Dive Review of Pro Dive Center/Villas at Banyon Bay in
Belize/Ambergris Caye

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Pro Dive Center/Villas at Banyon Bay, Sep, 2014, by John E. Keith, UT, US ( Top Contributor 31 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 7749.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The Pro Dive Center is relatively new (no reviews on Undercurrents). It's the dive center associated with the Villas at Banyon Bay, but also arranges for other hotels/condos. They were absolutely excellent; helped with all our logistics on shore (they don't go to the Blue Hole and there were not many trips that week, but they got us on one with Ramon's Dive Shop), and always considerate and informative. Captains and dive crew were also excellent - let you dive your dive. 6-8 persons per trip. The dive crew could have pointed out more things at times but the groups tended to fan out, so that may not be a fair comment. The water was rough most days, but the crew was very good about helping with getting gear and divers into the boat (including the lost camera). They also opted for a bigger boat to combat the rough seas. The "house" reefs off of San Pedro were pretty typical western Caribbean diving with fingers of coral and swim-throughs similar to some of the diving at Cozumel, but with more nurse sharks and swimming green morays than we normally see. The Blue Hole was a disappointment. Not very good visibility; stalactites and -gmites were OK, and saw a couple of sharks, but going deep for deep's sake is not my thing. Moreover, the blue hole at Dahab in the Red Sea puts this one to shame in every aspect. However, dives on Half Moon Caye Wall and at the "Aquarium" off Long Caye were worth the 2 1/2 hour (one way) boat trip (in pretty rough water). Lots of reef sharks, a couple of Eagle Rays, several green morays, large groupers and snappers, and plenty of smaller stuff as well (cleaner shrimp, fire worms, etc.). We ate at several restaurants, including Mesa and Waruguma(very good lunches) and Hidden Treasures (excellent evening meal). House restaurant at Villas was OK, as was the restaurant at Ramon's. We did take a land tour to Lamani ruins - lots of boat and bus riding, but interesting.
Websites	Pro Dive Center
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Red Sea, Caribbean, Mexico, Florida, California, Hawaii, Australia
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	40-70 Ft/ 12-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Group ascends together (although those who used air quickly ascended early)
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	buckets/coolers on board for cameras. Large rinse tank on shore but regs and cameras were mixed. Boat crews were very careful with cameras. My wife lost her camera (lanyard broke), but boat crew found it on the way in.

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Dive Review of Pro Dive Center/Villas at Banyon Bay in Belize/Ambergris Caye

Pro Dive Center/Villas at Banyon Bay, Sep, 2014,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Pro Dive Center/Villas at Banyon Bay in
Belize/Ambergris Caye