HOW the PASSENGER FERRY WORKS for our BELIZE RESORTS: At Blackbird Caye, all bookings are Saturday to Saturday or Wednesday to Wednesday, or Sat-Wed combos only, because these are the only days when the passenger walk-on ferry makes transit to these isles. This ferry policy holds all year long. Therefore we only book 4-night, 7-night, 10-night, 11-night or 14-night packages at Blackbird Caye Resort in Belize.

FIRST TIME EVER -- CUSTOM AIR FERRY to BLACKBIRD !! We are enthused to report that in a few months the resort owners will offer a private air charter service to Blackbird Caye Resort. Call us for current price updates for these custom air charters, which will start round-trip at about USD $200 per client + tax & tariff.

At high noon, happily painted Blackbird Caye cabanas, all seaside,
can be spotted miles out on the fringing reefs -- desserts with roofs.
© Copyright John Hessburg, U.S. Dive Travel.

One more ocean-facing cabana, a stroll down the beach.
© Copyright John Hessburg, U.S. Dive Travel.

A look at the dive shop & main dock, Blackbird Caye Resort.
© Copyright John Hessburg, U.S. Dive Travel.

"Dolphin," sleek & quick, Blackbird's main scuba diving boat.
© Copyright John Hessburg, U.S. Dive Travel.

Skipper Oliver "Junior" Eiley & Divemaster Nadia Westby.
© Copyright John Hessburg, U.S. Dive Travel Network.

Aerial view of Turneffe Atoll in Belize &
Blackbird Caye Resort, a coral-rich lagoon.
Photo cluster by Blackbird amigos.

Wall dives.

Professional dive guides & photographers agree that the atolls of the Southern Belize Barrier Reef offer the Caribbean's cleanest waters, the most colorful corals & the most vivid array of marine life. Manta Resort & Blackbird Caye Resort have been acknowledged as the finest of Belize's premier dive resorts, for many years now. These private islands are world-class getaways, with dazzling dives, truly delicious cuisine & a refreshingly mellow staff. Belize diving just shines. And Manta Resort & Blackbird Caye Resort outshine the best of Belize's fine outer atoll vacation retreats. For many years now, travel writers & professional dive guides have placed both Manta Resort & Blackbird Caye Resort at the top of the 'A' List for Western Caribbean scuba Meccas. Belize diving is as good as it gets in the Caribbean. And we believe the bona fide soul of Belize diving is way south of the much-publicized & tourist-trampled Ambergris Caye, at Glover's Reef or Turneffe Atoll. Here are specific details about these nerve centers of serious Belize diving.

Meanwhile, Blackbird Caye Resort is located 32 miles east of Belize City, on the far eastern side of the Turneffe Atoll. Glover’s Reef & Turneffe Atoll are two of only three atolls in the entire Caribbean, which are fully ringed by an eliptical fringing reef. They are just the sort of exquisite diving islands you would find in the South Pacific or the Indo-Pacific. There are no other atolls anywhere in the greater Caribbean-Atlantic region, except those found along the Belize Barrier Reef. This makes Belize dive vacations a world-class adventure, we feel.

About 170 miles long, the Belize Barrier Reef is the second longest barrier reef on earth, right after Australia's renowned. The most remote & unspoiled of these three Belize atolls is Glover's Reef at the southern end of this magnificent coral perimeter. At the far southern end of Glover's Reef is a beautiful 12-acre isle, Manta Resort, that is the site of Belize's most exclusive resort for world-class scuba diving & snorkeling. Clients who prefer a less isolated island, yet still want the electric flavor of Belize ocean wilderness, like Blackbird Caye Resort a lot, because it is very close to outstanding reef diving, yet offers scads of good nature hiking as well. Blackbird Caye is further north & less isolated.

The shallow area near Blackbird Caye covers 210 square miles. Blackbird is only 18 miles away from Half Moon Caye. From there it's just a quick 8-mile jaunt to the world-famous Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is now the most world-famous dive site in Belize, & was discovered by Jacques Cousteau many years back on one of his many exploratory forays into the Caribbean Sea. The Blue Hole has become a must-see dive for many Caribbean dive travelers on a mission to see all the most famous sites on the Belize Barrier Reef. While not the most colorful dive site in Belize, the Blue Hole is worth a fun medium-long day trip from Turneffe Atoll. Yep, she's not the be-all-and-end-all of Belize dive vacations, but the ol' Blue Hole still packs 'em in.

Manta Resort is located about 57 miles southeast of Belize City, & about 28 miles east of Dangriga, Belize, right in the heart of the living Belize Barrier Reef. For additional bearings, Manta Resort is also about 78 miles west of Roatan Island in Honduras.

To get to Blackbird Caye Resort, or to Manta Resort, you board a stable fast yacht-ferry for a sensational ride (about 57 miles to Manta, & 32 miles to Blackbird). These speedy ferries depart from the Radisson Hotel or the beautiful new Belize Tourism Village on the waterfront park in Belize City, depending on the season. From the mainland, these super-fast vessels rocket across the Belize Barrier Reef and into the sheltered mangrove lagoon of Turneffe Island Atoll, or out to the wonderfully remote sandy atoll of Glover’s Reef. On the isle of Blackbird Caye Resort you can find 4,000+ acres of pristine tropical forests, as well as several fascinating miles of eco-trails. You can traipse across this enormous Turneffe Island atoll & explore the many wildlife & plant forms at your leisure. You see, leisure is all you have time for around here! That’s the law, amigo, on our Belize dive vacations.

Blackbird Caye Resort's co-owners, who also used to own Manta Resort, say they are dedicated to the preservation of diverse marine and wildlife in the Belize Barrier Reef. They call their resort at Blackbird Caye an ecologically-designed property, & it shows in the care given daily.

At Blackbird Caye Resort & its fringing isles, you can dive vertical walls just beyond the coral reef in front of your cabana. These lush & life-engulfed coral sectors extend for miles in both directions. They offer divers unlimited opportunities to experience large tubular sponges, enormous basket sponges, vivid purplish Gorgonia (sea fans), perky little reef fish, big barracuda, schools of permit and jellyfish, sea turtles, lobsters, snapper & crabs galore. Belize dive vacations = undersea critters 2 D Max.

For deep-sea or reef fishing, Turneffe Island & Glover’s Reef atolls are nirvana on a pole-tip. There are innumerable creeks, channels & tidal flats at Blackbird Caye, & the luxurious warm lagoon flats inside the atoll rim of Glover’s Reef, which offer species that won’t quit: permit, tarpon, bonefish, groupers, barracuda, snook, snappers. Beyond the outer reef rim you will find sailfish, huge marlin, kings & wahoo. Both resorts are equipped to handle all-day deep-sea fishing charters. Their Belizian fishing guides are skilled & they know the secret spots.

Super die-hard fly fishermen relish Blackbird Caye Resort because it’s close to excellent feeding grounds for bonefish, a translucent critter known for its rowdy fighting & wily ways. Blackbird Caye Resort also offers fly fishermen the rare & elusive golden bonefish.

A little further down the barrier reef, from the air, the Manta Resort island – named Southwest Caye -- looks like a living gem, with hundreds of meters of white sand rimming the main island, cabanas nestled under swaying palms, & a calm shallow greenish-blue lagoon right off the beaches -- perfect for safe family snorkeling. At the rim of the reef that girdles this island is a moderately shallow zone that glows with a vivid emerald-turquoise tint. This zone is loaded with fish-rich coralheads everywhere -- enough to get even the most jaded scuba diver's heart to quicken. The corals & sponges of Manta Resort’s waters are nearly South Pacific intensity. No place else in the Caribbean will you find this degree of underwater color. The atolls of Central Belize are the sine qua non of Caribbean scuba, pure & simple. Manta Resort is as good as it gets underwater in the greater Caribbean region, most of our professional dive colleagues, photographers & guides would agree. Belize dive vacations are set apart from the humdrum of tourist-infested Caribbean dive tour locales.

Outside that emerald-turquoise zone, the ancient volcano rim (safely extinct of course!), upon which Manta Resort's island formed eons ago, drops off steeply to a vast wall that starts first as iridescent royal blue then turns gradually dark blue then jet black. There is no end to the visual enchantment of this island, both topside & underwater. The true heart of Belize diving is found on these atolls of Manta Resort & Blackbird Caye Resort. And we feel that Belize diving is the real nerve center for the best of Caribbean diving. Photographers will whiz through film rolls like sugar sand through a sieve.

Manta Resort & Blackbird Caye Resort each have their own water desalination facility & luxury amenities with a rustic, almost South Pacific, feel to them. Manta Resort features 11 hand-crafted mahogany cabanas, each with 2 beds, a dresser, night stand & a fan. The bathrooms are very modern & equipped with hot showers. The cabanas are very rustic & old-fashioned, like a fishing resort or hunting lodge might be, not fancy, but very clean & they have a wonderful waterworld wilderness "feel" to them. Electricity is 110 volts -- just like the U.S. has. Each Manta Resort cabana offers a front porch hammock, where you can laze away in the cool breeze. This breeze, incidentally, also helps keep the bugs away many days, another plus about Belize diving.

The transfer speedboat to Manta Resort only picks up clients on Saturdays, so all travelers must arrive in Belize City no later than 2 p.m. -- better yet before 1 pm to be safe & sound -- on their first day. Kids are always welcome at Manta Resort; & those under three stay free, while kids under 12 stay for half price. All kids 12 & older are considered on adult packages. Meals are huge, tasty & wonderful & you'll always have what you need. The Manta Resort menu varies from seafood to traditional Belizian to Continental style to Mexican style; & there are generous breakfast & lunch buffets every day. Be sure to wear a belt to this resort with a couple extra notches. You’ll need ‘em after those brilliant chefs get done with you ! Belize dive vacations also = mucha comida deliciosa.

Scuba divers at Manta Resort are pampered to a faretheewell. Nature does the first part -- with amazing "viz" that often exceeds 100 - 120 feet during dry seasons. The resort features four 25' diving skiffs, each of which carries only 12 divers -- no cattle boats here! There are guides on all dives, which vary from 50 - 90 feet on many choice outer wall sites. You'll never need to slog-swim a long haul back to the vessel, since your skipper will always bring the boat up to meet you when you surface.

Your Manta Resort divemasters rinse all your gear each evening then set up your tanks every morning. No sweat, mon! Night dives are usually Tuesdays & Thursdays. Night dives are always contingent upon weather & currents being safe. They are not to be missed! At Manta Resort you will see what's likely the finest array of corals, sponges, large & small fish & assorted surprise critters from skates & harmless sharks to yes -- manta rays -- anywhere in the Western & Southern Caribbean. Belize dive vacations deliver. Always.

Remember, in Belize you'll need to pay several dollars per day per person for the government's hotel excise tax, nicknamed the "bed tax". You'll pay that either to Manta Resort or Blackbird Caye Resort, directly on the island, one small nuisance of Belize diving packages.

Another of Manta Resort's charms that draws clients from all over the world is the sport fishing, which is outstanding even on ordinary days. You can go fly fishing for bonefish in the flats, or blue-water trolling for snapper, grouper, barracuda, jacks & mackerel. Rare is the angler who gets skunked in a week on this fish-engulfed atoll. Bring your own rod & reel & tackle, of course, Manta Resort requests.

Belize dive vacations are relaxing, pure & simple. You'll find no phones, TVs, faxes or techno-trappings in your quiet, secluded, ultra-private cabanas at Manta Resort. However, in the unlikely event of a medical emergency, Manta Resort is linked by powerful radio to the mainland & urgent air evacuations are easy to do here, but so far never needed on our Belize diving tours.

The BEST EYE-CANDY, SOUL-STIRRING DIVE SITES
at BLACKBIRD CAYE RESORT:

At least 70 classic Belize diving & Belize snorkeling sites have been identified near Blackbird Caye Resort. Here are a few of the coolest atoll gems you will get to see here, starting with the obvious classic that has mesmerized divers for decades, since the now legendary Jacques Cousteau discovered it in the early days of Caribbean explorations. Here's the scoop on scuba diving on the Belize Barrier Reef:

• The World-Renowned "Blue Hole": This strange & wonderful circular sump in the middle of a living reef was formed, scientists believe, when the ocean rose abruptly after the last Ice Age, & collapsed the roof of a huge cave, producing a gaping 400-foot-deep crater. For safety reasons, your guides will take you no deeper into this mysterious Blue Hole than 130 feet -- to check out some cool underwater stalactites. This Blue Hole is likely the most sought-after dive site on the Belize Barrier Reef.
• Al's Hide-out: (60-120 feet) Not only is one of Blackbird Caye Resort’s owner’s named Al, but this is also the proper name of a very special fish, kind of a neighborhood mascot for years, who lives on this steep wall with crags & overhangs. We'll let you discover who he is; & save the surprise for your first visit to Blackbird Caye Resort. Expect to bump into big burly barracuda around here.
• Majestic Alley: Shallow Dive (30-50 feet) This site is bristling with staghorn & elkhorn corals & crowds of busy reef fish all trying to make a living (& avoid getting munched) The teeming undersea life here is a great escape from the pressures of work, phones, faxes & landlubbing nonsense. This is the kind of diving that has given the Belize Barrier Reef it's reputation for excellent scuba diving adventures. Not many dive vacations or custom dive tours anywhere in the Caribbean can offer Belize diving sites like these classics at Manta & Blackbird Caye.
• Coral Gardens: This a simple, fun dive to 30 feet max, running along a sandy coral ridge. On a good day this can be one of the most beautiful shallow reef dives in the area, punctuated by Caribbean heart corals of every color, nearly all of them robust & good-sized.
• Grouper City: A way-fun drift dive along a 50-70 foot wall with many of these comical, bulky fish hulking by the wall day after day, looking for diver handouts. You can pet these gentle behemoths, just don't place your fingers too closely to their powerful mouths. Fingers look a lot like edible tidbits when you have a brain the size of a tangerine. Your Blackbird Caye Resort divemasters will remind you not to give these Caribbean groupers a reason to munch digits.
• Coco Point: Drift dive along lush & colorful coralheads at about 60-80 feet. There’s an extremely cool steep dropoff here with a wealth of garden eels lurking down in patches of sand at 30-50 feet.
• Blackbird’s Cut: Medium dive (20-70 feet) which slants across the varied reef zones, from the lagoon to the drop-off, giving you a nice broad view of underwater habitats & their residents, a good primer on Belize diving.
• Soldier’s Caye: Shallow dive (30 feet.) Good first dive. Large variety of corals and fishes, especially pillar corals & moray eels. This is a perfect dive for your first day, to get your sea legs back & get into the mellow groove of Blackbird Caye Resort & its pristine host island. Scuba diving should always be this easy & this colorful. That's the case on Belize dive vacations, guys. Almost any day on the Belize Barrier Reef -- it is !
• Oasis: This can be a somewhat deeper dive (60-120 feet) You'll enjoy large black corals and sponges growing from a vertical clif, up to sandy stretch with coral patch communities. Another Caribbean diving gem & a Belize Barrier Reef classic.
• Turtle Ridge: Medium-depth dive (maximum 70 feet) This dive is easily navigated along coral ridges running from 30 feet to 65 feet. Excellent night, day, or twilight dives are easily managed here.
• Coliseum: This is an intriguing yet relaxing shallow 20-60 foot dive. Tall towers of boulder corals form protected pathways down to the wall. Lots of little dwellings for fish everywhere, making this another Belize diving classic.
• Stingray Motel: Shallow dive (35-60 feet). Large patch of sand freqented by resting southern stingrays, eagle rays & some beautiful specimens of Hawksbill turtles. These turtles are primo. This is one of the more popular Blackbird Caye Resort classics, & one that Belize divemasters tend to favor as well.
• The Crabwalk: Deep dive (maximum 130 feet) Channel-clinging crabs inhabit the many interesting little holes in this wall, while schools of horse-eyed jacks mill around this site. Our Belize dive vacations offer challenges for even the most experienced scuba divers.
• The Elbow: A deep or medium dive. Great place to see the big pelagics. Some ardent divers go to Belize just to relish repeat visits to this classic dive site. The live-aboards can’t do it; no place to anchor right nearby. The Blue Planet Divers, dive shop for Blackbird Caye Resort, can operate drift diving here quite beautifully, & safely. This is one splendid Belize diving adventure!
• Calabash Cut: Medium dive (40-80 feet). Here you'll be amazed by the spectacular tube & barrel-type sponges, plus vividly-hued rope corals & healthy hulking encrusting sponges, of the kind only the Caribbean can dish out.
• Little Calabash: Heart-starting wall drop at 60 feet. You’ll be treated to an overhang with healthy black corals, festooned with tons of tube and barrel sponges. Some pretty chunky Caribbean loggerhead turtles are regular visitors here & they have been known to cut a few humorous swimming antics for your viewing pleasure.
• Chinaman's Wall: Medium dive (30-100 feet). The rim along the wall is packed with hard and soft corals. A good dive to spy little shrimp & wrasses operate their cleaning stations for larger fish. This is an old, established Caribbean dive site & it was named well before the Age of Political Correctness, so please forgive the inadvertent clumsiness of the "non-'90s" name. Blackbird Caye Resort maintains complete respect for all races & cultures, as do we at U.S. Dive Travel. This is just an old dive-site name, a Belize diving mainstay, not a political treatise, so no worries mates.
• West Side Story: Medium dive (30-80 feet). Here you’ll find no monster walls, only gently sloping reef, with plenty of the ever-rugged mangroves sinking their tough stalks down in the shallows. This dive is super-typical of scores of smaller caye dives along the Belize Barrier Reef. So to lift a line from Bernstein, you might find Sharks, but never Jets on our Belize dive vacations!
• Long Caye Wall: Medium dive 20-80 feet.) The wall starts at 25 feet & soon thereafter treats you to scads of brightly-tinted soft corals & sponges. You will also find tunicates, an occasional large grouper, plenty of sea slugs & some days a cloud of hefty jacks will roll on through & get your adrenaline flowing, as they blot out the sunshine overhead for a few exciting seconds. The scuba diving action in Belize never seems to quit !
• Coral Canyon: Shallow 35-foot dive, which explores the buttresses of the fore-reef. You’ll see huge coral formations inhabited by fishes, crabs, lobster, and the occasional school of tarpon. This is another venerable Belize diving classic at Blackbird Caye Resort, & the Belize Barrier Reef -- not to be missed.

All prices for Belize scuba diving & Belize snorkeling packages listed here are subject to possible change in this steadily evolving travel market. Lodging & diving prices are traditionally stable, while air prices can fluctuate daily. Until air tickets are issued, all airlines reserve the right to change airfares without notice -- an industry standard. We at U.S. Dive Travel will price-protect you to the utmost of our professional ability; & that has been our pledge for one decade now. Our tropical vacation experts normally secure wholesale discount air tickets for our clients who book early enough to secure limited seats in the best price categories. Remember please, the federal government has deregulated airlines, so only they control their pricing -- not any travel professionals. WE can hold the line on Belize scuba diving & Belize snorkeling packages, & when you book early enough we secure wholesale air tickets.

Unless specifically noted, these above Belize scuba diving & Belize snorkeling packages show prices for only the land-based portion of the dive resorts, in most cases reflecting double-occupancy rooms. At many Belize dive resorts, there will be no triple-occupancy rooms offered. Some exceptions will be noted. International & commuter "island-hopper" airfares are always extra above these land costs. Nominal service fees are also extra for air tickets & the vessel + side tour components. The baseline tariffs for all clients on our Belize dive vacations start at $55 per person for the land portion + $35 pp for the air tickets. Late-booking clients on all our Belize scuba diving & Belize snorkeling packages may receive slightly higher tariffs on the lodging + diving at many of our dive resorts. Solo clients on most of our Belize scuba diving & Belize snorkeling packages will always pay a single supplement to secure a private room -- normally 30% more.

For all our Belize scuba diving & Belize snorkeling packages the preferred payment mode for dive resorts & side tours is by cashier's check or wire transfer in U.S. dollars. All clients living outside the USA or Canada will need to pay for their dive vacations via direct wire transfer in U.S. dollars. No personal checks will be accepted for the land portion of any Belize diving vacation reservation. Thank you for your gracious understanding. Our service level is the highest & our prices the lowest in this industry, & thus we need to preserve a reasonable margin. For published-fare air ticket bookings, USDT always accepts Visa & Mastercard for all our Belize dive vacations.

Remember, all tropical vacation clients on these Belize diving vacations will be asked by local officials overseas, upon departing the airport on your final day, to pay a nominal government departure tax, usually between USD $40 - $50 per client. USDT cannot collect this tax beforehand, so you simply pay it down there, in your host country. Be sure to stash away a little cash for this final moment at the airport, so you'll get your exit visa stamped quickly with no fuss; & away you go. Best of luck with your Belize diving plans. We hope your Belize scuba diving vacation is a safe & satisfying adventure. Blessings & best wishes with ALL your Belize scuba vacations.

Best fishes too!

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John Hessburg, General Manager
Susan Hessburg, Operations Manager
Founding Partners, U.S. Dive Travel Network.