Dive Review of Blackbird Resort in
Belize/Turneffe Atoll

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Blackbird Resort: "Excellent Get Away for Divers", Nov, 2021, by Peter Pinkerton, NY, US ( Sr. Reviewer 10 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 11833 has 2 Helpful votes.
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	My husband and I spent 11 nights at Blackbird Caye Resort on Turneffe Atoll, Belize in November. We chose this all-inclusive as it is remote, small, requires staff to be vaccinated, has individual bungalows, and is self-contained. We loved everything about it (except the mosquitoes and sand fleas…more on that later). We flew in to Belize City and spent the night at the Radisson. The next day we cabbed to Old Belize to meet George, the Blackbird Rep. The boat from mainland to the island is only on Wednesday and Saturday so we had to overnight on both ends to make the flights work. The (2 ish hour) boat ride from the mainland to Blackbird was uneventful and a really nice cruise. The day we returned was rainy so the ride was not as enjoyable. We left on a Wednesday so there were only 4 of us which allowed us to take the smaller boat with better cover and faster time. The managers, Francisco and Beatrice, were always available and made sure to check in with guests to see that needs were met. Our bungalow could not have been nicer. Water front, more space than we could use, good air in the bedroom, lovely screened in porch with a hammock and lines for drying, coffee set up with coffee and creamer replenished each day, refrigerator, awesome fluffy towels and bed linens. The rooms were always clean and there were chocolates on the pillow each evening. Water pressure in the shower was really low but we have had that issue on many islands. I do wish they would change from the little plastic bottles of shampoo and soaps to refillable containers to help address the plastic waste issue. Wi Fi is available in the restaurant, office, and bar and is not very strong. It wasn’t an issue for us but would be for some people. No cell phone service. The diving was really good, well organized, and very close to the resort. They have some friendly groupers and nurse sharks who tag along on some dives. We like to shoot macro and both of our guides worked hard to find critters for us. The dive crew were all great and very helpful and friendly! We spent the 1st week with Emmanuel and Captain Elroy. Both were attentive and helpful while letting us explore the reefs slowly. A new group of divers came in on Saturday and Ed put us on a boat with one other couple who also overlapped for the second part of our trip. The Rodney and Leo team were also super helpful. I think I learned some new tidbit on each dive…they are both encyclopedias of knowledge. Rodney taught me how to successfully find my very own toad fish (on my bucket list!) Divers with cameras will appreciate that the dive crew added rinse buckets to accommodate the photographers. That’s something that we often have to deal with at other places. On Tuesdays there is a day trip to the Blue Hole, 2 other dives, and lunch at Half Moon Caye with time to see the Red Footed Boobies and Frigate birds. The day before there is a requirement that everyone do a deep dive in preparation for the Blue Hole depth. And then there is George! He is a treasure. I really don’t have words to describe him. He was the first person we met when we were waiting for the boat and is a wonderful ambassador. George has many card and magic trips, solves any problem no matter how big or small, funny, a great bartender, and a real team player, helping out wherever there is a need. Chef Shannon was the chef when we were there and he was training a new chef. The food was really good, plentiful, varied, and creative. Shannon and his kitchen team went out of their way to meet individual dietary needs and wants. Kurt made sure everything worked well in the dining room and every guest’s needs were met. Sarika and Edwin were super friendly and helpful with wonderful server skills and a fun sense of humor. The common areas and grounds are very clean and well organized. There were people raking and picking up every day. Every single person we had contact with at the resort was friendly and helpful. Always a wave and a smile. We ran into Gilbert one day (he is the man who keeps everything running) and he gave my husband a tour of the generator building. SO friendly and knowledgeable. My construction worker husband really enjoyed the conversation. We took a walk to the airstrip on our last day and stopped to check out the barge full of equipment. Lots of new things planned for the future. Belize has mosquitoes! We were not prepared for the mosquitos that were everywhere and devoured all of us. I wish I had been told up front to carry spray with DEET in my carry on. Natural products do not work. I don’t know if it is always that bad or because we arrived near the end of the rainy season but there was a LOT of complaining going on. The resort fogs regularly and makes spray available in the common areas but we still needed to spray if there was no wind each time we left the bungalow. We had a great stay and would love to go back. It was very hard to transition to wearing shoes and a mask and being connected to the world!
Websites	Blackbird Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Carribbean, Maldives, Australia, Truk Lagoon, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Philippines...and lots of other places!
Closest Airport	Belize City	Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	40-75 Ft/ 12-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Most dives were 60 for 60 but we also did longer dives
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 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	There were no camera facilities but the bungalows were very close to the dive shop and the boats came in between each dive so it wasn't an issue. Boat captains are sensitive to camera handling and making sure there was room in the rinse buckets.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Blackbird Resort in Belize/Turneffe Atoll

Blackbird Resort: "Excellent Get Away for Divers", Nov, 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 Blackbird Resort in
Belize/Turneffe Atoll