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
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.
Our Belize Snorkel Safaris have quickly become some of the most popular we offer, for several reasons I suspect. Belize's close proximity to the States makes it easy to get to, particularly for those traveling from the eastern parts of the United States. A surprise to some, Belize is also an English-speaking country as a result of the country being a former English colony. What's more though, Belize is an incredibly beautiful country above and below the water and offers some of the best reefs in the entire Caribbean Ocean. Starting in February of this year we were finally able to run four separate Belize Snorkeling Safaris back to back, welcoming nearly seventy happy snorkelers over the period of four weeks to the turquoise waters of Belize! Two of these tours were our new “Belize Snorkel Week” safaris which take place at the beautiful Turneffe Island Resort in the southern section of the Turneffe Atoll. The other two snorkel safaris took place liveaboards, one of which was the Belize Aggressor III, which we've run a number of snorkeling safaris with over the years, and the other was a snorkeling photography workshop which was run on the Belize Aggressor III's big sister, the Belize Aggressor IV. While all four of these safaris took place around the Turneffe Atoll as well as Lighthouse Reef where the Great Blue Hole can be found, no two trips were the same. All were magnificent, but different in many ways. So, knowing full well that I'm not great at being concise with my blogs, particularly when I'm meant to share the details of the trips I've just come back from, I'm going to break these Belize Blogs into three sections, with the first being all about our time at Turneffe Island Resort. Part II
Our Belize Snorkel Safaris have quickly become some of the most popular we offer, for several reasons I suspect. Belize’s close proximity to the States makes it easy to get to, particularly for those traveling from the eastern parts of the United States. A surprise to some, Belize is also an English-speaking country as a
Twenty-Twenty twenty began with a bang as our Snorkel Venture season started out with back to back trips in Belize aboard Belize Aggressor III, the liveaboard operator for our Belize tours. Belize is a fantastic place for snorkeling, not only is getting to Belize easy if you are coming from the States or Canada, but the reefs and marine life are prolific! Here's an in depth break down of what you can expect from a snorkeling safari with us aboard Belize Aggressor III. Getting There As far as international travel is concerned, Belize couldn't be easier to get to. If you are coming from North America you can expect just a couple short flights, possibly one direct flight if you live next to a large international airport, and boom, you are in Belize city. It's a small little airport and easy to navigate your way to the taxi stand. At the taxi stand you just tell them where your going—which is the Radisson— and pay the flat rate at the stand so no need to haggle or barter with the drivers. The national language of Belize is actually English, not Spanish, so getting around and asking questions is really easy! Not only that, but their currency, the Belize Dollar is locked at 2-1 with the USD, and most shops will accept USD anyway so that also makes life easy. It is recommended that you grab a few Belize dollars if you do plan to do some souvenir shopping, but once onboard or in the Radisson hotel everything can be paid with a card. Just make sure to tell your bank you are traveling! My personal recommendation would be to arrive a day before the trip starts and stay at the Radisson as the Belize Aggressor III literally parks on the doorstep
Twenty-Twenty twenty began with a bang as our Snorkel Venture season started out with back to back trips in Belize aboard Belize Aggressor III, the liveaboard operator for our Belize tours. Belize is a fantastic place for snorkeling, not only is getting to Belize easy if you are coming from the States or Canada, but
