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Dive Review of Glover's Atoll Resort in
Belize/Glover's Reef Atoll

Glover's Atoll Resort, Jul, 2004,

by Walter Hurst, OR, USA . Report 1220.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments This is a great resort for someone trying to get to the atolls on the cheap. The land based accomodations are a mix of primitive and amazing. Primitive is no running water or electricity in your accomodations - you can even camp if you really want to go cheap. Toilets are pit toilets although they are clean and not a problem to use and there are many of them. Amazing is having a thatched roof bungalow over the water with the lagoon stretching to the horizon and the waves breaking on the reef a hundred yards away. Kerosene stoves and dishes are provided in each bungalow for your cooking needs. The cost is around $100USD/person for camping for a week or $210USD/person for a bungalow for a week. This includes the round trip boat ride from Sittee River to the atoll. There are sand flies so bring DEET repellent or stay in the wind. You can eat meals at the main lodge, but they are pricey ($12USD for breakfast, $9USD lunch, and $15USD dinner). Bringing your own groceries (and you have to bring your own liquor) is the way to go. You can buy fresh water on the atoll - they usually sell rain water but you can get bottled water. Other fresh water (non potable) is limited to well water which is less than desirable but will do the trick if you need it - we didn't shower the week we were out but instead washed up in the lagoon.

The diving was great. There are two main reasons why I loved it so much.

First, there was complete diving freedom. We were taken to dive sites, given a quick briefing, and then did the dive ourselves. We could dive our own profile for as long or as short as we wanted. Almost all the dives were wall dives on the outside atoll reef. When we visited usually the only divers were me and my buddy and our usual profile was max 80' for 60-90 minutes. Most dives were not stationary - the boat would drop us off and pick us up further down the wall. While this was great for experienced divers, I do not think it would be wise for new divers. When we dove with new(er) divers, there was a dive leader in the water who dove with them.

The second reason the diving was great was the conditions: amazing coral and the warm water. The reefs had great soft and hard corals. Big brain coral formations and huge tube and barrel sponges. Absoluting amazing with very little if any bleaching or dead coral. The water was 84F which was completely comfortable with just swim trunks and a tshirt and there was no thermocline at depth. There was not an abundance of marine life although that could be a seasonal and/or dive site variation. One or two dive sites did have a lot more fish schools. We definitely saw marine life - nurse sharks, turtles, dolphins, barracuda, crevally, and the usual parrot fishes and other coral dwellers. There just wasn't the abundance to compare with the otherwise amazing corals.

The boat dives were around $3750USD and $425USD for 12 dives. Otherwise I believe they were between $30USD and $40USD. The cost varies depending on whether or not you needed to rent gear.

Although we didn't do it, you can shore dive or kayak dive. Kayaks are $175USD for a week. They will fit two people. Shore diving is $14USD for a filled tank. Having done many boat dives, next time I would do primarily kayak diving.

There is also great fishing and snorkeling in the lagoon. You can get lobster when they are in season (some other travelers got some when we were there).

Summary: great diving in an amazing location as long as you don't mind "roughing it" topside.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Belize, Bonaire, Cozumel, Cook Islands, Hawaii, California, Washington, British Columbia, Michigan, Florida
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 0
Water Visibility 75-125 Ft/ 23-38 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions The dives were completely at our discretion.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 2 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 2 stars
UW Photo Comments There are no boat facilities because the typical boat ride is 5-10 minutes. However, it would be nice if they had a fresh water bucket on the boat. They were sensitive to handling the camera.

The shore facilities are limited because the dive resort is a "roughing it" resort. There is no electricity in your accomodations, but they will recharge digital cameras in the main lodge. They do have a laptop computer which may work with your (digital) camera. The computer does not have a CD burner.
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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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