Dive Review of Turneffe Island Resort in
Belize

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Turneffe Island Resort: "Back @ Turneffe Island!", May, 2024, by Jeffrey D Hubbard MD, NY, US ( Top Contributor 33 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 13070 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 Island Resort is a 1.5 hour motor south-east of Belize city in the Caribbean Sea. (There are other properties bearing the name "Turneffe" so be sure you are looking for the correct one.) The principal activities at the Resort are scuba diving and sportfishing. Many employees are long-term. Belize is readily accessible from the States. The boat from Belize city goes to the island every Wednesday and Saturday. Boat charters on extra days may be arranged, as well as helicopter transport. We usually fly to Belize a day or two in advance and overnight at the Fort George Hotel, from which the boat to the island leaves, to reduce travel troubles. The Hotel had downsized and moved across the street (maybe 3 ***) on our May, 2024 visit. Old hotel was being demolished (to be rebuilt) and we will have to see how it does. Good image of Resort on Google Earth: 17 degrees 10' 39" North; 87 degrees 54' 04" West The weekly schedule is 15 dives, including a night dive. They are scheduled around mealtimes, and the schedule works very well, without seeming hurried. Diving is from open boats, step down from the dock, which could accommodate eight divers, plus the dive guide and the boat driver, but 2, 4 or 6 divers is more common; they will go with one diver. No cover and no head on the boat. The boats return to the Resort after each dive and surface interval is ashore. Backroll entry and stern ladder recovery, with boat driver’s assistance; every dive is a drift dive and the boat will pick up the divers where they surface. We dove Nitrox 32%, usually >3200 psi, but air would be fine. Equipment, including cameras, is treated gently and there is a camera bucket if needed. Brad, all-knowing marine observer, has been our friend, divemaster and guide for several years. Master at finding unusual creatures, his knowledge of the sea and its animals is unequaled. When a buddy pair surfaces, signal “OK” to boat driver and he will position the boat so the wind brings it to the divers; don’t chase the boat. Board via ladder over the stern. Dive sites east of the Resort are on the fringing reef and typically have a sandy bottom with small bommies at 40 feet or so, then a coral ridge at the top of the wall, and the wall drops down to the deep blue from 60 feet or so. Occasional manatees and dolphin families come by. Plenty of sharks - just spear a lion fish . . . sharks. Dives to the west of the Resort are on a sloping bottom which has good size coral bommies, but no wall. At the southern tip of the atoll, The Elbow has the ridge at the top of the wall and drops off; at this point the current is brisk when the tide is running, and oceanic fish (eagle ray, spadefish, big sharks, permit) come by as well as the usual reef dwellers. Once, we saw a marlin there. Bottom time depends on air consumption, usually 50 to 70 minutes: bird-breathers surface last. Invasive lionfish are speared by Brad and left for the enthusiastic shark/grouper/large moray eel population to recycle. Lionfish numbers have decreased in recent years, we think due mainly to Brad’s efforts. The accommodations are mainly east-facing rooms with a glorious sunrise over the reef. They are quiet, nicely air-conditioned, and there is plenty of hot water, heated by solar and supplied by rainwater with backup by reverse osmosis if needed. Cabins south of the bar are larger, and there is a big Honeymoon Lodge and a luxurious Presidential (double) Suite. In 10 visits, we have had one shower tap and one air-conditioner fail, each repaired within 30 minutes of the phone call. The large bar is open air, under a large palapa, and the dining room is inside. (There is an inside bar, if needed.) After setting up one's dive rig on the first day, it is thereafter handled by the staff. After the last dive of the trip, they break down/rinse off/wash out all the equipment and put it in the sun to dry. Back-up equipment is ready to hand. The bad news on our late '23 and May 2024 trips was coral bleaching. We have dived Belize fairly regularly for 28 years, and have never seen bleaching before. From the surface at 50 feet perhaps 5% of the bottom is pure white. Remember Normal is ZERO! The white corals are dead. Locals report very warm water over last summer; this year (2024) it's 85-86 degrees again. The bottom also has extensive algae growth, attributed to the recent black spiny sea-urchin (Diadema antillarum) die-off, due to an infectious protozoan. We did see a few healthy Diadema, including some small ones. Weather is generally good; hurricane season is June through November. Bad hurricanes are uncommon in western Caribbean, but if one hits near your schedule it will mess your plans. The food is creative and plentiful. They wisely offer a one-half portion option. Table service, except for Friday beach barbecue. Much of the food is sourced locally, and I think it has reduced spiciness compared to the usual Belizean fare. Allergies and food preferences get very careful attention. Resort staff will meet your flight and take you to boat, or to hotel, if you’re a day or 2 early. Airport transfers are flawlessly arranged by the Island staff. We rated Turneffe Island Resort diving 5 Stars for years - until coral bleaching! Still a great place. And closer than Micronesia.
Websites	Turneffe Island Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Fernando de Noronha (Brazil), Australia, Fiji, PNG, Micronesia, Hawai'i
Closest Airport	BZE	Getting There	Delta through ATL = easy Good connex from rest of US
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	83-°F / 28-°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	- Ft/ - M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No Deco time no less than 7 min. 3 min safety stop. Follow leader (within sight.) Max depth 70 ft (not badgered.)
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	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	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Turneffe Island Resort in Belize

Turneffe Island Resort: "Back @ Turneffe Island!", May, 2024,

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 Island Resort in
Belize