One of the most amazing things about scuba diving is the ability to be surrounded by beautiful creatures and corals at every turn, while letting them stay putin their natural habitat.
While many marine aquarists are aquarium owners, there’s nothing like seeing visions ofbeautiful marine life, luscious corals, and beautiful blue-green bodies of water in its natural state.
Although marine tank owners often congregate to talk topics like aquarium maintenance and aquascaping, they also can’t resist boasting about the clownfish they saw while snorkeling on vacation or the corals they encountered while doing a scuba diving course.
That’s where The Reef Tank comes in.This marine world lovingcommunity of 25,000 members do post threads on their forums seeking aquarium advice for their new tank, but they also post photos of their sea adventures and query about crabs they saw while out by the water.
The Reef Tank’s community blog is also in on the trend.Not only do they offer advice for novice reefers, but they also share stories of diving escapades, local marine events, coral expeditions and marine geology treks.
And aside from aquariums and adventures, the blog is now focusing on pertinent marine issues like climate change, marine conservation, and ocean acidification.
Did you see that spread they just did on World Oceans Day on June 2nd? Sounds like something like something the typical scuba diver would totally be into.
Diving Ambergris Caye can be an exhilarating experience when you Dive the islands best dive sites.
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This small article will educate you on what dives you will want to be sure to Dive when you Dive Belize, I will list some of the very best dives and some of my own personal favorites that you should include when you visit and dive the island of Ambergris Caye.
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No matter where you stay on the island (see my other articles) you should be able to dive all the dive sites I list here.
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Ambergris Caye Dive Sites
THE AMIGO’S Barge Can’t really be called a wreck as it is an old flat top barge but its still one of my favorite sites, and fantastic for photography, it is located in 70ft of water in front of Shark Ray Alley. It was sunk by Amigo’s Del Mar, a local dive operator and is named after them.
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As you descend, you are literally surrounded by big groupers, lots and lots of Snappers and GUARANTEED Nurse Sharks. Unlike Shark Ray Alley, where it is only 8ft deep, at the wreck you will be able to get a shark silhouette shot and some great close-ups guaranteed, plus some amazing eye to eye encounters with some big groupers. It’s amazing that this barge has so much abundant marine life and is showing signs of coral growth.
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This is definitely one of Ambergris Caye’s best dives. The Wreck is now located in the marine reserve we ask that you conform to the marine reserve guidelines on all dives conducted in the waters of Belize to preserve and protect our resources for future visitor
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Experience required: Intermediate
Depth: 60-80ft
Location: South Ambergris Caye
Type of Dive: Boat
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HOLCHANMARINERESERVE EAGLERAYCANYONS
This site although not new has recently become known for regular sightings of spotted Eagle Rays. I recently dove this spot with some friends from Rodales Magazine. Steve, one of the dive masters, was guiding the dive and during his briefing guaranteed that we were going to see Eagle Rays, and was quite adamant about it. I asked him if he was sure because we now had some excited divers aboard who were expecting to see Eagle Rays and they would be disappointed if they didn’t. Steve assured me and down we went, sure enough after 15 minutes we saw our first 3 Eagle Rays, 5 minutes later we saw an additional 5 a lot closer this time. In addition to the Eagle Rays, lots of coral formations, spur and groove formation and the usual congregation of juveniles.
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This is a Marine Reserve so nothing may be touched or taken, we ask that you are careful with your fins and avoid accidentally touching the reef.
Another great site, this is a cut that allows passage through the Belize barrier reef to the open sea. Starting at 8ft and sloping down to a maximum of 25ft, this is an underwater wonderland with literally thousands of fish, including huge groupers and the biggest snappers you have ever seen.
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As you enter the cut there are a variety of small caves which hide huge Moray Eels over 6ft in length. Because this park is in a protected area the animal life is abundant. At the buoy, which marks the maximum you may enter into the channel, there is a small swim through cave which usually has a giant Dog Snapper lurking in the back part of the swim, though he casually watches as you swim through. He is a very scary looking fellow showing his big teeth, but the slightest movement toward him and he’s off.
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This site is used as our primary night dive spot. At night it is totally different: lobsters, giant spider crabs, Stingrays, and on many occasions the odd lemon Shark has passed through. All in all this is one of the best sites for marine life found anywhere in the Caribbean.
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Experience required: Intermediate due to strong current
Hol-Chan Marine Reserve 7.5 square miles of protected habitat, makes for some great diving. One of our favorites is Pillar Coral, a 60ft dive with some wonderful Pillar coral formations, great for photography as during this dive there are resident grouper and Snappers that will follow you throughout the dive.
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It’s easy to position them around the Pillar corals giving the opportunity for some great pictures.
The site is protected and nothing dead or alive may be removed, gloves are not allowed to be worn in the marine reserve and there is an entrance fee to the park which is used to maintain the buoys and fund the ongoing research conducted at Hol-Chan marine reserve.
An excellent site for all types of coral species, such as huge Pillar Corals, Elkhorn, Stag horn and very abundant with small reef fish and critters. Located in 50ft of water, this has long been one of my favorite sites for the sheer quality of the coral formations and the superb Macro photo opportunities. This site focuses on smaller marine life associated with coral reef and is sure to be a hit with visiting divers.
Located north of San Pedro town lie’s M & M Caverns one of Ambergris Caye’s best cavern dives. The underwater topography is deep spur and groove formations formed by the wave action over thousands of year’s, it is literally riddled with swim through and tunnels.
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As you descend down to 90ft you see a small entrance going up through the reef as you enter you see a small light at the end of the tunnel about 40ft away, it is an awesome feeling as you swim literally through the reef to come out at 60ft then enter another, a totally different dive that’s always a hit with our visiting divers.
This site is located north of San Pedro and the site got its name as a couple got married in the mouth of this huge tunnel. At a depth of 60ft we swim through the tunnel that comes out on the edge of the drop off at approx. 90ft, due to the unseen approach we have spotted many large pelagic cruising the drop-off, as we exit the tunnel.
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As we swim along the drop off you see many varieties of hard and soft corals and the usual juveniles and groupers that are abundant in these waters.
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At all times you can see the surface as we swim through the caverns and it is quite safe for all levels of experience, as we near the end of our dive we enter another small cavern that takes us to our exit point, a real exciting dive that ’s a favorite with our visitors.
Because this Belize site is a little out of the way of most dive operators it gets dived very seldom, which means lots of fish life and no signs of damage caused by divers. We particularly like this site as it has a lot of barrel sponges and is wonderful for macro photography due to the abundant small critters found at this site.
Another observation we made at this site is at a certain time of the year we have noticed the coral spawning. This site is currently being studied by Professors from Texas AM University and is part of ongoing studied for the year of the reef.
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Experience required: Novice/Intermediate
Depth: 60-80ft
Location: North Ambergris Caye
Type of Dive: Boat
SHARK RAY ALLEY Belize
This is not a Dive Site but I thought I would include it as it is unique and usually included as a surface interval stop so you can snorkel with the sharks and rays. The picture was taken in 1991 when we first discovered this site and diving was allowed.
This is an unbelievable snorkel site similar to CaymansStingrayCity except we have in addition to the resident Stingrays, 15 to 20 Nurse Sharks which means double the action. Located south of Hol-Chan Marine reserve, in only 8ft of water, this spectacular site is the only site in the world where you can interact with both Stingrays and Nurse Sharks.
So unique is this site it attracted the attention of Jean Michel Cousteau and Skindiver magazine, who have featured it on the cover page of Skindiver in 2 issues. Jean Michel told me that they are all female juveniles and it is most likely a nursing ground and kept in the area from years of fishermen cleaning their catch and discarding the scraps to the sharks.
Most dive operators offer a complimentary stop at Shark Alley during surface interval the opportunity for photography is endless.
The Nurse Sharks and Stingrays steal the show but the coral formations and other fish life is worth a mention. I visited Shark Ray Alley many times before I discovered the superb coral formations and dense fish populations. Remember to check them out when you visit Shark Ray Alley.
Experience required: Novice/
Depth: 8ft
Location: South Ambergris Caye
Type of Dive: Boat Snorkel ONLY
Ihope this short article will give you an idea of some of the excellent dives on offer when you dive Ambergris Caye. Be sure to visit my website for additional articles on Diving Belize and Travel Tips.
Belize's Great Blue Hole Is It Really Worth Scuba Diving
Written by Administrator
Wednesday, 18 March 2009 02:13
Belize’s Great Blue Hole Is It Really Worth Diving
This is a question that is repeatedly asked on the many dive message boards across the internet and the answers it receives is sometimes misleading depending on the experience of the diver whom answers.
This article is written to provide an unbiased factual information source based on the reaction of hundreds of divers that I have had the opportunity to speak to after diving the Blue Hole.
Since I was a dive operator in Belize for many years and love the country, there will be some readers that say, of course I will promote the Blue Hole in a positive manner but the real truth is I personally think for 90% of divers it's a great experience a great dive and a great addition to diving Belize.
The Great Blue Hole of Belize is 1000ft across and 460ft deep and forms an almost perfect circle.
It has been a favorite fishing ground for Belizean fishermen for hundreds of years and in 1970 it was introduced to the public by Jacque Cousteau whom on his boat the Calypso charted the Blue Hole for the first time and highlighted its wonders in a TV documentary.
The Belize Blue Hole is unique in many ways, one being that it is the only Blue Hole in the world that can be seen with the naked eye from outer space.
It is a fact that thousands of years ago the Blue Hole was a cave that was above sea level, the reason we know this is because Stalagtites and stalamites cannot form underwater, and can only grow with the constant drip drip that can be seen happening to the stalagtites in many above ground caves systems today.
When you consider that it takes more than 100 years for a Stalagtite to grow just one inch, its a spectacular sight to see a 40ft Stalagtite that has taken literally thousands of years to reach that size.
The Stalagtites can be found in the Blue Hole starting at 100ft, hanging suspended from the ceiling some more than 40ft long.
The Blue Hole and the surrounding area has been designated a World Heritage site due to is uniqueness and is another one of Belize's many protected areas. (did you know that almost one third of the country of Belize is designated as protected reserves)
Many people don't realize it but there are only 2 spots you can dive in the Blue Hole, The north side which is the more popular side for the larger boats, due to fairly easy access to that side, and then their is the south side which generally only the smaller boats can access due to wind direction and the fact that it has to be dove from within the circumference of the hole itself.
Each has only about 300ft or so of Stalagtites hanging down after that it is just a flat wall of basically nothing. On the North dive-site you only have Stalagtites (those that hang down) with nothing but the abyss below you, on the South side it has both Stalagtites and Stalagmites which can be found at around 145ft where there is a small ledge that has some Stalagmites, this is the side you are more likely to encounter the resident Shark population.
In many message board posts you will read that some divers see lots of sharks while other divers see none and there is a simple explanation for this.
I dove the Blue Hole for more than 12 years and while today the Blue Hole has a large population of Caribbean Reef Sharks it will depend on how you dive the Blue hole and whom you dive it with, which will determine if you see the resident sharks or not.
Many years ago before this large population became a near daily occurrence, we did on occasion see sharks in the Blue Hole but always on the South side,, and almost NEVER when we dove the North side which was 99% of the time, this is because as mentioned the size of the boat we were using only allowed us to dive the south side when winds were favorable.
So why do some divers see sharks and other do not ? here is the scoop.
Nearly all the boats that dive the Blue Hole from San Pedro see the sharks on many occasions, and the reason for this is that they get to the Blue Hole FIRST before the Aggressors and other large boats, resorts etc that are located in the area.
(make a mental note here that normally its the very experienced divers that usually book the liveaboards and stay at the remote Atoll resorts because that is where the best diving in Belize can usually be found)
Being the first to dive the Blue Hole affords them better visibility since the first group to dive the Blue Hole gets the best visability, the reason for this is, as you descend it causes the silt to dislodge as the bubbles rise and releases the silt causing visibility to become reduced.
(these days due to the large number of boats and divers visibility is nearly always quite bad compared to the other fantastic dives at Lighthouse Reef)
When you consider that San Pedro sends many boats a day to the Blue Hole you can understand why those that dive it later in the morning under the pretext (Lets wait till the San Pedro boats leave so its less busy) dive a site that has had probably 50 divers through it already before they get the chance to dive it. This puts them at a distinct disadvantage as to the quality of the dive especially in the area of visibility since 40-50 divers and there bubbles will reduce visibility by up to 50% in some cases, in addition there are the Sharks.
The Sharks will sometimes follow you throughout the dive but are mainly utilized at the end of the dive since you have an extended safety stop of 10 minutes or so and while waiting out that time on the sandy ledge located at 15ft you are buzzed and entertained by up to 30 Caribbean Reef Sharks.(Not Guaranteed)
The sharks are induced to come to the surface by baiting the water with sardines this will bring them to the surface from the depths of the Blue Hole and give the diver the opportunity to view these magnificent creatures during the safety stop.
The Liveaboards do not bait the water nor the local resorts and if this is not done the likely hood of seeing any sharks is reduced by 90% so you can clearly see that most divers that dive the Blue Hole from a liveabord or an Atoll resort will have a far inferior dive due to these reasons.
Baiting is now not allowed however some operators still do it to try and get the sharks up from the depths in addition it is normally the very experienced divers that are usually the ones that are on the liveaboards because this normally affords them the best diving opportunities in Belize and that is absolutely correct with the EXCEPTION of the Blue Hole dive, based on how they are currently running that dive.
Over the years a repeated question is posted on the various diver message boards Is the Blue Hole Worth diving ? and you will see the same answers time and time again from don't bother its a waste of time to its a great dive well worth it and everything in between.
Why is there such a vast difference in peoples opinions, my answer is that most regulars on message boards, that is those that post at least once a week etc are normally very active divers and have lots of experience and have had the opportunity to dive multiple places around the world and give there advice freely to others, this however can do an injustice to a fairly new diver that happens upon a message board and asks the question is the Blue Hole worth diving ??
Most of the answers I have seen on message boards are negative when asking this question, mainly I believe because its a very experienced diver that maybe has 1000's of dives under his belt and when he dove the Blue Hole it was probably from a liveaboard after a bunch of other divers had dove it and because of his worldly experience he was less than impressed with the Blue Hole, so he makes his experience heard to this fairly new diver that has only dove Cozumel since certification and has 20 dives under his belt, he of course thinks this expert diver knows exactly what he is talking about so decided NOT to dive the Blue Hole because of what he has been told.
When this fairly new diver gets to Belize and is asked do you want to dive the Blue Hole I receive the answer OHH no I have heard its not that good i then ask who told you that, and I receive an answer of I read it on a message board, or my friend came to Belize and he told me, so I ask did he dive the Blue Hole while he was here then ?, I receive an answer Oh no but he had heard it was not worth it either so did not dive it when he was in Belize.
I hear this time after time after time.
I then explain the Blue Hole trip and hopefully I had some guests in house that have just come back and then I don't have to say a thing they will sell them a trip for me but if I do not have divers in house then I will tell them about the trip and encourage them to go and I usually add that if they don't think it was worth it I will refund there money, needless to say to this date I have never refunded anyone's money, normally they are extremely appreciative that I talked them into it and let them make there own mind up.
I am happy to break the cycle of the OH No I heard it was not worth it mode. why do I do this if I made more money keeping them in house? the reason is that I am the first to say that Belize has many different areas to dive and each unique in what it has to offer, based on what a specific diver is looking for in a vacation (that's another Belize article to follow soon) I want the visiting diver to go back with a positive impression of diving Belize and anything I can do to increase there enjoyment of diving Belize then I will do that.
The Blue Hole is a unique dive that if dove correctly can be an excellent addition to any divers logbook it will be less impressive to those divers with thousands of dives under there belt but the other 95% of divers will really enjoy the dive and view it as a positive DIFFERENT enjoyable dive.
So next time you see a question posted on a message board asking about the Blue Hole be sensitive to the experience of the diver asking when you answer it. Divers whom have been lucky enough to travel all over the world with thousands of dives under there belt will find it less of a thrill however the average diver will enjoy diving the Lighthouse Reef and The Great Blue Hole of Belize, the possibility of sharks the eerie feeling and sheer difference, it will be a memorable diving experience for them, give them the chance to make there own judgments.
If you want to dive the BLUE HOLE you can receive a 10% Discount by using the Belize website BelizeDiscounts
