Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve

The Sapodilla Cayes sit at the southern tip of the Belize Barrier Reef, a scatter of sand and mangrove islands around fifty kilometres offshore, and they are one of the seven protected areas making up the World Heritage reserve system inscribed in 1996. Because they are so far out and so little visited, the reef here is in better condition than most of the accessible sites, with good coral cover and large fish. Hunting Caye has a ranger station and a beach.

What you actually see

• The reef condition - coral in better shape than the accessible northern sites.
• Hunting Caye - the main island, with a beach and the ranger station.
• The southern tip - the end of the barrier reef system.
• The isolation - fifty kilometres offshore with almost no visitors.

When to go

December to April is the dry season with the calmest crossing. The run out is long and open and rough weather cancels it regularly. Turtle nesting on Hunting Caye runs through the summer.

Honest expectations

The crossing is around fifty kilometres of open water and takes two hours or more in a small boat; it is rough often and uncomfortable. Facilities are minimal and overnight stays need arrangement with the rangers. Charter costs are high because of the distance.

Nearby

Punta Gorda is west on the mainland, and Port Honduras is inshore.