Royal Caribbean's Belize Snorkeling Adventure

Belize City, located on the eastern coast of Belize, offers a range of shore excursions for visitors to enjoy. One of the most popular activities in Belize City is snorkelling. Royal Caribbean offers a variety of snorkelling tours in Belize, including the Sun Kissed Goff's Caye Beach & Snorkelling tour, which takes visitors to the Belize Barrier Reef, one of the largest coral reef systems in the world. This tour includes snorkelling gear, transportation, and a guide, making it a great choice for those looking for a thrilling and convenient way to explore the underwater world.

Snorkeling at Belize Barrier Reef

Belize is home to the world's second-largest barrier reef, which stretches from Bacalar Chico to the Bay of Honduras. The Belize Barrier Reef is dotted with hundreds of small islands (cayes) and is known for its spectacular corals and abundant marine life. The country's warm climate, clear turquoise waters, and accessible marine life make it a popular destination for snorkelling.

The Belize Barrier Reef is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, which borders nearly the entire length of Belize (about 192 miles). The best time to snorkel in Belize is during the dry season, from November to May, as the wet season can bring oppressive humidity and mosquitoes.

Belize has an extensive network of marine parks, with popular snorkelling destinations including the Southwater Caye Marine Reserve, Glover's Reef Atoll, and Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Glover's Reef Atoll, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, features remarkably clear waters and a sheltered, shallow lagoon with over 700 patch reefs to explore. Lighthouse Reef Atoll is home to the famous Blue Hole, a massive marine sinkhole that attracts stingrays, sharks, and other marine life.

There are numerous tour operators offering snorkelling trips to the Belize Barrier Reef. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines offers snorkelling excursions to Goff's Caye, where visitors can explore the Belize Barrier Reef. Other tour companies, such as Island Expeditions and Catamaran Belize, provide snorkelling tours to popular sites like Mexico Rocks, Tres Cocos, and Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

When snorkelling in Belize, it is recommended to wear a lightweight wetsuit or a spandex/lycra dive suit to stay warm and protect against sunburn. Belize is home to a diverse range of marine life, including manatees, southern stingrays, spotted eagle rays, manta rays, sea turtles, and whale sharks.

Snorkeling at Goff's Caye

Belize is a snorkelling paradise, with the second-largest barrier reef in the world just off its coast. One of the best spots to take advantage of this is Goff's Caye, a tiny island that offers the chance to snorkel right from the beach.

Getting to Goff's Caye

Goff's Caye is located a 20- to 30-minute boat ride from the Belize cruise ship terminal. The journey takes you past numerous mangrove islands, home to a variety of beautiful water birds, including brown boobies, cormorants, and terns. It's also not uncommon to spot bottlenose dolphins.

The Island

Goff's Caye is a rustic, unspoilt paradise. The island is just 1.2 acres, about the size of a football field, with powdery white sand and crystal blue waters. There are no beach chairs, so be sure to bring a towel to sit on. There are also no restaurants, but there are local vendors selling grilled lobster, kabobs, grilled BBQ, cold beers, water, and soft drinks.

Snorkelling

The snorkelling at Goff's Caye is suitable for both beginners and experienced snorkellers. The island sits directly on top of the coral reef, so there's no need to go anywhere else to start exploring. The reef surrounds the island just a few feet off the beach, and the water is shallow and crystal clear. You'll see coral formations and a variety of tropical fish. Snorkelling gear is provided, but you are also welcome to bring your own.

Other Activities

In addition to snorkelling, Goff's Caye offers beach time, where you can work on your tan, build sandcastles, or simply enjoy the water. There's also a local craft market and hair braiding available.

Know Before You Go

• The guided snorkelling excursion is approximately 1.5 hours.
• The beach can accommodate up to 300 people, but on busy days there may be several hundred guests.
• There are portable restrooms on the island.
• It's recommended that you bring a swimsuit, a change of clothes, sun protection, and cash for food, drinks, shopping, and tips.
• The minimum age to participate is 2 years old, and children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
• Guests choosing to snorkel should have basic swimming skills and be able to tread water, as this takes place in open water.

Tour Details

The Goff's Caye snorkelling tour is offered by Belize Cruise Excursions and costs USD 48 per passenger, with children 3 years and under joining for free. The tour lasts 4.5 hours in total, including transportation to and from the port, and includes a certified English-speaking guide, snorkelling gear, bottled water, and a welcome rum punch.

Snorkeling at Ambergris Caye

Ambergris Caye is the largest of Belize's islands and is known for its beautiful beaches and excellent snorkelling and diving spots. The island is part of the Belize Barrier Reef and is located just one mile from the reef in some areas. The town of San Pedro is the hub for many different boat tours that will take you to a variety of snorkel spots around the reef.

There are four major locations that most of the snorkel boat companies visit. These are quick trips that generally take less than half a day and are all inside the barrier reef.

Shark Ray Alley

This spot is often combined with Hol Chan in a single boat trip. It is a great shallow snorkelling spot that allows for exciting encounters with nurse sharks, rays, large schools of fish, and some wonderful coral areas.

Hol Chan Marine Reserve

This is the most popular Ambergris Caye snorkelling spot. The break in the barrier reef creates a flush of current, allowing you to see some bigger species.

Tres Cocos

This location is often combined with Mexico Rocks and gives you the chance to swim with lots of fish and view nice corals in a shallow area on the barrier reef.

Mexico Rocks

This inner patch reef area has calmer waters and is an excellent spot for beginner snorkelers due to its calmer waters and excellent snorkelling depths.

In addition to these popular spots, there are a handful of other locations for snorkelling in Ambergris Caye. These include Coral Gardens, Tuffy Rocks, Mata Cut, Basil Jones, and Bacalar Chico.

Coral Gardens

This spot is inside the reef in sandy shallow waters just south of San Pedro, where you can observe some wonderful corals and a variety of fish.

Tuffy Rocks

Located next to the popular dive spot Tackle Box Canyons, just south of Tres Cocos, Tuffy Rocks offers some great Ambergris Caye snorkelling and is an excellent place to observe a variety of fish.

Mata Cut

Mata Cut is a cut in the reef that is located a short boat ride from San Pedro. Snorkelling here can be a mixed bag. The attraction is a shipwreck inside the reef, covered in corals and teeming with fish. However, the wreck is very close to the cut in the reef, which often results in rough conditions and low visibility.

Basil Jones

To visit this snorkelling spot, you will likely need to persuade a boat company to take you as it is quite far north and makes for a full-day trip. The lagoon behind the sandy beach offers good snorkelling, and the backside of the reef close to the beach features unique coral formations. Due to its northern location, there tends to be more fish life.

Bacalar Chico

As far north as you can go, Bacalar Chico is a relatively new reserve with pristine reefs, a large conch population, and even manatee sightings. There is a diverse range of snorkelling areas, from shallow sandy bottoms with big coral patches to deeper areas with huge coral heads and schools of barracudas. It is also an excellent place to spot Loggerhead and Green Sea Turtles.

Tour Options

When choosing a snorkelling tour, you can opt for a company that only runs snorkelling trips or one that combines diving and snorkelling on the same boat. It is recommended to book your tour at least a day in advance, especially during the busy season, to ensure availability.

If you have a group of four to six people, you can also charter a local boat to take you to lesser-known locations. For this option, you may need to bring your own equipment.

Some of the recommended snorkelling tours in Ambergris Caye include:

• Caye Caulker: 7-Stop Snorkelling in the Belize Barrier Reef
• Caye Caulker: Hol Chan Marine Reserve Small-Group Tour
• Belize Hol Chan Marine Reserve & Shark Ray Alley Snorkel Tour - Ambergris Caye
• All-inclusive Snorkelling at Hol Chan
• Hol Chan Marine Reserve Snorkel Tour on the 40' Sirena Azul Sailboat

Snorkeling at Shark Ray Alley

Belize is a snorkelling paradise, with its clear blue waters home to a rich variety of marine life. One of the best spots to explore underwater is Shark Ray Alley, located in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, just off the coast of Caye Caulker. This 1,280-acre protected region offers a unique opportunity to snorkel alongside stingrays, nurse sharks and turtles.

Getting to Shark Ray Alley

Shark Ray Alley can only be reached by boat. Most tours depart from the Caye Caulker pier and include snorkelling in nearby locations such as South Channel and The Coral Garden. It is easy to get to Caye Caulker, with water taxi companies running daily trips from San Pedro (30 minutes away) and Belize City (70 minutes away).

What to Expect

The area has a constant depth of 4-8 feet and features sandy and grassy beds. Nurse sharks and stingrays are the stars of the show here. Shark feeding has been a common practice over the years, making the sharks comfortable around humans. As soon as boats arrive, the noise of the engine attracts the stingrays and sharks, so be sure to get into the water quickly! You will also spot horse-eye jack, Bermuda chub, smooth trunkfish and small barracudas swimming above the seagrass beds.

Tips

• Get your camera ready – you'll want to capture the moment you snorkel alongside these incredible creatures.
• Be careful of the stingrays – while they are the main attraction, they can be harmful if they feel threatened, so keep a safe distance.
• Be mindful of boat traffic and other snorkelers as this location can get very crowded.

Snorkelling Tours

There are various snorkelling tours available that include Shark Ray Alley:

• Hol Chan Marine Reserve & Shark Ray Alley Snorkel Tour: Explore the underwater world of Belize, swimming with fish, sea turtles, stingrays and nurse sharks.
• Hol Chan Full-Day Bucket List Snorkelling and Marine Life Tour: Swim with stingrays, sea turtles, nurse sharks and even manatees. GoPro cameras are provided to capture your adventure.
• Hol Chan Marine Reserve Snorkel and Caye Caulker Tour: Sail from Ambergris Caye and explore the reefs of Hol Chan, then snorkel with nurse sharks and stingrays before enjoying a relaxing afternoon on Caye Caulker.
• Hol Chan Marine Park and Shark Ray Alley Snorkelling: Experience the thrill of snorkelling with nurse sharks and stingrays during a feeding frenzy, then relax with a rum punch on board the boat.

Snorkeling at Hol Chan Marine Reserve

Belize is known for its world-class snorkelling, and one of the most popular spots is Hol Chan Marine Reserve, located around 4 miles (6.4 kilometres) south of the shores of Ambergris Caye. The reserve is part of the Belize Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and covers about 3 square miles (7.7 square kilometres).

Hol Chan, Mayan for "little channel", is home to a diverse array of marine life, including over 160 species of fish, nearly 40 species of coral, 5 sponges, 8 types of algae, 2 seagrasses, 3 marine mammals, and 3 species of sea turtle. The reserve is divided into zones based on marine habitat, allowing visitors to explore a variety of underwater environments.

A typical snorkelling tour at Hol Chan might include a stop at Shark Ray Alley, located just 3 minutes from the reserve. Here, you can swim with nurse sharks and southern stingrays, as well as schools of fish that congregate to feed. The shallow waters and white sands, with visibility of up to 100 feet, make this an ideal spot for inexperienced snorkelers.

For those seeking a more comprehensive experience, there are full-day and half-day tours that combine snorkelling at Hol Chan with other activities. These might include a visit to Caye Caulker, an island known for its laid-back vibes and beautiful beaches, or a stop at Coral Gardens, another popular snorkelling site. Some tours also offer the opportunity to feed tarpon or interact with manatees.

Whether you're a beginner or an experienced snorkeler, Hol Chan Marine Reserve offers a unique opportunity to explore the underwater world of Belize and discover its vibrant marine life up close.

Frequently asked questions