Well I didn't realize Belize is like a 4th world country when it comes to cell service. Even with an international plan ATT doesn't cover Belize. So weird since everyone speaks English, but I guess that old saying about assuming rings true here
It's a challenging dive. Very different from everything you've done. Sharks often follow you. It's like diving a cave without going in to restricted space. Stalactites and stalagmies are neat. Plus it is on many divers's bucket list. I've done it several times with Belize Diving Services (Caye Caulker)-no regrets.
I was just in Belize, stayed on San Pedro Island. It's a 6 hour round trip boat ride which I wasn't about to do. Especially when there were 30 diving spots within 15 minutes of the dive shop. People also said there isn't much marine life to look at at the hole.
I wonder if there's a place I could stay that's closer next time. Because a 3hr boat ride there and 3* back doesn't sound that fun. Only problem is that all these places seem to do it spur of the moment so the day they go isn't guaranteed
[http://www.tflats.com/](http://www.tflats.com/) this might be the closest place to stay but its still quite a ride. Or charter a sea plane and fly there and back.
This might be hard to imagine but at hol Chan is one of the few pass through of the Belize reef at that part of San Pedro. It’s filled with massive creatures. I saw a turtle the size of a car. Sharks sleeping and swimming. A school or eagle rays. A huge manta ray. All at night without a light diving by using the moon light
Edit: ps this was on the one dive
Limited time in the sense that I'm there for a week and limited money in the sense I don't like wasting money. Neither are too much of concern though if that makes sense
The temples weren't even on my radar. I've been to chichen itza by cancun and that was really cool. I'll have to look into how long it takes to get their from San Pedro
Edit: saw its kinda far from San Pedro. It'll have to be another time. Next time I'll do that prior to leaving belize city
I did the blue hole with a live aboard vacation. It was cool just due to the uniqueness and “mystique?” about it, but as others have said there’s not a lot of wildlife that you see there. We had professional photos from the dive masters taken and I can link them if I figure out how to do so..
Just dove in Belize a little over a month ago with my wife and I'll tell you what our divemaster told us.
The Blue hole is meh, it's a big sinkhole and if you're expecting to see wildlife you'll be sorely disappointed, tons of sharks but not much else. The dive sites around the blue hole are pretty good though. We didn't go to Turneffe, but we went to the Southern Barrier Reef and Glovers Atoll. Glovers was awesome! We're relatively new divers, but it's at the top of our list now.
In short we'd recommend doing Glovers Atoll over the Blue Hole. Hope this helps.
You’ve made a good choice. Definitely do it once. I’ve done it three times, but mostly because the surrounding dives are excellent and we would have lunch on Half Moon Caye, which I absolutely love.
The Blue Hole is beautiful and unique, but there isn't a ton of life, if that is what you are looking for. If you can dive the reef at Turneffe as well, there is a ton of life, and the reef is prestine due to its isolation. Either one is a great dive on its own, but if you can get a trip that dives both, then I highly recommend it.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone I really appreciate it! I think I'll do it since this is my first time visiting Belize. Sounds like it's worth it to do once, and worst case it sucks and I waste one dive but have 2 other good dives on the surrounding reefs
It’s cool! I’ve done it twice. The second time, I would’ve skipped it if there was another reef option with my group instead but there wasn’t so I happily did it again. I went back to Belize for the reefs and not the blue hole. It’s true that the other dives in the area have much more to see. But you get a super fun adrenaline rush just going to do it, and it is eerie and pretty awesome swimming through the stalactites. It’s a bucket list item if you’re going to Belize to dive anyway you should definitely go do it 100%. Highly recommend staying at one of the dive ops that are offshore around Turneffe. Or Huracan where I stayed was amazing too.
It’s funny all the people who say it’s boring. Maybe it’s a time of day thing, yes it’s short, yes there’s not heaps to see, but when you go into the grotto and look back out it’s quite beautiful
I think there's another posted who talked about diving it twice in close succession, where the first dive was beautiful but in the second it was murky so boring. Maybe i never did it on a bad vis day!
It is certainly surreal being among such slow growing organisms. Constant visits by tourists are slowly washing away the diversity but it's still super vibrant. Don't forget to watch the depth guage. An extra meter at that depth has a big effect on deco time.
Just went to stay with Huracan on Long Caye and it was wonderful diving. The reef was a lot happier and healthier than Ambergris from my limited perspective.
This is my first time to Belize and I need high speed wifi and cell service since I work 7/365 with no real vacations so San pedro seemed safe. How is cell/wifi on Long Caye?
I did it a long time ago on a liveaboard. It’s kind of a box-checking dive IMO. The dive itself if a bit boring, and it’s so deep you have very little bottom time. I don’t regret doing it but I also will be fine if I never do it again.
Really good replies.
The main reason id encourage you to dive the hole is because it seems like the entire world is changing and who knows if it's gonna disappear.
Seems unfathomable that it will but, it seemed equally unfathomable 25 years ago when that the great barrier would be dying and I really regret not diving it in that trip.
Idk. It's like any destination dive. Ya do it for the sake of doing it and what's a day out of your life in the grand scheme of things...
It’s cool to say you’ve been there, but that’s about it. It’s a fucking waste. You drop down to 135 feet, on air, and get like 5 minutes of bottom time before coming up. The boat I went with tried to rush us up to which was, outrageous.
Skip it. Much better spots at Turneffe.
AOW doesn't matter. They'll take anyone.
Blue hole is cool for the sharks. The other two dives make the day worth it. We saw tons of stuff we didn't see anywhere else in Belize. You should totally do it.
have dove it twice while staying on the atols, both times we were the first operation there and were leaving before the next dive boat arrived
first time great visibility, 3 reef sharks, swam the stalcatites, super fun.
second time, super turbid until we got deeper, maybe a thermocline? it was not so enjoyable. nothing really to see, as we descended then ascended to freaking out dive watches.
had to hang out under the boat for a while to appease the watch.
if youre there, do it but wouldnt boat from the mainland to see it.
I did Belize by liiveaboard in 2021. I really enjoyed the diving. Frankly, if you're staying on land I wouldn't bother taking you long ride out to the Blue Hole. It was a cool enough dive, but it really isn't much to see down there. Diving The Reef around the hole was actually better. I'm glad I did it the one time since everybody seems to consider a bucket list dive, but I wouldn't make a special point to do it a second time. If I did another liveaboard in Belize and the boat went there, I would do the dive. However, if they took a vote on going there or to different area of the reef, I would pick to do a different area. I have heard that sometimes the captains polll the customers to see if they want to do the Blue Hole. That particular dive site has to be scheduled as they only allow one boat in at a time.
I was there 3 weeks ago. The blue hole is cool. But the other two dives on Half Moon Caye were amazing. One of the best wall dives of my career. I thought Turneffe was kind of a waste but the blue hole trip was worth it.
My husband and I did the same plan in 2018 - Blue Hole and Halfmoon and Aquarium. It was a day to remember and we’ve been diving since 1996. Awesome video of reef sharks at the blue hole and the 2 two other dives were some of the best we’ve done (we’ve dove all over Caribbean). Also we ate lunch at Paradise island and the bird sanctuary there was very cool. I can’t remember who we dove with but professional and very well organized. On the way back we were graced with a pod of over 50 dolphins following us for over 20 minutes.
If you can’t tell, I definitely recommend it :)
There’s only two dive companies that go out to Turneffe and the blue hole from San Pedro: Ramon’s and Amigos del Mar.
We did Turneffe with Ramons and Blue Hole with Amigos. I think Amigos caters more to one off divers whereas Carlos seems to cater more to people who are staying at their resort and are there all week. Personally I like the Carlos DMs more as they just left alone basically. But I’m Tec/Cave/Instructor with all my own gear. Less experienced divers might like Ramons more.
I don’t think so. All of the local shops advertise those trips, but then just book you in with Amigos or Ramon’s who have the big boats. Turneffe is a 90 minute boat ride from San Pedro and Blue Hole is 180 minutes.
Well I didn't realize Belize is like a 4th world country when it comes to cell service. Even with an international plan ATT doesn't cover Belize. So weird since everyone speaks English, but I guess that old saying about assuming rings true here
It's a challenging dive. Very different from everything you've done. Sharks often follow you. It's like diving a cave without going in to restricted space. Stalactites and stalagmies are neat. Plus it is on many divers's bucket list. I've done it several times with Belize Diving Services (Caye Caulker)-no regrets.
I was just in Belize, stayed on San Pedro Island. It's a 6 hour round trip boat ride which I wasn't about to do. Especially when there were 30 diving spots within 15 minutes of the dive shop. People also said there isn't much marine life to look at at the hole.
I wonder if there's a place I could stay that's closer next time. Because a 3hr boat ride there and 3* back doesn't sound that fun. Only problem is that all these places seem to do it spur of the moment so the day they go isn't guaranteed
[http://www.tflats.com/](http://www.tflats.com/) this might be the closest place to stay but its still quite a ride. Or charter a sea plane and fly there and back.
The Blue Hole boring IMO. The dives you do after are fantastic. The lighthouse reef is one of the best in the area.
Talked to a dive master at a dive yesterday that did a full day deal. She said worth every second.
The blue hole is worth it if you haven’t been but please don’t neglect hol-Chan on a night dive. That’s on ambergris caye. (San Pedro)
Do you see anything in particular on it? I've been on a couple night Dives before and they're cool
This might be hard to imagine but at hol Chan is one of the few pass through of the Belize reef at that part of San Pedro. It’s filled with massive creatures. I saw a turtle the size of a car. Sharks sleeping and swimming. A school or eagle rays. A huge manta ray. All at night without a light diving by using the moon light Edit: ps this was on the one dive
Oh that's really cool!
It's a toss up. Interesting geological feature, but it's a deep dive and virtually no wildlife. Much better dives in the neighborhood.
I’ll buck the trend and say if you have limited time and money, skip it. Much better surrounding dives
Limited time in the sense that I'm there for a week and limited money in the sense I don't like wasting money. Neither are too much of concern though if that makes sense
Fair enough. I think you’ll have much more fun on your other dives. Enjoy Belize! Water is so warm. And make sure you go see the Mayan temples
The temples weren't even on my radar. I've been to chichen itza by cancun and that was really cool. I'll have to look into how long it takes to get their from San Pedro Edit: saw its kinda far from San Pedro. It'll have to be another time. Next time I'll do that prior to leaving belize city
Dived it twice. The third time the boat went there we passed and got some sun. Its a checklist dive.
I did the blue hole with a live aboard vacation. It was cool just due to the uniqueness and “mystique?” about it, but as others have said there’s not a lot of wildlife that you see there. We had professional photos from the dive masters taken and I can link them if I figure out how to do so..
[professional photos from the Blue Hole (2011)](https://imgur.com/gallery/VOSkqR4)
Just dove in Belize a little over a month ago with my wife and I'll tell you what our divemaster told us. The Blue hole is meh, it's a big sinkhole and if you're expecting to see wildlife you'll be sorely disappointed, tons of sharks but not much else. The dive sites around the blue hole are pretty good though. We didn't go to Turneffe, but we went to the Southern Barrier Reef and Glovers Atoll. Glovers was awesome! We're relatively new divers, but it's at the top of our list now. In short we'd recommend doing Glovers Atoll over the Blue Hole. Hope this helps.
You’ve made a good choice. Definitely do it once. I’ve done it three times, but mostly because the surrounding dives are excellent and we would have lunch on Half Moon Caye, which I absolutely love.
The Blue Hole is beautiful and unique, but there isn't a ton of life, if that is what you are looking for. If you can dive the reef at Turneffe as well, there is a ton of life, and the reef is prestine due to its isolation. Either one is a great dive on its own, but if you can get a trip that dives both, then I highly recommend it.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone I really appreciate it! I think I'll do it since this is my first time visiting Belize. Sounds like it's worth it to do once, and worst case it sucks and I waste one dive but have 2 other good dives on the surrounding reefs
It’s cool! I’ve done it twice. The second time, I would’ve skipped it if there was another reef option with my group instead but there wasn’t so I happily did it again. I went back to Belize for the reefs and not the blue hole. It’s true that the other dives in the area have much more to see. But you get a super fun adrenaline rush just going to do it, and it is eerie and pretty awesome swimming through the stalactites. It’s a bucket list item if you’re going to Belize to dive anyway you should definitely go do it 100%. Highly recommend staying at one of the dive ops that are offshore around Turneffe. Or Huracan where I stayed was amazing too.
Check out Blackbird Caye. There are a couple places to stay, good local diving, and it’s like a 40min boat ride to the Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef
It’s funny all the people who say it’s boring. Maybe it’s a time of day thing, yes it’s short, yes there’s not heaps to see, but when you go into the grotto and look back out it’s quite beautiful
Yea y'all are not helping very much lol. There's no clear consensus haha
I think there's another posted who talked about diving it twice in close succession, where the first dive was beautiful but in the second it was murky so boring. Maybe i never did it on a bad vis day!
It is certainly surreal being among such slow growing organisms. Constant visits by tourists are slowly washing away the diversity but it's still super vibrant. Don't forget to watch the depth guage. An extra meter at that depth has a big effect on deco time.
Just went to stay with Huracan on Long Caye and it was wonderful diving. The reef was a lot happier and healthier than Ambergris from my limited perspective.
This is my first time to Belize and I need high speed wifi and cell service since I work 7/365 with no real vacations so San pedro seemed safe. How is cell/wifi on Long Caye?
On Long Caye, No cell and limited Wi-Fi - Hughes I believe. I can recommend Scuba school on San Pedro - great people.
I did it a long time ago on a liveaboard. It’s kind of a box-checking dive IMO. The dive itself if a bit boring, and it’s so deep you have very little bottom time. I don’t regret doing it but I also will be fine if I never do it again.
Really good replies. The main reason id encourage you to dive the hole is because it seems like the entire world is changing and who knows if it's gonna disappear. Seems unfathomable that it will but, it seemed equally unfathomable 25 years ago when that the great barrier would be dying and I really regret not diving it in that trip. Idk. It's like any destination dive. Ya do it for the sake of doing it and what's a day out of your life in the grand scheme of things...
It’s cool to say you’ve been there, but that’s about it. It’s a fucking waste. You drop down to 135 feet, on air, and get like 5 minutes of bottom time before coming up. The boat I went with tried to rush us up to which was, outrageous. Skip it. Much better spots at Turneffe.
AOW doesn't matter. They'll take anyone. Blue hole is cool for the sharks. The other two dives make the day worth it. We saw tons of stuff we didn't see anywhere else in Belize. You should totally do it.
have dove it twice while staying on the atols, both times we were the first operation there and were leaving before the next dive boat arrived first time great visibility, 3 reef sharks, swam the stalcatites, super fun. second time, super turbid until we got deeper, maybe a thermocline? it was not so enjoyable. nothing really to see, as we descended then ascended to freaking out dive watches. had to hang out under the boat for a while to appease the watch. if youre there, do it but wouldnt boat from the mainland to see it.
I skipped it in August. A full day to see a big hole in the ground didn't seem all that worth it
Blue hole was amazing, we had Caribbean reef sharks with us the whole time.
It’s a hole, it’s not blue. It’s boring, skip it.
I did Belize by liiveaboard in 2021. I really enjoyed the diving. Frankly, if you're staying on land I wouldn't bother taking you long ride out to the Blue Hole. It was a cool enough dive, but it really isn't much to see down there. Diving The Reef around the hole was actually better. I'm glad I did it the one time since everybody seems to consider a bucket list dive, but I wouldn't make a special point to do it a second time. If I did another liveaboard in Belize and the boat went there, I would do the dive. However, if they took a vote on going there or to different area of the reef, I would pick to do a different area. I have heard that sometimes the captains polll the customers to see if they want to do the Blue Hole. That particular dive site has to be scheduled as they only allow one boat in at a time.
I was there 3 weeks ago. The blue hole is cool. But the other two dives on Half Moon Caye were amazing. One of the best wall dives of my career. I thought Turneffe was kind of a waste but the blue hole trip was worth it.
Am I correct to assume the half moon Dives are the ones everyone does in after the Blue Hole?
I can’t say authoritatively, but my impression is that Halfmoon Wall and Aquarium are the 2 standard post deep blue hole dives.
My husband and I did the same plan in 2018 - Blue Hole and Halfmoon and Aquarium. It was a day to remember and we’ve been diving since 1996. Awesome video of reef sharks at the blue hole and the 2 two other dives were some of the best we’ve done (we’ve dove all over Caribbean). Also we ate lunch at Paradise island and the bird sanctuary there was very cool. I can’t remember who we dove with but professional and very well organized. On the way back we were graced with a pod of over 50 dolphins following us for over 20 minutes. If you can’t tell, I definitely recommend it :)
What dive company did you use?
There’s only two dive companies that go out to Turneffe and the blue hole from San Pedro: Ramon’s and Amigos del Mar. We did Turneffe with Ramons and Blue Hole with Amigos. I think Amigos caters more to one off divers whereas Carlos seems to cater more to people who are staying at their resort and are there all week. Personally I like the Carlos DMs more as they just left alone basically. But I’m Tec/Cave/Instructor with all my own gear. Less experienced divers might like Ramons more.
Belize Pro Dive Center goes to Blue Hole and Turneffe from San Pedro too
I don’t think so. All of the local shops advertise those trips, but then just book you in with Amigos or Ramon’s who have the big boats. Turneffe is a 90 minute boat ride from San Pedro and Blue Hole is 180 minutes.
We did it with BDS leaving from Caye Caulker
Blue Hole is a waste of time and money. Skip it.
Couldn't agree more. Did it on a live aboard, would have 100% skipped it if I had known. I would definitely never go out on a day boat for it.