Ambergis Caye or Caye Caulker
 

My family and I are going to Belize on a cruise this month. I booked thru the NCL cruise line an excursion that snorkels at Hol Chan Marine, swim with stingrays and nurse sharks and then lunch and time at Ambergis Caye. It is a expensive excursion. It was the only excursion that I could find that went to Ambergis Caye. I just found a posting on cruise critic saying that he went on this excursion and it wasn't good. He said there was no nurse sharks and the snorkeling was bad. He said he snorkeled at a dead bleached reef. He also said that the boat ride was long. He also said that he was bothered by people selling drugs while eating lunch. I am trying to decide if I should cancel this tour and book Coral Breezze tour that includes swim with stingrays, snorkeling and time at Caye Caulker. Which is nicer Ambergis Caye or Caye Caulker?

I didn't take a cruise excursion but snorkeled at Hol Chan which I thought was great. We saw sharks & plenty of other fish too. I'll admit it wasn't as colorful as I had expected but I certainly wouldn't describe it as a dead bleached reef. I liked Ambergris Caye better than Caye Caulker. Caye Caulker is smaller & not as built up & from what I saw I would think the drug issue would be more common there than on Ambergris Caye. Do you know where exactly you would be going for lunch?

While not from a cruise excursion, we snorkled Hol Chan and loved it! Our kids fed the nurse shark and stringrays. In one picture there are so many stingrays & nurse sharks that you can hardly see my daughter. From Ambergris Caye, Hol Chan is 25 minute or so boat ride. However, snorkeling at the reef is only 5-10 minutes. Only spent an hour or two on Caye Caulker, but can tell you that it is a very very laid back place. You can walk from one end of the town to other in about 5 minutes if that gives you any idea

Hol Chan Marine Reserve is a must do, unless you do the Jaguar Paw Cave Tubing. We still do Hol Chan 3 or 4 times a year, and are never let down. While I must say that Ambergris has the fancy resorts, there's nothing there, and Caulker is nice, and laid back. I've seen traffic jams on Ambergris... We generally tell our friends that if they want drugs and fights to go to Ambergris, and if they want a laid back time, do Caulker. Your choice...
Enjoy!

Well, I like Ambergris. You have a wide selection of restaurants, a few shops and many hotel choices.

I have never seen a traffic jam there, nor been offered drugs (of course, I'm not in that demographic), nor seen a fight.

Hol Chan, on the other hand -- well, you will probably see rays and sharks and barracudas, but the whole thing seems stage managed (the fish have been chummed in over the years) and it is very crowded. I'd do it, once, but I've found other destinations on the reef more rewarding.