alisa23

Do you know which company took you on a tour to the North Channel and Coral Gardens?

volcanogirl

x, it's funny you say that because guess what we did the following day? We went back to Hol Chan again! The manatee was very cool, but other than that we didn't see much on the other tour. We've also been to Mexico Rocks and saw some nice smaller things like lobsters and eels, but to me, nothing has compared to Hol Chan.

volcanogirl

Patty, yes, we've talked about it but never done it. Have you done it?

alisa, it was just some local guy, not an official tour company or anything. I'm not sure if the boy was his son or grandson, or just someone he hired. I think I would stick to a known named company from now on, or the Bradley brothers. We used them also, and they were wonderful. I felt terrible for the other people on the tour. I don't think they got to see much. Two of them had just had open heart surgery and this was the first time they were getting out and exploring again. One of the women was terrified of snorkeling. The waves were kind of rough too, where you're snorkeling and then the wave drops out from under you. I wore a life jacket, and I'm glad I had it. I think it really helps to keep your feet off the coral. My husband didn't have one, and I think he was pretty wiped out by the time we got back to the boat.

I forgot to mention that they served us some awesome rum punch though. That was very good. And of course, I was really happy that we saw the manatee. I guess we got babied at Hol Chan, and I was expecting the same kind of thing here. There may have been some great stuff that we never saw, but it seems like there just wasn't much there. The funny thing is when we booked it, they weren't sure there would be enough people to do the tour because a certain number of people have to go for it to be worth their while. The guy reserving the tour told me that we could have our own private tour for twelve hundred bucks. You should have seen my husband's and my eyes when he said that! Afterward my husband whispered to me, "If we paid $1,200 for that I would be really pissed!" I guess a higher class of people usually goes on these tours, but that would be a little out of our budget.

Patty

Yes we did 2 years ago. It's great!

volcanogirl

Since we had loved Hol Chan so much, we decided to go back again for a second time. This time we have the Bradley brothers as our guides. They're a group of brothers very well known on the island for leading tours and teaching diving. Renee is our guide, and he's fantastic, very smart and patient. Not bad to look at either - very debonair I would say. This time we only have two other people on the boat with us, a couple from Texas on their honeymoon. It seems like 80% of the people we've met are from Texas. We take the quick trip out to Hol Chan, and Renee parks the boat a little further back than the spot where we were on our other tour. He has us get out where it's shallow and grassy so everyone can test their equipment and make sure they feel safe. He tells us that the sea turtles love this area. I put my head under and see several swimming around. Love this! They aren't even afraid of us so we can get close. Big silvery jacks swim around us too.

The man on his honeymoon is big and brawny, but he can't get the hang of the snorkeling. Every time he tries to do it he ends up swallowing water and looks miserable. After several tries, he decides to quit and head back to the boat. His sweet wife offers to stay with him, but he sends her out so she won't miss all the fun. This honeymoon is off to a rocky start. We all head back to the boat to make sure he gets there safely and then all head out again.

Renee is a fantastic guide. He takes us down one side of the reef, then we swim across the opening, and back down the other side. Hol Chan means little channel, and that's exactly what this is - an opening in the reef that allows all the big sea life to swim through. It's about 30 feet deep, and we can easily see to the bottom. Renee points out all the turtles, rays, eels, and sharks, and names several of the pretty fish that we see - tangs, parrotfish, jacks, barracudas, angelfish. Some are bright blue, some yellow. It really is the best snorkeling we've ever done. Really beautiful. I see another guide pick up a shark, and he tells me, "We've grown up together." It almost seems like the guides recognize the animals that swim here.

Renee dives down and swims through the same little cave that our other guide swam through and sees a moray eel inside. When he comes back up, he offers to take our underwater cameras down to take photos for us. He also spots some tiny little brightly colored fish and tells us, "Watch, they'll attack me" because they're so territorial. And they do. When he gets close they all try to nibble him. He says, "They don't realize how tiny they are!" He dives down for a conch shell and shows us the animal inside. We spend a lot of time here, making new discoveries, and then it's time to head to Shark Ray Alley again. I hate to see this part of the trip end.

When we get to the alley, they chum the water and Renee encourages us to get in. He warns us to keep our hands clenched so the sharks don't take a nibble out of our fingers. I know we don't need our fins since we didn't use them last time, so I jump in without them. I'm treading water with all the sharks and rays around me when Renee notices I'm not wearing my flippers. "VG, you need your flippers!" He tells me that they'll take a bite out of my toes if I keep wiggling them around, and he plunges into the water after me and promptly plants the flippers on my feet. Meanwhile the woman on her honeymoon says that a stingray is getting a little close to her. Before we know what's happened, it's sucking on her back and attaches itself to her. It's huge and she's kind of tiny. She's brave and takes it like a trooper, but I can tell it freaks her out. I put my head under, and a big shark comes swimming towards me and bumps my face mask, like a real 3D experience. I think Renee has his hands full with us! He asks if I want to touch a shark, and I'm tentative, so he grabs my hand and gently places it on the shark. It's scratchy like sand paper. At this point we decide to call it a day and climb back aboard the boat. I like being able to get good photos here, but Hol Chan is the best, and nothing else really compares to it. They offer us some cold, bottled sodas, and we settle in for the boat ride back. I would definitely go out with Searious or the Bradley Brothers again; we had a great time with both of them, and I don't think I could ever get tired of snorkeling at Hol Chan. Awesome day. When we get back to the hotel, we decide to take the free shuttle into town and see what San Pedro has to offer.

alisa23

Thank you for the description. We will be with relatively small kids so I won't mind some babying

xyz99

I agree, Hol Chan is the best.
We also had some great snorkeling in Bonaire, and we will try Curacao next Feb. Can't wait!

The Shark Alley was interesting, but I'm not ok with the chumming part, so I have mixed feelings about that.

volcanogirl

alisa, yes, I'd try to inquire ahead about who you're going with or if it will be a guided snorkel. All of the guides we went with carried life rings with them. I really think wearing the life jacket makes it so much easier even if you're a great swimmer. I started getting water in my mask, and it would have been really hard to take my mask off or tighten it if I were treading water the whole time. You also have to really keep your feet elevated so you don't damage the coral. I saw several people accidentally kick coral that was close to the surface. They tie the life jackets around your waist, and not your neck, so it's still easy to get around.

volcanogirl

x, yep, we see it the same. The animals weren't aggressive, but I think the chumming obviously changes their natural behavior. The honeymoon girl ended up having a huge hickey on her back from the ray. I think they'll still be talking about their honeymoon 50 years from now and hope things got better for them.

volcanogirl

I love that Victoria House has a free shuttle into town. It only runs at certain times of day, but you can also use their bikes or rent a golf cart. The shuttle is taking another couple to El Fogon, so we decide to go there too. I've read several good reviews about this place.

The food was excellent. The restaurant is in a little blue and white house, but it also has a palapa area outside with a thatched roof and a sand floor, and that's where we sat. We had conch fritters as an appetizer, and they were very good. I noticed that they had salbutes on the menu, the same yummy little corn tortillas topped with chicken that we had had during our cooking lesson, so I ordered those, and my husband had their bbq chicken. I also have sangria. We enjoyed all of it, and the service was really good and friendly. Prices were nice too - salbutes were eight bucks. The couple we came with orders fish, and it comes on the plate with the head and everything still on it. They love it.

San Pedro is a very walkable little town with tons of restaurants and shops. It's fun to get away from the resort for a bit and have some local food. After we eat, we stop in at a small chocolate shop where they make organic chocolate bars, and we buy one to split and a few to take back as gifts. They have some exotic flavors - some spiced with chile, some filled with cocoa nibs, and some just filled with almonds. Inside are colorful little cards that tell the story of the farmer and family who grew the cacao.

After some more exploring in the heat, we stop in at a little shop and get ice cream. They have some exotic flavors - I order the coconut, and it's great. Eventually we catch a taxi and get the world's most friendly taxi driver. He has his wife riding around in the backseat, and they're the sweetest people. They recommend restaurants for us and tell us which ones are too expensive and which ones have a good price. The wife invites us to come by her fruit stand sometime; she says she's been running it for over 25 years. When we get back to the hotel we ask how much for the taxi, and the driver says he doesn't know. There's no meter or anything. Our hotel had said it costs $5-7 to go into town, so we offer seven and he takes it. He offers to give us his business card, but this will be our last night in San Pedro.

We go back to the room to relax and the combo of Dramamine, sun, sangria, and the best beds ever lure us into an afternoon nap.

alisa23

We usually wear wetsuits. They are a bit buoyant, which helps. And the kids usually wear a wetsuit and some kind of floatie. We will definitely inquire who the tours will be with. We are fine with non-guided but I definitely want a safe experience

alisa23

For the flight from BZE to San Pedro, did you have tickets for a particular flight?

volcanogirl

alisa, does wearing a wetsuit get hot if you're just snorkeling? Yes, we had all of our flight pre-booked. My husband had it down to an exact science of which flights we needed to take to get each shuttle time and all that.

volcanogirl

After a long day, we decide to just get takeout for dinner. There's a place called Robin's Kitchen right near Victoria House, and I've read fantastic reviews about the place. We've seen it several times when we've driven by. It's just an open air spot with a sand floor and a thatched roof and barbecue grill. My husband walks over and gets one fish dinner and one chicken dinner - only $6 each! The fish is good, but the chicken is fantastic. It has a lot of yummy herbs and spices all over it, and is served with rice and beans and cole slaw. Next time we would definitely get two of the chicken plates. We take it out on our balcony to eat and relax and enjoy the sunset. It's the perfect way to end our trip. Tomorrow we have an early flight back to the mainland.

volcanogirl

We have an early morning flight back so we get all packed up and board our VH golf cart to head to Tropic Air. VH even gives us our free continental breakfast to go, so we have some nice little muffins for breakfast. I forgot to mention that every day we had free breakfast included in our room rate - very good fruit, either toast or muffins, and fresh juice - that really was juice this time! Tropic Air is only about five minutes away, so we get our last view of town, pull up, and head inside with our luggage. Check in is so easy. I wish all airports could be like this.

We get our boarding pass again, and this time we're assigned a color - pink. It's a nice little airport with a huge beautiful aquarium in it. Pretty soon they call for anyone "pink" and we're off. As we fly over the water I see a beautiful rainbow, and fifteen easy minutes later we're back in Belize City. We head to the United Counter and guess what? There's not a soul there. That's the one thing we neglected to think about - that the airport wasn't even open. It's 8:15, and we've got nothing but an empty counter.

volcanogirl

For anyone else making this flight - they don't open until 8:30 a.m. I kinda wish we had known that. Promptly at 8:30, the agents come out and help us get checked in. They tell us that we've gotten bumped up to first class! I'm kind of surprised since we paid for our flights with miles, but thanks, United! My husband flies a lot for business, but I rarely get to fly up front.

We have to go outside to get to the big airport terminal. When we get there, it looks closed too. Business aren't open, no lights on, and no a.c. We're the only people there. Eventually things come to life, and we hear my husband's name being paged. We know what's going to happen. Every time we fly one or the other of us is whisked away for some weird security check. Something about us must look suspicious - 1ol. They say it's just random, but it's funny how often it happens. They take my husband away, and I never see him again until we board the plane. I'm kind of bored without him, and I remember that we've packed a DVD player with some movies. I pull out Game of Thrones and watch that until I realize it's not something you can really watch in public - wow, violent, so I go explore some of the little shops that are opening. There's a nice selection of souvenirs, and I pick up some hot sauce and mango jam to bring back as gifts. Marie Sharp's is a brand that's really popular. When they call our flight, I'm ready to go and happy to find my husband safe and sound on the plane looking pretty happy in his big cushy seat. Two hours later we're back home after a wonderful trip!

When we land, we discover that our airport has installed self checkout at immigration. Has anyone seen this? Instead of the huge long line of agents that are usually there, there are kiosks where you scan your own passport. You stand in front of the kiosk and questions appear - Do you have fruits or vegetables with you? Have you been on a farm? You have to push yes or no to answer each question, and then the machine takes a picture of you and prints it out! The pictures look hilarious - so bad - we didn't know where to look, plus we're all sweaty from sitting around the Belize airport. We're instructed to take our photos and give them to the only woman working here. Every one of us has to form a line and give our form and photo to this woman. Once we make it past her, we go to get our luggage, but it's not where they tell us it will be. They had said carousel 8, so our entire flight is waiting there, and the board says 8, but we all see our stuff circling around on 12. We get the luggage and head to another line for customs - this takes almost 2 hours to get through. When we finally make it, my husband mentions that it took us longer to get through our own airport than it took to fly all the way to Belize! Put looking into Global Entry on our to do list! We had a wonderful time but are happy to be home.

We go to Costa Rica a lot, and we loved Belize just as much. I would go back in a heartbeat. For anyone interested in history and seeing ruins or exploring the water via snorkeling or diving, Belize is absolutely amazing and hard to beat.

Patty

The self serve immigration kiosks are fairly new. You also use a kiosk for Global Entry which scans your passort, fingerprints and takes a photo. There should be a customs line bypass or separate customs line for GE. Did you notice one?

Thanks for your report!

volcanogirl

Patty, no, I didn't notice that, but that would be amazing to get to bypass that line. Thanks for the info. on that and especially helping us plan our trip. We loved all of it!

alisa23

We get cold even in a wetsuit
We have 3mm shorties so it is hard to get hot in them in the water.
Another plus is that you don't have to worry about scratching your stomach. I mean ideally you would never touch any coral but things happen.

alisa23

Thank you for such a detailed and helpful report! We plan to buy our tickets this week!

Where are you going next?