Dive Roberts Grove - Dive Locations

The Placencia Peninsula, where the Inn at Robert's Grove is located, is the springboard to some of the most exciting dive sites in the world. The reason for this is that, as the edge of the Barrier Reef comes south along the coast of Belize, it separates itself further and further from the mainland. The result is a broad expanse of coral reef with channels that go down from 90 to 110 feet, but rising abruptly into shoals and cayes, providing many nearby SCUBA locations. At last official count there are a minimum of 20 named dive sites in the southern waters of Belize, off Placencia, bursting with untouched coral and abundant fish life. We are still discovering new sites every day!

The Dive Center makes trips to both the Inner and Outer Reef, each with its special features. Most of our dives are boat dives and divers are accompanied by a certified, insured PADI Dive Master or higher rating.

Diving the Inner Reef
The Inner Reef, or the Lagoon as its called, acts as a home for juvenile aquatic animals. Here divers will find most of the Gorgonians, known in the Caribbean as sea fans, seawips, sea plumes and sea rods as well as the Pederson cleaner shrimp, yellowline Arrow Crab, Giant Hermit Crab and a wide variety of fish such as Spotted Drum (adults and juveniles), Spotted Eagle Ray and Southern Stingray.

The depth range on these inner reef dives is between 60 ft. - 80 ft. Visibility is between 50 ft. - 100 ft. Among the cayes we visit in the Inner Reef are Laughingbird, Moho and Tarpon.

Diving the Outer Reef
The Outer Reef, or the Barrier Reef, is home to some of the most spectacular walls that start from around 40 ft. and drop off to approx. 3000 ft. Here the maximum depth for diving is 100 ft. and is multi level diving. Turtles, Manta Rays, Moray, Eels and Lobsters are just a few of the creatures divers will encounter in the outer reef. Outer reef visibility is around 80 ft. - 120 ft. Diving depth is 80 ft. to maximum 100 ft. Among the cayes visited in the outer reef are the Silk Cayes, Pompion and Ranguana.

Daily 2-tank dive trips start at the Dive Center at 9 am with a comfortable 45 minute to one hour ride, depending on the final destination. The boat ride begins with a spin through the beautiful Placencia Lagoon, where guests have the chance to experience The Red Mangrove, the most well-known mangrove plant in Belize. Also along the way there are opportunities for seeing and even snorkeling with dolphins (Atlantic spotted stenella plagiodon and Bottlenose tursiops truncates), if they are in the mood.

After the first exhilarating dive, we go to one of our beautiful islands for a surface interval (approx. 1 ½ - 2 hours). Here we have a picnic lunch. After lunch we set out for another dive spot and our second dive. Then it's back to the comforts of Roberts Grove at around 3:30 - 4:00 pm, for a Jacuzzi or a cool drink at the poolside bar.

November through March water temperature is 76^o - 79^o F. We recommend full 3mm wetsuit during these months April through October, water temperature is 78^o - 81^o F.

During the months of April through June, southern Belize offers divers and snorkelers the unique opportunity for spotting the large pelagic feeder known as the Whale Shark. When in a playful mood, these gentle and curious creatures will hang around for long periods of time. If you are planning a dive trip with whale sharks in mind, the best time to do so during these months would be three days before the full moon to three days after the last quarter moon (It's during this period that Cubera Snappers spawn, attracting the Whale Sharks). April - June is also spawning season for many other species of fish and mating season for turtles.