Experience the Blue Hole

Little laid-back Belize hides a bustling underwater world, from coral reefs replete with colourful fish to divers exploring the otherworldly depths of the Blue Hole.

Tracing the coastline in a continuous stripe of coral, a 300km barrier reef provides a habitat for at least 500 species of fish. It's the greatest reef of its kind in the western hemisphere, and when combined with the three huge coral atolls to be found farther offshore it's no wonder that these teeming seas attract divers from all over the world.

Sightings of rays, sharks, turtles, moray eels, grouper, barracuda and king mackerel are common all along the Southern Barrier Reef, while in the atolls beyond, snappers, jacks and spadefish swim in shoals often numbering in the thousands.

As if that wasn't enough, experienced divers can also explore the Blue Hole, a perfectly circular cave plunging vertically into the sea bed. Seen from above this cavernous sinkhole is a dark disk in a bright aquamarine ocean, seemingly swallowing the light into its underwater reaches. There are extraordinary underwater stalactites to be seen on the sheer walls, which descend to a depth of 125m, while a number of shark species roam around inside.