Dive Review of Turtle Inn in
Belize/Placencia

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Turtle Inn , May, 2012, by Charlie Wright, OH, US ( Reviewer 4 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 6563.
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
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was our third trip to Belize and second trip to whale shark dive at the Turtle Inn. Saw whale sharks both trips, on the surface and at a 110 feet plus in between. First trip was at the full moon in April 2010, second trip full moon May 2012. Recommend arriving at about the full moon and staying at least a week. The resort looks east so you see the full moon rise over the ocean. The beech is protected by the largest reef in the northern latitudes second only to the Great Barrier Reef. The whale shark diving is outside the reef and the reef diving around the reef. There is about a 45 minute ride to the dive area. I have about 200 dives mostly in the Caribbean and if you like the convenience of the area but want to step up the diving blue water whale shark diving plus the bull sharks is the ticket. First trip I watched a hammerhead swim past thirty feet below the surface. There can be waves however the reef protects the reef diving. Additionally we saw loggerhead turtles, some very large. The Turtle Inn is a five star diving experience. Dee and I found it listed as the Caribbean Dive/Resort Operator in the book “Diving in Style”. This Francis Coppola resort lived up to all and more as reviewed in the book. You stay in cottages on or around the beach and the new dive boat leaves from the bay side behind the resort. This is not the low budget dive destination however the value is definitely there for the dollars paid. The dive shop manager, Bertram, has been there 10 years. The new dive boat is well laid out with an upper deck plus ample area to get out of the sun. His staff is excellent including dealing with an unexpected diver situation on one of our reef dives. The dive trip has a lunch break between dives either on an island or for whale shark diving on the boat in a snorkeling area inside the reef. For reef diving we really like Bonaire (three trips to Den Laman) however the reef diving in Belize was on par with Bonaire plus you have the blue water diving with its larger pelagic and fish species not to forget the Blue Hole for advanced divers. Also in Belize there is the back country including a second Coppola resort called Blancaneaux Lodge. We have not been there however on our first trip we visited the back country and found it very interesting especially the night hike. The bottom line on the Turtle Inn is the people from Martin, the GM from Holland, through all the other staff areas. Part of why we returned was the friendships made with the servers. This was our first trip since Martin became GM. Unlike most resorts, even top resorts, he spent a lot of his time engaged with the guests including diving on some of our dive trips.
Websites	Turtle Inn
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Bonaire, Turks and Caicos, Honduras, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Florida, Cabo, Cazumel,
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy, no currents
Water Temp	83-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	2
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	80 feet on whale shark dives, whale shark area restriction
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	> 2
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	I am not a photographer however whale shark and bull shark pictures can be very interesting. Not to mention the turtles, eagle rays and reef sharks.

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Dive Review of Turtle Inn in Belize/Placencia

Turtle Inn , May, 2012,

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 Turtle Inn in
Belize/Placencia