Instant Reader Report
on aqua dives / sunbreeze hotel in
Belize / ambergris caye on
2003/10
by
glen kitchens , nm, usa
Report Number 031026101555894

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Send an email to the author of this report

 florida, numerous carribean locations, mexico, fiji, papua new guinea,
australia, micronesia 

Dive Conditions

All dives are guided by divemaster, start @ one point & end at another.
Only restriction was depth.   

Aqua Dive boats are large & roomy w/ fresh water containers for camera
equipment. Divemasters always prompted new divers not to use the camera
tanks for mask rinse, etc. As a photog, I appreciated the accomodations.  

Overall Rating

My photographer friend & I had been here nine years earlier. The town
of San Pedro (right next door to the hotel)has changed little in that
time. Estel's Dine by the Sea still makes the best conch fritters in the
Carribean, & there is still a talented wood carver on every corner.
Sunbreeze Hotel is very good setup for divers w/ tile floors & lots of
room to spread gear. Hotel has a restaurant, pool & bar on-site. We did
not do the hotel meal package because there are lots of good restaurants in
San Pedro (esp. Estel's).

The Belize dollar is fixed at 2:1 to US dollar & prices on everything
from Belikin beer to fine wood carvings are quite reasonable.

Aqua Dive is located on the grounds of the Hotel. Their operation is much
improved over nine years earlier, w/ several large well-accomodated boats
& very well-trained divemasters, esp. Carlos & Donovan - these
guys are very professional. All boats carry oxygen, first aid & cell
phones & divemasters give good briefings.

When here before, the day trip to the Blue Hole was just that - boat ride
over, one dive & boat ride back. Now the package is much-improved w/
130' Blue Hole dive, lunch on Half Moon Caye where you can observe nesting
Booby birds from an observation tower, & two very pristine wall dives -
Half Moon & Eagle Ray walls. Cost for this day trip is $185 US. When
winds & waves are not bad, boat ride is 2.5 hrs. each way. On a rough
day, it can be an hour longer each way.

The Blue Hole is an unforgettable dive - stalagmites / stalagtites @ 130'
w/ numerous reef sharks & even bull sharks constantly circling in the
open water. This is the most sharks I've seen outside of Palau. One of our
divers became somewhat narc'd on this deep dive & credits an excellent
pre-dive briefing w/ not freaking out @ depth. 

The only negative comment I can make on the whole operation is the fact
that dive management will allow any paying diver to dive the Blue Hole. On
our boat, we had 4 inexperienced divers that should not have been allowed
to do the dive, in my opinion. Over Belikin beer later, the divemaster
Donovan agreed w/ this, as it's his ass on the line if a diver doesn't
stop @ 130' & he indicated he's chased more than one into the depths
& dragged them back to reality.

Overall, I would go back to Belize tomorrow.
 

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