Dive Review of Blackbird Resort in
Belize

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Blackbird Resort: "Excellent experience in all aspects", Dec, 2024, by Laura Mosqueda, CA, US ( Contributor 17 reports with 10 Helpful votes). Report 13287 has 2 Helpful votes.
No photos available at this time
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	Although it's a land-based resort it operates like a liveaboard in that everyone comes on the same day and leaves on the same day (Saturdays). They have a boat shuttle that takes you from the dock near Belize City to the Blackbird Caye Resort (BCR) and this is part of what you pay for in the package. However, based on a prior review in UC, we chose to pay extra to avoid a 90 min boat ride if weather is good. ($640 one way for two people) If weather is rainy and/or windy the ride could be significantly longer and uncomfortable, especially for those of us prone to mal de mer. We had an unusual experience in that we were the only guests at the resort.... the day we were leaving, 34 people were arriving... so ratio of divemasters to guests was great. We are told that they have a max of 8 divers/guide. People working at the resort could have easily checked out mentally during the week with two guests but no one did. People were attentive, friendly, and accommodating in all phases. Diving: Dive sites are typically <10 min boat ride so you come back to shore between dives. The one exception is the day you dive the Blue Hole, which is a 45 min boat ride. It's a lovely excursion: dive the Blue Hole, surface interval on a local island that has a bathroom, dive again, return to local island for a wonderful lunch they have prepped, and then have another dive on way back to BCR. It's very nice Caribbean diving in that there's not a high density of fish but there's still plenty to see. There was rocky reef with soft coral, sand patches, walls, swim throughs, and even one wreck; a nice variety of geography. In addition to the usual fishies in Caribbean waters we were pleased to see Nassau grouper on several dives, at least one turtle on most dives, black tips and nurse sharks. Every dive was lots of fun with lots to see, especially if you're willing to look carefully. Dive boat: It's an easy giant stride into the water and crew assists with donning/doffing fins. Good ladder to get back into boat. Great setup for tanks and gear. Separate rinse tanks for gear and camera. Towels provided. Outboard motors are fast and quiet. Dive masters: Simply the best! Shaddy and Serena have a perfect blend of relaxed, safety-conscious, friendly, and professional. They are organized, swim at a leisurely pace, are great at finding things and pointing them out, dive excellent profiles, and maintain an eye on the guest's safety while respecting our skill level. They took care of changing tanks, assisting with gear, rinsing wetsuits after dives, and anything else you can think of. They are an absolute pleasure to dive with and we always felt like we were in great hands. Accomodations: we stayed in Villa 5, which was lovely. They have a variety of accommodations, all of which are nice, so it's best to check the website and ask questions at the time of booking. Our room was huge, the bathroom had two sinks and a gigantic shower (with a drying line available). There's a central dining room, a pool and pool bar, and a separate palapa bar. Beware the BUGS: Our early days of the stay were rainy and quite windy. When the weather turns sunny and calm the tiny black flies emerge and are nasty. Picaridin seemed ineffective so the next time I would bring DEET. They have DEET in the common areas but by the time I realized that, it was too late... my poor husband was an itchy mess for days, with a high density of tiny red dots on many parts of his body. Booking your stay: After you get a sense of the place from the website you can call a U.S. phone number and will probably talk with Dawn. She was knowledgeable and helpful, and got back to us as promised. As always, it's important to be diligent and double check connections, dates, etc to assure accuracy. She provided suggestions for a hotel in Belize City, answered questions about the diving and the resort, and assisted with the logistics. Bottom line: easy to get to, great Caribbean diving, wonderful accommodations, great food, very nice staff, and superb dive masters.
Websites	Blackbird Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	California, Socorro Islands, Cozumel, Cocos, Indonesia (Komodo, Lembeh, Wakitobi, Banda, Raja Ampat), Papua New Guinea, Sea of Cortez, Red Sea, Galapagos, Hawaii, Little Cayman
Closest Airport	Belize City	Getting There	We flew LAX to Belize City nonstop on Alaska Airlines. Depending on time of arrival/departure, can either spend night (going and coming) in Belize City and catch their boat to the Blackbird Caye or go directly to the dock area from the airport. Their boat transport shuttle is included in the payment for the resort. (see review for more info)
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy, no currents
Water Temp	81-°F / 27-°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-70 Ft/ 12-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	reasonable, safe restrictions related to air consumption and depth for recreational diving
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	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Blackbird Resort in Belize

Blackbird Resort: "Excellent experience in all aspects", Dec, 2024,

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