Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley make an easy half-day snorkel anyone can do. The Great Blue Hole is a long day built around a deep scuba dive, so most first-timers should start with Hol Chan.
Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Hol Chan, Maya for "little channel," became Belize's first marine reserve in 1987. It protects a deep cut in the Belize Barrier Reef, the second largest in the world. You drift over coral heads with reef fish, green moray eels, sea turtles, and rays.
It's about four miles (roughly 30 minutes by boat) from San Pedro, run as a half-day tour. No certification is needed; if you can float in a life vest, you can do it. A guide leads, gear is provided, and the reserve fee is about $10 USD per person, usually on top of the tour price.
Shark Ray Alley
Nearly every Hol Chan trip stops at Shark Ray Alley, added to the reserve in 1999. Fishermen used to clean their catch here, and nurse sharks and southern stingrays still gather. You get into waist-to-chest-deep water among them. Nurse sharks are harmless bottom-feeders, and for most guests this is the highlight.
The Great Blue Hole
The Great Blue Hole is a circle about 1,000 feet across and over 400 feet deep on Lighthouse Reef atoll, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's a limestone cave that formed when sea levels were far lower, then flooded and collapsed. Deep divers pass stalactites that formed above water.
It is primarily a scuba dive to around 130 feet (40 m), which usually calls for Advanced Open Water certification or comparable experience. The dive is short, and you see blue void and stalactites rather than coral.
The trip takes about 12 hours, with a 2 to 2.5-hour crossing each way. Dive days usually add the Half Moon Caye Wall (lunch on an island with a red-footed booby colony) and the Aquarium at Long Caye, the more colorful reef dives. Snorkel versions visit the surrounding reefs.
How to choose
- First-timers & familiesHol Chan + Shark Ray Alley.
- Certified diversThe Blue Hole day.
- You want the iconic circleThe scenic flight.
- Non-diving reef loversHol Chan and the closer reef snorkels.
Practical notes
The dry season, roughly December through April, has the calmest seas and best visibility. Trips run year-round but can be canceled in rough seas. Book ahead in high season, especially for the Blue Hole. Bring reef-safe sunscreen, a hat, water, and motion-sickness remedies; divers need their card and logbook.
Both trips leave from San Pedro. At Black Orchid Oasis, our caretaker Everaldo can connect you with captains we trust before you arrive, and you come back to the calm west shore of Secret Beach. Our guest guide covers the rest.
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