The Belize Barrier Reef and Blue Hole

The Belize Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site running the length of the country's Caribbean coast, is the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere and one of the world's premier diving and snorkelling destinations. Its warm turquoise waters, coral gardens and hundreds of cayes teem with life, rays, sharks, turtles and countless fish. Its most famous feature is the Great Blue Hole, a vast, near-perfect circle of deep navy water, a collapsed underwater cavern over 300 metres across, a legendary and surreal dive.

The landscape

• The Great Blue Hole - the vast, perfect circle of deep-blue water.
• The coral reefs - the snorkelling and diving on the reef.
• Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley - the marine reserve with rays and sharks.
• The cayes - the turquoise islands strung along the reef.

When to go

November to May, the dry season, for the calmest seas, clearest water and best visibility; the wetter summer months bring rain and a hurricane risk. The Blue Hole is a boat trip offshore, best in calm weather. Marine life and coral are superb year-round when conditions allow.

Things to know

The iconic Great Blue Hole is famous chiefly from the air and is an advanced deep dive whose walls and stalactites, rather than colourful coral, are the draw, so many find the surrounding reef and cayes more rewarding for snorkelling and shallow diving; the boat trip out is long. Coral has suffered from bleaching and storms worldwide. The reef as a whole, though, is genuinely world-class and unforgettable.

Nearby

The cayes of Ambergris and Caulker and the mainland coast are the bases.