dove while the rest of the group wewnt snorkeling. We all me up on bannister island afterwards for drinks and swimming. They usally require 3 divers to book the trip but with a little negotiating they agreed to what we wanted. It was nice diving with just the dive master and not a large crowd from the ship.

[SCUBADOO414]

I don't mean to take this thread in another direction, but, would you say the diving is better in Belize versus Cozumel? We'll be in Belize, Costa Maya, Roatan and Cozumel. Where should we dive and where should we stick to snorkeling? Thanks!:)

[retiredawacs]

Just returned from a cruise and we went diving on two stops and snorkeling on one. First stop was a Belize we booked through shoretrips dot com. We (myself and two sons 18 & 14) selected the tour that you take a short 20 minute flight to one of the outer islands. This was an awesome excursion and the diving was fantastic!!! There was only us and four others on the boat and the service was excellent. Next stop was Costa Maya and we took Mom snorkeling, which we all enjoyed. Last stop was Cozumel we went diving with Chucho. This was our second time to dive in Cozumel and we can't say enough about Chucho. The boys and I had the boat and Chucho to ourselves and did he totally spoil us. Another recommendation for Cozumel is Alison. She did our certification dives in 2008.

 

www.scubawithalison.com

 

www.chucho-underwater.com

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

Eric