We are considering staying at Turneffe Island Lodge also called Turneffe Island Resort next year for 4 nights. It seems awesome with all the snorkeling opportunities but very pricey too.

I am interested in hearing about folks stay there and also things like how the beach there was...would it be good for our daughter to play on? And can you swim from the beach or is it not really suitable for swimming (I read something about a mucky bottom)?

Is it worth the money?
The appeal was - a tropical island, and lots of dedicated snorkeling plus sailboats and a pool. We are planning to go to Ambergris Caye too. I really love the atmosphere offered by TIL as it appears on the website - we would condier other places similar to it but I definitely would want a place where snorklers aren't second class citizens to the divers and many lodges look truly dive-oriented. So I welcome other suggestions including just staying longer and upscale in Ambergris Caye. Thanks.

You might want to consider Thatch Caye, South Water Caye, or the pricier options on Glover's Atoll, too. Try searching or asking on the Belize Forum if you haven't already, and check out the free downloads on Lan Sluder's helpful website:
www.belizeforum.com/belize
www.belizefirst.com

Keep us posted!

Wonderful out there, as are Turneffe Flats and Blackbird Caye, all on Turneffe atoll.

We just got back from 4 days at the Lodge (we spent the previous 4 at Chaa Creek) and had a great experience. We brought our 8 y/o daughter and 6 y/o son who had a blast playing in the sand, staging hermit crab races (all over the place), swimming in the pool, kayaking, sailing, and snorkeling. The snorkel guy (John) was phenonmenal with my son who was scared to snorkel (neither of my kids had snorkeled before). He toted him around on a float and showed him all sorts of cool fish, etc.

They have docks build out about 100 feet from shore, I assume to protect their beach from erosion and some areas that are good for ocean swimming although in other areas the coral is poking through the sand which can be hard on the feet. No waves to speak of.

On Tuesday they take a trip to the Blue hole for diving and snorkeling with stops at Half Moon Keye (with its bird sancuary) and another dive/snorkel site.

All in all one of the best family vacations we have taken . . .

Great - thanks for posting!

jkee,
If you're still around, do snorkelers get their own dedicated boat at TIL (aside from the Blue Hole trip)?

They told me that the snorkel trip to the Blue Hole was not with the divers unless we wanted to go twice assuming we were asking about the 7 night plan. Is that not correct. Are other snorkel trips with divers? I ask because except for the Blue Hole duive boats tend to stop in deeper waters trying to give the snorkelers something to look at but not quite enough since we are avid snorkelers between Caribbean, Tobago Caye, Thailand, Fiji, Australia, etc. We really want to be in depths of 10-20ft. with diverse corals, sponges, sea anenomes, wide variety of fish easy to identify, etc. Is that what we will get at Turneffe Lodhe?? Help!!

OK I called and they said snorkelers get their own boat except for the once a week Blue Hole trip. They never mentioned a second Blue Hole trip just for snorkelers to me.

Thanks. I do not know why on their site they say "subject to availability". They also say "weather permitting" but I understand that and can read tide charts so I am not concerned they would say they cannot go because of weather when that is not true.

Now having been to Turneffe Island Lodge and returning next April I can clarify my inquiry. First off it is a very fine small rresort. We enjpoyed it more than Hamamnasi which is a little more up-scale but is on the mainland so that they do not go out as far to the reef as as TIL. Ambergis Caye is a bit too busy for us. They do have a dedicated boat for snorkelers that goes out twice a day. Because the Blue Hole is a long trip 1 hour plus the snorkelers do go with the divers but the divers go down the hole and the real beauty is around the hole for the snorkelers to appreciate for 1 hour so there really is no conflict. As an aside the food is very good and the cook has been with them for 9 or 10 years. It's important because in small resorts, under 75-80 guests, we have found a high turnover of key positions like cook and water front head.