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The barrier reef off Belize is second in size only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and it's a lot more accessible for most of us. The starting point is Belize City, only a couple of hours by plane from several U.S. hub cities. Accommodations and dive operators are available in Belize City, but most divers head for Ambergris Caye or Turneffe to be closer to the dive sites. Two live-aboards, the Sun Dancer II and the Belize Aggressor III, operate out of Belize City.
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Go Green Go on a Belize land tour. Plan a couple of extra days to see Maya ruins and tube the river through caves filled with stalagtites, stalagmites and primitive pottery shards. |
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1 The Blue Hole 2 Hol-Chan Marine Park 3 Shark-Ray Alley 4 Glover's Reef 5 Half Moon Cay wall |
Two large reef areas, Lighthouse and Glover, provide most of the offshore dive sites. Walls are the specialty, although there are plenty of shallow reef areas to explore. With visibility normally hovering in the 80- to 120-foot range, it's easy to enjoy the stunning underwater vistas along the walls.
The top of the drop-off is fairly shallow 30 to 40 feet in most places but don't look down if heights make you dizzy: The bottom is a long way down. The coral and sponge life is superb, with fluffy black coral colonies growing at depths as shallow as 35 feet. Reef fish dominate the finned population, but the larger predators are present in good numbers as well. Jacks, grouper, barracuda and tarpon are common, and you're likely to encounter a hawksbill or green sea turtle on any dive.
The shore excursion at Half Moon Cay gives you the chance to see booby birds at close quarters. Numerous tours into the interior of Belize are available before or after your dive trip: You can see several Mayan sites, go inner-tubing through caves, take a jungle trek or visit the Belize Zoo.
