Watch
Video
Immerse yourself in the fun, educational adventure of Belize’s first snorkel trail – an underwater adventure that lets you learn more about coral reefs.
Perhaps the best way to learn more about coral reefs is to visit one – and the Turneffe Atoll snorkel trail or underwater trail lets you do just that. We’ve designed the snorkel trail to let you explore the Calabash Caye reef at your own pace, and use all your senses to learn and experience this remarkable ecosystem.
We believe that learning should be fun, and that we can only conserve what we can understand – that’s what the snorkel trail is all about. By completing the snorkel trail, you’ll gain a much deeper understanding of how a reef works, and just why these amazing coral structures are so important. You’ll also start to get a sense of some of the threats that reefs face, and how decisions you make in your own life can have an impact on reef survival.
The Turneffe Atoll snorkel trail guides you through warm, shallow, crystal-clear waters, with excellent visibility. All you’ll need is a flotation device (optional) and your guide to accompany you. Once you get dropped off by boat at the start of the trail, you can spend as long as you like exploring, drifting and just being amazed by the variety of shapes, sizes and colours you’ll see.
Waterproof pamphlets are attached to each marker to tell you what to look out for, with questions to prompt you to think more about marine conservation.
Depending on the route you choose, the entire snorkel trail is around 200 – 300m long. On land, that sort of distance might only take you 2 or 3 minutes to walk – beneath the waves, expect to spend up to an hour on the very first Belize snorkel trail. Time moves differently underwater, and there’s no reason to hurry.
Corals can protect themselves against smaller predators with stinging cells.
Each of the numbered buoys has a theme to do with reef habitats and the species that depend on them. You’ll swim above beds of seagrass, peer into crevices, and even glimpse the deep blue water that leads to the drop-off. Consult your pamphlet at each buoy to learn more, or simply take the time to gaze around you at the hustle and bustle that is one of the signs of a thriving reef. Although the buoys are numbered, you can visit them (as well as the bonus buoy and the drifting experience) in any order you choose – you’re on reef time, and it’s much more about the experience than ticking things off a list.
Your experience of the snorkel trail at Turneffe Atoll can be the beginning of a lifelong passion for ocean conservation – at least, we hope it will be. Once you’ve immersed yourself in the world of the reef, you’ll realise that coral reef ecosystems are as vulnerable as they are beautiful and valuable.
The wreck of the Wit off Turneffe Atoll offers some of the best wreck diving in Belize.
Walk back in time as you see the mangrove forests of Calabash Caye.
Turneffe Atoll has retained its biodiversity and offers the best scuba diving in Belize.
Try for a Grand Slam when you flyfish in the shallow coastal waters of Turneffe Atoll.
100% of your donation will go to support the work of the Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association
