Snorkeling in Ambergris Caye

[cruisefreak13]

Hi,

 

We will be in Belize via cruise ship on May 1st and would like to catch a flight over to Ambergris Caye (spelling?) so we can snorkel at Hol Chan. I have been in contact with a few companies that have been very helpful and I was hoping to get some input from others on them. They are Eco (ecological) Tours, Ambergris Divers and Ocean Adventures. I would appreciate it if anyone who has used either of them could respond to this post on their thoughts.

 

Thanks!

[cruisefreak13]

Hi,

 

We will be in Belize via cruise ship on May 1st and would like to catch a flight over to Ambergris Caye (spelling?) so we can snorkel at Hol Chan. I have been in contact with a few companies that have been very helpful and I was hoping to get some input from others on them. They are Eco (ecological) Tours, Ambergris Divers and Ocean Adventures. I would appreciate it if anyone who has used either of them could respond to this post on their thoughts.

 

Thanks!

Just bumping this up in hopes to get anyone's thoughts and experience with any of the companies below in my original post.

 

Thanks, cruisefreak13

[driftwood]

the only company advertising in Destination Belize 2006 ["Belize's Official Visitor Guide"] was Amigos del Mar: José Albino Paz, 2262706, Fax: 2262648, amigosdive@btl.net, http://www.amigosdive.com, P.O. Box 53, San Pedro, Ambergris Caye

 

The entry states, "Full service PADI dive resort center. Specializing in Local dives and full day trips to Lighthouse Reef/Blue hole [sic] and Turneffe instruction and snorkeling available."

 

Ain't been to Ambergris myself, so if that is helpful I don't know. Also I'm just a snorkeler myself . . . . But I hope you have a wonderful time! :D

[crazybus]

We had booked a ship excursion. They picked us up at the ship and took us out to shark ray alley. I thought it was awesome. There where some very large nurse sharks and the rays were very friendly. After our snorkeling they took us to San Pedro which is on Ambergris Caye. We had lunch at Elvi's Kitchen which was included and delicious then we walked around town, bought some local liquor which cost like 4.00 for a bottle of their rum, then walked back to the pier and swam a little bit before boarding for our return trip.

[cruisefreak13]

We had booked a ship excursion. They picked us up at the ship and took us out to shark ray alley. I thought it was awesome. There where some very large nurse sharks and the rays were very friendly. After our snorkeling they took us to San Pedro which is on Ambergris Caye. We had lunch at Elvi's Kitchen which was included and delicious then we walked around town, bought some local liquor which cost like 4.00 for a bottle of their rum, then walked back to the pier and swam a little bit before boarding for our return trip.

crazybus,

 

Which cruiseline did you sail with? I don't think RCCL is offering an excursion to Hol Chan (Ambregris). Usually the ship excursions take you to Caye Caulker and we have already been there - in which we loved but wanted to go to a different place to snorkel this time.

 

Thanks, cruisefreak13

[crazybus]

I sailed on Celebrity. It's a shame if RCCL doesn't offer that excursion, I would do it again in a heartbeat. San Pedro was really nice too. The roads are dirt, very small. The school kids walk to school in their uniforms and bare feet. Alot of the shops have sand floors and the restaurant that we had lunch in also had a sand floor.

[cruisefreak13]

I sailed on Celebrity. It's a shame if RCCL doesn't offer that excursion, I would do it again in a heartbeat. San Pedro was really nice too. The roads are dirt, very small. The school kids walk to school in their uniforms and bare feet. Alot of the shops have sand floors and the restaurant that we had lunch in also had a sand floor.

Hi crazybus,

 

As far as I can tell RCCL does not offer that excursion - did Celebrity actually tell you that you were going to San Pedro? These darn excursion descriptions are so vague. I have been working with an independent company over on San Pedro and they have no problem working with cruise ship passengers so that is probably the way we will go. We will catch a flight (which will fly us over the reef - it will be beautiful) over to San Pedro, go snorkeling, have some time on the island and then catch a flight back to Belize. We won't get lunch with the excursion price but worst case, we can go back to the ship and pig out, right? I have been in contact with a school over there and am going to bring them some supplies (construction paper, ink cartridges) so I hope that will help the children. Even though you went on the excursion with the ship, they are independent companies so I was wondering if you remember the name of the company that did your excursion? Thanks for all your help.

 

cruisefreak13

[crazybus]

Sorry, I don't remember the name of the tour company. The excursion did not say San Pedro. If I remember correctly it just said, shark ray alley and lunch. San Pedro was only about a 10 minute boat ride from shark ray alley. We had no idea where are lunch was going to be. San Pedro is such a rustic little town, that's what makes it so special.

[Voidman]

Was there any word on the Shoretrips.com excursion? We are interested in hearing about this company. May just spend the extra dough on Coral Breeze otherwise. Any advice would be appreciated.

[cruisefreak13]

Hi Voidman,

 

I did not check shoretrips.com for my excursion. We really want to go to San Pedro and it seems like most of the companies on Belize will not take you all the way there if you are coming on a cruise ship due to the timing, especially by boat - we are going to take a 10 minute flight over to San Pedro and go from there. We went with Coral Breezes last time we stopped in Belize and they took us to another Shark Ray Alley and a part of the reef and then to an island called Caye Caulker. We liked it a lot and their crew were great. We thought about going with them again but we wanted to go to a different part of the reef and different Shark Ray Alley (it appears there are two spots called this) so we wanted to get over to San Pedro. If you have never been to the reef in Belize at all, Coral Breeze would be a great company to go with - when we went with them we saw at least a half a dozen sharks or a little more but be warned, they do not stay around very long at all (5 minutes if you are lucky) - they are very shy and don't seem to care too much about the chum. Now, the rays on the other hand, stick around the whole time. Enjoy the snorkeling.

 

Thanks, cruisefreak13

[Voidman]

Thanks for the info. Are you going through ecotoursbelize?

I noticed they fly to San Pedro. We thought about that too. Not sure which way to go. Caulker or Ambergris.

[cruisefreak13]

Thanks for the info. Are you going through ecotoursbelize?

I noticed they fly to San Pedro. We thought about that too. Not sure which way to go. Caulker or Ambergris.

Hi Voidman,

 

We are going through Eco Tours and I have booked it. They have been very helpful so far. Since we have already done the Caye Caulker thing, we wanted to go somewhere different and I hope it will be pretty to see flying low over the reef. We are also bringing a few school supplies for the Holy Cross school over there on San Pedro - we want to help them a bit. So we are doing something good for the school and doing something fun for us - it will be fulfilling all the way around.

 

When will you be in Belize? We will be there on May 1st - if you are going before us, post back and tell me what you decided and how it was.

 

Thanks, cruisefreak13

[FliLady]

I've used eco tours for the fly & dive excursion before and I'm using them again on my Carnival cruise next month. We had no problems....Feel free to ask any questions.....Ambergis Caye is absolutely beautiful...definately the way to see Belize.

[Voidman]

Question 1: How was the flight? Was the plane in good condition? We're nervous about small planes.

 

Question 2: How much time did you have left when you got back?

 

Question 3: How much time did you have to explore San Pedro after the snorkel?

 

Thanks.

[FliLady]

The flight was 15 minutes and was just fine.....dirt airstrip, but I never felt that it was not safe. I went diving, not snorkeling, so there wasn't much time left to explore.....made it back to the ship on time.

 

These flights go back and forth all day long. The "airport" in San Pedro is a grassy field with a dirt airstrip...it will not be what you expect...but that's what makes it an unforgettable adventure! I just booked my fly and dive through eco tours today for my cruise next month!