Swim with humpback whales in Moʻorea, September 2027 · from CHF 4,500See the trip →
Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Caribbean

Caribbean

Belize

A southern Caribbean reef with turtles, rays, reef sharks and occasional whale sharks.

Beach and calm sea at Placencia on the southern coast of Belize
Placencia, Stann Creek District, Belize · Photo: Glen_Murphy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Exploring

Ethics pass, with care. We found a way to visit this country that meets our animal-welfare standard, as long as we work with the right local operator. Checked by Ocean Calling on 30 Sep 2026. Sources: Belize Whale Shark Rules and Regulations, Gladden Spit guidelines (Southern Environmental Association); Snorkeling Shark Ray Alley, Tropical Snorkeling; Shark Ray Alley, Caravan Tours.

🧭 Travel advice, checked 30 Sep 2026. The UK FCDO does not advise against all travel to Belize. It advises reconsidering the need to travel to the south side of Belize City, and notes violent crime and a state of emergency in parts of the country. Sources: UK FCDO travel advice, Belize · Smartraveller travel advice, Belize Advice differs by passport: check your own government before you plan.

ScubaWhale sharksTurtlesSharksCoral reefs

Why Belize

Placencia and the Southern Reef offer Caribbean reef diving with turtles, rays, nurse and reef sharks. Whale sharks can visit Gladden Spit in spring, but recent sightings have been few, so we never plan around them. December to April is usually drier, with less storm risk.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

United States of AmericaHaitiDominican Rep.BahamasMexicoBrazilColombiaPanamaCosta RicaNicaraguaHondurasEl SalvadorGuatemalaBelizeVenezuelaGuyanaSurinameFranceEcuadorPuerto RicoJamaicaCubaTrinidad and TobagoPlacencia and the Southern Reef, Belize

When to go

Dec-Apr. Timing changes by place and by animal, so check each place below.

We have researched this place and keep learning about it. There is no trip here yet.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Ethics pass, with care

Good with the right operator. Here is how we choose.

Belize has marine reserves, and Gladden Spit is a protected spawning site where only licensed guides work and nobody touches the animals. At Shark Ray Alley, guides often feed nurse sharks and rays so guests can touch them, so we do not go there. We choose calm reef days in the south, and if a whale shark visits, we keep our distance and let it pass.

Checked 30 Sep 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check
Places we are exploring

Where in Belize

Short notes from our research. Wildlife is never guaranteed.

Placencia and the Southern Reef

Exploring

A southern Caribbean reef for scuba, with turtles, rays and reef sharks, and occasional whale sharks.

🤿 In the water: Reef fish, Turtles, Rays, Nurse and reef sharks, Whale sharks (rare, mostly March to June)

When: Dec-Apr. December to April is the drier part of the year and the best working window for the reef. Whale sharks have been reported at Gladden Spit from about April to June, but sightings are never promised.

Animals

Animals recorded in Belize

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Huge spotted whale shark gliding through open blue waterWhale sharkRhincodon typusSeen in 54 countries in the AtlasEndangeredLemon shark seen from above, gliding over a pale sandy seabedLemon sharkNegaprion brevirostrisSeen in 16 countries in the AtlasVulnerableBlacktip shark swimming in green water in the GalápagosBlacktip sharkCarcharhinus limbatusSeen in 49 countries in the AtlasVulnerableNurse shark swimming over a reef at Fernando de Noronha, BrazilAtlantic nurse sharkGinglymostoma cirratumSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasVulnerableWhitespotted eagle ray gliding over reef and sand in BelizeWhitespotted eagle rayAetobatus narinariSeen in 58 countries in the AtlasEndangeredSouthern stingray resting on white sand, St John, US Virgin IslandsSouthern stingrayHypanus americanusSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedRed lionfish with spread fins over sand in Dauin, PhilippinesLionfish (red and common lionfish)Pterois volitans and Pterois milesSeen in 80 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCaribbean reef shark swimming close over a reef in the BahamasCaribbean reef sharkCarcharhinus pereziSeen in 19 countries in the AtlasEndangeredAntillean manatee swimming in clear blue water, seen from belowAntillean manateeTrichechus manatus manatusSeen in 14 countries in the AtlasEndangeredGreen turtle resting on the reef, shell and head pattern in sharp detailGreen turtleChelonia mydasSeen in 103 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHawksbill turtle swimming, pointed beak in profileHawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricataSeen in 88 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredCommon bottlenose dolphin swimming over a seagrass bedCommon bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLoggerhead turtle at the surface feeding on Portuguese man o' warLoggerhead turtleCaretta carettaSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasVulnerableTiger shark with clear stripes swimming over a reefTiger sharkGaleocerdo cuvierSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedGreat barracuda cruising in open blue water, showing jagged teethGreat barracudaSphyraena barracudaSeen in 84 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernMale magnificent frigatebird perched on a mangrove branchMagnificent frigatebirdFregata magnificensSeen in 52 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLongsnout seahorse holding a red sponge stalk with its tail against blue waterLongsnout seahorseHippocampus reidiSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedNassau grouper with its mouth open, photographed at Los Indios in Jardines de la Reina, CubaNassau grouperEpinephelus striatusSeen in 20 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredMasked booby on Ascension IslandMasked boobySula dactylatraSeen in 80 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernDiver beside an Atlantic goliath grouper at Dry Tortugas National ParkGoliath grouperEpinephelus itajaraSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasVulnerableQueen conch with a reddish spiny shell resting on seagrass over sandy seabedQueen conchAliger gigasSeen in 32 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedAdult brown booby standing on a rock with its bill open against blue sky, PrincipeBrown boobySula leucogasterSeen in 104 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSailfish swimming in open blue water, seen from below, with its long bill and tall dorsal finSailfishIstiophorus platypterusSeen in 31 countries in the AtlasVulnerableClose view of a red-footed booby head with blue, pink and red bill and throat skin among green leavesRed-footed boobySula sulaSeen in 91 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTarpon swimming in open blue water with a dense school of small fish behind it, off St John in the US Virgin IslandsAtlantic tarponMegalops atlanticusSeen in 24 countries in the AtlasVulnerableAmerican crocodile resting on a sandy river bank at the water's edge in Costa RicaAmerican crocodileCrocodylus acutusSeen in 17 countries in the AtlasVulnerableCrowd of brown pelicans packed together on a coastal roost, one adult with a pale head and coloured bill facing the cameraBrown pelicanPelecanus occidentalisSeen in 48 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCaribbean spiny lobster at the edge of a reef overhang with long antennae trailing across sandCaribbean spiny lobsterPanulirus argusSeen in 30 countries in the AtlasData DeficientNeotropic cormorant perched among willow branches beside the waterNeotropic cormorantNannopterum brasilianumSeen in 29 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernAnhinga holding a fish in its long, pointed billAnhinga (American darter)Anhinga anhingaSeen in 24 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernClose view of a double-crested cormorant with an orange-yellow throat patch and a turquoise eyeDouble-crested cormorantPhalacrocorax auritusSeen in 14 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernYellow stingray resting on a dark reef floor, its round disc covered in pale spotsYellow stingrayUrobatis jamaicensisSeen in 10 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern
Dreaming of Belize?

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Also in Caribbean
AnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArubaThe BahamasBarbadosBritish Virgin IslandsCaribbean NetherlandsCayman IslandsCubaCuraçaoDominicaDominican RepublicGrenadaGuadeloupeHaitiHondurasJamaicaMartiniqueMontserratPuerto RicoSaint BarthélemySaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSint MaartenTrinidad and TobagoTurks and Caicos IslandsUS Virgin IslandsVenezuela

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Swim with humpback whales in Moʻorea, September 2027

from CHF 4,500

See the trip →