Your Guide to Diving Belize
including Ambergris Caye, Glover's Atoll, Lighthouse Reef, St. George's Caye, Southern Belize and Turneffe Atoll

Diving Belize Overview

Belize Seasonal Dive Planner

The dry season runs from March through May. The most predictably good weather for diving is from April through June when the winds are normally light. Hurricanes hit Belize an average of once every six years. Major hurricanes have hit roughly every two decades. During winter months (mainly December, January, and February), Belize is also subject to north winds that blow down and may disrupt diving for several days. Water temperature may dip as low as the 70°F (21°C) in the winter and reach as high as 85°F (30°C) in the summer.

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Diving Belize Reader Reports and Feature Articles

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Latest Reader Reports from Belize from the serious divers who read Undercurrent All Reader Reports from Belize	All 10,000+ Reports
Ramon's Village Resort Report in Belize/Ambergris Caye "Reefs and tropical fish life pretty poor and boring" filed Dec 8, 2024 by Don Q Cryer (Experience: 501-1000 dives)
I stayed and dove with Ramon's 15 years ago and the operation and diving was great. Sad, but no more. The diving sites were the most... ... Read more
Aggressor Fleet Report in Belize/Lighthouse and Turneffe "Belize Aggressor IV: good boat, but diminished reefs" filed Dec 4, 2024 by Mary McCombie (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 28 reports, Sr. Contributor )
This was my fifth trip aboard the Belize Aggressor IV, so obviously I like the boat and the operation. But it was a shock to me to see ... ... Read more
Aggressor Fleet Report in Belize/Lighthouse Reef "Fun time ahead of tropical storm Sara" filed Nov 25, 2024 by Curtis Thomas (Experience: 501-1000 dives)
After being delayed from departing Denver due to snowstorm, we arrived in Belize City. A staff member greeted us outside of customs and... ... Read more
Ambergris Divers/Sunbreeze Hotel Report in Belize/Ambergris Cay "Ambergris Caye/Belize - rough weather March 2024" filed Nov 2, 2024 by Teresa McCanlies (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 11 reports, Sr. Reviewer )
REALLY rough weather this May, thanks to Hurricane Beryl...high wind & rain. We learned the preceeding week's group didn't get to dive ... ... Read more
Turneffe Island Resort Report in Belize/Turneff Island Resort "Great Resort, Disappointing Diving" filed Oct 11, 2024 by Jack Pessia (Experience: 501-1000 dives, 2 reports)
This resort is much fancied up since our last visit over a decade ago. More bungalows added, many with their own plunge pools and nice... ... Read more

Complete Articles Available to Undercurrent Online Members; Some Publicly Available as Indicated

Diving Belize Articles - Liveaboards Cozumel, Mahahual, Roatan by Cruise Ship, it's all about getting wet, 4/24 Belize Aggressor IV Grounds on Reef, 1/24 Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Raja Ampat, Belize, live reefs, dead reefs, liveaboards, shore diving, 3/23 Available to the Public Belize Aggressor IV, Belize, Easy concierge diving, with sharks galore, 10/21 MV Belize Aggressor III, Belize, good boat, great crew, easy diving, 6/18 Belize, Utila, Palau, Komodo, Bonaire, Caribbean whalesharks, missing hammerheads, 6/17 Belize, Vieques, Indonesia, Molokai, Christmas crowds, lousy food, white tips and mantas, 4/17 Belize, Bonaire, Florida, Philippines . . ., and a Cozumel dive shop with a great refund policy, 7/15 The Unprofessional Side of Placing Blame, 9/10 Nekton Cruises Shuts Down, 6/10 Great Live-Aboard Living, and our day-boat choice on Ambergris Caye, 9/05 Live-Aboard vs. Land-Based, 1/98 Off Belize on the Rembrandt van Rijn, Sailing and diving with the Dutch masters, 2/97 Wave Dancer vs. Bay Islands Aggressor, 4/94

Diving Belize Articles - Land Based Roatan, the Big Island, Indonesia, the Sea of Cortez, hot water, vanishing chase boats, Cayman sharks, 10/24 Bonaire, Belize, Rangiroa, Fiji, Indonesia, dying coral, schools of sharks, super photography course, 3/24 Humpbacks Whales, Shark Rodeos, Monk Seals, Giant Octopuses, what our readers have to say, 11/23 Little Cayman, Maui, Raja Ampat, Texas Oil Rigs , thresher sharks, dying reefs, barefoot elegance, 9/23 A Unique and Serious Injury at Ramon's in Belize , a tough fight for compensation in another country, 5/23 Turneffe Island Resort, Belize, C.A. , private island, plenty of reef sharks, 2/23 Available to the Public Itza Resort: Lighthouse Reef, Belize, fine diving at the end of the Maya World, 6/22 Belize, Little Cayman, the Conflict Islands, bedbugs, tiny bunks, and an unknown gem, 2/20 Isla Marisol, Glover’s Reef, Belize, where divers are few, but the fish are plentiful, 7/19 Want to Buy a Dive Center or Liveaboard?, we found a few, if you’re looking for something new to do, 7/19 St. Vincent, Maldives, Roatan, Belize, destinations for everyone, 4/18 The Chinchorro Banks, Alor, Belize, Roatan, and how cut-rate trips leave early birds steaming, 2/18 Fiji and Belize Protect their Reefs, 2/18 Ambergris, the Red Sea, Raja Ampat, bad briefings, free flowing regulators, overflowing toilets, 9/17 Worse Things Happen at Sea!, 8/17 Dominica, Fiji, Belize, Costa Rica, Florida, big animals, no head counts, free flowing regulators, 7/17 Itza Resort, Long Caye, Belize, great lodge, great diving, 4/16 Belize, British Virgin Islands, Hawaii, a KKK leader’s resort, a dive shop’s faulty rental gear, 4/15 Turneffe Island Resort, Belize, concierge diving on a remote private island, 5/13 The Resort’s Off-Putting Documents, 5/13 Belize Diving Services, Caye Caulker, Belize, Old Caribbean living, the reality of current Caribbean diving, 4/13 Belize, Hawaii, Cozumel, Palau . . ., Caribbean winter warnings and more trouble with the Siren fleet, 3/13 At Last, Justice in Belize, shoddy operation and its owner fined for diver’s death, 1/11 Reef’s End Lodge, Tobacco Caye, Belize, rustic and remote, but better diving than up north, 5/08 Ambergris Caye, Belize, La Isla Bonita goes upscale, but diving has gone downhill, 2/08 Fire Sinks Amigos Del Mar’s Dive Boat, 2/08 Cuba, Bonaire, Belize... , and a clever thief in Curacao, 1/07 Isla de Marisol, Belize, among the best, if it weren’t for..., 9/05 Dive Boats Hassle Utila’s Whale Sharks, 9/05 Two on Turneffe Island, Belize, — Turneffe Island Lodge and Turneffe Flats, 4/05 Thumbs Down Advanced Diving Placencia, Belize, 4/05 Thumbs Down in Placencia, 2/04 New Whale Shark Preserve in Belize, 1/04 Behemoths in Belize, scheduled whale shark trips in Placencia, 6/00 What's Left After Mitch?, reports on Honduras, Belize, Cayman, and Cozumel, 1/99 Diving the Turneffe Islands of Belize, Ecotouring at Blackbird Caye Resort, 1/98 Jaguar Reef Lodge, Belize, Nice place to visit, but diving is a distance, 7/97 Rum Point Inn, Belize, 4/95 Ambergris, We Hardly Knew Ye., 1/93 Lighthouse Reef, Belize, C.A., By Land And By Sea, 10/92 Manta Resort, Belize, C.A., And A Second Look At St.George's Lodge, 2/92 St. George's Lodge, 2/92 Victoria House, Ambergris Caye, Belize, There's Better In Belize, 8/89 Belize On The Cheap, 8/89 Reports From The Readers: Belize and Ambergris Caye, 8/89 Turneffe Island Lodge, Belize, Central America, A Trip Back In Time, 5/89 Captain Morgan's, Ambergris Caye, Belize, Central America, 9/86 Glover's Reef village, Belize C.A., An Outpost Of Civilization, 2/82 Trudy's Hotel, Utila, British Honduras, A bargain of bygone days, 11/80 St. George's Lodge, Belize, Total Isolation And Super Diving, 8/80 Ambergris Caye, Belize, Runnin' Against The Wind, 7/80 The Isla Mia, Belize, At Play With The Porpoises, 6/80

Editor's Book Picks for Scuba Diving Belize
including Ambergris Caye, Glover's Atoll, Lighthouse Reef, St. George's Caye, Southern Belize and Turneffe Atoll

The books below are my favorites about diving in this part of the world All books are available at a significant discount from Amazon.com; just follow the links. -- BD

Travel Edition of Reef Fish Identification: Caribbean, Bahamas, South Florida
by Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach

Today's airline weight restrictions not only limit the amount of dive gear and cameras you can pack for overseas trips, but also those valuable prized marine life identification books. And with spotty Internet access overseas, it's not like you can look a critter of or fish up easily online. For the divers who still want a book in their hands post-dive to look up the fishes they encounter, Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach are offering "Travel Edition of Reef Fish Identification: Caribbean, Bahamas, South Florida." It's lightweight enough to thrown in your carry-on but rugged enough to withstand frequent saltwater washings on board.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

World Atlas of Coral Reefs
by Mark D. Spalding, Corinna Ravilious, Edmund P. Green, United Nations World Conservation Monitoring Center.

If there is one book that belongs in every traveling diver's library, this is it. The superb World Atlas of Coral Reefs has everything you want to know about the reefs from Costa Rica and Cuba to the Coral Sea and Cayman. The information is specific and up to date. The photos, maps and layout superb. And the price, for this 424 page, full color, hard bound volume, is a steal at $31.50

The Atlas was released in September by the United Nations World Conservation Monitoring Center to document and conserve the world's coral reefs. Clearly written with divers in mind, it's an invaluable resource for global travelers. Here's what you'll find.

• 94 maps, including global maps of biodiversity and reef stresses, regional maps showing 3-D bathymetry and high resolution maps showing reefs, mangroves, population centers, dive centers and protected areas.
• 280 color photographs, showing reefs, wildlife, people and places, Including 84 photographs taken from space by Shuttle astronauts.
• Text explaining the formation, structure and ecology of coral reefs; their various uses and abuses at the hands of humans; and the techniques used in coral reef mapping.
• Detailed texts describing the distribution and status of coral reefs in every country.
• Data tables listing information on biodiversity, human use, and protected areas. These include statistics on coral reef area, biodiversity, fish consumption, and threats.

For example, you can learn about pollution damage to the reefs at Providenciales and the lack of human impact, as well. Or, where extensive bleaching took place in Honduras 1998. You'll read that Milne Bay in Papua New Guineas has the most extensive reef system in that country and where, in Fiji, the bumphead parrotfish and tridachna clams will not be found, thanks to overfishing. Order now.

The Reef Set: Reef Fish, Reef Creature and Reef Coral (3 Volumes):
Paul Humann ID Books
by Paul Humann, Ned Deloach

The three set fish, creature and coral ID books by Paul Humann are the unparalleled sources for information on Caribbean sea life and identification. Paul and his partner Ned Deloach recently released updated and expanded editions of each, with scores of new critters, even better photos, and information unavailable anywhere else. Why, the Reef Fish Identification book, at more than 500 pages, is 20 percent larger than the previous volume, which came out in 1994. Whenever I travel to the Caribbean, I tote all three books and spend my down hours figuring out what I saw and where to look to find rare creatures. Paul's splendid Reef Creature book (420 pages), covers sponges, nudibranchs, octopus, crustaceans, Christmas tree worms and plenty more. His Reef Coral ID book (276 pages) helps you identify all the hard and soft corals, spawning, and even the growth on top of corals, as well as algae and other plant life. Beginners may want to ID only fish, but I'd recommend that all three books be part of every diver's library. And, if you have an old set, by all means replace it. You'll be delighted at the additions and improvements. Each book normally retails for $40, but are discounted when you order here. And the boxed 3-volume set is available now at a bigger discount, up to 30%. Click below to buy them at Amazon:

* Reef Fish Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas,
* Reef Creature Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas, and
* Reef Coral Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas
* The Boxed Set of all three (you can save up to 30%)

A Guide to the Coral Reefs of the Caribbean
by Mark Spalding

This book doubles as a guide to the natural history of the coral reefs and a diver's travel guide. In addition to providing information about some of the most popular diving and snorkeling, it also offers practical suggestions to divers who want to protect these sites. Author Mark Spalding, a coral reef scientist who has worked on coral reefs in over thirty countries, delves into the eco-problems with a focus on what each person can do to protect the reefs. The guide section covers 35 dive destinations with key information on the reefs, marine parks, remote places, and unusual species as well as excellent maps and a photographic field guide of the marine flora and fauna.
Order Now at a reduced price of only $16.47.

There's a Cockroach in My Regulator
by Undercurrent

The Best of Undercurrent: Bizarre and Brilliant True Diving Tales from Thirty Years of Undercurrent.

Shipping now is our brand new, 240-page book filled with the best of the unusual, the entertaining, and the jaw dropping stories Undercurrent has published. They’re true, often unbelievable, and always fascinating. We’re offering it to you now for the special price of just $14.95.

Click here to order.

You might find some other books of interest in our Editor's Book Picks section.