Belize Snorkeling Trip in Late March
 

Hi there!

We are going to Belize in late March, and have a few questions.

The purpose is to relax and do a lot of snorkeling! We are independent travelers and have no problem navigating foreign countries, renting cars, etc.

Having said this, we are trying to figure out where to stay. We are flying into Belize City and realize we will have to do additional travel to get to somewhere we can snorkel. We have 7 nights.

We don't need five star luxury, but aren't the "Lonely Planet" types anymore - we're 33 and 39, and can afford a nice vacation, but don't want to spend thousands. Comfy beds and cleanliness are a must!

In the past, my husband has gone on snorkeling trips to Mexico where he chose a spot to stay, rented a car, and drove to different snorkeling locations each day. Is this possible in Belize?

I would think we would like to stay at one property, maybe two for the duration of the trip...we don't want to be moving our stuff around a lot.

I would love to hear suggestions! Thanks!

Remember that not all lodges are located on the coral reef. If you want to avoid a long and expensive boat ride to access snorkeling spots, make sure you know that you can snorkel right off shore. Visitors to the mainland should be aware that the Belize Barrier Reef and associated coral is a minimum of 10 miles away, and visitors to popular Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye are often surprised to find out that the reef is still a half-mile away, too far for most people to swim, and the waters are full of dangerous boats used for scuba. Snorkeling tours use boats in these areas.

The best locations for snorkeling right off shore are the three atolls of Belize: Glover's Reef, Lighthouse Reef and Turneffe Islands, and the southern cayes of the Barrier Reef. In these spots the islands sit right on the reef and you can jump in and snorkel immediately.

So do choose close to reef lodging

Save a Tonne...

www.offthewallbelize.com

Glovers might be a nice choice...

If you want more choices, Ambergris Caye (San Pedro town)has the majority of lodging (all types and prices, including condos) and lots of close-by snorkeling (but you need to boat to them). If you land in Belize City Int. airport, you can fly from there to the caye in 20 minutes for ~US$60 pp. The boat from the marine terminal in town is ~$15 each way, pp, but you have to taxi from the airport. You walk, bike, or drive golf carts (expensive) on the caye; no car rental.
Caulker Caye is also a possibility, but fewer amenities such as stores and restaurants.

Also look at Southwater or Tobacco cayes if you want walk-in snorkeling.

I didn't think that Lighthouse had any accommodations that were operational but I could be wrong. Has the resort reopened?

Most of the places that have walk-in snorkeling don't have much else going on, but it sounds like you might be OK with that if you're looking for relaxation and lots of snorkeling.

You can look at our website to see pictures of Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker.

www.alandsuejohnson.com
Belize link on the left

The barrier reef protects the beaches of Belize and gets in the way of snorkelilng. There's some snorkeling from the beach on Ambergris at some of the piers but it isn't great. On the other hand, the snorkeling at the reef is great in my opinion. NOt that I'm an expert.

I prefer Caye Caulker. More laid back and the people and tourists are nice. You can walk the entire island without too much trouble. You can't do that on Ambergris since its so much larger.

On Ambergris, look at Banana Beach. There's other nice places but its the one we stayed at.