Originally Posted by
Exec_Plat
^ Funny, I had Lizard comparisons in my mind when I posted above.... we stayed there in 2015.
On the narrow issue of scuba diving, I could see Lizard being wanting compared to Belize. On Lizard it is a 'captive' dive operation, with a pretty narrow focus. With Cayo they run you with one of the dive operators who cater to a broader clientele, perhaps a more hard core focus.
However, if you want to snorkel, explore beaches, etc, Lizard blew away Cayo in that it was DIY-able. No need to take a tour with a big boat..take out a boat, a picnic, and off you go. (Warming/bleaching might change this going forward, from what I hear.)
While the food at Cayo was spectacular, Lizard was a step up- IMO.
We'd like to go back to both....
I don't agree completely, but we do have mutual agreement in some arenas. I absolutely agree that snorkeling off Lizard would have been wonderful. But so would snorkeling off Ambergis Cay, but not off Cayo Espanto itself. The sandfleas would preclude snorkeling around Cayo Espanto for sure.
To help, here are my TripAdvisor reviews for both Cayo Espanto and Lizard Island:
Cayo Espanto (Sept 2006):
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...ize_Cayes.html
Lizard Island (May 2007):
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...ueensland.html
Obviously, our stays were quite some time ago, so things can change. But Cayo Espanto was definitely better with food/beverage than Lizard Island for our stays.
The diving was wonderful at Lizard...but it was superior in our estimation for Belize (not something specific to Cayo Espanto, as you could stay for much less on Ambergis Cay!). The fact that Lizard alternated 1 and 2 dive days was annoying; there was no such limit in Belize. The fact that Lizard always started at Cod Hole on 2 dive days was very frustrating; there was no repeating at all in Belize. The diving costs at Lizard truly were outrageous; the costs in Belize were pretty reasonable. Cod Hole and Shark Alley near Lizard were wonderful dives...but Shark Alley off the Ambergis Cay was incredible, not to mention the Blue Hole, Lighthouse Reef, and other truly memorable dives we made daily in Belize. Our night dive off Ambergis Cay with thousands of stingrays was on the same day that Steve Irwin had been killed by a stingray, so it was a particularly memorable and eerie dive.
We loved the Pavilion at Lizard, its top accommodation. The Cayo Espanto accommodations are nice, too, but more rustic in ambience and style. We enjoyed both, actually. Cayo Espanto is far smaller and more intimate. The diving was much better and more reasonably priced at Cayo Espanto for us, the food and beverage was incredibly good and much better at Cayo Espanto. So for us, we would return to Cayo Espanto. We wouldn't return to Lizard.