Belize: Ambergris Caye by air

We are going to be in Belize for our first time there (terminal is the Belize City dock). I've been researching snorkel tours and, given that the tender requirement will seriously shorten our day, thought we might maximize our time and enjoyment if we did an excursion with a flight to Ambergris Caye on San Pedro Island.

There seem to be a few companies that offer such an excursion, which include a round trip flight, snorkel guide, gear, and boat transportation to Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley. So far, I've found the following companies: Exotic Eco Adventures, Eco Tours Belize, ShoreExcursioneer, Belize Specialists. I think the latter 2 are brokers.

If you have done this tour, we would appreciate your input!

I know we have to allow time to tender to the terminal and then taxi to the airport.

- Am I missing anything in assuming that this would be a timesaving adventure with a bonus aerial view of the reef, and going to a less crowded caye?

- Any company you'd recommend?

- Will they be flexible about flight times back to the dock, if we want to stay on the island for lunch etc. after snorkelling? (obviously not too late for the tender back).

Thanks for any guidance!

Here is what I posted on another thread about this:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=46117169#post46117169

We finished with plenty of time to eat lunch and wander around if you like. In our case we were able to get on the earlier flight back, so we just had some ice cream and left. There was no tender line and we were back on board eating lunch by 3pm. It is a very carefully scheduled day so you get back for your tender in plenty of time. However, it is not like you can just show up at the airport and get a ticket whenever you want. The planes are small (12 people or so) and with several cruise ships in port they were booked up.

We used Eco Tours Belize and were very happy with them. We booked it independently and they took us door-to-door. Super easy.

Thanks very much! Lots of good information you've provided. Ours will be the only ship in port so may not be too bad for crowds. And as you said, it is such a special area to see snorkeling, that it would be a shame to miss going there when we are so close!

look up Goff's key.