Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Hol Chan Marine Reserve
4.5
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This beautiful nature reserve is in an area world famous for its excellent diving.
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- Wunderlust202020 contributionsHol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley Tour at Ambergris Caye, Belize. Tuff E Nuff guide RahulOur family tour of Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley was pleasantly enhanced by our Tuff E Nuff guide, Rahul! His emphasis on safety was mirrored by his expressed interest in teaching the history of the remarkeable area and the countless fish species names and habitat. The experience exceeded our expectations in large part due to Rahul.Visited November 2023Travelled with familyWritten 27 November 2023
- Jrtm2014Seattle, Washington393 contributions30 year comparisonThis is a beautiful place. I was here 30 years ago. It has not changed for the better. Yet, the country is trying hard to protect the reef. It is in far better condition than Tahiti (which is very bleached). I brought my kids (college age) because these places may disappear. It is still beautiful and lots of life. Worth the trip. Memories of diving years ago made me come back. Great diving and snorkeling.Visited December 2023Travelled with familyWritten 27 December 2023
- Allyn VTexas6 contributionsBeautiful but can be a challenging swim depending on the weather!Our tour operator was great! Very friendly and knowledgeable however only giving the location a 4 out of 5 to make a special point to all considering visiting to pay attention to the surf, wind, current forecasts. It was quite a rough day when we were out and it would have been quite a difficult swim for kids or anyone who isn't comfortable swimming.Visited March 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 26 March 2024
- subniveanKelowna, Canada218 contributionsGreat snorkelling experience as part of tour.Snorkelled as part of our tour from Reef Adventures. Lost of boats and you each operator has to get their spot from the Marine Reserve office on a boat off to the side. The tides can be quite strong, but nothing serious for a good swimmer. Lots of marine wildlife to see.Visited March 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 26 March 2024
- Sal D21 contributionsGreat scuba divingThere were fish everywhere I turned!! It was incredible. Also saw sharks, sting rays, a turtle, lots of coral. You have to go diving here! It was warm, even on a day without the best visibility I saw so many amazing things.Visited March 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 30 March 2024
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4.5
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16
Anish S
Chicago, IL787 contributions
Jan 2020
While in Belize, this is certainly one of the must do considering the 2nd largest barrier reef is there. You will also find a lot of tour options but the unfortunate part is that all tours take you to the same spot. So when you get to the first stop where you snorkel, you are surrounded by many other tour boats and lots of people. To be fair, it doesn't feel crowded when you are snorkeling and looking around, but you certainly do see the people and have to be careful where you are going as you could run in to others.
I was also underwhelmed by the underwater scenery. While it's certainly cool to see fishes living in their natural habitat and the colors of the corals, we saw a lot more variety of fishes and corals when we did a similar tour in bora bora. unfortunately for us, having done snorkeling there, we compared our experience to that, hence the 3 stars as this did not blow us away.
After spending about 30 minutes snorkeling, you are then taken to the shark valley where you can see a lot of sharks in water. Unfortunately, this is a man made 'exhibit', meaning the sharks are now used to being fed in the area, hence they are always there. Every tour boat carries shark food and they dump that in a bucket full of holes so that they can drag the bucket in the water, thus allowing the sharks to smell and crowd the boat. You are given the option to 'swim' with the sharks, meaning you can snorkel on the other side of the boat, approximately 10 to 20 feet away. if you are scared, you can stay on the boat and watch the sharks. If you have a good tour guide, he/she will also show you how you can touch the shark w/o risking your hand/life. While it's cool to see the sharks up close, it's a bit bothersome that this is man made and the sharks have now become dependent on being fed by humans. Again, you will find other tour guides here but the boats do stay a bit further away to allow sharks to concentrate on one boat. You hang out in the area for 30 minutes and then are taken back to dock. The whole tour lasts about hour and halfish with those two stops.
Overall it was fun but i wish there were less tour guides/boats as the # of boats obviously creates more pollution, thus destroying the corals. I would recommend you take the tour if you don't plan on visiting places like bora bora where you there isn't such a high tour crowd.
I was also underwhelmed by the underwater scenery. While it's certainly cool to see fishes living in their natural habitat and the colors of the corals, we saw a lot more variety of fishes and corals when we did a similar tour in bora bora. unfortunately for us, having done snorkeling there, we compared our experience to that, hence the 3 stars as this did not blow us away.
After spending about 30 minutes snorkeling, you are then taken to the shark valley where you can see a lot of sharks in water. Unfortunately, this is a man made 'exhibit', meaning the sharks are now used to being fed in the area, hence they are always there. Every tour boat carries shark food and they dump that in a bucket full of holes so that they can drag the bucket in the water, thus allowing the sharks to smell and crowd the boat. You are given the option to 'swim' with the sharks, meaning you can snorkel on the other side of the boat, approximately 10 to 20 feet away. if you are scared, you can stay on the boat and watch the sharks. If you have a good tour guide, he/she will also show you how you can touch the shark w/o risking your hand/life. While it's cool to see the sharks up close, it's a bit bothersome that this is man made and the sharks have now become dependent on being fed by humans. Again, you will find other tour guides here but the boats do stay a bit further away to allow sharks to concentrate on one boat. You hang out in the area for 30 minutes and then are taken back to dock. The whole tour lasts about hour and halfish with those two stops.
Overall it was fun but i wish there were less tour guides/boats as the # of boats obviously creates more pollution, thus destroying the corals. I would recommend you take the tour if you don't plan on visiting places like bora bora where you there isn't such a high tour crowd.
Written 29 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marika A
44 contributions
Dec 2023 • Couples
We stayed in Caye Caulker. We went on a snorkeling excursion and one of the stop was Hol Chan Marine reserve, I was so excited to go and see what's considered the second best barrier reef.I honestly wouldn't recommend it to people who already saw a barrier reef anywhere else.
First of all the water was not really clean , while we were snorkeling we had to avoid a bunch of rubbish floating in the ocean (counting that you have to pay, you would expect it to be kept in a good condition).
Secondly there were a huge crowd of boats, apparently every tour goes there around the same time and it is over crowded (you can barely see where your tour guide is). And Thirdly you cannot go anywhere else to explore the barrier (you can only stay in that area).
And fish wise, we didn't see anything special, Only if you dive probably you can see more. The corals looked like they were all dead, and when asked how come they had no colour, the explanation was that probably was because of the the weather and that they don't know when but they would be back healed.
Really disappointed from the experience.
First of all the water was not really clean , while we were snorkeling we had to avoid a bunch of rubbish floating in the ocean (counting that you have to pay, you would expect it to be kept in a good condition).
Secondly there were a huge crowd of boats, apparently every tour goes there around the same time and it is over crowded (you can barely see where your tour guide is). And Thirdly you cannot go anywhere else to explore the barrier (you can only stay in that area).
And fish wise, we didn't see anything special, Only if you dive probably you can see more. The corals looked like they were all dead, and when asked how come they had no colour, the explanation was that probably was because of the the weather and that they don't know when but they would be back healed.
Really disappointed from the experience.
Written 28 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DebOChicago_IL
Chicago, IL288 contributions
Dec 2019 • Couples
If you like snorkeling, don’t miss snorkeling here. The beauty of the coral and the fish, and the sheer abundance of the fish, are just thrilling. Snorkeling in a group with a guide is not our favorite (we prefer to be a bit more independent) but the guides are knowledgeable and we understand the need to keep tabs on folks to preserve the reef.
Written 5 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
momof2wildchilds
Denver, CO741 contributions
Nov 2020
We saw several stingrays one did a full on ballet for us in the seas above us as we hovered near the floor. The channel is shallow only about 25 ft deep. We saw lobsters a plenty, sting rays, eels and even a juvenile hammerhead shark when we were boarding the boat to head back to our hotel for the night. Only wish we had seen an octopus! But wonderful night dive with plenty of hunting fish and florals.
Written 13 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tylerca4
Chicago, IL29 contributions
May 2021 • Couples
Hol Chan lived up to all of the hype. We snorkeled here on one of our days while staying on Ambergris Caye. It is so close to any resort, only a 5-15 min boat ride depending on where you are staying. You get to see all kinds of wildlife as well as coral. Whether you have never been snorkeling or are a diver this is worth checking out.
Written 19 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Erin
7 contributions
Dec 2021
The snorkeling at Hol Chan is very pretty, but due to being among the most popular tour sites, is also crowded. It seems that many tours take the "guided tour" route which makes for a less than leisurely snorkeling experience where you have to keep up with your guide and not get mixed into other groups. If you have the chance to go during off hours or with a private tour, I would recommend it. The snorkeling is still beautiful, but there are many other places around the island, as well.
Written 19 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MAsunny12
Salt Lake City, UT26 contributions
June 2022
I just got back from Hol Chan with my family including 11 year old and 7 year old. Snorkeling was amazing! We took a private boat with a guide that I highly recommend doing, they know the water and currents and were able to take us away from the crowd and find other areas to snorkel. Even when you are in the main area of Hol Chan with other people it was totally fine, not overly crowded. Shark Ray Alley was my favorite, felt like you were in an aquarium!
Written 17 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tanya E
Houston, TX9 contributions
Aug 2019
It feels like all the fish know this is a safe place, they are all here and on spectacular view. do not miss an opportunity to visit this site, pay attention to your guides, you will have a most memorable time and be very pleased with yourself for having seen all this bounty and Beauty. Bring someone to share it with or even on your own, it's worth it.
Written 3 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lisa C
Lee, NH16 contributions
Apr 2022
It has good snorkeling but when we went it was so crowded. The tour didn't last very long visiting and felt rushed cause there was so many people. We also went to mexico rocks and I liked it a lot better. There was no on there and we were not forced to stay and a close knit bunch.
Written 2 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
First Aboard
New York City, NY67 contributions
May 2021 • Solo
As part of my snorkeling tour to the reserve, I saw turtles, different types of fish- snappers, barracudas, eels, spotted eagle rays, and many others. It was amazing to see the rich marine life and biodiversity of the area. Both the soft and hard corals were beautiful and plentiful. The area is not too deep for beginners and the tide is manageable. A well-kept and protected area. There are reserve rangers/agents that monitor entry to the area to maintain its protection from fishing and other harmful activities that can affect the corals and sea life. A great place to visit.
Written 24 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I will be traveling with a 2.5 year old and 4 year old. Can they get into the water with their floaties ?
Written 28 August 2023
You must go with a tour in order to visit Hol Chan as there are limited spaces for boats and they have to be reserved in advance by your tour provider. Our tour provider took us on a guided snorkeling tour, you are not allowed to just swim around the reserve on your own, they require it to be guided. Our provider had life vests for all passengers which made snorkeling much easier, there were no children on our tour however and I did not see any children at the reserve on the day we went.
Written 29 August 2023
Hol Chan I keep hearing is a must. But Not so interested in the rays and the sharks and touching them and all that. More into healthy coral, colorful fish, or course would love to come across turtles or manatees. So is Hol Chan still the place for all that? And if so are we supposed to request a different section of Holchan like the reef? Versus shark Ray Allie? Or are there perhaps other areas like Mexico rocks or trust cocos that we should be targeting? Any help appreciated
Written 15 July 2023
You would probably start at Hol Chan and then go over to shark ray alley. You don’t have to get out of the boat when they go to shark ray alley and most tours are only at that part for 15-20 minutes. We saw several turtles at Hol Chan, and tons of other marine life. I will say, I thought the coral was prettier at Mexico Rocks, but more sea life at Hol Chan.
Written 17 July 2023
No age restrictions. On our tour there was a family who had a 3 year old daughter and 5 year old son. They both joined the group at the first location during snorkeling. When we went to the second location to swim with the sharks and rays, their parents opted to stay in the boat and watch. Life jackets and snorkeling gear are provided.
Written 31 December 2022
Ivor J. and Gabby were from The "SeaOrious" Adventures San Pedro/ambergris Caye, Belize
Written 14 August 2021
Hi,
My name is Lorenzo. I'll be on Caye Caulker on July 8. The wind forecast shows 25mph and higher. Is snorkeling at Hol Chan Marine preserve still doable? Is the preserve protect from the wind in some way?
I'd love to get a heads on what to expect regarding snorkeling at Hol Chan during high winds. I really appreciate it!
Thanks,
Lorenzo
Written 5 July 2021
Is this trip worth it if I cannot snorkel?
Thanks
Mark
Written 4 December 2020
Yes, you are in waist or chest depth in most places and can swim, FLOAT, viewing sea life.
Written 14 August 2021
When fishing shallow near the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, what size/weight rod and line is needed????
Just looking for kids to be entertained, no trophy fish here.
Thx,
Theresa
Written 2 March 2020
Fishing isn’t allowed at the reserve and not sure how close you can be to Hol Chan to be able to fish. Unsure about what you’ll need as I only fished in the other side of the island and that was with Belize Fishing Charters and they provided everything for us.
Written 12 March 2020
Is “coral gardens” the same place that you are dropped off for the normal “Hol Chan” reef tours? Some tours say Hol Chan/shark and ray alley, while others say coral gardens/shark and ray alley. If these are not the same places, what are the major differences between the two reefs (Hol Chan and coral gardens) and which reef stacks up better in terms of the coral available to see. Thank you!
Written 3 February 2020
They are two different places. We never visited coral gardens. I was informed it would be a great place to see manatees, sea turtles . Possibly seahorses as it is closer to caye caulker.
Written 23 February 2020
hey! i will be in san pedro on xmas day, i am hoping to do the shark ray alley tour as well as see some manatees, budget is of no issue just looking to have the best experience possible! any recommendations on which tour company to book & why is greatly appreciated.
Written 14 December 2019
I don’t know the name of their company but a young man named Milo and his nephew Jean run a hol Chan tour and they are excellent!! Milo is very patient and both are VERY knowledgeable about the sea and Belize history. If you’re not sure who to ask, try asking the staff at the Ocean Tide sea view hotel, as they are affiliated with Milo and Jean. Enjoy Belize!! By the way, if you happen to drive to secret beach in one of those golf carts, be sure to take along mosquito repellent for the ride.
Written 20 December 2019
I visited Hol Chan in the early 1990’s and the reef was incredibly healthy, abundant sea life, giant groupers hanging under the coral walls. Then, in 2005-2007 was back. Much of the coral was bleached, groupers were gone, fish life was reduced by at least 60% due to overfishing and fertilizer spill-off. Has it come back, or will i be heartbroken by what remains of what was an overwhelmingly pristine reef environment.
Written 6 March 2019
This is a late post but I thought I would weigh in on the coral bleaching. I dived here in 2015 and again last month. On my 2015 trip, there wasn't bleaching that I can remember. On my trip last month, I was saddened to see that about 15% of the reef off of San Pedro was bleached and another 10% was going fluorescent, which is the stage before bleaching. That said, I did not notice any bleaching in Hol Chan than I can remember and the bleaching on the most Northerly reefs was much less than in the central area off of San Pedro. Hol Chan was abundant with sea life and seemed very healthy.
Written 14 December 2019
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