Best dive sites in Belize: our top 8 picks

We take a look at the best dive sites in Belize, from its famous giant sinkhole to Gladden Spit, home to the world’s largest fish

Pint-sized Belize on the Caribbean Sea has countless dive sites, from laid-back shore dives to intense drifts and everything in between. The translucent seas hugging the country’s idyllic coast are home to majestic coral gardens, aquamarine lagoons and out-of-this-world atolls.

A kaleidoscope of tropical and pelagic (open ocean) fish, including the world’s largest, patrol the waters along with turtles, rays and several species of shark. There are walls, canyons and tunnels to explore as well as the enigmatic Great Blue Hole, anointed by Jacques Cousteau as one of the world’s finest dive sites.

Belize Barrier Reef

Stretching 300km along almost the entirety of the Belize coast, the Belize Barrier Reef is part of the world’s second-largest reef system. Second only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the Mesoamerican Reef was formed by a chain of submerged mountains and ridges creating countless reefs and lagoons boasting every imaginable shade of blue. It is the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and the northern hemisphere.

Described by Charles Darwin in 1842 as ‘the most remarkable reef in the West Indies’ and inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1996, the Belize Barrier Reef lies around 300m off the Belize coast in the north and around 40km in the south. The system also includes three atolls (ring-shaped reefs) sitting further out to sea: Turneffe Atoll, Lighthouse Reef and Glover’s Reef.

The entire ecosystem harbours a rich abundance and diversity of marine life including 247 varieties of marine flora, over 500 fish species, over 100 types of coral and 350 mollusc species. It is also home to the world’s largest population of manatees, whale sharks and several species of marine turtles.

Best dive sites in Belize

Unsurprisingly, the Belize Barrier Reef, with its hundreds of sand and mangrove cayes, moderate depths and clear, calm waters, is home to some of the finest diving in the world. To help you get the most out of it, we share eight of the best dive sites in Belize.

1. Blue Hole

Location: Lighthouse Reef
Max. depth: 60m (124m with gas)

In 1971, Jacques Cousteau famously described Belize’s Great Blue Hole (now the Blue…