Plan a trip

The outer atolls by private boat

Turneffe and Lighthouse Reef on your own boat and your own timetable, including the Blue Hole, framed honestly.

An aerial view of white surf breaking in lines over a reef, with green-blue water behind it.
A half-underwater view: deep blue sky above, and below the surface a strand of golden seaweed drifting over seagrass.
A sandy beachfront path beside a pastel-painted dive shop, with palms, docks and boats on turquoise water.
A small open motor boat on clear, pale turquoise water beside a wooden dock with a slatted wooden crab trap on it.

About it

The shared day boats to the atolls leave at the same time, stop at the same sites and come back together. A private boat with a licensed captain and guide lets you leave at first light, choose the sites that suit your group, and stay longer where it's good.

On a typical Lighthouse Reef day we cross early, dive or snorkel Half Moon Caye's wall, walk to the booby colony, and decide about the Blue Hole based on the people in the boat. Turneffe is closer and easier: a long morning on the reef and back for a late lunch.

How it goes

Early start

Leave around first light from Ambergris or Caulker to beat the day boats.

Choose your sites

Walls, gardens or shallow reef, matched to who's in the boat.

Half Moon Caye

A walk to the booby colony on the protected caye.Check before you travel

The Blue Hole, if it suits

Dive it, snorkel the rim, or see it from a scenic flight instead.Check before you travel

Who it suits, and when

  • Snorkellers and divers who'd rather leave early and come back when they choose
  • March to June for the calmest crossingsCheck before you travel

Worth knowing

  • The crossing to Lighthouse Reef is long and can be rough; weather cancels it
  • The Blue Hole dive is deep and dark; we advise newer divers against it
  • Reserve fees are paid on the day

Rules

  • Diving requires certification; deeper dives require experience
  • Licensed captains and tour guides only

Rules and seasons change. Check before you travel

Where it happens

  • Turneffe AtollThe biggest of the three atolls: mangrove cayes, walls and flats, and very few people.
  • Lighthouse ReefThe outermost atoll: the Blue Hole, a booby colony, and the longest boat ride.
  • Ambergris CayeThe biggest caye: restaurants, a golf-cart town, and the reef a few minutes offshore.
  • Caye CaulkerA small caye with sand streets, wooden docks and no hurry at all.

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Often planned together.

All experiences

A private caye or atoll lodge

Glover's Reef, South Water Caye or Turneffe: a few rooms, the reef off the beach, and nobody else.

  • March to June for calm seas; avoid the windiest winter weeksCheck before you travel
  • Couples and families who want the reef to themselves for a couple of days
  • Glover's & South Water, Turneffe Atoll
Illustration

Fly-fishing the flats

Permit, tarpon and bonefish on the flats, catch and release, with guides who've fished them for years.

  • Bonefish all year; tarpon and permit vary by monthCheck before you travel
  • Anglers, from keen beginners to people chasing a grand slam
  • Ambergris Caye, Turneffe Atoll, Placencia
A small open motor boat on clear, pale turquoise water beside a wooden dock with a slatted wooden crab trap on it.