Half Moon Caye Wall
Garden eels on a 6 m sand shelf give way to a wall dropping past 30 m into the abyss, with reef sharks patrolling its edge in gentle currents.
- Advanced
- Wall
- Manta rays
Experienced≤40 m
Great Blue Hole
Dive site in Belize
A deep dive to about 30-40 m among stalactites under the overhangs, watching for nurse, Caribbean reef and blacktip sharks on the ascent.
- Usual dive
- 40 m
- Deepest point
- 40 m
- Level
- Experienced
- Best months
- Mar–Jun
- Entry
- By boat
- Current
- Moderate
Photo: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The story
Jacques Cousteau brought his ship, the Calypso, to the Great Blue Hole in 1971 to chart its depths and declared it one of the top five scuba diving sites in the world. It is part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The dive
A blue hole and cavern dive from a boat. Known for blacktip shark, bull sharks and caribbean reef sharks.
Who it's for
Experienced≤40 mSource: dive-the-world.com
Recommended minimum: Experienced (Deep Specialty, N3).
- DepthThe usual dive goes deeper than lower certifications allow.
- OverheadPart of the dive is under a ceiling, without a direct way up.
Conditions
- Dive type
- Blue hole, Cavern
- Entry
- By boat
- Estimated
- Current
- Moderate
- Estimated
- Environment
- Cavern (daylight visible)
- Water
- Sea water
What you might see
- Blacktip shark
- Bull sharks
- Caribbean reef sharks
- Hammerhead sharks
- Nurse sharks
- Groupers
Season in Belize
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Best months: Mar–Jun.
Source: liveaboard.comWhere is Belize?
The point shows the Belize area, not the exact dive site.
More dives in Belize
Hol Chan Marine Reserve (Hol Chan Cut)
A shallow channel about 9 m deep in a marine reserve, where large groupers, nurse sharks, stingrays and green moray eels can be seen.
- Advanced
- Nurse sharks
Reef
down to 21 m
Black Coral Beauty
Coral gardens of brain corals, sea fans and sponges near Caye Caulker, where stingrays, nurse sharks and sea turtles are common sightings.
- Advanced
- Nurse sharks
Reef
down to 18 m
South Channel
Slow-paced 18 m local reef dive minutes from Caye Caulker, with time to practise buoyancy and explore reef details.
- Open Water
Wall
down to 37 m
The Elbow
Groups of up to 50 eagle rays and occasional hammerheads over dramatic drop-offs on an advanced, strong-current dive at Turneffe.
- Advanced
- Hammerhead sharks
Pelagic
down to 24 m
Gladden Spit
Whale sharks at the snapper spawn around the full moons of April to June, 22 miles off Placencia, on dives typically to 60 ft (18 m).
- Advanced
- Whale sharks
About this page
Values marked “Estimated” come from our original catalogue and are being checked against published sources one by one. Sourced values link to where they come from. Conditions change with the season, the weather and the tide: confirm with a local dive centre before you dive.
Photo credits
- Half Moon Caye, Lighthouse Reef, Belize, anoldent from Asheville, NC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Green sea turtle in Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Belize, Nikdahl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
