I dived in Caye Caulker (over a decade ago, I'm afraid) but I remember it as
an idyllic place. The boat out from Belize City is a wild ride, and the
island itself as close to a Carribean paradise as a bum like me could find.
It's tiny, there were about two roads and two cars, neither of which moved
in the ten days I was there. Beer so-so, lobster cheap and plentiful, and I
ate so much coconut I was put off it for life.

I dived with Frenchy, and had a great time. Incredibly experienced and
knowledgeable, friendly and wise. Hope he's still there. The water's
lovely - dived in a t-shirt - and they had a kind of fish sanctuary where
you could be mobbed by them if you took down a bit of food. Frenchy was from
South America somewhere but spoke English perfectly and had been a
trawlerman in the US. There was another US operation there, which I'm sure
was fine too.

Accomodation varied; but the heat and weather meant almost anything would
do. I stayed in Tom's cabins at the other end of the island from the landing
stage - cheap, primitive, but just the ticket for me - but there were better
things around. The point is, it's tiny, so you'll meet people from all the
other places and get the low-down very quickly. So maybe book into a place
for a night or two, then if you change your mind about where you're staying,
pack up and walk down the street.

An up-to-date traveller's guidebook - Let's Go, for example - will be very
handy. There's enough back-packer traffic for it to be pretty current and I
found them quite accurate. Keep your eyes open (especially if you pass
through Belize City) and have a good time!

Bernard Lyall