glovers reef or tobacco caye?

Hi,

I'm just starting to get some info for my trip to Belize in January. I really want the dessert island experience but on a budget for a few days, somewhere I can do lots of snorkelling and swimming that will be quiet with as few tourists as possible! i have looked at the two places above and both look lovely but i can't decide! any info from anyone who has been to either would be greatly appreciated, also any other places?

Thanks

If you want a deserted island, Tobacco Caye ain't it. It's a little 5-acre island with five or six budget hotels and usually with several dozens staff and tourists.

Glover's Reef Resort may not suit you either, but it's probably more what you're thinking of than Tobacco Caye.

--Lan Sluder

We really love Glover's but it's not a budget place if you only have a few days since the boat trips are only included in the cost if you stay for a week; you'd have to pay an additional $350 for a midweek boat. If you can spare a full week and don't mind the no elec/no running water part, it's great.

Also look at South Water Caye and there are lots of small cayes off Placencia-French Louie Caye, Tarpon Caye, Whipray Caye

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Katie - Are there any budget options in that group I don't know about? My brother-in-law's family stayed at South Water last summer and it was thousands for 4 nights. Nice, though!

she is a travel agent, stacy.

at least she didn't post, "please pm me for more information" as many of them do on here.

Yes, I am in the tourism biz and have walked, paddled, sailed, galloped and driven around most of the country and am only too hapy to share some of what I have experianced with you. The rooms at Pelican are less $ than the cottages and IZE has some good packages. The other places I suggested offer reasonable rates for what they offer.Tobacco Caye would be the least expensive, but its a trade off and not the desserted island experiance the orginal poster asked for. Look at French Louie Caye off Placencia with only two caye cottages, fabulous food, nice snorkeling and you can have the entire caye to yourselves if you prefer.

I had an amazing time on Tobacco Caye but you should realize that the Raggamuffin sailboat 3 day tour stops there multiple times a week, and it is a boat of 5 to 15 people and a lot of rum punch. This is how I got there, and it was a blast, but if you want seclusion this might not be your best option.

I too am looking at Glover's reef and am hoping someone can persuade me that the negative things I've heard are more about expectations than the actual experience. On paper, it looks like heaven to me. I'm looking for as much swimming, diving, kayaking, snorkeling, fishing and solitude as I can find for my girlfriend and our two 18 yr olds. We're all avid outdoors people and don't mind rustic, but are concerned about issues related the owners personality, and also want to know specifically what provisions are recommended for a weeks stay. Any insight is appreciated.

Thanks.

We've gotten along well with the owners and I do think poorly aligned expectations have played a roll in many of the negative cases; don't know if that's the case with all of them, though. We've been twice and are thinking of a 3rd visit for next summer. We've done all of our own cooking except for buying a few loaves of french bread. I've pasted my food notes below.
_________________________

Brought from home:
dehydrated drink mixes including powdered milk (2003 only)
meal starters - dehydrated sauce mixes like alfredo
dehydrated eggs (2003 only)
spices
small grater (2009 only)

Purchased at Reynold's Supermarket in Sittee River Village (2003) or at groceries in Hopkins (2009):
beans
rice
spaghetti noodles
Marie Sharp's Hot Sauce
sugar
weird cheese that doesn't need refrigeration
cooking oil
candles
matches
eggs that we ate while staying in Sittee (2003)
boxed, shelf-stable milk and fruit juice (2009 only)
rum (bought in Hopkins both trips)

Purchased from the produce guy that comes around in Sittee (2003) or at produce stands in Hopkins (2009):
carrots
pineapples
oranges
grapefruit
turnips
avocados
can't remember what else - lots of fruit and vegies

Purchased from Becky on the island:
water
french bread
You can keep fish caught outside the marine reserve or buy fish, whole or fileted or lobster (seasonal)

The propane stoves worked fine for us and we didn't bother with anything that needed ice. There's a variety of pots, pans, plates, silverware, spatulas, etc. in each cabin; we've borrowed from other empty cabins on occasion and returned it before we left. Happy trails!

hopefulist - thanks for the info, it helps a lot. Unfortunately, I just realized that our itinerary will probably prevent us from shopping before we depart to Glover's - we arrive in Belize city at 3:45pm on Sat, and we're still trying to figure out how to get to Sittee river by Sat night! Can you buy anything besides fish, bread and water once you're on the island? Also curious about the huts. It says they will sleep 4 but that seems unlikely to me, and would you recommend over the water or on the beach? Finally, I understand the showers use brackish water - not surprising given the location - but are they at least serviceable for removing saltwater, sun screen and the top layer of crud??

Menboo, you can stay Sat. night in Hopkins and do your shopping. The stores stay open till 9:00pm and have much better selection than Sittee. Take a taxi to Sittee on Sun morning to catch your boat to Glovers. Irregardless whether you stay in Hopkins or Sittee, take a plane (Mayan Island or Tropic) directly from the Belize International to Dangriga and if your flight was on time and you stay in Hopkins, taxi to the bus depot in Dangriga in time to take the 5:15 bus to Hopkins. If you were delayed, take a taxi to Hopkins; or if you opt to stay in Sittee, taxi to Sittee.

Hi again -
You can buy all your meals from Becky et al and not have to shop or cook at all if you want. I agree with deanthecat that you're much better off shelling out for the flights to Dangriga; buses don't really run at night in Belize so you'd need a private shuttle which is likely to cost nearly as much as the flights. The taxi from the Dangriga airport to Hopkins or Sittee will push $50, I think; the bus would be a much cheaper option. There are lots of lodging options in Hopkins (our favorite is the Hopkins Inn) and it's an interesting place; if you have time, check out the Lebeha Drumming Center at the north end of town; for about $10US/pp they'll put on quite a show. There are a few options in Sittee. I haven't been impressed with the look or the reviews of the Glover's Resort place but maybe they've made some changes. There used to be a great place, Toucan Sittee, just around the corner but it's changed hands and is much more expensive now.

Some of the cabins on the beach are big enough to sleep 5 or 6; the one we had in 2003 had the kitchen and a covered eating area on the sand, a 2nd floor with 2 double beds above the kitchen and a porch with hammocks above the eating area, and a loft above the porch with 2 twins. The only over the water cabins I've been in each had 1 double. We liked having more space there on the beach in 2003 but last year they upgraded us to an over the water cabin for the week (the beach cabins were all full our 1st night) and we loved that, too. If sand flies are a problem when you're there you'd have fewer issues over the water, I think. They charge per person, not per cabin, so your kids could have a separate cabin if you want to do it that way. Last summer (you can see it in my photos) our cabin shared a Y-shaped walkway with the one our daughter and her husband had; we cooked all our meals together.

The shower water stinks but it's serviceable. We just let the salt water remove the crud and rinse off the salt with showers a few times. It always feels good to take a real shower after a week out there. :-)

I'm a bit nervous about Glovers after reading some reviews now! but all of the other sugestions seem to be double the price! anyone stayed elsewhere and not paid a fortune? I don't care what the accomodation is like I just want a nice beach and good snorkelling!

Sadly, snorkeling from shore is so limited in Belize that you usually pay a premium for it; Glover's "Resort" and perhaps Tobacco Caye appear to be the only budget exceptions. I would love to find a moderately priced option on the northern atolls or southern cayes. Whipray Caye looks great - my husband is an avid fly fisherman - but they just quoted us more than $3000 for 3 nights for the 2 of us not including airfare from BZE - yikes!

Thanks deanthecat. We'd much rather buy at least a few things before we head out, and it seems if everything goes as planned, we might be able to do that. Do the local air taxis run close to on time?

hopefulist, Thank you so much for all your advice, it has really helped us in making our decision. I can tell that you really like the place and I can also tell that you understand the trade-offs, so I feel very confident going into it. Also, while I'm giving props, let me thank Lan Sluder who saw my original post on Belize Forum and directed me to Thorn Tree and recommended you specifically as a good source of info. He was absolutely right!

Cheers all,

Greg

There are two domestic airlines in Belize and they are pretty much on schedule. However if an international flight is delayed, they can wait for it's arrival and leave later than scheduled rather than leave on time with an empty plane. Most guests who are planning to cook take all their food to Glovers. Hopefulist gave you a good shopping list.

Glad to help - if you enjoy Glover's half as much as we have, you're in for a treat. I've been traveling and haven't kept up with the Belize Forum lately so I'm glad Lan sent you along. He has been an incredible help to us in planning our trips - for all the places we've been it seems our opinions align well with his. Happy trails!