Scuba Diving in Caye Caulker, Belize

Introduction 

At the beginning of 2023, my partner and I took a few months out of work to travel through Central America. After our first stop in Mexico, and some excellent diving in Cozumel and the Yucatan Peninsula Cenotes we travelled to Caye Caulker in Belize.

Belize 

Belize is located on the northeast coast of Central America. It has land borders with Mexico to the North and Guatemala to the West and South. To the east you’ll find the crystal blue waters and sandy beaches of the Caribbean along a 174-mile (280km) coastline.

I’ve travelled through many countries in Latin America, including almost all of Central America. Belize feels different to its neighbours. More of an eclectic mix between the Caribbean and Central America – perhaps largely due to its distinct history as up until 1973, Belize was known as British Honduras. Belize secured independence from the UK on 21^st September 1981 but today retains a link as a member of the Commonwealth. The official language is English but most Belizeans also speak creole. Mestizos (those of mixed Mayan and Spanish heritage) speak Spanish and there are a multitude of other languages spoken throughout the country.

Belize has a lot to see and do on land but the target for us was the islands (known as ‘cayes’ and pronounced ‘keys’ – like the Florida Keys). The cayes are the best jumping off point for the Belize Barrier Reef and given our primary goal was to dive – the northern cayes seemed like the best option. We didn’t have a lot of time so narrowed our choice down to the larger and busier Ambergris Caye or the smaller and more laid back Caye Caulker. Both offer diving (and we’d end up diving off the coast of Ambergris later in the trip) but we decided to head to Caye Caulker – attracted to the laid back lifestyle summed up by the island mantra: ‘go slow’.

Getting to Caye Caulker, Belize (from Mexico)

We arrived in Caye Caulker by boat, from Mexico. We’d spent the previous three weeks on the Yucatan Peninsula (see dive reports on Cozumel and the Cenotes) and figured the fastest way (though not the cheapest) to Caye Caulker was by ferry.

The ferry leaves from Chetumal in Mexico and stops in Ambergris Caye (San Pedro) and then Caye Caulker. You complete border formalities for exiting Mexico at the ferry terminal in Chetumal and for entering Belize in San Pedro before continuing onwards to Caye Caulker. We paid M$1,400 (~£64) per person and it took around two hours.

Where to stay on Caye Caulker

Belize and Caye Caulker are a little more expensive than the rest of Central America. We were on a backpacking budget but there wasn’t a huge amount of affordable private accommodation. In the end we stayed at the Sky Inn and paid £56 per night for a private double room. The accommodation was basic but adequate for what we needed. Hot tip: The reception is inside a supermarket underneath the rooms – you need to go there to check in.

The dive shops

We dived with two different shops in Caye Caulker. We changed from the first only because they weren’t offering the dive sites we wanted to visit on our dive days.

Our first two dives were with Scuba Sensation and the second two with French Angel. Both shops were professional and friendly. Scuba Sensation even loaned my partner a long wetsuit for the dives with French Angel, who only had shorties (she gets cold even in the Caribbean).

The diving: Spanish Bay

Our first day of diving was at Spanish Bay, a one hour boat ride south of Caye Caulker. We met the team at the dive shop – a five minute walk from our accommodation – prepped our gear and walk to the west side of the island to board the boat.

After a short safety briefing the boat sped off to the south of Caye Caulker towards Spanish Bay. The route to Spanish Bay took us through the mangroves (see start of video) and reef-protected calm waters. After around an hour on the boat, we ventured out to slightly choppier seas and found the dive site on the outer side of the reef.

We suited up and back rolled off the boat into the water. We were a group of six divers plus a divemaster and at least three divers weren’t the most confident in the water. As soon as we dropped to around 10m, a school of spotted eagle rays appeared but they quickly turned around and zipped off in the other direction at the sight of three flailing divers trying and failing to find their buoyancy.

Unfortunately the brief glimpse of the spotted eagle rays would represent the highlight of our trip to Spanish Bay. The rest of the first dive and most of dive two weren’t the most spectacular with lots of damaged corals presenting a somber sight. The stew chicken served up for lunch between dives however was worthy of note!

The diving: San Pedro, Ambergris Caye

After spending a few days on Caye Caulker, we heard from other divers that one of the best spots to see sharks was off the coast of San Pedro. Our existing dive shop wasn’t scheduled to dive there until after we’d left the island so we opted to dive with French Angel for a second day of diving.

We would be diving Esmeralda and Tackle Box Canyons, two adjacent dive sites a few hundred metres out from San Pedro on the Eastern coast of Ambergris Caye.

As soon as we splashed into Tackle Box Canyons for the first dive, we headed towards a series of canyons winding in and out around the reef, closely followed by a curious nurse shark. Later as we emerged from the canyons into open water, a number of reef sharks joined us, slowly circling the group assessing us for signs of danger.

Across the two dives we also saw groupers, green morays, stonefish, yellowtail snapper, lettuce nudibranch and many other fish (these were the only ones I recorded in my logbook!)

After a disappointing first day at Spanish Bay, these dives were an absolute highlight – any dive with sharks is a winner for me!

Dive Log

• Date: 24^th and 26^th January 2023
• Dive Log: #69-72
• Max depth: 27m
• Max water temp: 30C (86F)
• Min water temp: 27C (81F)
• Dive shops: Scuba Sensation & French Angel
• Price per dive: US$97.50 at Spanish Bay (with Scuba Sensation) and US$70 at Esmeralda (with French Angel) (both including rental equipment)