Snorkeling with Sharks, Sting Rays and Manatees in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve
No trip to Belize is complete without a visit to at least one of its Northern Cayes in the Caribbean – either Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker (or both if you have enough time!).
Being the second largest reef system in the world, it’s no surprise that snorkeling and scuba diving the Belize Barrier Reef is the top attraction for visitors to the chilled out islands. The most popular snorkeling excursion in the Belize northern cayes is the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley.
Click on the image below to see why
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Having trouble viewing the video?
Click here to watch on YouTube –Snorkeling Hol Chan Marine Reserve
We were fortunate to have teamed up with Tsunami Adventures prior to our arrival to Caye Caulker. As you can see in the short video, our snorkeling trip was filled with marine wildlife and colourful soft coral reef.
After an unsuccessful attempt at swimming with whale sharks in Placencia, we were pretty excited to have witnessed a pair of manatees swimming in their natural habitat.
With a face like a bulldog, body like a sea lion and a tail that is flat like a beaver, the cute and fat manatees spend most of their day resting on the sea floor, surfacing for air every 15 minutes (which is the best time to spot them). They are without question the most unique marine mammal we have ever seen.
The visibility of the water near the manatees was quite cloudy, but we did manage to catch one good photo with our underwater camera.
If you’re in Caye Caulker and looking for an adventure, check out Tsunami Adventures and tell them that the Traveling Canucks sent you!
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Do you like snorkeling or scuba diving? Where are your favourite spots?
Share your experiences in the comments section below
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Editor’s Note: Our snorkeling trip with Tsunami Adventures was complimentary, however the thoughts and opinions shared in this post are entirely our own
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The Great Barrier Reef – though I’ve only been there and South Florida. I need to get out more.
We were actually kind of disappointed with Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Perhaps because our expectations were so high. Or because we felt like cattle moving through the motions (we had over 60 divers in our group!)
I adore manatees.They are also at home in the Miami River where I can see them from my balcony. I never tire of the sight and when they have babaies, clinging to Mama manatee I can’t tear my eyes away. Who needs TV with a sight like that.
They are such interesting mammals. I must confess, I didn’t even know what a manatee was before our trip to Belize. I was confusing them with Manta Rays! 😉
I love diving, but wasn’t so excited about the diving in Belize, I liked Honduras much better and it was cheaper. Did love the manta rays though! Loved, loved diving in the Galapagos and Cocos (600km off the coast of Costa Rica) for all the sharks.
We didn’t get a chance to scuba dive this time around, but the snorkeling was great. Haven’t been to Cocos yet but hear its quite the spot
Belize looks beautiful. Not much of a diver but I think I could enjoy Belize anyway!
Oh yeah, I’m sure you’d find a way to enjoy Belize! 😉
Love it! This would be my favorite day of your trip- I love snorkeling!
It was a lot of fun. We managed to get 5 snorkel session on the tour, which was plenty. What I liked most was that each spot had a different attraction. One had turtles, the other had nurse sharks, the other had sting rays and the last had the manatees.
So jealous! I LOVED doing this tour, but never had the chance to see the stingrays swarm or manatees. VEry cool!
Yeah, we got lucky to have spotted the manatees. Apparently its not as common, but who knows
I have only done it once. I was traveling through Honduras and decided to get over my fear and get certified. I did really enjoy it, but I haven’t dived anywhere since. Still a bit of fear of being in open water.
I think I’ll need someone with me to give me a little nudge 🙂
We are the same. We love to snorkel. Diving is amazing and it’s nice you don’t have to wait at the surface. In Belize we felt that snorkeling was the better option since the water wasn’t deep in most places.
Oh, I love manatees! I grew up in Florida, and we used to see them all the time.
I think we have to go to Florida again soon. We never say manatees when we were there.
Great video guys!
Thanks Jeff!
Beautiful! I’ve been fortunate enough to dive with these creatures but they seem to be in abundance in Belize.
There are a number of places in Belize to see them, but you don’t always get to swim with them. We were lucky!
This would have been quite the experience. The video added a nice touch to the post – felt like I was right there. I’m glad you didn’t get zapped by a stingray – you’re probably already feeling enough of a pinch from the Canucks loss in game 7.
Haha True. That’s okay….we always have next year with the Canucks! The boys will bring the cup home one of these days.
We swam with sharks in Belize way back in 2003. It was an amazing experience. We were diving our way through Central America, but one of the best experiences was snorkelling in Caye Caulker. It was truly magical. So wonderful that you got to see manatees. We didn’t witness them, but have seen them in Florida. They are the cutest things. Like little cows:)
A cow is a good description. We really enjoyed diving in Belize and plan to go to Honduras in the future. We’ve heard amazing stories about the diving there.
wow! I would love to see manatees too!
They were pretty cool! 😉
I got up close with stingrays and sharks in Belize too…no manatees though… 🙁
Best scuba diving I’ve ever done was Borneo!!
Ah, would LOVE to dive in Borneo! Thanks for stopping by Raymond
I have been crazy about manatees since I first saw one in the Living Seas at Epcot years and years ago, you know how it is with some animals? My heart just skipped a beat when I saw it. That same trip we spotted some around the inlets of Florida’s west coast, but nowhere where we could snorkel. Since then I’ve dived with rays and snorkeled with dolphins and turtles, but I have yet to actually see a manatee in its home environment, and I so want to. I actually “adopted” one through Save the Manatees, because they really are in danger from all the idiots with speed boats around Florida, among other things.
So, all in all, I am incredibly jealous of this post! Belize seems to be more and more somewhere I need to go!
We just got open water certified. You guys have convinced us Belize is a must visit as a diving spot! I heard Anthony’s Key in Honduras was another popular spot for diving!
I haven’t been to Belize yet, but it is definitely on my list.
Big groups on diving and snorkelling trips are awful. I totally agree and think that’s something I definitely didn’t love about the GBR.
The East coast of Africa however, dives in small groups and has the most wonderful abundance of underwater creatures. Sharks, rays, fish, they’re all there.
I have been swimming with manatees for the past 3 years in Florida. The only place where you can do it is in Citrus County. It is the most amazing wildlife experience I have ever had. We wrote a guide on how to do it (responsibly), where to stay and when to go. It is easier and cheaper than what it seems!
http://travel4wildlife.com/how-to-swim-with-manatees/
Hi Cam & Nicole,
Could you let me know if you actually swam/snorkelled with the Manatees in Belize? I keep reading that you can see them in their natural habitat but read some sites that you dont actually swim with them. My husband and I are planning on going there this June/July and would really like to swim with Manatees.
Regards,
Naz
I haven’t been to Belize but with your blog I include it to my list!