Along the entire length of Ambergris Caye the reef is comprised of canyons, channels, grottoes and tunnels. Ambergris is the largest and most popular of the offshore cayes, with 25 miles of Belize's spectacular barrier reef sitting less than a mile offshore. Ambergris Caye is part of a chain of islands that all have one thing in common. Barely one mile in front of them to their east one can find the most astounding scuba diving and snorkeling on the second largest barrier reef of the world. Depth ranges on the barrier are between 50 and 200 feet of water. At it's deepest, the wall starts and drops to a few hundred feet.
TRES COCOS - Water Depth 50-100 Feet If you want to keep your boat ride to a minimum and still dive a spectacular reef, Tres Cocos is for you. It only takes five minutes to get there out of San Pedro. The mooring buoy is a short distance beyond the protection of the reef, which can be helpful on rough days. Tres Cocos is a spur-and-groove reef with deep and locally narrow canyons running perpendicular to the reef line. It is similar to Cypress in depth and relief. The coral spurs crest at 50-80 ft whereas the sand-floored canyons fall off rapidly to depths of 110 ft.
TACKLE BOX CANYONS - Water Depth 66-100 Feet This site features several deep, narrow canyons with vertical walls. As with most dive sites near San Pedro, Tackle Box Canyons has a mooring buoy that provides dependable access to the rugged reef terrain on this part of the barrier. By following the narrow channel next to the mooring line seaward, you will come across a short tunnel decorated with sponges and other colorful encrusting organisms. Beyond it is a cavern with a gap in its roof, large enough for a diver to pass through. Excellent visibility. Large canyon formations and just a few minutes from shore.
TUFFY - Water Dept Locally known as "Tuffy Rocks" and located adjacent to Tackle Box above. Excellent visibility. Great snorkeling here. You can almost always see all species of fish including, jacks,, groupers, snappers, parrot fish, angel fish, barracuda, eels, spider crabs, lobster, and nurse sharks.
VICTORIA TUNNELS - Water Depth 75-110 Feet Only about 7 minutes by boat to great tunnel diving inside the great canyon formations. Excellent visibility. Plenty of fish, including jacks, groupers, snappers, parrot fish, angel fish, barracuda, eels, spider crabs, lobster, and nurse sharks. Grouper, Turtles, Morays and shoals of every variety. Cement crucifix statue at 65 feet.
CYPRESS CANYONS - Water Depth 50-109 Feet Cypress is a spur-and-groove reef with deep and narrow canyons running perpendicular to the reef line. Coral spurs crest at 50-70 ft whereas the sand-floored cuts fall off rapidly to depths of 100 fl. The mooring line attaches to coral at 48 ft. You enter the water near the midpoint of the coral spurs. Here, the reef takes on a rugged relief. South of the mooring pin, vertical spurs rise 14 ft above the brilliant white sand floor of the adjacent channel. Excellent visibility. Canyon formations and close to Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Unique to this site is the concentration of impressive orange and white elk horn coral.
CORAL GARDENS - Water Depth Inside reef - 8 to 15 feet. Sandy bottom with beautiful coral formations and lots of fish varieties. Outside reef, 35 to 55 feet, more multiples of the above.
LOVE TUNNELS - Water Depth This site is said was baptized this way sake of two underwater weddings that allegedly had taken place here. The highlight on this dive is a large coral cavern, called: The Chapel for apparent reasons. Should you not intend to get married, you can enjoy the sandy drop off that is decorated with large sea fans. Schools of horse eye jacks usually relax amidst those.
HOL CHAN MARINE CUT - Water Depth 20-30 Feet For divers who have just arrived at the island, this is a must stop for the first introductory dive in Belizean waters. About 15 minutes south by boat, and is considered a shallow dive of approximately 30 feet in deep. The cut is a part of the 5 square mile marine sanctuary. Excellent visibility. Divers are occasionally cautioned regarding the currents and the Dive Master has the final word on precautions to be taken. Strong tidal currents flow in and out through the cut and are especially strong in the center of the channel. When peak tidal exchange occurs, it is impossible for most divers to swim against the current. Always check the current direction and strength before entering the channel. Divers can still enjoy Hol Chan Cut even when the tide is running by staying close to the channel sides where irregularities in the walls and bottom dissipate much of the current's strength. Caution: Divers who are weak swimmers should probably experience this dive only during periods of slack tide.
ROCKY POINT - Water Depth 70-80 Feet. About a 25-30 minute boat ride Inside the sheltered waters of the reef to the north end of the Island. Two tank dive: morning and afternoon. Excellent visibility. Marine life abounds with plenty of Nassau groupers, lobsters, and spider crabs. There's also a tarpon hole And the big silvery fish are awesome. The brilliantly colored coral is pretty much untouched.
ROBLES POINT - Water Depth About a 25-30 minute boat ride Inside the sheltered waters of the reef. Two tank dive: morning and afternoon. Excellent visibility. Marine life abounds with plenty of Nassau groupers, lobsters, and spider crabs. The brilliantly colored coral is pretty much untouched. Mostly canyon formations.
PUNTA AZUL / PALMERAS POINT - Water Depth These two sites are not very far apart and take about 20 minutes by boat. Both offer dramatic canyon formations on the reef and excellent visibility. Because of this current, bigger fish such as Barracuda, stick around to hunt. Also there is a good chance of meeting big eagle rays, which feed on the micro-organisms that float in the current.
MEXICO ROCKS - Water Depth 8-12 Feet Mexico Rocks Marine Reserve is a shallow patch reef located off the northern tip of Ambergris Caye, on the Belizean Barrier Reef. This 20 minute boat ride, brings you to a well-known cluster of coral heads. It's shallow enough so snorkelers can see without diving and divers can maximize their bottom time. Excellent visibility, with both dramatic canyon walls and a cave through the coral formations. The cave entrance is currently visited by tour operators, although not penetrated.
BASIL JONES CANYONS - Water Depth 15-70 Feet Basil Jones is a spur-and-groove reef outside the last pass before the barrier meets the north end of Ambergris Caye. Located about 45 minutes north of San Pedro, this part of the barrier reef lies beyond the normal range of dive sites. It takes calm seas and special arrangements to reach Basil Jones Canyons because you can only get there by boat. Should you decide to do this dive, be prepared to start early, pay for the extra fuel and make a full day of it.
SANDBAR - Water Depth 50-90 Feet Sandbar lies off the southern tip of Ambergris Caye and is one of the shallower barrier reef dives along the island. A mooring buoy line, anchored on top of a living coral ridge, guides divers down to the reef top at 54 ft. The adjacent sand channel floor to the south descends 17 ft below the top of the reef. There, next to the mooring pin, you will find a coral formation in the center of the channel. From the base of the channel, it looks like a tall chimney but it is actually the beginning of another coral ridge that divides the channel into two narrow canyons. Following the narrow canyons seaward will quickly take you to the reef edge. Along the way, relief between the canyon floor and the top of coral ridges doubles from that found at the mooring pin. The floor of the channel here is about 90 ft.
PARADISE CANYONS - Water Depth 60-70 Feet Beautiful finger canyon formations. Beautiful coral formations and lots of marine life.
MEXICO TUNNELS - Water Depth 75-90 Feet Deep canyons and tunnel diving. Lots of marine life. Frequented by friendly Grouper and the occasional turtle. Long convoluted grown-over canyons suitable for the experienced, comfortable diver, only. Dive light supplied by your licensed dive guide.
PALMEROS - Water Depth You will be diving through arches carved out of the lime stone structures by the steady current that comes from the north and catches here in a point like reef formation. Because of this current the chances to see larger fish like barracuda and cobia are high at this site. This place is also a playground for the eagle ray.
PUNTA ARENA CANYONS - Water depth 60-100 Feet Punta Arena Canyons (aka Small Cut), is a short boat ride north. Getting there involves negotiating a narrow passage through the barrier (during rough weather), this can be a difficult to dive site to reach. This is a deep cavern dive with vertically walled canyons, tunnels, caves and deep intervening sand channels. The tops of coral ridges are mostly in the range of 60-75 ft, but tunnel investigation takes you below 90 ft. Exploration of a narrow tunnel a short two canyons north of the entry point is the main attraction. The tunnel winds through the reef for about 75 ft to an exit point at 100 ft. Sand floors the tunnel bottom along its entire length, so visibility loss from re-sedimentation is generally not a problem. However, parts of the tunnel fall unto total darkness because of its length. Caution: Red algae seemingly thrives in the low light conditions of the tunnel. Be careful negotiating the narrow passageway, the algae has rugged & abrasive edges.
MATA CUT - Water Depth 8-16 Feet Another pass through the barrier reef, known as Mata Cut, occurs just a few miles north of Punta Arena Canyons. Remains of an old barge some call Changa's Wreck lies just inside the reef in less than 10 ft of water. It's a great place to combine fish and wreck photography. The wreck lies in water that can get rough. Even on calm days, the incoming ocean swells passing through the cut create mild currents and wave surge. Water conditions get significantly worse when the prevailing northeasterly winds are strong. During such periods, a wave surge scours the sandy bottom and suspends clouds of sediment in the water column.
SHARK RAY ALLEY - Water Depth 8-10 Feet A great place for snorkeler's to get that once in a lifetime. The name speaks for itself. These creatures have a great tolerance for divers and seem to enjoy the human interaction. Close up encounters is what you like? Well, here you've got it. Nurse sharks and sting rays are waiting for you here in vast numbers. They are not shy at all and seek direct contact with the visitors. A real adventure. Shark Ray Alley has been rated one of the seven best "animal dives", in the Caribbean, by Skin Diver Magazine.
M&M Caverns - Water Depth 70-90 Feet This is probably one of the best dives found off the barrier reef on Ambergris Caye, located only a half mile from San Pedro. As you descend down to a depth of 90' you see the entrance to the first tunnel which has a length of 30' to the exit which comes out at a depth of 60'. Because of the deep water surrounding these tunnels, there are always schools of horse eyejacks and a good opportunity to see deep water pelagics cruising the reef. A dive not to be missed!
Renegades - Water Depth 80 Feet This dive site is one of the sites where the yearly grouper spawning take place on the full moons of December and January. You will have a chance to get a look at the rare spotted drum and other exotic looking juvenile fish. This site is also known for frequent encounters with dolphins.
Devil's Canyons - Water Depth 60-150 Feet Steep Canyon Walls. It's called Devil's Canyons because the canyon walls at this site drop off very steep to about 150 feet. It is impressive to dive along the side of these walls. There lots of marine life and you could literally meet any kind of fish.
Angel's Flats - Water Depth 60-80 Feet At this site the canyons of the reef are filled all the way up with sand, creating a great sandy flat, frequently interrupted by the coral tops of the canyons that will stick out. The reason why we call it Angel Flat's is the amazing range of artfully colored Angel and Butterfly Fish, that like to meet around here.
Mahogany - Water Depth This place is quite easy to find due to a huge mahogany tree that once got caught on the barrier reef and marks the spot. At this site the coral formation is about 20 feet higher than all along the rest of the reef, creating a little underwater hill, that attracts numerous reef fish.
Mexico Rocks Pinnacle - Water Depth 70-90 Feet You start by diving through a cavern, and you will end up in front of a coral pinacle that usually attracts groupers and nurse sharks. This size is also unique for a wall like drop off with lots of tube sponges and beautiful soft coral.
The Wall - Water Depth 60-90 Feet Sandy Slope. A trip here requires exceptionally calm seas, and presents itself with wasteful colors and a great variety of fish. This is not a deep dive, but certainly one filled with many great views. The Wall is the most northern dive site in the country of Belize, right at the border of Mexico. It is also the only wall on the 183 miles of Belize's Main Barrier Reef. Talk about unspoiled dive sites... this is definitely the one!
The Wall - Water Depth 60-90 Feet Sandy Slope. A trip here requires exceptionally calm seas, and presents itself with wasteful colors and a great variety of fish. This is not a deep dive, but certainly one filled with many great views. The Wall is the most northern dive site in the country of Belize, right at the border of Mexico. It is also the only wall on the 183 miles of Belize's Main Barrier Reef. Talk about unspoiled dive sites... this is definitely the one!
Amigo's Wreck - Water Depth 70 Feet This site is just outside our beautiful coral canyons, you will end this dive at a 30 foot wreck. The wreck was purposely sunk in this spot to attract bigger marine life. It worked! Today we have big Nassau and black groupers, big hog fish snappers, nurse sharks and a couple of moray eels living in and around the wreck. This is a gorgeous dive! You have to do it while you are here!
Eagle Ray Canyon - Water Depth 70-90 Feet This site is just outside the Hol Chan Marine Park Channel and due to tidal current, we keep meeting schools of spotted eagle rays. The reef itself is accentuated by huge barrel sponges and a variety of big groupers. Snappers like to hang out in-between everything.
Pescador Cavern - Water Depth 90-100 Feet Instead of hovering over the reef, you will explore under the reef at this site, swimming through a long tunnel. Big spiny lobsters and spider crabs like to hide in here. At the end of the tunnel, there is a steep drop off to a couple of hundred feet. You'll meet Cubero Snappers who come up out of the deep to hunt here during surface interval.
Buena Vista Point - Water Depth 60-80 Feet Pausing over impressive finger canyons on this dive, you will see some underwater cleaning stations. At these stations, big snappers and groupers sit patiently and let the cleaning goby fish clear their mouth and gills of parasites. It is possible to get really close to the fish for pictures.
Bacalar Chico - Water Depth Bacalar Chico is the latest addition to Belize's natural reservations. Untouched reefs and mangrove rivers make up for a great day trip to the northernmost part of the island. On one side of the creek you can see Belize, on the other side is Mexico. Many birds and other rare species of land and sea critters can be observed here.