Belize or Roatan

[TRACI]

Well, back from Bonaire, now it is time to start planning a new location. The only ocean diving I have done is Cozumel (alot) and now Bonaire.

Looks like Belize or Roatan may be in my budget, any opinions? Pros or Cons?

[maggs_the]

i can't comment on Belize as i havent been there yet, but our experience in Roatan was great

there was lots of coral and lots of critters and we did our safety stops on top of the reefs so it gave us nice, long dive times.

can't speak for the part of Roatan down by Anthony's Key, but over at Fantasy Island and Coco View, it's a tropical jungle paradise. away from the crowds and city.

i truly doubt you will regret either choice you make, tho!! HA!!

[rainmaker]

I've dived in Belize (Ambergris Caye) and Roatan, 1 week in Belize in 2006 and 2 weeks in Roatan in 2007.

Considering just the time spent underwater, I prefer Roatan. The diving is more spectacular and diverse, in my opinion. However, as far as the two countries are involved, I enjoyed Belize more than Honduras. Also, the bugs in Roatan merit some consideration.

If expenses are important, I felt that my money went a little further in Roatan. Quality boat diving started at $20 per dive, decent lodging (without air conditioning) was available for $25 - $30 per night and there were several inexpensive restaurants on "Main Street".

As far as walking around (even at night) in the tourist areas, I never felt unsafe or threatened in either place.

My trip reports for both locations are located at my web site.

[Scubling]

I've never dove Belize but i have dove Rotan and the reefs are amazing and filled with life!!!

[Parrotman]

I just returned from 2 weeks in Roatan. I doubt that I will go back. The diving was ok. Not nearly as good as Bonaire. The algae growth on the reefs is alarming and the lack of fish life was dissapointing. I stayed at Bay Island Beach resort the first week. It was a very nice place. Friendly and laid back. Excellent Dive op. I would reccomend them.

I stayed at Anthony's Key Resort the second week. Way too busy, lots of families with small children and way over priced. The dive op was well run but not my style. I do not appreciate the 40 minute in and out dive. The type where you jump in the water, swim like h*ll for 15 minutes, turn around swim like h*ll back and then spend 10 minutes under the boat. I was getting back on the boat with 2000 psi on almost every dive.
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However the biggest problem that I had on Roatan was the bugs. I have been diving the Carib for many years and I have never had the bug problem like on Roatan. I went through 3 bottles of Deep Woods off, a bottle of Cactus Juice and a bottle of DEET and I still came home with scars from the bug bites. My dive buddy ended up in the medical clinic from the bites he recieved. Not my idea of a good time.

If you want to do Belize, consider a live aboard.

Jim

[georoc01]

Originally Posted by Parrotman

I just returned from 2 weeks in Roatan. I doubt that I will go back. The diving was ok. Not nearly as good as Bonaire. The algae growth on the reefs is alarming and the lack of fish life was dissapointing. I stayed at Bay Island Beach resort the first week. It was a very nice place. Friendly and laid back. Excellent Dive op. I would reccomend them.

I stayed at Anthony's Key Resort the second week. Way too busy, lots of families with small children and way over priced. The dive op was well run but not my style. I do not appreciate the 40 minute in and out dive. The type where you jump in the water, swim like h*ll for 15 minutes, turn around swim like h*ll back and then spend 10 minutes under the boat. I was getting back on the boat with 2000 psi on almost every dive.
\
However the biggest problem that I had on Roatan was the bugs. I have been diving the Carib for many years and I have never had the bug problem like on Roatan. I went through 3 bottles of Deep Woods off, a bottle of Cactus Juice and a bottle of DEET and I still came home with scars from the bug bites. My dive buddy ended up in the medical clinic from the bites he recieved. Not my idea of a good time.

If you want to do Belize, consider a live aboard.

Jim

I just got back from Roatan, staying at Anthony's Key. We did visit BIBR, as we had friends staying there, and had a much different experience. What a difference two weeks make.

There were no kids staying at Anthony's Key the week we were there (labor day week), we did see a few that came over from the cruise ships for the dolphin swim, but that was it.

We also while we brought Cactus Juice, really didn't use that much and didn't get bit. I did spray myself every night before going to dinner after diving, but didn't use it on the boat or need it on the dock.

From what we saw, we felt the facilities at Anthony's Key were far superior than those at BIBR. They had quite a few boats, and the actual trips to the dive sites were really short (5-10 minutes max). When there was any current, my DM declared it a drift dive, and we were picked up by the boat as we surfaced. We enjoyed the meals, especially having a choice of options served vs doing it buffet style, as we have found at other resorts.

The only thing I wouldn't recommend was the dolphin dive were we spent 30 minutes at the bottom waiting for the dolphins to show up, then about 10-15 minutes with them until air limitations forced me back to the surface. Three hard swims at the bottom searching for them did a number on my air consumption.

In fact, my buddy enjoyed this trip more than our stay at Bonaire. I would take Bonaire first. But we would certainly go back, and the 20% off coupons they gave us at the end of our stay pretty much will bring us back next year. Given also that it was the first week of the off season rates, coupled with the 40th anniversary special of Buy one, get one free, we thought it was a great value for the money.

I have not stayed up at Ambregis Caye, where most of the Belize diving is. However, we found Belize city to be a bit scary and I would not like to stay there if I could avoid it. And I agree with the idea of a liveaboard, as I hear the boat rides out to sites like the Blue Hole can be very long.

[ictbu]

Well, I've never been to Belize but have had a great time in Roatan. I just spent a week at CocoView Resort. It was insanely awesome. If you are looking for a Marriott type resort, Cocoview is not for you. If you are looking for a no frills resort with one hell of a dive operation, then Cocoview is the place to be. The resort staff are so nice, the food is great, the rooms have everything you need, and the ambiance is the greatest. You would have a hard time finding a more efficient and user friendly dive operation anywhere. The boat captains and DMs are very cool. You will go home considering them 2 new friends. The reefs in Roatan are great. There is life everywhere. At Cocoview the diving in the "Front yard" is amazing. You don't even need to go on the boat to have a great dive. There are 2 very nice reefs right at the resort. Anyway, you can't go wrong is Roatan, but most especially can't go wrong at Cocoview. Let me know if you have any questions. I loved it so much in August that cashed in all of my Skymiles and I'm going back in a few weeks.

Later

ICTBU

[lucidblue]

I haven't been to Belize, but I was in Roatan in February and stayed at BIBR. I loved it! We did about 4 dives a day, enjoyed the laid back and relaxing atmosphere at BIBR. The hosts Ted and Cam were fantastic, the food was good and the dive operation well run.

Normally, mosquitoes and flies eat me alive, so I was a bit concerned about this trip since I didn't take Malaria meds. However, I used Cactus Juice and Off and had less bites over the course of the week than I do going out in my backyard on any given summer night.

I highly recommend BIBR.

[coral cowgirl]

Have done Belize land based and liveaboard.....much preferred the outer atolls via liveaboard.

[Zenagirl]

We did Belize via liveaboard and when we compared the liveaboard only sites to the ones accessable by day boat, there was a HUGE difference. The day boat sites were definitely more beaten up and we couldn't wait to get back to the pristine rarely dove sites on the outer reefs.

When we go back to Belize, the diving will be via liveaboard again. Roatan keeps dropping down our list of places to go for personal reasons, so have nothing to contribute first hand.