Discover the offshore sinkhole at Lighthouse Reef: a remarkable window into Belize’s limestone past. This is the marine Blue Hole, far from the inland swimming pool at St. Herman’s.
What to see & do
Take in the aerial view with a flight operator, or ask a licensed marine operator about reef snorkeling and diving suited to your experience. Deep diving requires specialist planning.
Picture yourself here.
Video posterA day at Half Moon Caye and Blue Hole
Scenes from BAS’s public trip on August 4, 2024. This is a past outing, not a current tour offer.
Belize Audubon Society
Audio and any available captions come from the original publisher.
Getting there
Arrange a boat trip with an operator from the cayes, coastal communities or reef resorts. There is no road access or island landing at the sinkhole.
When to go
Sea and weather conditions determine trips. Confirm departure, equipment and your operator’s cancellation arrangements.
Facilities & staying longer
No land facilities or camping at the Blue Hole itself. Half Moon Caye is a separate island stop with ranger and visitor facilities.
A flooded limestone cave system; protected as a natural monument in 1996. Jacques Cousteau’s 1971 expedition helped bring it international attention.
Before your marine visit
Rules & responsible visits
Follow ranger and operator instructions, keep clear of nesting wildlife and avoid touching or standing on coral. Ask BAS about current restrictions before fishing, collecting, launching a drone or arranging any special activity.
Mooring balls & boat arrival
BAS’s published marine guidance directs vessels to contact the Half Moon Caye rangers on VHF channel 16 before mooring or anchoring. Confirm current permissions, suitability and availability; the presence of a buoy is not a booking or assurance of capacity.
Island facilities & arrival guidance →Camping & fees
Half Moon Caye has a campground; the Blue Hole has no land facilities. Ask BAS to confirm camping rules, overnight fees, facilities and availability. Published entrance fees do not establish a camping price or include your operator’s transport charges.
Ask BAS about camping ↗Commercial filming & special permissions
Contact BAS before planning a commercial shoot, drone flight or research activity. Describe the site, dates, crew, equipment and wildlife interactions so the relevant permissions and charges can be confirmed. This demo does not issue permits.
Contact BAS ↗A geological landmark
Blue Hole is one of seven protected areas in the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The natural monument protects the sinkhole and surrounding waters; its designation provides for conservation, research, education and tourism.
BAS describes a flooded, collapsed limestone cave about 1,000 feet across and 412 feet deep. Vertical walls, overhanging shelves and large stalactites record a landscape formed when sea levels were lower. These are descriptions of the feature, not recreational dive limits.
Its tilted formations help scientists study past geological changes. Deep sediment layers preserve a record of deposition with little disturbance from the processes affecting shallower water. Cousteau brought the Calypso here in 1971; the monument was established in 1996 with approximately 1,023 acres of surrounding water.
Life around the blue
The reef rim offers a different experience from the deep sinkhole: corals, reef fishes and occasional turtles or sharks. BAS reports green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles, and occasional hammerhead, lemon, bull and blacktip sharks. Wildlife encounters vary, and the deep formations require diving appropriate to your training and operator’s plan.
Tour operators depart from San Pedro, Caye Caulker, Hopkins and Placencia, as well as resorts in Turneffe and Lighthouse Reef. Ask whether a trip pairs the Blue Hole with Half Moon Caye, where island facilities are available.
Published mooring information
BAS publishes four Lighthouse Reef mooring locations in its Blue Hole visitor information, using WGS 84 degrees, minutes and seconds: Lighthouse Wall — 17°12′02.8″ N, 87°32′16.5″ W; Half Moon Caye Wall — 17°12′11.78″ N, 87°32′31.6″ W; Tarpon Cave — 17°12′20.3″ N, 87°32′46.3″ W; Chain Wall — 17°12′22.5″ N, 87°33′08″ W.
The source lists a mooring capacity of 370 gross tons without a revision date. These are published reference locations, not a navigational chart or confirmation that a particular mooring is present, available or suitable. Contact Half Moon Caye rangers on VHF channel 16 before mooring or anchoring within either monument.
From the field.
A closer look at the places you visit, drawn from BAS’s own reports and field guides.
Learning to read a reef
BAS’s education guide describes Reef Protectors learning turtle-nest monitoring, beach profiling, bird counts, seagrass surveys and fish identification. A reef becomes a living classroom, connecting young people from fishing communities with the details of their own marine environment.
BAS Environmental Education Programme · 2021 archive p. 2 ↗PDF · 0.2 MBGood visits need thoughtful planning
The 2020–2023 BIOPAMA plan paired solar power and trail improvements with visitor-use plans and limits on environmental change. Its tourism ambition was to improve the experience while caring for the landscape and seascape. These were planned activities, not a completion report.
BAS BIOPAMA project plan · 2020–2023 p. 10 ↗PDF · 2.9 MBKeep exploring
Find BAS reports, visitor resources and birding information in the library, or ask the team for current checklists and trail conditions.
Maps & visitor resources →Visitor information reviewed November 8, 2026. Contact the team for current conditions or special arrangements. Content sources & credits →