My husband and I are thinking of traveling to Belize in March. Any recommendation on the best place to stay and dive? We would prefer locations that offer dive packages since we are avid divers (and would like to see the whalesharks!). Thanks!

If money isn't an object, I'd opt for one of the nicer resorts on the atolls.

Ambergris Caye seems to be the most popular.

We went to the Hopkins, Stann Creek district of Belize and loved it -- Caribbean on one side and rain forest on the other. An added bonus is that it is off-the-beaten-path of tourism.

The few resorts there offer awesome adventure packages on the water and land. Check out the Jaguar Reef Lodge, Almond Beach Resort, and the Humansi (spelling?). The resorts are relatively small.

We stayed at the JRL and loved it. Room had a "native" feel, great food, excellent people working there, etc. They are also very accommodating - there were days several people wanted to do a tour that was planned for another day, so they changed the date of the tour to accommodate the wants of their guests. http://www.jaguarreef.com/

If you are going for diving only, not sure but Ambergris Caye may be better for you. Several divers stayed at the JRL when we were there but most people were doing all the tours.

Forgot to mention - the prices for the adventure packages at JRL are a real value. Three meals a day are also included in the price.

Whale sharks congregate off the Placencia coast, both Roberts Grove and Turtle Inn have larger more comfortable and quicker dive boats to get to the site, 26 miles off the coast.

To have the best chance to see a whaleshark near Placencia, you need to be close to the full moon, which for March looks to be the 30th.

We did a trip to the Trutle Inn in Placenica in April 2005 and loved it. Here's our trip report: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34614951

If you can't travel during the full moon your chances of seing a whale shark are very slim. Then you'd probably be better off staying in Ambergris or on the atolls for reefs that are much shorter boat rides.

Ambergris Caye would get my vote. There is a marine reserve reef called Hol Chan that was wonderful. You take a boat out and those who don't dive get to snorkel. I'm a diver and loved the underwater life there. It was the first place I saw an eel. Blue Hole gets hyped up a lot, but it's a really long way out there for the amount of time you actually get to spend on the bottom. I'm not sure about the whalesharks, I unfortunately didn't get to see any.

We went Belize for our honeymoon and loved it! We stayed for a week at Turneffe Island Resort. The food is fab and accomodations are amazing. The diving was the best ever! We went 3 times a day and a night dive and the Blue Hole was something you don't want to miss out on! We saw 20 bull sharks at about 80 feet in the blue hole and everything is HUGE down there. We also saw eagle rays, sting rays, turtles and etc etc. Tell Tonia, Uwe, Rikka and Joni hello from the honeymooners in July. We did a lot of research on all the resorts that offered dive packages and Turneffe was by far the best. They take care of EVERYTHING you can think of. I do not recommend Black bird Caye resort. They don't have enough dive masters for the divers and witnessed it first hand in the Blue Hole. If you need more info please let us know!

If you're going mainly for the diving, I'd opt for one of the resorts on the outer atolls. We've been to both Ambergris and Placencia. The diving was o.k. (not great). Longer boat rides at Placencia.

If money is no object. Try a liveaboard. We just got back and it was worth every penny!!! i would highly recommend it.