Dive Review of Turneffe Flats in
Belize

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Turneffe Flats: "Great Diving With Most Caribbean Critters Spotted, W/Few Exceptions", Aug, 2023, by Rik Pavlescak, FL, US ( Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 22 Helpful votes). Report 12508 has 1 Helpful vote.
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	Turneffe Flats was designed for sports fishing (bonefish, tarpon, pilot) but offers scuba diving. On the week of my visit, there were a total of 23 guests, and on most days there were only 4 divers (up to 7 divers on the day we went to the Blue Hole, and 5 on two other days). The dive boat was large, and we had plenty of space. Arrangements: I booked through Maduro Dive Travel. I called Roxanne less than two weeks out to book a trip to Belize at a different resort. She called back stating that they would be closed for that week, but she was able to find a spot for me a Turneffe Flats. She had been there before and thought I’d like it. She made the booking quickly and everything was set. Getting there: I flew into Belize and was greeted by a Turneffe Flats representative when I exited customs. They guided me to a driver who drove me to the boat marina. I mentioned that I had forgotten to pack SD cards for my camera, and he gladly took me to a store so I could make a quick purchase. Once at the marina, they took my luggage to the boat for the trip to the resort (1.5 hours away) and I was invited to wait at the Radisson Fort George Hotel across the street, which had a restaurant. The boat leaves once all of the guests for the week have arrived, and in my case, one of the flights was delayed, so the wait was more than 3 hours. No problem as the Radisson is used to guests just sitting in their restaurant biding time. Once the final guests arrived we got on the boat and headed to the resort. The boat was a larger dive boat—all luggage was stored in the hold and guests were able to sit where they wanted. The benches were hard and several of us used life vests to cushion the seat. When we arrived, we were greeted by a welcome drink and given a quick rundown of scheduling. Breakfast at 7 a.m., lunch between 12 noon and 2 p.m. (but generally on the boat), appetizer at 6:00 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. All meals take place in the main lodge which had numerous tables set up for groups of 6 or so people. Each morning a breakfast special was offered or you could have eggs cooked to order, oatmeal, etc. Dinners were plated, with a meat (short ribs, pork tenderloin, chicken, pasta with lobster tail) and vegetable, followed by dessert. The food was tasty. Room: My room was on the first floor of the Pelican Villa, and consisted of a living room area with sofa, coffee table and chair, a small stand with coffee maker on it, bathroom with shower, sink, and toilet, and a bedroom with a king size bed, dresser, small safe, and hooks on the wall with clothes hanger. There was an AC unit in the bedroom which kept the room cool. The floors were tile and everything was very clean. There were numerous outlets in each room—plenty for charging batteries. There were even USB ports near the bed for charging cell phones. Diving: The resort offers 3 dives per day for 6 days a week, a total of 18 dives from Sunday through Friday. Since the earliest flight a person could take back from Belize on Saturday isn’t until the afternoon on Saturday, there is no problem with the surface time before flying after Friday’s dive, which is scheduled to end by 12 noon. The routine for diving included meeting at the boat at 8:00 a.m. (or 7:30 a.m. on Blue Hole day and Friday). Dive sites were anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour away. Ruben, the dive master gave good briefings for each site and after the first dive, pretty much let our group of experienced divers do their own thing. He was always on the lookout, pointing out both pelagics and macro critters. There were a mix of drift dives and anchored dives. On drift dives, he generally asked for the group to come up together, on anchored dives, he got us back to the boat and allowed those with extra air to enjoy longer bottom times. Most dives were an hour or so. Except for the Blue Hole, depths ranged from 80 feet to 40 feet, and visibility anywhere from 20 feet to 60 feet or more. Nitrox was available and tanks were analyzed on the boat before each dive. The dives had pretty much all of the usual Caribbean sea life, with a few exceptions. We swam with nurse and reef sharks and grouper at different sites: almost “domesticated” as they have become used to divers and followed us throughout the entire dive waiting for the possible treat of a lionfish, which were speared upon sight and quickly gobbled up. Throughout the week more than 20 of these invasive fish met their demise at the end of Ruben’s spear gun. Other sightings included stingray, lemon rays, and a spotted eagle ray. On the macro end, cleaner shrimp, a few nudibranchs, and lettuce sea slugs, along with flamingo tongues were spotted. Plenty of parrot fish, queen and French angels, a few spotted drum fish at varying stages of development from juvenile to adult, toadfish, scorpion fish, and plenty of others made appearances throughout the week. At The Elbow, we saw numerous schools of fish, numbering in the hundreds of if not thousands. Missing during our week were octopus, starfish, and squid. We did see one seahorse at the end of a dive, delighting one of the divers who cheered underwater. Each day required being away from 7:30/8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. or longer. This included the boat ride to the first dive site (between 40-60 minutes) the first dive (about 1 hour), surface interval and travel to the next site (60 minutes, sometimes longer), second dive (1 hour), surface interval with lunch on the boat. (We pre-selected our lunch for the prior evening from a selection of sandwiches, wraps, or salads. Each came with a small bag of chips, home baked cookies, and an apple, along with a soda.) The third dive (1 hour) followed by the trip back to the resort—anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour. The schedule was relaxed, and the boat stopped at least four times during the week for manatee sightings (one time we drifted over a group of no fewer than 7 of them in shallow water), and dolphin sightings—we had a few times when two would swim alongside the bow of the boat for a while; on one day, a pod of 10 or more came near the boat and hung out, but scattered when a few people slid into the water to snorkel with them. On some days the water was choppy---be sure to take motion sickness medicine if you are prone to getting sea sick. The Blue Hole day required leaving a bit earlier, as it is 1.5 hours away from the resort. The dive was short—about 25 minutes total, to a depth of 130 feet. For many, this is a bucket list dive: some in our group were thrilled by it, I was non-plussed. Not much to see and the idea of diving deep just because I can isn’t all the exciting. The stalactites were o.k. but I would have rather dived a reef with interesting critters. After the Blue Hole Dive, we motored over to Half Moon Bay Cay, a small park with white sandy beaches and picnic tables set up, where we stayed for over an hour, eating lunch and exploring the preserve which had turtle nests marked, and a bird sanctuary. Overall the reefs were in good condition, but there are definitely signs of coral bleaching. The water temperature was 86-88 degrees—even at depth. Some in our group dove with only shorts—not even a t-shirt or rash guard, while a few of us wore rash guards or a 3 mm wetsuit. Checkout for the resort (closing the account, paying charges incurred throughout the week and distributing gratuities) is on Friday evening. Breakfast on Saturday morning starts at 6:45 a.m. and the boat departs for the marina in Belize City at 7:30 a.m., arriving at 9:00 a.m. The resort arranged transportation for those going to the airport on that day. My flight was scheduled for Sunday, so I spent the extra night at the Radisson Fort George and took a cab to the airport. The staff of the resort were very friendly, quickly learned everyone’s name, and provided excellent service. It is well maintained, with a nice infinity swimming pool, outdoor deck with chairs and tables. It was nice to have meals with fishermen and learn of their adventures each day, as well as sharing our diving finds. The resort generates its own power with solar panels and captures and uses rainwater on site. They have backup generators when needed and their own water desalination unit as well. Several times throughout the week power went out—typically restored within two minutes. Only challenge was that the AC in the room would go off and not come back on automatically, which could make for a hot room during the day. Drawbacks included the long boat ride to and from the resort, the long boat rides to the dive sites requiring spending the bulk of the day on the boat for 3 dives, instead of coming back in for an afternoon break, no night dive offered during the week, unstable internet connection, and the cost. The week cost more than $1000 more than a week at an all inclusive in the Caymans. Perhaps the biggest drawback of all—flying insects that bite. Mosquitos, horseflies, deer flies, and what they called “Doctor Flies” that draw blood when they bite and sting. They made it difficult to enjoy any real outdoor time at the resort as they were everywhere. They were also on the boat, requiring constant vigilance. If I let my guard down, I’d know as soon as I’d feel a sting, slap it and have blood splatter. My hands, face, neck, legs, elbows are covered in bites that itch terribly. I was reluctant to use insect repellent with DEET due to the reefs, but they do sell it at the gift shop. One of the other guests asked if I’d return. I replied that I would have no problem recommending the resort to others who are considering it. I had a nice stay, the dives were nice and there was a variety of things to see. I suspect that there are other resorts in Belize closer to the dive the sites that would require less time on the boat traveling to and from them, and if coming back to Belize, I would want to explore them.
Websites	Turneffe Flats
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Costa Brava, Roatan, Key West, Cozumel, Key Largo, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, Bonaire, Philippines, Bali, North Sulawesi, St. John, St. Croix, Curacao, St. Eustatius, Fiji, Komodo, Lembeh, Belize
Closest Airport	Belize City	Getting There	I flew from Fort Lauderdale to Houston and Houston to Belize on Southwest, which offers two free checked bags
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	85-88°F / 29-31°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	20-80 Ft/ 6-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	On drift dives, come up with group; otherwise, do your thing
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 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	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Resort does not have a camera room or rinse tank, requiring divers to carry their camera to and from their room each day. I had to "shower" my camera at the end of each day as I couldn't soak it (no tub in the room). On the boat, Igloo coolers were filled with water for cameras. One diver would literally "toss" his gopro into the cooler, hitting other cameras. The coolers weren't big enough for all of the cameras on board. Great underwater subjects and Ruben, the dive guide was happy to point out macro life for photos.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Turneffe Flats in Belize

Turneffe Flats: "Great Diving With Most Caribbean Critters Spotted, W/Few Exceptions", Aug, 2023,

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 Turneffe Flats in
Belize