About Blackbird
Location
Facilities
Diving
Other Activities
Gallery
Rates
Turneffe Atoll
Request Info / Availability
Preferred Hotels
Contact Us
Specials

To inquire about availability

or make a reservation,

call our office at 1-88-TO-BELIZE

(888-623-5403, US & Canada);

1-206-463-0833,

or click here.

Scuba Diving

Blackbird Caye Resort offers true world class diving. The diving sites are considered some of the best in the Western Caribbean. Turneffe Atoll is the only Caribbean atoll made up of dozens of mangrove islands which are the juvenile nurseries for coral reefs. It also means many schools of fish. More than 70 dive sites near the caye offer spectacular diving and are no more than an average time of 12 minutes away from the resort. Some of the popular dive spots you will visit are "The Elbow", "Calabash Cut", "West Side Story", "CoCo Point", "Al's Hideout", and "Oasis". One night dive is included for the 7 night & 4 night packages.

Each day begins with an early breakfast, followed by a two single-tank morning dives and a single-tank afternoon dive. Except for the Blue Hole Day & the Elbow dive, we return to shore between each dive. Our captain pilots the boat to you upon your ascent so there is no tiring swim back to the boat. Our divemasters rinse your gear each evening and set it up for you after breakfast. No need to worry about it once you arrive on the island!

Scuba Training

As a PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) facility, we offer all PADI training courses, from Open Water Certification to Divemaster. One of our most popular programs is the PADI Discover Scuba Diving. This offers non-divers the truly exciting first time experience of scuba diving in a safe but beautiful environment. Many of our guests who have experienced this have gone on to complete the full Open Water Course. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to swim with the fishes, this is the opportunity of a lifetime!

Our dive shop has a selection of BCDs and regulators for rental, along with mask, fins and snorkels. We also rent short wet suits in a few common sizes if you need one. Although the year-round average water temperature is 82 degrees F, If you are completing three dives a day, it is advisable to have a dive skin or a thin short suit.

However, we recommend that you bring your own mask, fins, snorkel and wet suit, as these are more personal items. Fit and comfort are very important and sometimes this can be hard to achieve with rental equipment. We provide weight belts, weights and tanks, as part of your package.

Before your first dive, the divemasters will give all divers a full briefing of our diving procedures with your safety foremost in mind. You will be asked to show your certification card and to fill out a liability release form. Our release form will ask if you are under directions of a physician and/or taking medication. If you are, we advise you to please check with your physician as to whether it is safe for you to scuba or snorkel. If you have any doubts, please bring a certificate from the doctor stating that it is safe for you to dive. After the briefing, you will be asked to set up your dive equipment. This is the first and last time you will have to do this, as our divemasters will do this for you after every dive, including washing down your equipment, and preparing it for your next day's diving.

Before each dive, there will be a review of the dive site with a description of maximum depth, maximum bottom time, and direction of travel. In order to complete three dives a day, we limit the down time to sixty minutes per dive - plenty of time for most guests.

Most of our dive sites are within 10 to 15 minutes boat ride from the resort, so we usually return to the resort between dives. This allows adequate surface interval, a chance to change film, have a snack, or just rest. Dives, of course, are based on weather conditions.

Shore diving is not available, as the water around the resort is shallow.

Blue Hole/Half Moon Caye
A trip to the Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye and Long Caye Wall is scheduled on Tuesdays. If weather does not permit, it will be rescheduled for Thursday, if possible. This is a full day trip with a picnic lunch at Half Moon Caye.

To inquire about availability or make a reservation, call our office at 1-88-TO-BELIZE (888-623-5403, US & Canada); 1-206-463-0833, or click here.

Underwater photos © Bart Dahneke