Dive Review of Turneffe Island Resort in
Belize

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Turneffe Island Resort: "Diving Belize During the COVID Pandemic", Apr, 2021, by Jacob Rosenstein, CA, United States ( Contributor 14 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 11652.
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	This was my third time diving in Belize. My last visit was back in '97 on the Peter Hughes Wave Dancer. The Turneffe Island Resort is beautiful, located on a private island in the southern Turneffe Islands archipelago. I can see why they get repeat customers due to their delicious meals, great service, cozy accommodations, and wonderful overall diving. It was a treat to get away and travel during COVID. Both of us were vaccinated and showed our cards to gain entry. The staff at T.I.R. wore masks. Most guests did not, although they were vaccinated. We had a bungalow right near the dive operations, equipped with an outdoor shower, en suite bathroom, refrigerator, and A.C. The resort has kayaks and a sail boat complimentary for after dive activities. Most dive days were 2 tank dives, except for Thursday (night dive) and Friday, and the Blue Hole all day trip. Our package was for Thursday to Tuesday 15 dives total, but they have shorter packages and/or a-la-carte dives. Equipment rental is also available, although I brought my own gear. Diving was just a short boat ride away, except for the last dive day at the Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye. Since the winds started howling on our second day, we didn't dive The Elbow until our fourth day on the resort. The Elbow is a must dive. I dove it two days in a row, making up for not having the Wave Dancer live aboard even attempt going there despite requests. The wind had finally calmed, and the sea was flat, making for great visibility. The resident Loggerhead turtle nicknamed Barnacle Bill by our dive buddies made his rounds. Schools of Jacks, Yellowtail snappers and Grouper made the dive exciting. A huge Barracuda was lying in the sand with stripes showing, waiting to pounce on its prey the second time we visited The Elbow. The same Loggerhead came around again. A large Green Moray was free swimming around the reef. Caribbean shark were spotted by some at the end of the dive. Other memorable nearby dives were at Three Anchors, which I only saw 1, Black Beauty, Billy Bob's, and Cutthroat, which had profuse tropical fish life and a Spotted Moray. Diving the Blue Hole for the third time was unique. I noticed 2 Caribbean reef shark swimming well below 100 feet. We descended to 130 feet, and slowly made our ascent. My group of 5 divers plus DM Marco swam around huge pillars of stalactites that had coral growth. Depth was at 100 feet. Horse eye Jacks and Midnight Parrotfish were at shallower depths. Diving over sand we encountered Thorny oysters. After a pit stop at Lighthouse Reef, we dove the Half Moon Caye Wall. Caribbean Reef Shark were everywhere, circling the reef and checking the divers. A Loggerhead turtle swam above them to avoid the rush hour. There were Grouper, Barracuda, Nurse Shark, Porcupine fish, Scrawled Cowfish, and 2 large Spiny lobster sharing a cave. A truly memorable dive. After a lunch feast at the Lighthouse Reef, we dove the Long Caye Wall. There were Caribbean Reef shark here as well, but we spent most of the dive in shallow water, checking out the macro life, such as Peppermint shrimp, Fire worm, Spotted drum and a Peacock flounder in the sand. The diving was great overall. I only wish that the DM assigned to us, Marco, would not have been the typical "macho" man. On many dives, he speared Lion fish and wasn't attentive to the guests. On one dive, he lost sight of a group of three divers during low visibility. My dive buddy had to pull his arm to get his attention. He was safety minded though, during our Blue Hole dive. Most dive briefings were short. I'm not sure if "meeting the group on the bottom" is a safe dive method, although there were no serious mishaps. Other dive operations usually group at the surface prior to descending. The reef life was healthy overall, with many large Barrel sponge, Tube sponge, Gorgonian fields and Black coral. However, there was evidence of coral bleaching near the Long Caye Wall dive site.
Websites	Turneffe Island Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, including the Bay Islands, U.S.V.I., B.V.I., Saba, Bonaire, Cozumel, Turks and Caicos, Little Cayman, San Salvador Island and Cuba; Costa Rica, Hawaii, Fiji, Indonesia, Palau, Red Sea, Sea of Cortez, California Channel Islands, Galapagos, Great Barrier Reef.
Closest Airport	Belize City	Getting There	We took American from S.F.O. to Charlotte, then on to Belize. The jetliner experienced mechanical issues and made an emergency landing in Cancun. Instead of placing us on Tropic Air charters to Belize, American had everyone ticketed to Dallas Ft. Worth. The next morning, we were on a flight to Belize City. Travel insurance reimbursed us for lost diving and additional charges tacked on by Turneffe Island Resort for their "private boat".
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	20-60 Ft/ 6-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	We had to dive as a group. However, some divers rented their own boat and DM for an additional weekly fee.
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		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	The pangas used for the short dives had camera rinse buckets. The larger boat used for going to the Blue Hole didn't have a camera rinse bucket, only a rinse hose. No facility for cameras at the resort. I took my camera back to the bungalow after diving.

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Dive Review of Turneffe Island Resort in Belize

Turneffe Island Resort: "Diving Belize During the COVID Pandemic", Apr, 2021,

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 Turneffe Island Resort in
Belize