Half Moon Caye

Half Moon Caye sits on the eastern rim of Lighthouse Reef and was protected as a bird sanctuary from 1924 and in 1981 became Belize's first nature reserve under the National Park Systems Act. Its colony of red-footed boobies is one of the few viable breeding grounds of the species in the western Caribbean, several thousand birds nesting in the orange-flowered ziricote trees at the eastern end, watched from a platform built up into the canopy so you look across the tops of the nests with frigatebirds harassing the boobies overhead. Off the western point the reef drops away into a wall in exceptional visibility. The Great Blue Hole is on the same atoll, and most trips combine the two.

The landscape

• The booby colony - thousands of red-footed boobies, from a canopy platform.
• The wall dive - the drop-off at the western point.
• The lighthouse - the old light at the eastern end of the caye.
• The beach - white sand with hermit crabs and nesting turtles in season.

When to go

December to April is the dry season with the calmest crossings. Boobies nest year-round with a peak in the winter months. Trips are long, two to three hours each way, and are cancelled in wind. Overnight camping is possible with a permit.

Practical notes

The crossing is long and often rough; day trips from Ambergris are six hours of boat time. Most Blue Hole tours include this caye as a lunch stop with very little time ashore, which undersells it. There are no facilities beyond a ranger station and basic camping. The reef here has suffered from bleaching events.

Nearby

The Great Blue Hole is on the same atoll; Ambergris Caye is two hours west.

Key facts