Belize Barrier Reef 7-Stop Snorkelling Tour Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker and Playa Asuncion: the start of the day

Caye Caulker is the small, car-free island off the coast of Belize where golf carts and bicycles replace traffic and the sandy streets lead to the water on every side. Playa Asuncion, on the eastern shore of the village, is where you meet at 09:00: the guide fits your mask, snorkel and fins, runs through the safety rules and explains what to look for at each stop before everyone boards the speedboat.

From the beach the reef is a short ride away, because the Belize Barrier Reef runs only a few kilometres east of the island. Things to do in Caye Caulker mostly revolve around that water, and the seven-stop trip is the way to see the most of it in a single day without diving qualifications. Groups are kept to 4 to 10 people, so every stop is unhurried.

The Belize Barrier Reef

The Belize Barrier Reef is the largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere and part of the Mesoamerican Reef that stretches along the coast of Central America. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996 for its coral formations, mangrove cayes and the marine life they support, from turtles and manatees to hundreds of species of fish. The speedboat follows the inner lagoon side of the reef, where the water is calm and shallow enough for snorkelling.

Belize Barrier Reef snorkelling works well for beginners because the reef crest shelters the lagoon from the open Caribbean swell, and the guide is in the water at every stop. Visibility is often more than twenty metres on calm mornings, and each of the seven stops shows a different habitat: coral walls, sand channels, seagrass and wrecks.

Hol Chan Marine Reserve

Hol Chan, meaning 'little channel' in the Maya language, is a natural cut through the reef off the southern tip of Ambergris Caye. It became Belize's first marine reserve in 1987, and decades of protection have left the coral gardens on either side of the channel dense with elkhorn and brain coral, sea fans and sponges. Grouper, snapper, parrotfish, angelfish and barracuda crowd the channel, and green moray eels hide in the ledges.

A Hol Chan Marine Reserve snorkel is the centrepiece of the morning. The guide leads the group along the channel edge, pointing out the fish and keeping everyone over the deeper water away from the coral. Reserve fees are included in the trip, and the stop lasts around 45 minutes, long enough to drift the length of the channel twice.

Shark Ray Alley

Shark Ray Alley lies within the Hol Chan reserve, a shallow sand-bottom area where fishermen once cleaned their catch and nurse sharks and southern stingrays learned to gather. The sharks are placid bottom-feeders up to three metres long, and the rays glide in slow circles beneath the boat; both are harmless to swimmers who keep their hands to themselves and follow the guide.

Snorkelling here is the thrill of the day for most guests, with the animals often within arm's length in two or three metres of clear water. The Shark Ray Alley tour stop is also where the guide captures most of the underwater photos and videos that you receive after the trip, so there is no need to bring a camera into the water.

Seagrass beds: turtles and manatees

Between the reef stops the boat crosses the seagrass meadows of the lagoon, the feeding grounds of green turtles, hawksbill turtles and the West Indian manatee, the slow-moving sea mammal that Belize protects in one of the largest remaining populations in the world. The guide cuts the engine and the group floats quietly over the grass, watching for the turtles rising to breathe and for the grey shapes of manatees grazing below.

Swimming with turtles in Belize is a matter of patience and calm, and sightings cannot be guaranteed with wild animals, but the seagrass stop is where the group most often finds them. The guide explains the rules: no touching, no chasing and no flash, so the animals stay relaxed around the boats that visit daily.

The shipwreck, coral gardens and seahorse stops

After lunch and soft drinks on board at around midday, the afternoon brings three more stops. The first is a shipwreck resting in shallow water, its hull now colonised by coral and schooling fish; the second is a set of coral gardens where more turtles are often found; and the final two bonus stops are at sheltered spots along the mangrove edge where the guide searches the roots and sea fans for seahorses.

The trip returns to Caye Caulker at about 15:00, which leaves time to watch the sunset from the Split, the channel that divides the island. For a Belize snorkel trip with lunch, this is the fullest route offered from the island, and the included photos and videos mean you leave with proof of everything you saw.