Dive Review of Blackbird Resort in
Belize/Turneffe Atoll

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Blackbird Resort: "Happy To Be Traveling and Diving Again!", Jul, 2021, by Gary & Robin Schiendelman, PA, US ( Sr. Contributor 29 reports with 44 Helpful votes). Report 11564 has 2 Helpful votes.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was our second trip to Belize since the pandemic. We chose Blackbird Caye after seeing their new beachfront villas and thought the prices were fairly good for the area (Turneffe Atoll). American Airlines proved to be a disaster but won't bore you with those details. You pay your money and take your chances. The team at Blackbird modified our reservation with no issues when AA cancelled our original flight the day we were scheduled to leave. Blackbird Caye includes a boat transfer from Belize City on Saturday and Wednesday. It takes about an hour and a half. We arrived on Friday (due to the aforementioned cancelled flight) so took a small charter flight. Pricey but only 15 minutes and Blackbird has their own landing strip so it was super easy. Although we left the resort on a Saturday, we opted for the charter flight again so we could sleep in, enjoy a leisurely breakfat and finish packing rather than getting up early to be on the transfer boat at 7AM. The new beachfront cabanas are beautiful and very large. The entire front of the cabanas are screened and made for a delightful stay. We were able to leave the front doors open and take advantage of the ocean breeze with no bug worries. And there are bugs!! Not only no-see-ums but biting flies that really hurt! A couple of guests were bitten so bad they lost a day of diving. Except when it was very windy, the bugs made it impossible to be outside without lots of DEET. We had a couple of minor maintenance issues in our cabana (stuck bathroom door, water pressure) and they were immediately and efficiently taken care of. The restaurant was inside with screens. Most of the tables were set up for 4 to 6 people which made it easy to join other guests. They did have tables for 2 if you preferred. Breakfast and lunch were buffet. Dinners were plated with a seafood and meat choice each night. Food was good, not great for the most part. Some of the dishes were really good but others not so much. There was a surf and turf one night with ribs being the "turf" but they were so dry as to be almost inedible. On the other hand, a couple of the fish entrees were excellent. But, they try and the service is always pleasant and with a smile. If you are a foodie, you might be disappointed. We go for the diving so food is always secondary! Palapa bar had happy hour every night with hors d'oeuvres. Bartenders were always pleasant with George being a standout. So funny and with some amazing magic tricks. Bar stayed open until the last guest left. There were some younger guests who stayed up late on a few occasions. We never heard any noise from the bar at night while in our cabana. However, some of the older cabanas are closer to the bar and we did hear one guest complain of the loud music. There are 2 boats used for diving and a third for snorkelers. Set up your gear on the dock the first morning and they left it on the boat all week. Supposedly it was rinsed each night. There was only one small rinse bucket on the dock for the whole resort. Giant stride in could be a bit difficult if the water was rough but the staff was always available to assist. Ladder for exit was ok and again, staff were ready to assist. They offered to take your gear before exit for anyone with physical issues. They attempted to separate people into groups based on experience...although that was not always possible. During our 2 weeks there, we were moved into multiple groups depending upon how many other divers there were. Ed manages the dive operation and is also a DM and he was a really good spotter. Some of the other dive guides were not so good at spotting...or they were more interested in shooting lionfish than finding critters. All of the guides moved really slow which we appreciate. It allowed everyone to explore and take photos. Dive times were about 60 minutes but that was variable depending upon your dive guide. Our dive times varied from 60 to 85 minutes with most being 60-70. The dive guide would float a sausage when the first diver ran low on air and that person would ascend. Unless we went to the other side of the island due to weather, the boat returned to the resort after every dive. There were 2 morning dives and one afternoon. You could request a night dive every night, weather permitting but beware...the charge is $100 per person! We had one not great night dive but the second was amazing. There were 8 octopus with at least 2 of them active and hunting. Blue Hole Day is Tuesday when all the guests, snorkelers and divers go to the Blue Hole followed by a dive at Half Moon Caye, lunch on the Caye and a 3rd dive at Long Caye. The Blue Hole is once and done but the other 2 dives are perhaps the best of the week with lots of healthy coral, many sharks and some very friendly grouper. Blackbird Caye owners are making investments into the infrastructure and improvements in all areas of the resort. In addition to the new cabanas, they have invested in a new machine to clear up the sargassum on the beach (rather than having employees do it by hand) and upgrading generators. They are also taking an active role in conservation in the area. They look to be in it for the long haul. We would recommend this resort. Facilities and grounds are very nice and the staff are friendly and competent. They do their best to ensure you are well taken care of and all your needs are met. Although we expected the diving to be equal to that of Turneffe Island Resort (we were there in December 2020), we found it to be not quite as good. While some of the dives were very good (by Caribbean standards), others were only fair. We did run into some really windy weather which impacted the choice of sites so perhaps that was the difference. All in all, if you have to dive the Caribbean, this is a solid choice. Belize has made it easy to enter. Show your vaccine card or a recent negative Covid test. Testing for the return home was done at the airport for $75 per person with results in about a half hour. Blackbird Caye made the reservations for us to take the test and it needed to be done before checking in for your flight home. Happy to answer any specific questions anyone may have and happy to be back traveling and diving!
Websites	Blackbird Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, PNG, Solomon Isl, Red Sea, Maldives, South Africa, Mozambique, Cocos Isl, Galapagos, Socorro, Palau, Var Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, No Carolina, Philippines
Closest Airport	Belize City	Getting There	American Airlines PHL-DFW-BZE Return BZE-MIA-PHL
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	81-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Time & Depth
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Dedicated rinse bucket on boat. Crew would hand down camera if requested.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Blackbird Resort in Belize/Turneffe Atoll

Blackbird Resort: "Happy To Be Traveling and Diving Again!", Jul, 2021,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Blackbird Resort in
Belize/Turneffe Atoll