Best resort for fishing and diving with spouse?

[gretch6364]

My wife has been bugging me abot going to Belize to fish and scuba dive. :icon_bigg

It seems like we could do a 7 night trip to Turneffe Flats Lodge for around $9K with flights, not including booze. That is with unlimited fishing and diving. I am not really sure that we need unlimited access to a guide.

I was thinking more along the lines of 2 days with a morning 2 tank dive, and then 2 days with a guide and access to flats to fish on my own. Something with a spa for a good message would be a big plus as well. Decent food, a nice beach, and quiet private accomidations are the other key items on our list.

Is there a better resort that could put this type of package together for more like $7K with flights? We like to sit and relax too, and paying for 6 days of scuba in the morning and fishing in the afternoons would be waste and not that enjoyable.

Thank you for any help. This will be our first time fishing salt for both of us.

 

[scope1]

Turneffe island lodge works for me. I fish,she dives. Been there over a dozen times. Staff treats her like a queen and I get to fish

 

[labradorguy]

Even when I was in college I couldn't burn two tanks and then hit the flats for seven days straight. Granted, I was up till 4am partying every night.... but brother, flats fishing is a lot of work, even when you are starting the day fresh.

A guide will get you going, but there is a lot to be said for blazing your own trail across the flats and doing it at your own pace. 6 guided days? Nope, one or two for me max, then let me do my thing. You're right, you should relax a bit on your vacation. Your wife would not appreciate you crashing every night just as soon as you get back to the room...

 

[runningfish]

Try the Orvis website, I think they have some resorts that affiliated with them.

 

[chechem]

Search "Belize" for reviews of Belize sites I suggested earlier.

South Water Caye (Blue Marlin or Pelican Beach) both work well for wife/fisherman trips, and you can walk right out onto the flats to fish for bones (and it's not exhausting).

 

[riderfisher]

Our local fly shop does trips with El Pescador on Ambergris Caye, with rave reviews for/from spouses. Too pricey for me, though; my only trip to Belize was on a cruise ship stopover. Booked a guide for a day through Yellow Dog Expeditions; the guide was out of Belize River Lodge, another place with a nice rep but it's up the Belize River a ways, kind of back in the jungle- so not out on an island with beachfront. Guide was great, took my son and I out all over the atoll all day- lots of bones and a few shots at some tarpon.

 

[labradorguy]

you can walk right out onto the flats to fish for bones (and it's not exhausting).

That's the key there. I saw the other place only allows you to fish from the guide's boat. Meh. It's really nice to get out on a flat by yourself and go at your own pace after a couple days of hitting it hard off a deck. Check with someone who has waded the flat before though, some are a lot easier to get around on than others.

It works out really well when a good flat is right off a decent beach. I wade along doing my thing while my girlfriend gets to lay out on the sand. I wave at her every now and then so she thinks that I'm thinking about her and that buys me more fishing time.... Every little while I can stroll back in and grab a Corona out of her cooler too. We just slowly work down the beach together and at the end of the day we watch the sunset if we're in the right spot. Good times.

 

[chechem]

That's the key there. I saw the other place only allows you to fish from the guide's boat. Meh. It's really nice to get out on a flat by yourself and go at your own pace after a couple days of hitting it hard off a deck. Check with someone who has waded the flat before though, some are a lot easier to get around on than others.

It works out really well when a good flat is right off a decent beach. I wade along doing my thing while my girlfriend gets to lay out on the sand. I wave at her every now and then so she thinks that I'm thinking about her and that buys me more fishing time.... Every little while I can stroll back in and grab a Corona out of her cooler too. We just slowly work down the beach together and at the end of the day we watch the sunset if we're in the right spot. Good times.

I've fished the flats at South Water Caye MANY times; been there numerous times over the past 15 years. It's easy walking. You'll need footwear (hard-bottom dive booties work if you don't want to pack fishing shoes). It's mostly shallow seagrass, so take weedless flies (Crazy Charlie, White Gotcha). Read the Tripadvisor reviews of Pelican Beach and Blue Marlin for more info. Blue Marlin has a.c., which is nice during June-August. Blue Marlin caters more to fishermen, but is pricey.

 

[gretch6364]

I really want to book a trip, but have never gone and have no idea when, where, and how etc.

Wouldn't mind doing one of these resorts for like 4 nights, with two days scuba, two days fishing, and some spa time, then stay in San Pedro or a fun little town with culture a couple nights, with maybe a morning of fishing with a guide.

My wife wants to fish and I would love to watch her catch bones and even something bigger...she would be sold on doing an annual salt fishing trip for the rest of our lives if she catches stuff.

 

[chechem]

I really want to book a trip, but have never gone and have no idea when, where, and how etc.

Wouldn't mind doing one of these resorts for like 4 nights, with two days scuba, two days fishing, and some spa time, then stay in San Pedro or a fun little town with culture a couple nights, with maybe a morning of fishing with a guide.

My wife wants to fish and I would love to watch her catch bones and even something bigger...she would be sold on doing an annual salt fishing trip for the rest of our lives if she catches stuff.

If you want spa time and shopping, go to San Pedro or Caye Caulker.
If you want a getaway with excellent fishing, SCUBA, and guaranteed solitude: Blue Marlin on South Water Caye. They arrange to get you to the island from the airport, can take you and wife out trolling for tuna, barracuda, etc, take you deep-water fishing for big snapper (900' down), or arrange for guides to take you chasing bones and permit. Plus, as said above, you can walk off the beach and catch bones right there on the island.
Belize Beach Resorts - South Water Caye Hotels - Belize All Inclusive Beach Resorts

 

[gbanker]

Headed to Turneffe Flats in Nov for our third time. First class outfit. Wife enjoys the diving and I enjoy the fishing.

 

[orapflyfisher]

I know this post is a little late and you might have already found something. There is a few great locations down in central and southern Belize. There is a private island resort called Thatch Caye, they have a dive shop on island and world class fisher men that are there as well. Rooms run at about $295 a night, double occupancy, and for a food/beverage package that is $150 per day (includes local alcohol). Scuba diving is around 150-250 a day (2 tanks) depending on where you want to go. The fly fishing is pricey though the resort does have packages for fly fishing. Great place, great food, great company there.

There is also a beach front hotel called Belize Ocean Club that has scuba and fly fishing as well. Ran by the same people as Thatch Caye. The fly fishing company associated with them both is Blue Horizon, I highly suggest checking it out.

Hope this helps even though it is has been a few years since the post.

 

[chechem]

I know this post is a little late and you might have already found something. There is a few great locations down in central and southern Belize. There is a private island resort called Thatch Caye, they have a dive shop on island and world class fisher men that are there as well. Rooms run at about $295 a night, double occupancy, and for a food/beverage package that is $150 per day (includes local alcohol). Scuba diving is around 150-250 a day (2 tanks) depending on where you want to go. The fly fishing is pricey though the resort does have packages for fly fishing. Great place, great food, great company there.

There is also a beach front hotel called Belize Ocean Club that has scuba and fly fishing as well. Ran by the same people as Thatch Caye. The fly fishing company associated with them both is Blue Horizon, I highly suggest checking it out.

Hope this helps even though it is has been a few years since the post.

I've always thought of Thatch Caye as a poor-man's Coco Plum Resort. They are side-by-side resorts (separate islands). Coco Plum gets lots of newlyweds and a few families. Compare the two if interested in that region. I've always stayed on South Water Caye (SWC), usually at Blue Marlin Resort. It's farther east than Thatch or Coco Plum; right on the barrier reef! That's a huge difference, because the coral is right there around SWC; snorkeling is free as a result. Plus, bonefish (and occasionally permit) are in the shallows of SWC.

Check them out. All nice! Plus, there's a new one about 4 miles south of Thatch Caye: Hidden Caye. I'll post a web site when I find it. Very nice, new getaway caye with deep water around it, manatees, dolphins, permit...

 

[chechem]

I emailed Jennifer at Hidden Caye to ask about their web site. Hidden Caye is a small island off Hopkins, Belize with brand new cabanas. It is just a few miles south of Dangriga (best airport access). Jennifer said the web site is still being improved, but is available:

Hidden Caye

I visited there during May 2015. We saw manatees cruising past, lots of warblers in the trees (including several of the uncommon Mangrove Warblers) and checked out the shallows where Permit and Bonefish gather. Nice little escape for a getaway.

:bowdown::bowdown: