How far are Bannister and Caye Caulker?

[holdon216]

Belize, Belize...what to do??? I am reading that Bannister is about a

15 minute boat ride from the pier area. Is this about right? How about Caye Caulker? How far is that from the Pier?

Anyone done both and if so which would you recommend? Looking for a beautiful beach to relax on with some snorkling. Maybe Ecotours Gallows Reef and Beach Break but i recently read someone say they did not like Bannister that the water was "slimy".

Thanks.

[crewsweeper]

Belize, Belize...what to do??? I am reading that Bannister is about a

15 minute boat ride from the pier area. Is this about right? How about Caye Caulker? How far is that from the Pier?

Anyone done both and if so which would you recommend? Looking for a beautiful beach to relax on with some snorkling. Maybe Ecotours Gallows Reef and Beach Break but i recently read someone say they did not like Bannister that the water was "slimy".

Thanks.

Water taxis to Caye Caulker are about a 5 minute walk fro the Tourist Village where tenders dock. There are 2 companies--see the Ambergris and Caye Caulker guide thread here for more details. Also plenty of water taxi to Caye Caulker threads here with pictures. Takes about 45-50 minutes to reach the caye. DO NOT EXPECT the types of beaches and facilities you may have experienced in Cozumel, Roatan's West End, eastern Caribbean ports or even Costa Maya. Think rustic and laid back. Water is gorgeous! Some okay snorkeling off the Split, but best to hire a boat to take you out a ways to the reefs.

[holdon216]

Thanks Crews, what are your thoughts on Bannister Island???

[crewsweeper]

Thanks Crews, what are your thoughts on Bannister Island???

 

Sorry, never been there. It got some good reviews from a number of people when Carnival had a excursion there. Sort of the "only beach in town" type. But when the ownership of the resort changed and Carnival didn't go there, or they cancelled their contract, doesn't seem as popular.

[clackey]

We have been to both. Caye Caulker, like crewsweeper said, is a 45 minute run. Be aware that there are two water taxis that dock at different piers on Caulker. There is a pretty good snorkel tour that goes to the reef and then to a sandbar where you can swim with the sting rays. We went with Star Tours. I wasn't impressed with their equipement but we had a good time.

 

The best snorkeling that we have had in Belize was a boat trip with Fab Tours, but they were going to Bannister Island then. I understand that they have their own island now. Bannister is nice. Lots of white sand, decent food and drinks but it is a little pricey. You need to take a boat trip to the reef to get any good snorkeling. You can book any of these online and there are trips available from the tenderdock in Belize.

[adventuregrrl]

I just went to Bannister Caye as part of the Holland American excursion called "Catamaran Reef Snorkel."

 

It was good snorkeling and our boat was the only one on Bannister Caye as you can see from the picture below.

 

 

My pics from the whole excursion are at:

[helicopter]

where is the Caye Caulker guide thread:confused:

[NoKlew]

I have been posting this everywhere I can, this was the best snorkel trip I have ever been on. It took us about a 30 minute ride to caye Caulker, and we stopped to watch the dolphins for a few minutes. As for your particular situation this is a 3 part trip, Reef Snorkel, Stingray Snorkel and Beach Break. They actually stop at the beach first to drop off whoever does not snorkel and for a Pit Stop for whoever needs one before snorkeling. I researched Goffes and Turneffe before going on the trip and those are the cruise Hot Spots, if you want really good relaxing snorkeling with a an asbolutely unbelievable reef this is the trip.

 

We just got back on the Carnival Valor on March 7th. Belize was by far my favorite stop. If your crew is into Snorkeling, this is the place to be. There were seven us on the trip including a 12 and a 13 year old. Having cruised and snorkeled other islands I opted out of the actual Cruise Excursions, the crowded boats and beat up reefs and booked a private trip through http://www.coralbreezetours.com/ after doing alot of research on the web, they stay ontop of the ship and tender schedules and make sure to get you back in plenty of time to get back, No one wants to get stranded on an Island(even though I could think of worse places to be stranded). If your ship cannot port there for any reason they will refund your deposit. They use a tour company their called Hammerhead sports, if you were to book it ask to have Henny, Justin and Mark as your crew. They were absolutely terrific they take great care of everyone on board, they snorkel with you and go out of their way to make sure you see, and know what everything is above and below the surface, the kids loved the stingray snorkel part of the trip too, even though Stingray City in Cayman is better for the rays. I really can't express how impressed we were with them. Whatever you choose to do, I can almost guarantee you will be more than happy you made it to Belize, I can't wait to get back!

[crewsweeper]

where is the Caye Caulker guide thread:confused:

Looks like it got lost on page 2. Here's the link

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1158309

[Adman98]

We will be in Belize on Carnival Dream early June, would like to do the Barrier Reef snorkel. Ouestion: we will have a couple of folks for whom sea sickness may be a problem--how rough/calm are the seas in the snorkel areas? Ditto on the boat ride out and back.

[crewsweeper]

We will be in Belize on Carnival Dream early June, would like to do the Barrier Reef snorkel. Ouestion: we will have a couple of folks for whom sea sickness may be a problem--how rough/calm are the seas in the snorkel areas? Ditto on the boat ride out and back.

That unfortunately will be due to the weather around the time you are there. A frontal system or storm will make it choppy and rough. If it's been relatively calm wind wise and it's sunny, you should have fairly smooth ride and water around the reefs will be somewhat calm. But my calm seas could be your tsumani.