We decided not to skip the next destination, against many people’s advice. ‘Belize is too expensive for what it has to offer’, they said. But being a passionate Scuba Diver and stubborn on top of that, we went anyways. We simply couldn’t resist, and there was no way that my traveller soul would have ever rested in peace without having experienced one of the highlights of that place: diving the Blue Hole of Belize. To be fair, it is an extremely expensive country compared to its neighbours. You spend about double on most things. Coming from Mexico, it was sometimes a bit painful to have such a brutal increase. Here are our tips to help you turn your trip into an unforgettable memory.

One of the highlights of our dive trip: Lunch on a deserted island close to the Blue Hole of Belize — **Beautiful spot to have a break between your dives…**

Where to stay when diving the ‘Blue Hole’ of Belize

We opted for Caye Caulker because the larger island, Caye Ambergris, sounded too crowded, touristy and expensive for our taste. If you compare the costs of the dive trips, there actually is not a big difference between islands. Both Caye Ambergris and Caulker offer day-trips to the ‘Blue Hole’ for similar deals. Caye Caulker is a bit more laid back than it’s bigger sister Ambergris. There are no cars on the island, people sell their arts and handicrafts on the street, you hear music but you can also enjoy peaceful tranquility if you stay away from the small town centre.

Working on my laptop with ocean view on Belize's Caye Caulker — **Enjoying a cup of coffee in one of the island’s restaurants…**

There are not many budget accommodation options on the island: Yumas House Belize, Dirty Mcnasty’s Hostel and the Blue Wave Guesthouse. But these few options are likely to be booked. When we arrived, the hostels were all full and we had to stay in one of the mid-range hotels. Ouch! So, make sure you do your research well before your trip… Once you’ve decided to go, it’s easy to not regret it, either way it’s a fantastic island and connecting it with your dive at the Great Blue Hole will make it one trip you’ll never forget.

Choosing a Dive Company for your Trip to the Great Blue Hole of Belize

How to choose the right dive company for diving at the Blue Hole in Belize — **‘Frenchie’s’ is a locally run business with a great crew and equipment.**

When you walk the streets of Caye Caulker, you get the impression that there are a LOT of dive companies on the island. But actually there are only three dive shops that take you onto a Day-trip to the ‘Blue Hole’: Belize Diving Services, Frenchie’s Diving Services and Big Fish Dive Centre. All the other small shops that try to sell you their spots, refer you later on to one of these three companies. So, if you don’t want pay a commission on top of the regular price and see directly who you are going with, go straight to one of the above.

It all starts with a beautiful sunrise…

Our day trip to the Blue Hole started with a beautiful sunrise — You will be rewarded for getting up at 5am…

Yes, it is painful and really way too early for being on a paradise island in holiday mood. But right from the start, your efforts will pay off. We met at 5:30am at Frenchie’s Dive shop in order to get ready to hop on the boat. They gave us a light breakfast and coffee to wake up and had us double-check our gear that we tried on the day before. At 6am we were on the ocean towards the Blue Hole. It is around 110km away on the Lighthouse Reef Atoll, which means a 2 hour boat ride from Caye Caulker. Enough time to enjoy the view and get even more excited for the upcoming adventure.

Morning ride to the Blue Hole with the captain on our speed boat — ***Our Captain was smart enough to cover himself up against the wind of our speed boat…***

The first Dive at the Blue Hole

I lost my underwater camera back on my dive trip in Cancun. So, poor us, we’ll have the duty to memorise the underwater world till the end of our days. To break it down, here is how the dive at the Blue Hole was: it is a deep dive where we went down to 40 metres. Dropping into the deep while there is nothing but darkness below you is definitely one of the best parts of this dive. Once you hit 40 metres, you’re level with caves and stalagmites on your left. To your right, you see dark blue and sometimes a shark swimming past. It’s an incredible feeling to imagine that you are inside an almost perfect circular cave with 124 metres of depth and a diameter of 305 metres.

Diving the Big Hole of Belize part one — ***Exhausted and a bit tired, but absolutely happy after our first dive in the Blue Hole.***

Quickly after that amazing 35-minute dive, the captain took us to a small island about 20 minutes from the Blue Hole. The people on the boat who did not go diving and just came to go snorkelling got off the boat and waited while we went on our second dive at the ‘Half Moon Wall’. This dive and also the third dive at the ‘Aquarium’ are very different to the first one at the Blue Hole. We saw a lot more fish and coral life on these last two dives, but compared with the Blue Hole they are just ‘normal’ dives you could find in other places of the world. Not that I did not like them, as I actually prefer coral reefs over caves and love seeing fish/turtles/sharks etc but I am glad to see what it’s like to dive in the Blue Hole.

Lunch break during the dive trip to the Blue Hole of Belize — **Arriving in paradise…**

With only 12 people on board and a very laid-back crew, we had a great time. But the setting they chose for our lunch break helped to give this day-trip a five star rating (if I could give one). Spending our surface time between dive number two and three on a little island close to the Lighthouse Atoll was the perfect combination of that magical dive in the Blue Hole. Here are some pictures that speak for themselves…

Dolphins surprised us on our way back to Caye Caulker

Sometimes life is full of surprises and gives you something great and unexpected just when you thought it couldn’t get any better. I was dozing away after three exciting dives and being softly rocked by the boat, when I heard the captain scream: DOLPHINS!!! Everyone jumped up and it’s the classical reaction that all want to see what’s on the side of the boat where everyone is staring. It’s funny that gravity was with us in that moment, but I can’t blame my fellow passengers, it was really amazing to be greeted by at 50 dolphins who were jumping joyfully out of the water next to us…A perfect end to a perfect day!!! 😀

Have you been diving at the Great Blue Hole? What do you think, is it worth going??? Thanks ahead for sharing, liking and your comments!

Here is how to live your dream

A cheeky headline, huh?! I know! But you must admit that this is probably true for almost everything in life. At least, I had that feeling over the past few years before I started my digital nomad life. I found taking action to be key if you want things to happen and live a happy life. So, when I set off in 2011 to discover the world, I eventually found my passion in life: travelling. But moreover, I realised that the freedom to go wherever I wanted WHENEVER I wanted became my big obsession. This led to a chain of actions that I took which made it possible for me to still be on the road today – after more than 6 years! Check out my post on how to earn a little extra as a digital nomad, and now, sit back and get inspired if you need that last push to finally start to live your dream too.

Why should you live your dream too?

When I was in elementary school, my parents were asked to go see my teacher one day. At the age of 9, I refused to copy the specific technique my teacher showed us in art class. According to mini-me, there was a better way of holding the brush in order to get more beautiful sprinkles. He didn’t like that response and complained about our conversation with my mum. I remember her proud face when she came back home from that meeting with my teacher. She told me that he was not amused by her response either when she said that ‘Julia has her own way of doing things, always has and always will’. My mum was right back then…it’s the one characteristic that seems to be consistent throughout my life so far.

Living the dream: Dinner in a park in Australia 2014 — **Who needs a dining room if you can have a picknick by the ocean!?**

After quitting my job in 2011 and when I had sold almost all my belongings that wouldn’t fit into my backpack, I remembered that day back in art class. No one really thought it was a great idea that I took a break from my so well-established career at the age of 28. In fact, I left one month before I turned 29, which meant that I had only one year left before the magic number 30 would bring the big changes to my life that everyone was talking about. Well, I guess it’s true the 30ies have brought big changes to my life. But I can clearly say that they were for the better. For people who stay in one place their whole lives, it’s hard to understand that age doesn’t need to be a bad thing.

Meeting a hedgehog on a highway in Australia... never forget to live your dream! — **I still get excited about the small things in life…**

To be fair, ever since I had crossed that magic border of my 30’s, I must admit that I got more and more excited when I saw little babies…perhaps the only difference for me is that I began to imagine how this little mini-me would be most comfortable on top of my backpack! Check out my post on how my life has changed since I have become a mother.

Anyways, I had mixed feelings when I said goodbye to start my journey in 2011. No, it was actually sheer panic when I set off and didn’t know what to expect. At the same time, I felt that it was the right thing to do. Somehow, I felt that I was starting a completely new chapter in my life. It was the excitement of leaving everything behind and facing a whole new unknown world. My parents (again) were the least surprised when they learned about my new plans. Perhaps they were not amused about the idea of their daughter travelling around the world by herself, but hey, they kind of always have known that they can’t expect me to NOT do it my way ☺

So, I left with the plan to return 6 months later, but I never did…

Pictures say much more than words. So here is a list of reasons why I am utterly happy about my decision to live the way I want to and why you should contemplate doing so too… Take it with a grain of salt though, I had a lot of fun to put this list together! Perhaps too much!

WHY YOU SHOULD BE TRAVELLING AND LIVING YOUR DREAM TOO:

1. You get to meet really interesting people…
  
  Superman on Kao San Road for New Year’s Eve 2012/13
2. You start thinking in other dimensions…
  No, that is not an optical illusion (his name was Walley and he was famous for being as curious as the divers at the Great Barrier Reef…)
3. You get to hang out in pretty nice places…
  On Bali’s East coast for a Visa Run before returning to Australia
4. You’ll leaver your comfort zone to discover new places…
  
  Me, a bit scared to go in there all on my own… but at least I had a fancy helmet on!
5. …then again you find rocks to lean on…
  Western Australia…it was hot!
6. You’ll become a lot stronger from time to time…
  Unfortunately, it was closed that day… but still impressive to see the Twin Towers in KL from below!
7. …probably because you get to eat your favourite food whenever you want to…
  Mmmmm…Padthai for my belly!
8. …or maybe because you get to kiss magic snakes…
  I look a lot more comfortable than I felt in that moment…I have to admit 🙂
9. And finally you realise that you can actually live your dream if you dare to!!!
  I was never sooooooooo pumped with adrenaline like that day! Even days after that jump (2012 in New Zealand over Lake Tapo), I still had a huge smile on my face!

Summary

Am I doing it right? I don’t know, honestly. But I do know that you can live your dream eventually if you stop waiting! With this blog, I not only want to share my experiences with you but I also want to show that there is not only ONE way to live your life. Because when I started to make my plans, I was fighting against conventional thinking patterns, prejudice and other people’s opinions.

Just do it:
Smile. Jump. And start to live your dream.

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Did you like this post? What are your thoughts on this topic? Are you already living your dream? Let me know in the comments below!

NOT DONE READING YET?

Perhaps you want to get into the nitty-gritty stuff and wonder how to finance a lifestyle filled with travels? Make sure to check out both of my posts on Let’s talk money, part 1 and part 2!

Or simply enjoy our latest post about events in 2018 for like-minded people who are already living the digital nomad lifestyle.