Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Hopkins Underwater Adventures/Parrot Cove Lodge in
Belize/Hopkins Village

Hopkins Underwater Adventures/Parrot Cove Lodge, Nov, 2012,

by Fran Leach, CT, US (Reviewer Reviewer 6 reports). Report 6878.

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 3 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments I arranged the trip independently by contacting the hotel and the dive shop via email. Lucie from the dive shop wanted to know if we wanted to dive 5 or 6 days and pay up front. As one of the days included a trip to the Blue Hole I said we would dive most days during our week but would pass on the Blus Hole trip (too far and i wasn't really interested). Their boat had broken the week before so we were on a charter from the local marina, it had little shade but was fast (sorry I know nothing about boats, but it would the kind of boat smugglers would use I'm sure !). The first day we dove the barrier reef and it was fine, all week there was a north wind/cold front which was making the visibility bad for the first 15-20 feet, plus a cold thermocline but below that was fine. Declan was the other co owner and we had some fine locally born dive masters leading us. We had our surface interval on one of the cays and a hot lunch and fruit was provided. On the way back to the shore (about 45 minutes, it turned out there would be no diving the next day because it was a public holiday-this was never mentioned by Lucie when we were booking, this was very dissapointing, but as we wanted to do some land based excursions, not the end of the world although we had to scramble to make arrangements. We dove again on the Tuesday this time at Glovers where it is clear as a marine preserve there are more fish, lobsters etc eagle rays larg nurse sharks. Glovers is a bit further nearer to 80 minutes out. Again on the way back we find from Declan that there is no diving the next day, as he does not have enough people signed up. Only after we push him and ask does he volunteer that we can probably dive from the Hamanasi resort and tells us where to go to make arrangements, not offering to call them himself all of which we found disapointing. To cut a long story short we spent the rest of the week with Hamansi, please see my review of them. I liked the HUA outfit, service was personal and the operation less of a production line than Hamansi, real shame they couldn't accomadate 2 divers like us or at the very least set some expectations when we first contacted them. If you are part of a larger group i would highly recommend going with HUA, but if you are just a couple be aware if they don't have more divers they won't guarantee to take you out. Parrot Cove Loddge is excellent value and the food to die for and at a very reasonable price - set price 4 course dinner for $50.00. Try Innies in town for Garifuna specialties, we also had fun cave tubing in the mountains.
Websites Hopkins Underwater Adventures   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Mainly the Caribbean with a few trips to the Red Sea and Australia
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather windy Seas choppy
Water Temp 79-82°F / 26-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 45-80 Ft/ 14-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions 50 minutes 70 ft, but not striclty enforced
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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]
Was this report helpful to you?
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 475 dive reviews of Belize and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest
is an agency for travelers that like to scuba dive. Want to see the Blue Hole, Caves, Mayan ruins and rainforests? Let us plan your adventure to Belize

Want to assemble your own collection of Belize reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

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.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.1 seconds