Tag: blue hole

One of the great natural wonders of the world has to be the perfectly symmetrical blue hole that sits in the middle of a vast reef off the coast of Belize. From an aerial perspective, this one-thousand-foot in diameter sinkhole fringed by lush reef and iridescent white sand looks like some sort of abstract art. It's absolutely stunning. This fantastic natural wonder iconic to Belize has of course attracted a lot of attention from foreign tourists and diving and snorkeling in Belize. That being said, what's the snorkeling actually like in the Blue Hole? What might be easy to advertise as a tourist attraction because of its unique aerial appearance might not actually equate to a fulfilling snorkeling experience. Luckily, we just ran a whole string of Belize snorkeling safaris in March of 2022 from resort-based tours to liveaboards, to snorkeling photography workshops, all of which spent a day snorkeling in the Blue Hole. Here's what it's like.  Upon arrival to the Blue Hole by boat you will barely notice any changes to the topside scenery, it's just varying shades of blue water for as far as the eye can see. However, once you jump in the water it's a very different scenario. With the exception of the two gaps in the coral-fringed ring, one of which is natural while the other one was deliberately blown open by Jacques Cousteau so he could march his giant boat into the center of the Blue Hole, the entire inner ring of the hole is a dense forest of sea fans, hard corals, and sponges that reach right up to the surface. With regards to fish, there might be a bit more fish life in the outer reefs, as is typical when comparing inner reefs with outer reefs, there was still plenty of