Great Blue Hole
Explore Lighthouse ReefLighthouse Reef in Belize offers an unparalleled diving experience, renowned
Explore Lighthouse Reef
Lighthouse Reef in Belize offers an unparalleled diving experience, renowned for its remarkable biodiversity and stunning underwater landscapes. This 35-kilometer-long reef is part of the Belize Great Barrier Reef and presents divers with an array of vivid hard and soft corals. The vibrant marine life includes various fish species, sea turtles, and even the occasional encounter with sharks. The Great Blue Hole, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a must-visit, featuring mesmerizing stalactites and a variety of marine creatures that make every dive here unforgettable.
Diving in Lighthouse Reef caters to all preferences, with options ranging from exhilarating wall dives to intriguing wreck explorations. The atoll is best accessed by liveaboard, allowing divers to explore its remote beauty and myriad dive sites comfortably. Notably, Half Moon Caye offers crystal-clear waters and is a haven for the red-footed booby bird, adding a unique terrestrial dimension to the diving adventure. Whether you're exploring coral gardens or descending into the depths of the Great Blue Hole, Lighthouse Reef promises a dive experience that is both thrilling and awe-inspiring.
Places to explore
Dive Activity
Top Wildlife Sightings in Lighthouse Reef
The variety in topography at the Lighthouse Reef means many different types of dives. There are shallow reef dives, impressive wall dives with thrilling drop offs, caves, and coral ridges. The Great Blue Hole provides the unique experience of floating in the blue abyss. All the dive sites are accessed either by liveaboards or by day trip boats from dive centres and dive resorts from San Pedro.
Top Wildlife Sightings in Lighthouse Reef
The main spectacle of the marine life is the flourishing coral reef made up of a multitude of soft corals, hard coral boulders, Sea Sponges, Anemones and Sea Fans. There is an abundance of reef fish species which create clouds of colour including Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Parrotfish and Fairy Basslets. One of the main spectacles here are the inquisitive Nurse Sharks. Other larger species include Eagle Rays, Manta Rays, reef sharks and on the luckiest days Hammerhead Sharks.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 25
iStock/Juliosanjuan
Eagle Ray
469 Sightings
J
33
F
40
M
29
A
42
M
53
J
33
J
54
A
51
S
29
O
13
N
31
D
61
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 27
iStock-Global_Pics
Barracuda
335 Sightings
J
29
F
22
M
27
A
25
M
29
J
31
J
35
A
34
S
32
O
30
N
17
D
24
Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
Green Turtle
258 Sightings
J
31
F
14
M
20
A
22
M
30
J
22
J
33
A
23
S
5
O
11
N
18
D
29
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
Moray Eel
248 Sightings
J
18
F
19
M
16
A
15
M
25
J
8
J
26
A
23
S
28
O
20
N
14
D
36
Shutterstock-Ed Jenkins
Hawksbill Turtle
48 Sightings
J
0
F
8
M
8
A
21
M
8
J
0
J
0
A
0
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
3
AdobeStock-Marc Henauer
Grey Reef Shark
778 Sightings
J
57
F
50
M
47
A
77
M
89
J
73
J
77
A
85
S
31
O
40
N
64
D
88
AdobeStock-Nikolai Sorokin
Blacktip Reef Shark
571 Sightings
J
33
F
55
M
42
A
39
M
53
J
38
J
81
A
57
S
48
O
30
N
29
D
66
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 80
iStock/Extreme-Photographer
Stingrays
449 Sightings
J
35
F
26
M
38
A
23
M
42
J
40
J
51
A
45
S
39
O
27
N
38
D
45
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 250
Shutterstock-Henry_and_Laura_Whittaker
Grouper/Basslets
433 Sightings
J
34
F
39
M
23
A
33
M
32
J
36
J
40
A
28
S
35
O
36
N
38
D
59
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 90
Shutterstock-Rich Carey
Angelfish
393 Sightings
J
34
F
30
M
13
A
32
M
40
J
35
J
25
A
45
S
38
O
32
N
28
D
41
The best Months to Dive in Lighthouse Reef
The Caribbean has year-round pleasant diving conditions with water temperatures ranging between 24°C–29°C/75°F–84°F with similar outside temperatures, and visibility ranges between 15 meters/49 feet and 30 meters/98 feet. There may be windy days between November to January which may make some sites inaccessible, but there is always opportunity for diving. April to June is the best time to spot larger species.
