Lighthouse Reef & Great Blue Hole - Belize

Lighthouse Reef is the outermost of Belize's three atolls, about 70 km from Belize City. Near its centre lies the Great Blue Hole, a circular marine sinkhole roughly 300 m across and over 120 m deep - a flooded cave whose roof collapsed during the Ice Age ages - with huge stalactites on the ledges at about 40 m. At the southeast corner of the atoll the Half Moon Caye Natural Monument protects a 41-acre caye with a red-footed booby colony and a famous reef wall, and further west the Long Caye Aquarium is a popular wall dive. The Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye are natural monuments within the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System UNESCO World Heritage Site, co-managed by the Belize Audubon Society; non-Belizean visitors pay a daily fee for each monument. Most divers come on a full-day trip from Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, Hopkins or Placencia (3-4 hours each way) or stay on the atoll itself.

Facts

Best season: Dry season, roughly February-May; hurricane season about August-October
Water temperature: About 27-29 C all year
Getting there: Day boats from Ambergris Caye (about 2.5 h each way), Hopkins, Placencia; or stay on Long Caye / Northern Caye on the atoll
Park fees (non-Belizean): Blue Hole Natural Monument BZ$60/day, Half Moon Caye Natural Monument BZ$20/day (Belize Audubon Society); operators quote about US$40 in cash for a day trip covering both
Blue Hole dive: A deep dive to about 40 m / 130 ft at the limit of recreational tables; operators ask for Advanced Open Water or experience (Splash: 30+ dives), medical help is hours away
Marine life: Reef sharks and occasional great hammerhead, lemon and bull sharks at the Blue Hole; eagle rays, turtles, groupers and tarpon on the walls

Season

Best months: Feb, Mar, Apr, May
Acceptable: Nov, Dec, Jan, Jun, Jul
Poor: Aug, Sep, Oct
Water temperature: 27–29 °C

The drier season (roughly late November to May, best February-May) gives the best visibility and calmest seas; the hurricane season runs about August to October (poorer visibility, choppier water). Water stays warm all year (about 27-29 C).

Dive sites (6)

Half Moon Caye Natural Monument

Chain Wall – 12–30 m, intermediate
Half Moon Caye Wall – 13–30 m, intermediate
Lighthouse Wall – 12–30 m, intermediate
Tarpon Caves – 9–40 m, intermediate

Great Blue Hole

Great Blue Hole – 0–40 m, advanced

Long Caye & west wall

Long Caye Aquarium – 4–40 m, intermediate

Operators (5)

Itza Resort (Long Caye) – resort, Long Caye, Lighthouse Reef Atoll
Hamanasi Adventure & Dive Resort – resort, Hopkins/Sittee River Road, Hopkins Village, Stann Creek
Splash Dive Center – dive centre, Placencia Peninsula, Belize
Ambergris Divers – dive centre, Over the water off Black Coral Street / Barrier Reef Drive, San Pedro, Ambergris Caye
White Sands Dive Shop – dive centre, 6.5 miles north of San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye

Routes (3)

Site positions come from official mooring lists, atlas data and operator descriptions and are for orientation only - never for navigation; where a position is estimated this is marked. Belize's protected areas charge fees and have rules (no touching, no taking, licensed guides/boats); dive with a licensed operator and within your training.