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Dive Review of Turneffe Island Lodge in
Belize

Turneffe Island Lodge, Jul, 2008,

by Downing Bethune, OR, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 4 reports). Report 4276.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments My wife and I spent two weeks at Turneffe Island Lodge this summer and loved every minute of it. Guests are picked up/dropped off at the Princess Marina in Belize City on Saturdays and Wednesdays. The boat ride to the island takes a little over an hour. The Lodge is the only entity on this 14-acre island. The entire staff turns out to greet you at the dock. From there you're escorted to your room or cabana, all of which are right on the beach. Meals are served at the Lodge at 7:30, 12:30 and 7:30 daily, with homemade snacks always available (going hungry here really isn't an option). The food is great, not gourmet but more like hearty and filling. No tv's or radios, so I brought my iPod and Sound Dock and asked for Cabana 8, which is at the far end of the property, so as not to bother my neighbors. All diving is done from the boats, no shore diving allowed. The dive groups are small, no more than eight divers max per boat but only six when we were there. Divers of all skill levels are accommodated as management will help out the dive master with any newer divers so the more experienced divers can get on with it. After you set up your own gear for the checkout dive, the staff takes over and you never touch your gear again until it's time to pack up and go home. When we were there the schedule was two dives Sunday and Monday, three dives Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, including an optional night dive, and two dives Friday morning. There are no activities on Saturday since that's the day most of the guest are going or coming. Tuesday is Blue Hole day as it takes about an hour twenty minutes to get there from the Lodge so the entire day is spent in that area. The first Blue Hole dive was unremarkable but viz was much better the following week and sharks were everywhere. Other than the Blue Hole Trip, which includes Half Moon Caye Wall and Long Caye Wall, all other dives were minutes from the Lodge so all surface intervals were back on shore. The highlight of the trip was our encounter with Shortfin Pilot Whales while diving The Elbow our second week. This place is expensive but well worth the price of admission if you're looking to both dive and relax in a tropical island paradise setting.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 51-100 dives
Where else diving Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, Mexico
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas calm
Water Temp 81-83°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 0
Water Visibility 50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Max depth and time were announced at each briefing.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas Squadrons
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 5 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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