In February, I went snorkeling and diving in Caye Caulker, Belize. I had one goal, find a dive spot in Belize as good as the Galapagos. Though Belize could not compare, snorkeling and diving in Caye Caulker is definitely worth your time. Here’s everything I learned about snorkeling and diving in Caye Caulker.
- Do you need to book snorkeling and diving in Caye Caulker in advance?
- Which are the best snorkeling and diving schools in Caye Caulker?
- Where is the best dive site in Caye Caulker?
- Will you see manatees in Caye Caulker?
- What kind of wildlife will you see in Caye Caulker?
- Is diving at the Blue Hole worth it?
- How to prepare for snorkeling or diving in Caye Caulker
Do you need to book snorkeling and diving in Caye Caulker in advance?
You don’t need to book your diving in Caye Caulker in advance. We spent a lot of time researching and trying to find the most reputable diving schools. We should have stopped there. As you may already know Caye Caulker is the ‘go slow’ island. And in that mentality, answering emails or Whatsapp messages isn’t exactly their forte.
Instead, do as the locals would and just check out the diving shops in Caye Caulker once you get there. The schedule is set week to week and big signs are outside every dive shop telling you where they’ll be going and how many spots are left for the next few days. If you have more than 2 days in Caye Caulker, rest assured you’ll find a boat.
Snorkeling is a little different. Caveman Snorkeling Tours are very popular and they do recommend booking your trip 1-2 months in advance. Don’t worry if you can’t commit though, there are plenty of other snorkel companies on the island.
Which are the best snorkeling and diving schools in Caye Caulker?
Diving school
Ok, ok, some of us are still Type A and need to do our research. We went diving in Caye Caulker with Sunrise Scuba Snorkeling and Tours. We did a full day dive trip with the dive masters and their team. The sites we visited were Esmerelda and Tackle Box. On the day we were set to head out, the waters were rough. The waves were nearly 2 meters high and yes, I was terrified on the little dive boat. Luckily, the dive masters gave us a great briefing, went over all the safety tips and assured us everything would be fine. I’m so glad we still went out – underwater it was magical as always. You can definitely trust Sunrise Scuba Snorkeling and Tours.
Snorkeling tour
For snorkeling in Caye Caulker, we booked our trip with Caveman Snorkeling Tours. I found the staff and owner of Caveman Snorkeling Tours to be incredibly friendly. This tour company is super popular, and probably the most well known on the island, for good reason. Caveman Snorkeling Tours had 6 or 7 boats departing on the day we were there. We also did the full day tour, which included 5 stops. I did enjoy this tour but I want you to be aware that they do feed the nurse sharks to get them to come closer to the boat. I didn’t love this part of the trip personally, as I prefer to see animals in their natural habitat. That said, the visit to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve was the best part of my experience in Caye Caulker.
Where is the best dive site in Caye Caulker?
Without a doubt it has to be the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. The Hol Chan Marine Reserve is a highly protected area off the coast of Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye. It’s home to beautiful coral reefs, seagrass, mangrove forests and diverse marine life. If you choose one place to snorkel or dive in Caye Caulker, choose Hol Chan Marine Reserve.
The word ‘Hol Chan’ is Mayan for ‘little channel’. This little channel is a natural break in the reef that allows marine life to pass freely from the protected inner area to the open ocean.
Visiting the Hol Chan Marine Reserve felt like being part of Finding Nemo. The colorful corals, tropical fish and marine life were some of the most vibrant I’ve seen. This is how all coral reefs should look. It’s quite impressive that the reserve has only been protected since the late 80s. It gives me hope for the future of our reefs.
The number of divers and snorkelers per day is limited and all visitors must pay an entrance fee with a timed entry slot. If you book a snorkeling or diving trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve they’ll arrange all this for you.
Will you see manatees in Caye Caulker, Belize?
Short answer, maybe. We tried to see manatees on two occasions. On our snorkeling trip we were dolphin watching when we saw a big blob pass under the boat. It was a manatee! We tried to get a closer look but he was spooked. It seems to be a real luck of the draw. I hope you’re lucky.
What kind of wildlife will you see on your dives?
Although we only kinda saw a manatee, we saw a lot of other wildlife. On our dive trip we saw a sea turtle, nurse sharks, reef sharks, conchs, barracudas and many types of fish.
On the snorkeling trip, we made friends with huge tarpon fish who ate bait from our hands, dolphins, tropical fish, barracudas, groupers, Jacks, snappers, spotted eagle rays, sting rays, moray eels, lobsters, frigate birds (pictured below) and all sorts of other creatures during our visit to Hol Chan Marine Reserve.
Is diving at the Blue Hole worth it?
From what we were told, no. Diving at the Blue Hole is not all it’s cracked up to be. First, the Blue Hole is a long boat ride away from Caye Caulker – about 2 hours. And whilst the Blue Hole is incredible from an airplane, trust me, I saw it, it’s not so impressive from the water. There is little marine life, and most diving schools in Caye Caulker recommend closer waters. If you are going to plan just one snorkel or dive in Caye Caulker, go to Hol Chan Marine Reserve instead.
How to prepare for snorkeling or diving in Caye Caulker
My best advice is to buy reef safe sunscreen. This is not only for your snorkeling and diving trips, but any time you are at the beach. For more about how to check if your sunscreen is really safe or not, visit this Reef Safe Sunscreen Guide. These are my favorite reef safe brands that you can get on Amazon.
For snorkeling, bring sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, a towel, a reusable water bottle and some cash to tip your guides. That’s usually all you’ll need. Pack light and leave anything that you don’t think you’ll need (like a change of clothes) on shore. Ask the guides if you have questions, they do this every day!
For diving, they’ll usually tell you exactly what you need. On our trip, we made a pitstop in Ambergris Caye between dives. The water was rough and being on land for a while was more than welcome. Plus, we got to explore San Pedro, Ambergris Caye for free. With the stop, we did bring a change of clothes and shoes onboard.
That’s all you need to know. For more tips for your time in Belize, start here.
