the great blue hole at lighthouse reef

The Blue Hole itself is novel, but the best part is you're right at some of the very best diving around at the Lighthouse Reef. Plus it's fun to see the animal sanctuary.

We dove the blue hole with Amigos del Mar last week and were pleased with the service. The hole itself is a geologically interesting dive, recognizing that in order for the stalactites to exist, the hole had to be dry at some time in the past for a long period of time. It was amazing how quickly we went from 30 feet to 139 feet. Not much in the way of fish life below the entrance to the hole. The 2 following dives at Long Caye (the aquarium) and Half Moon Caye were better from a marine life standpoint. The "+ 1" is for the red footed booby sanctuary on the beach where you stop for lunch on the atoll. Make the small effort to walk to the observation tower and see the birds up close. The iguanas and hermit crabs also make this a fun stop.

We aren't divers, so we did a flight over the Blue Hole on a beautiful sunny day. It was breathtaking and beautiful.

of course, everyone says the Blue Hole itself is not a great dive, and they are technically correct. But it is well worth doing, it is one of the 7 underwater wonders of the world. But what makes this dive so worth it is the other dives you do that day and lunch at half moon caye. The 2nd and 3rd dive are absolutely world class dives, and would have been worth the trip even without the Blue Hole.

We used Amigos del Mar as our dive masters. They were great. The boat picked us up at our resort (Coco Beach) 5:30a and took us to San Pedro. They had a light breakfast our while we got checked in. Boat was lovely, crew friendly. Took about 2.30hrs to get to The Blue Hole. Beautiful trip out, saw a dolphin, fresh front, etc. out the entire trip. The Blue Hole dive itself is quick because of the depth (about 30 mins) and I didn't see much sea life, but the cavern was beautiful, even on a day that was a little cloudy. I saw the coolest clam and a reef shark. We then dove Half Moon Caye wall, which was my favorite. They served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the way to have lunch at the Boobie Birthday Sanctuary/Half Moon Caye National Monument/National Park (note $40US per person admission fee) on the beach (chicken, various salads...)! The Boobies and reptiles were fun to see and it also seemed as though folks were vacationing in cabanas on this Island! We then dove The Aquarium, where we saw lots of fish, and a nurse shark followed us. On the way back they serve rum cocktails and dive master Mike dove in and free swam looking for manatees for us. Then the boat stopped and we were all give the option to jump in the water from the 2nd floor of the boat. We got back to the dock around 5p. Trip was expensive, about $300 per person US but we feel worth it. Great day! Met lots of nice fellow-divers. Would definitely be on our list to do every trip to Belize!

Yes the boat ride is long 2.5-3 hours but it's well worth it. Just be prepared and it'll be a great experience (take Dramamine, bring a book and sunblock). The blue hole is amazing and to say you scuba dove or snorkeled it is definitely a big check off the bucket list! My husband set a record for his deepest dive at 137'. We enjoyed all the locations we dove/snorkeled as well as lunch at Half Moon Caye. That is such a pretty island and it was cool to take a break and see the red footed boobies. It's a very long day but we are both thrilled that we did it and you will be too!

We took a plane tour of the Blue Hole, Ambergris Caye, and San Pedro and it was wonderful! I would have loved to scuba dive the hole, but wasn't able to make the full-day trip work. Seeing it from above was a great alternative, and getting to see all of the cayes, the remote houses and resorts from the sky was also really interesting.

This is a must-do trip for most divers coming to Belize, and understandably it's a highlight given the reputation. However here are a few helpful tips just so you know what you are getting into, as it may influence your decision on whether or not to go. I gave it an average grade because some elements of the day were 5-star, while others were probably closer to 1-star. On average, it ended up being a 3-star experience.The trip lasts an entire day, starting at like 5:30am. You return about 5:30pm.The boat ride is 2.5 hours each way.Lots of people on the boat will get seasick. If you are prone to seasickness, you may want to reconsider.The dive at the Blue Hole itself is first, and very brief since you go so deep (140'). You are only at that depth, where it is most interesting, for about 7 minutes.On the day we dove, there was absolutely no sea life near the surface, and you will not encounter any at 140' except for an occasional lionfish on the sea walls.If you are a certified open water diver, this can be a scary dive. Since you are in a group, if you feel uncertain you will not have lots of support as the dive masters have to attend to those underwater and if you decide to abort the dive you will be on your own (granted this could depend on dive operators, but if you are in a large tour group you will have less attention).Oddly enough, the best dives were the two that folllowed the Blue Hole at Half Moon Caye and the Aquarium. They were spectacular and had an abundance of fish and wildlife.You will not 'see' the Blue Hole from a boat. The only way to notice it is from the air, so if that is a priority for you, then you should book the flyover day tour through Tropic Air in Belize City or San Pedro-but this is expensive. The flight lasts about an hour but offers truly breathtaking views of the hole from above.Divers seem to be polarized on the experience of coming here. Yes, you need to do it if you're in Belize to 'earn your stripes' and be able to talk about the experience, but it's also a bit of a letdown when there are so many other dives and dive sites that are more spectacular (if not as unique). The most valuable piece of advice I can give on this trip is to know what you are getting into, and to be aware of the challenges that this short dive presents. You do not want to come all the way out to the Blue Hole and abort the dive if you don't think you are ready. If you have any reservations, go with a smaller group, stick with the dive master, or get a few more dives under your belt before descending to these depths. You can't afford to panic here!

We have dived Turks and Caicos and other places and this was so interesting!Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkk no dislikes

Nothing Special actually. It took 2.5 hours each way to get out here from Ambergris Caye....then dive 130+ feet to cold, lifeless depths. Checked this off bucket list....no need to go back.

I went with Frenchie's Dive Shop. They separated the the snorkelers from the divers, and took the snorkelers to the outer reef, which was one of the best sites I've ever seen, and I've been scuba diving all over the Caribbean for the past 23 years. The dive here is just 15 minutes inside a big sink hole. The wildlife and the coral are just below the surface of the water,along the edge of the hole. Just make sure you go with a dive shop that takes you to the reef where the sealife is. See photos below.

I don't know what all the hype is about. I have dived many of the Worlds "bucket list" dives and they have all lived up to expectations but as far as I can see the only reason it is on our lists is because of that great photo from the air.You dive down to 42 meters, see a few stalagtites and then swim back up to the boat. Other than being able to say you have done it I can't think of another reason to pay the huge amount they ask for to do this dive. The other two dives at Half Moon Caye and Aquarium are nice enough but just regular wall dives.Big disappointment for me.

I am so glad that I got to dive the Blue Hole. It's 130' and you only get 6 minutes of bottom time. The stalactites and stalagmites growing on the shelf are amazing, and you can swim along and between them. That said, if you want to see pretty fish, they aren't on this dive. There are two other dives on the same excursion, and that's where you will see the pretty fish. There is also a beach BBQ between dives 2 and 3.

This is an image that many people know and most won't ever see in person. It's a bucket list item for sure. We did this dive while staying in San Pedro and it was a pretty long boat ride out on a very large dive boat. The water gets very choppy so take your Dramamine if you get seasick. Some of those waves are no joke.The dive itself was very different than anything I have experienced diving or otherwise. It is a very deep dive, we went to 130' with only 8 minutes of bottom time and nitrogen narcosis definitely started to settle in on me. But it is amazing to see. There are HUGE stalactites and stalagmites to see and swim around that look like teeth of a giant dinosaur in the cave. It reminded me of what it would be like in outer space because there isn't much marine life down there nor current so everything is kind of still and grey and just suspended. It was eery like in star wars when they fly into that asteroid and it happens to be into that big snake things mouth/belly. And there was a school of 6 or so Grey Reef Sharks circling the top of the Blue Hole during our ascent that was a little creepy because they were big but they didn't bother us when we came up. This is a full day dive trip with 2 other stops that are also nice and it's not cheap but if you are a diver in the area I don't know how you can pass up this dive.

Got the standard 3 dive package (blue hole, half moon caye wall and aquarium). Blue hole is a cool deep dive but there wasn't much to see down there (no hammerheads my day, unfortunately). The other two dives were amazing though, so overall the trip was awesome