Belize: Safe, Fun and Budget Friendly

Have you ever wanted to travel to a tropical paradise but had so many questions about the destination you are heading to?

Let Splash Dive Center, take care of you! Splash Dive Center is located in beautiful southern Belize: Placencia.

Placencia is known to be the most laid-back, tranquil environment in Belize, located just a short boat ride away from many of Belize’s well-known marine reserves such as: Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes, South Water Caye, Glovers Reef, Turneffe Atoll and Belize’s Barrier Reef.

Visit Splash Dive Center and meet with Patty, co-owner of Splash Dive Center, the most genuine and friendly person you can meet. Splash will become your home away from home.

Safety is Splash Dive Center’s #1 goal, a PADI resort facility, encompassing the most experienced and qualified staff in the region. Continue your diving education or learn to dive with a very professional Instructor. Sign up for some of the tours and package deals offered,  led by dive masters who are licensed tour guides who are both knowledgeable and make it fun.

A few of Splash Dive Center’s most famous ‘Big 6’ special dive packages include:

·       The GrandSlam

·      Barrier Reef Package

·      Glovers & Barrier Reef DivingPackage

·      Blue Hole & Barrier Reef DivingPackage

·      Whale Shark Scuba Diving Packages

·      Blue Hole & Whale Shark DivingPackages

The ‘Big 6’ encompasses the very best of Belize’s underwater world, experience Belize!

Mix it up! Splash Dive Center also offers a range of inland tours, including but not limited to:

·      Monkey River Excursion

·      Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary

·      Hikes and River Tubing

·      Visits to Mayan Archeological Sites

·      Cave Expeditions: ATM, Barton Creek

Concern about accommodation?

Accommodation in Placencia ranges from budget, mid-range, to high-end. A short list can be found below:

·      Budget

o   Sea Glass Inn - Placencia

·      Mid-range

o   Sea View Suites

o   Miramar Apartments

·      High-end

o   Laru Beya

We had the opportunity to dive with Splash Dive Center and can still remember the details of my vacation in Placencia, Belize. In simple words: it is more than a dive center: ‘it is home away from home’.

For more information on vacation packages visit www.splashbelize.com.

Start planning your stay by contacting Patty at patricia@splashbelize.com

Belize’s Barrier Reef, an Ultimate Diver’s Mecca

Belize Barrier Reef-Placencia

Belize’s amazing Barrier Reef is any avid diver’ or snorkeler’s aquatic playground that provides the ultimate experience. Divers from all over the world are discovering Belize’s exotic marine life and pristine waters and attest to the barrier reef being a colossal aquarium of exotic critters, graceful invertebrates, and colorful sea life. Spanning most of Belize’s coastline with 185 miles, this reef is the longest in the Western Hemisphere.

Belize has a remarkably high concentration of marine life. Schools of exotic fish, colorful coral gardens, grottos and walls lined with sponges appearing to have internal bioluminescence, caverns decorated with stalactites and ocean critters are ever present. More than 50 species of corals and 400 species of fish call these waters home including the horse-eye jack, barracuda, yellowtail snapper, pompano and goliath grouper often seen cruising the reef.

Belize Barrier Reef- Sea Turtle

With spectacular strings of unspoiled islands atop sparkling clear waters and three atolls, Belize is a mecca for divers and a water-borne Garden of Eden for water sports enthusiasts.

Hol Chan Marine Reserve, an offshore caye, is an excellent diving area easily accessed from San Pedro and Caye Caulker – two formerly sleepy fishing villages offshore and now popular tourist destinations and hub for divers. Inside the reef, coral rises to the surface in a long snaking ridge. Outside, the reef gently slopes down to some 40 feet, revealing many shallow water corals and a plethora of gorgonians. The sloping ledge is deeply cut with cracks and crevices winding to the reef’s outer edge where a great wall drops to the depths of the sea.

At Turneffe Islands, Lighthouse Reef and Glover’s Reef, the atolls provide scenic underwater topography and offer excellent variety of diving options. 

Belize Barrier Reef- Conch on Sea-floor

A truly fascinating phenomenon at Lighthouse Reef is the iconic Blue Hole. A titanic cave, once dry as demonstrated by the presence of stalactites, has been submerged since the end of the last Ice Age. A portion of its ceiling collapsed at some point in time, creating a blue hole more than 400 feet deep and nearly 1,000 feet across. At 100 feet, the wall gives way to a deep undercut. At a depth of 130 feet, the softly lit cavern’s 25 feet and upside-down monoliths hang from the ceiling. The sight of stalactites, silhouetted against the blue glow of the filtered light coming from beyond the ledge, is no ordinary experience. Some are so large that five divers side by side would not be enough to encompass them.

For all these reasons, Belize is the ultimate archipelago of natural and unspoiled beauty like a shining gem in the sun and mecca for divers from all over the world. But don’t take our word for it, be on the inside of Belize’s underwater paradise!

School is Out – Belize Summer Travels Offers a Journey through Time

Island Life

School is out and Belize’s Summer Travel is hotter than ever. Anyone who has travelled can attest to the gazillion charms that Belize has to offer from reefs to ruins, birds to blue holes, Belize adventures awaits you.

Like no other journey you have ever encountered, Belize is truly a journey through time.  Mark my word, Belize is no ordinary place! Often, we hear the expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” On this journey, it will take a thousand pictures to say one word – Belize.

First-time visitors will want to enjoy discovering Belize’s array of natural land and sea wonders. Expect the unexpected and pack accordingly. Savvy travelers will enjoy their stay more. Pack your cameras, film, diving, snorkeling, and fishing equipment, sunscreens, repellents and appropriate clothing for sub-tropical climate – serious adventure awaits the curious and brave of heart in Belize.

Like a mighty sun perched high on a mesmerizing sunset, Belize shines brightly over the completion.  She is colorful, vibrant and very exciting.  One look will never satisfy your curiosity. She must be scrutinized and explored from every corner to really appreciate her beauty.

Her highest point towers some 4,000 feet above sea level, where she watches over the majestic Maya Mountains. As one foot huddles in the warm sand of the coastal beaches, the other rests gently on the proud barrier reef. Her arms stretch out and embrace more than 8,000 square miles of unharmed natural beauty. You have seen no paradise more lovely. She is picture-perfect.

In fact, this rare gem called Belize is an endless voyage through snapshots and feelings. It’s an intimate date with Mother Nature that promises an experience oozing with excitement, adventure and memories. She is close, yet so far – old, yet so new. In every way, she is a trip one never forgets.

Lobster in its Barrier Reef Home

Visitors from all over the world find it wonderful, magical and beautiful, in a very natural way. Belize is the last outpost. It’s on the edge of the world.  It’s where the old world of the Maya, Garifuna, Creole and Mestizo meets the new and emerges into the cultural melting pot it is today. Simply put, she is splendid.

If Belize is famous for anything, it would be diving along its outer cayes and ecotourism inland. Belize is home of the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere. Diving is unquestionably outstanding. The cayes along the reef are picturesque – white sandy beaches and coconut palms. No footprints allowed here, except yours of course. So pack your bags, camera and film, Belize welcomes you!

A Family Vacation in Placencia- Monkey River Tour

Choosing a fantastic vacation destination this year was a difficult decision for my family.  My two children Harry and Britney are turning 12 and 15 years respectively this year and we were all in agreement that a destination in the Caribbean and off the beaten path would be a good change from the usual yearly visits to well- known destinations.  After doing a bit of research, we found out about Belize and its many diverse offerings of reef and inland adventures in the tiny but lovely country of Belize which is literally in our backyard just two hours from our home state Florida. Little did we know then that we ever about to venture into of our best vacations ever while creating lifelong memories.

Our days were filled with dive and snorkeling visits to idyllic spots like the famous Blue Hole, Glover’s Atoll and countless inland tours as well as cultural experiences.

One particularly memorable trip was the Monkey River Tour.  This wildlife adventure started with an hour boat ride from Placencia Village on the Peninsula to the mouth of Monkey River where the excitement of the journey continues.  Our knowledgeable guide, a native to Monkey River Village, led our tour group through an interesting lesson on the history of Monkey River Village while he pointed out the surrounding abundant wildlife.

Cruising along Monkey River for approximately 30 minutes and relishing a short inland detour, our tour group was surely in for a real scenic treat in nature.  Lush tropical canopy dominated the river sides with occasional tall trees among the smaller plant life like mangroves, bamboo, palms and swamp cypresses.  The rich forest smell was invigorating and the view of the biologically diverse forest was breath taking. We were so pleased to learn that sixty percent of the country remains covered with such similar tropical ecosystems. Indeed the little Caribbean jewel appears to be serious about environmental protection.

Along the inland trail, Harry and Britney were intrigued by the exotic birds spotted such as the magnificent Osprey eagle, the enormous King Vulture, and even spotted the brilliantly colored Keel Billed Toucan hovering high above the tall empress palms as pointed out by our guide, James. Certainly a naturalist’s paradise, Monkey River was teeming with football-size turtles, crocodiles and many species of lizards such as the ‘Jesus Christ Lizard’ named locally for its ability to run across the water edges using its webbed hind feet. And just when we thought there was nothing more to see, our bodies cringed with goose bumps as a group of boisterous black howler monkeys swept pass a few feet above our heads howling and swinging.  The experience reminded me briefly of a scene in Indiana Jones shot in the depths of a mysterious neo-tropical rainforest. The setting was surely one to ignite the imagination. The path was filled with many exotic orchids in many sizes, shapes and colors.

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip and Monkey River Village has certainly inspired us to appreciate nature in a differfleadent light. We are also thankful to our tour operator, Splash Dive Center for making all our tour arrangements and for contributing to us having a fabulous time in Belize!