Dave

I am planning a trip to either Cozumel or Belize in May. I have heard Ramons is clean and enjoyable but have heard that the beach is not very appealing....any comments?<BR><BR>Also, for diving, how does Belize rate overall??<BR><BR>Lastly is Ramon's a family or couples resort? I am traveling alone and do not want to be surrounded by children nor the only non coupled person on the island!

Katie Valk

Ramon's is a great place to stay if you aresingle and want to meet people. It's not geared to appeal to all people, not just families. The beach in front is fine and I'd say the diving in Belize overall is superb to spectacular. You can easily get to two of our 3 atolls and the local reef on front of Ramon's is lovely as well.<BR><BR>Katie Valk<BR>Belize

Bernie

I agree that Ramon's is good for singles. In fact, when you go, you'll meet so many friendly locals and tourists that you'll fit right in. I went alone and had no problem at all.<BR><BR>The diving is great. There are a lot of good diving groups, and pretty much any of them will give you good deals and good dives. I went with a small place called Tuff-E-Nuff Tours. They are so fun and friendly, and they do a lot of personalized tours. E-mail me if you have any questions.

Lan Sluder

While the beach at Ramon's is not great, you should understand that the beaches on Coz aren't world-class, either. The big difference between the two islands is the level of development - Coz has traffic jams, timeshares, U.S. chains, Planet Hollywood, cruise ships vomiting tons of passengers, and all that jazz, whereas Ambergris Caye, while the most developed tourist area of Belize, still is mostly sand streets and golf carts for transportation.<BR><BR>Except for the prices, which are comparable, Ambergris is Coz 25 years ago.<BR><BR>--Lan Sluder<BR>

Susan

Lan, I think that you're being rather unfair in your critique of Cozumel! I've been to Cozumel several times over the last 2 decades and been to Ambergris only once (for 6 days). I enjoyed Ambergris and would go back again, but I keep going back to Cozumel. One advantage of Cozumel is that you can snorkel directly off the beach. We didn't find that to be the case in Ambergris. I always stay in town in Cozumel, but my experience hasn't been traffic jams and I don't go to Planet Hollywood either!<BR><BR>They are 2 different places - both have advantages and disadvantages.

xx

Susan I agree with you. I prefer Cozumel for snorkeling and the beaches are much better there. Those two places are so different. About five years ago there were hardly any cars around San Pedro but now things changed and I worry that the polution from those extra cars will have an effect on the reef. Dave if the beach is important to you consider Cozumel. But it is your choice. Do some search on this board under Belize and Cozumel.

Kathy

Just returned from BElize and have been to Coz a couple of times. I stayed on the little Caye Caulker, what a different place. Coz is very Americanized and most people on it will be from the US. On caye Caulker most of the tourist were from Europe, Australia and Canada, which is definitely what I prefer. All speak English of course and extremely friendly and social. If laying on a beach is your thing, CC is no good. But the boat tours were excellent and cheap: $20 to $30 for ALL day tours. Saw dolphins, Manatees, Sting Rays and Sharks. Hotels range from $20 to $100 and full dinners were $6 to $7. THis makes it much cheaper than Coz but the flight was alot more. Really depends on what is most important to you.

jack

I've been to Belize twice...on two entirely different trips. The first was to ambrigais Cay where Ramons Village is located. None of the beaches on this cay are good. Ramons is vine, with a pool and restaurant. San Pedro is a very interesting little village...with sand streets. If you scuba...this is one of Central America's best places.<BR><BR>Our other trip took us into the interior west toward Guatemala. We stayed at Banana Bank Lodge on the Belize River...a 14,000 acre working ranch owned by Americans who had moved there 25 years ago. The lodge has a pet jaguar, two spider monkeys, and numerous toucuns and parrots. Quite a place. They'll pick you up at the Belize City Airport.<BR><BR>I hope this helps you. Jack.

Ken Maurer

My wife and I have spent several weeks diving both Cozumel and San Pedro in the past few years. The current at Cozumel makes the two quite different, but both are among the best dive locations in the world. We found prices to be comparable, although beer is a lot cheaper in Mexico. Of course, since we spent all day diving, that didn't make a big difference. San Pedro is much less developed, but the development that exists in Cozumel is fairly easy to avoid, except for the cruise ships chewing up some reefs.