Diving

You’ll be breathing underwater in a matter of hours. Your PADI instructor will provide a brief orientation, and then take you on you first underwater adventure in our ocean-pool. There you’ll learn to use scuba equipment and get accustomed to your new surroundings. Finally, under your instructor’s supervision, you’ll go on an actual scuba dive and get a close-up look at the underwater world. Your adventure then certifies you for 14 days to a maximum depth of 40 feet (12 m). You can explore the underwater world with subsequent shallow dives with your instructor.

Discover Scuba Diving is just enough to wet your appetite – becoming a certified Open Water Diver is your next step.

The course includes training, equipment, one open water dive, instructor supervision, Discover Scuba Diving card and souvenir photo.

The PADI Open Water Diver course certifies you for life and will provide you with the knowledge and skills you’ll need to safely visit the underwater world with no prior experience. This course will make you comfortable with the equipment you need and will ensure that you develop the knowledge and skills necessary for safe and enjoyable diving.

The PADI Open Water Diver course is divided into three segments: academic training, confined water training, followed by four open water dives. Academic training gives you the basic principles and knowledge you will need for safe and enjoyable diving. Confined water training takes place in our ocean-pool and will teach you the basic skills of diving. The four open water dives allow you to demonstrate your mastery of these skills and practice them in a typical diving situation while enjoying the underwater sights of Belize.

Our course lasts between three and four days, based on your comfort level, learning curve and of course the weather. Upon completion of the course you will have graduated to be an Open Water Diver! This certification allows you to participate in recreational diving activities without the supervision of an instructor, rent and purchase diving equipment and to further your certification level by participating in the Advanced Open Water Diver course.

This course includes training, equipment, four open water dives, instructor supervision, Open Water Diver certification card, and logbook. You will be required to display minimal swimming skills. We will also require two passport size photos for your permanent certification card.

Taking advantage of the warm waters in Belize are what many Open Water Diver students wait for. The academic and confined water training portion of the Open Water Diver course can be completed almost anywhere in the world at any reputable Dive Centre. The luxury of warm water is often miles away; so many students go to the tropics to complete their certification. Check with your local Dive Centre for details on how you can complete the first part of this course before coming to Belize. The referral consists of four open water dives required to complete your certification. Two dives a day, either in the morning or afternoon at the reef, allow you to complete the necessary skills while developing your confidence in the big blue. A student referral form from the original instructor is required. You must complete your certification with the four open water dives within a year of the academic and confined water training. It’s a great way for first time divers to experience the underwater world while still under the supervision of an instructor. The course includes equipment, four open water dives, instructor supervision, Open Water Diver certification card, and logbook. We will require two passport size photos for your permanent certification card.

For those of us who have been caught at home or work and unable to vacation as often as we would like, a refresher course would do the trick in boosting your underwater confidence after an extended period of time away from the water. This course, although not required, is recommended for those who are rusty. You will review safe diving practices, dive theory, dive tables, diving skills, equipment and complete an open water orientation one or two tank dive under the supervision of an instructor. Don’t forget to bring your certification card with you and we’ll spend an afternoon or morning in a scuba tune-up. The course includes equipment, the option of one or two tank open water dives, instructor supervision and a logbook.

As an Open Water Diver and having experienced the thrill of breathing underwater, the excitement of seeing things for the very first time and the enjoyment of scuba diving, many consider Advanced Open Water Diver certification to fine tune skills and to further their diving education. While in Belize it is the perfect opportunity to see the reef while advancing your diving skill all at once! The course is made up of three core dives, a navigation dive, a night dive and a deep dive. You will also make two elective dives that you will choose with your PADI instructor. Elective dives to choose from are peak buoyancy control, a boat dive, a drift dive, a multi-level dive, an underwater naturalist dive, a wreck dive or underwater photography dive. That makes a total of five dives that can be completed in as quickly as two days. The Advanced Open Water Diver course is a good choice for those interested in not only exploring the reef, but doing so while advancing their underwater experience.

This certification allows you to dive to depths of 100 to 130 feet (30-39 m) and to enroll in all PADI Specialty Diver courses such as Night Diver, Wreck Diver and Underwater Photographer, just to name a few and the PADI Rescue Diver course.

The course includes training, equipment, five open water dives, instructor supervision Advanced Open Water Diver certification card, and a logbook. We will require two passport size photos for your new permanent certification card.

***You must be in good physical and emotional health to participate in diving activities. If you have questions or concerns regarding medical conditions you may have, please consult your physician. You will be required to fill out a medical statement prior to instruction. PADI Continuing Education

Once you’ve completed your Advanced Open Water Diver course, there are so many possibilities. The PADI system of diver education consists of a wide range of interrelated courses and levels. We support the continuing of diver education through additional course in Medic First Aid, Rescue Diver and Divemaster in addition to Specialty Diver courses.

We travel up to six miles (10 km) north and four miles (6.5 km) south on the outside of the reef. The reef is 1/2 mile (1.5 km) off-shore making any local dive easy to get to and in minimal time.

It is said that Belize has more marine life per square foot than any place on earth. The living proof is in the miles of living, colorful coral. The water temperature ranges from 79 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit (25-28 C) during the winter months and 81 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit (27-29 C) in the summer. The visibility rarely drops to 60 feet (18 m) but can be as much as 150 feet (45 m), averaging between 80 to 100 feet (24-30 m). The average depth for local reef diving is between 60 and 80 feet (18-24 m). Canyons and caverns can also be explored for the more advanced diver with depths from 100 to 130 feet (30-39 m).

One of the most popular local dive sites is Hol Chan Marine Reserve, ideal for snorkelers and divers alike. The reserve is only moments away by boat, approximately four miles (6.5 km) southeast of San Pedro. The central feature of the reserve is a natural break or cut in the reef. The cut is famous for its schools of exotic fish, coves with moray eels, swaying sea fans, an abundance of large groupers, snappers and of course, nurse sharks. The reserve itself encompasses more than five square miles (8 sq km) of ecologically linked coral reef, sea grass meadows and coastal swamp habitats.

The need for protection in this area has stemmed primarily from an increase in tourism along with a history of stress from being over collected, over fished and anchor damage. With the protection offered to the area by “reserve status” it is hoped that the area will be restored to that of its ancestral age. In an effort to contribute to its preservation, Park Rangers collect a fee from all divers and snorkelers who take advantage of this water world. As one of the most popular dive locations, it offers a variety of dive sites that range in depth. The most popular is the Hol Chan Cut, just inside the reef where the coral rises to the surface in a long snaking ridge. With a maximum depth of 32 feet and during opportune diving conditions, this dive is gentle with the insurance of seeing some of the best of Belize. Hol Chan also enjoys a healthy nightlife where a look in the dark will enhance your appreciation of the lives led by our underwater friends.

Folks try to visit the sea twice daily at 9:00am and 2:00pm and only need two divers to make a local trip. Two tank dives are the most popular with the surface interval back on the island. Only a handful of locations are inside the reef, such as Hol Chan Marine Reserve, but we like to save those for the windy days. Ambergris Caye can be known for its trade winds and due to the sometimes high wind factor, dives may need to be postponed or delayed until the swells calm.

All dives include tank(s) and weights.

Equipment Rental – $ varies according to needs, such as BCD, regulator, wetsuit, fins, mask, snorkel.

Night diving is another adventure not be passed up while on the Caye. The marine life is abundant and the coral colors under light are magnificent. Night diving is done at Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

From San Pedro, outer Caye dive trips include two of the three atolls located off the mainland of Belize, Lighthouse Reef and Turneffe Islands. Both have spectacular diving with the opportunity to wall dive some of the best. Glover’s Reef, the third of the atolls in the Caribbean is located south, making it a little too far to travel on a day trip.

One of the main attractions to the diving community of Belize and known world-wide, is the Blue Hole. Made famous by Jacques Cousteau, the Blue Hole is located in the centre of the most eastern of the atolls in Belizean waters, Lighthouse Reef. The almost perfectly circular Blue Hole is a 1,000 feet (300 m) across and about 480 feet (144 m) deep. For millions of years the Blue Hole was a dry cave and for this period huge stalactites and stalagmites slowly formed. When the last ice age ended thousands of years ago, sea levels rose about 300 feet (90 m), flooding the cave. At the same time most of the ceiling collapsed, leaving the hole you see today. At the southeast corner of Lighthouse Reef is the 45 acre Half Moon Caye Natural Monument, the country’s first national park, established in 1982. It is home to sandy beaches and close to 4,000 red-footed booby birds, making it the official Booby Bird Sanctuary.

Turneffe Islands atoll is the largest of Belize’s three atolls. Turneffe is home to pristine little cays, covered with palms which encircle clear waters of the central lagoon. An abundance of mangrove surrounding the lagoons, make it the perfect spot to spawn new marine life. The deep blue, just outside the atoll drops to 1,000 feet (300 m) making this some of the most spectacular wall diving in all of Belize.

Outer Caye dives should be planned in advance, as bookings are limited. We can book one and two day trips to the Blue Hole at Lighthouse Reef and one day excursions to Turneffe Islands. Both trips go several times weekly as long as the demand is constant. Following you’ll find details and pricing on these underwater adventures.

Some spectacular diving awaits those who choose to do the Elbow. Here you will experience the ultimate in wall diving. The Elbow is your first dive on this trip. There is a complete array of marine life on this dive. Your second dive is Billy Bob’s. This dive is well known for spotted eagle rays and grouper. Lunch time is spent basking in the sun and enjoying a picnic while waiting to go on your third dive.

The next stop is Myrtle’s Turtles, the last of the dives to complete your adventure.

Enjoy a panoramic display of crystal clear Caribbean water and island beauty as you are transported to the Turneffe atoll. Here you will enjoy three magnificent wall dives.

Your first dive will be on the virgin corals of Vincente Wall. Once you surface from your underwater exploration, you will head to your second dive at Rendezvous Wall.

The boat will then take you to Mauger Caye for an enjoyable picnic. After lunch there is a snorkel stop at Dorey Channel. The last dive is at Gorgonian Wall.

Both one day trips include transportation, three tanks, equipment, lunch, snacks and beverages.

* Dive sites may change at the atolls given the weather, visibility and at the judgment of the operator.