South Water Caye

South Water Caye is about six hectares of sand and palm sitting directly on the barrier reef south of Dangriga, inside the marine reserve that carries its name and forms part of the World Heritage inscription. Like Tobacco Caye a few kilometres north it offers reef straight off the beach, but it is larger, quieter and has more space between the handful of lodges and the field station that occupies part of it. Manatees use the seagrass in the channel, and the reserve extends to include Man-O-War Caye, a mangrove island holding a large nesting colony of magnificent frigatebirds and brown boobies.

What you actually see

• Reef from the beach - the crest a short swim from the sand.
• Man-O-War Caye - a frigatebird and booby colony nearby.
• The marine reserve - the largest in Belize, part of the World Heritage site.
• Manatees - in the seagrass channels around the caye.

When to go

December to April is the dry season and the calmest. Frigatebirds nest through the winter and spring with the males displaying red throat pouches. Sargassum can affect the beaches in spring and summer.

Honest expectations

Accommodation is limited to a few lodges and a field station, all on package rates, and there is nothing else on the caye. Sandflies at dusk are severe. Boats from Dangriga run on lodge schedules rather than on demand. Coral condition varies and bleaching has hit parts of the reserve.

Nearby

Tobacco Caye is a few kilometres north; Dangriga is 45 minutes west.