Explore the underwater wonders of Belize’s most popular snorkeling sites on this trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. Departing from Ambergris Caye, you'll swim with an amazing variety of fish, sea turtles, stingrays, and nurse sharks among the coral formations of the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere.

Snorkel tour from Ambergris Caye
Cruise the clear Caribbean waters and snorkel amid coral formations
See colorful reef fish and other aquatic life in Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Spot stingrays, sea turtles, and brown nurse sharks in Shark Ray Alley

What's Included

Professional guide
Bottled water
Use of Snorkelling equipment

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off from all hotels located north of San Pedro town (you may purchase round-trip transportation upon arrival)

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Amigos Del Mar Dive Shop & Marina
Beachfront, Ambergris Caye, San Pedro, Belize
We are located on the dock. GUESTS MUST BE AT THE DOCK 30 MINUTES BEFORE DEPARTURE TIME.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Belize is famous for its remarkable snorkeling sites and diverse sea life. With a name that means “Little Channel” in Maya, Hol Chan Marine Reserve was the first such designated reserve in Central America and is located among the second-largest barrier reef in the world. Just a quick ride by motorboat from Ambergris Caye, Hol Chan will be the first stop on your snorkeling adventure.

After donning a snorkeling mask and fins, you'll be ready to splash into the shallow, clear Caribbean waters to explore the amazing coral reef formations below. Thanks to dedicated conservation efforts, this area boasts a wonderfully healthy and diverse population of marine life, including 160 different species of fish. You’re likely to spot large schools of snapper, grouper, and jackfish darting among the impressive coral formations, as well as larger creatures like sea turtles and stingrays.

Hop back aboard your boat for a quick ride over to Shark Ray Alley, a shallow channel in the reef where these two bottom feeders are found in abundance. Swim among gentle stingrays, with wingspans up to 4 feet (1.2 meters), as well as harmless brown nurse sharks that can reach lengths of more than 9 feet (2.75 meters). After getting your fill of these marvelous marine animals, you’ll be transported back to Ambergris Caye and your San Pedro hotel.

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Minimum age is 8 years
Note: moderate level of difficulty; passengers should be in moderate physical condition to participate
Not wheelchair accessible

Near public transportation
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Featured review

Gerrid_P

If you are staying in San Pedro or Caye Caulker you have to book this experience. We did snorkeling in Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray alley and saw an amazing variety of sea life. We saw nurse sharks, manatees, sea turtles, a barracuda and a variety of colorful fish. I highly recommend this experience. Our tour guide Soup was amazing, super knowledgeable and funny. He kept us entertained and ensured we had an amazing experience from beginning to end. If you do this excursion, make sure you book Shark Ray Alley too so that you can have the opportunity to swim with the nurse sharks!!

Reviews

4.5

131 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 131 reviews

I’m a non swimmer but felt like a pro snorkeler after this lol

Jakia_D, Aug 2023

Ian was awesome! He was very patient with us as non of us our swimmers. We were very nervous and almost cancelled but it was such a good time! The salt water was overwhelming but there was freshwater to drink on the boat to help with that. I would absolutely recommend this excursion, if you don’t know how to swim, it will be fine and you’ll get the hang of it in no time. I wish there were more fish in the Hol Chan area but that’s nature… we also lucked up on a solo group tour and it was probably much better that way considering our inexperience.

horrible

David_J, July 2023

I rate this whole ordeal horrible with Viator. I booked online thought I was booking another company. I didn't realize it wasn't the right company and tour until later that day when I that a ride to company I thought I booked. Once getting there I was informed I had no reservation with them. The reservation with them the employee was nice enough to help me look over the ticket and even called the other place Viator had booked me. I then went over to the place of business and let the associate know that would be canceling the tour which he said was fine. I then also contacted Viator which the associate told me to do so but it was fine. Then I was charge $185.00 for a service I never received when I came in the day before to let them know I was canceling. This has been such a nightmare I feel robbed of my money do yourself a favor and stay away or make sure your giving the correct tour. I will never book anything again using Viator not even transportation which I am a frequent traveler. The company itself I didn't do the tour but the simple fact that they knew I that I canceled the tour and still took my money says what kind of people they are. If you want to do this tour please look at INLAND AND SEA which I thought I was booking through Viator. I give INLAND AND SEA 5 stars I had such a wonderful trip to Belize until this Viator lost me as a costomer. Mr. David Jones

Great tour operator!

Jonathan_P, May 2023

I rank my trips on 3 things: Customer Service, Experience of the activity and Cost. Customer Service: Very responsive, non-judgey and helpful (5 stars) Experience of the activity: We had somewhat of a private tour through one of the zones which was awesome. He took his time with us and spoke to us about each of the sea creatures we saw. The biggest drawback is that we've snorkeled throughout many places of the world (e.g. Hawaii, Great Barrier Reef, Fiji, Philippines, etc.) so this part was more subjective. (4 stars) Cost: This experience was relatively expensive compared to the aforementioned location. You get to use their gear (snorkel mask, life jacket if needed, and fins). No food but water (not bottled). (3 stars) Overall: It was a great experience but not worth redoing again based on price. I think we spent a total of 2 hours to/fro the location.

A must do if you snorkle! Top 2 to 4 n the world.

Howard_B, May 2023

Older couple who love snorkling. We've snorkled in mulitple spots around Carribbean and Hawaii. Hol Chan is the best. A must do experience. Ian, our guide knew his stuff. Gave us a 5 Star experience. Sharks, baracuda, sea turtle sting ray, swim thru cave, thousands of fish and beatiful coaral. Very cool!

Great Snorkel trip

Diane_H, Apr 2023

Great time! Crew was fun, and guided a super day of snorkeling at the reef and with nurse sharks. 🦈 would recommend this trip for anyone in San Pedro area!

Up close and shark personal!

Elizabeth_F, Apr 2023

Face to face with an 8 foot nurse shark! So awesome!! Guides were fun and knowledgeable….separated us by skill and comfort which was great. They let us swim farther than other groups seemed to.

10/10 experience!

Chassidy_M, Apr 2023

We had an amazing experience. As someone who can’t swim, I felt safe at all times. Our tour guide Soup was very knowledgeable and made us all feel very comfortable as it was our first time snorkeling. It was so much fun, safe, and unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. I would definitely recommend and would love to go again.

Great experience!

Takara_E, Apr 2023

This was such a fun experience and adventure. The guides were so knowledgeable, helpful, and funny lol. I will never forget this experience and I'm so glad I did it!

Wonderful tour. Saw a sea...

baz1888, Apr 2023

Wonderful tour. Saw a sea turtle, sting rays & sharks!! Swimming with the sharks was awesome. Highly recommended

Amazing snorkel trip

Dana_W, Mar 2023

Our snorkel trip was the highlight of our week. Our guides George (Sr) and George (Jr) were awesome, pointing out all kinds of fish and sea life. The highlight for me was being able to swim with and touch the rays.we also swam with nurse sharks and sea turtles!

Great crew

Randy_B, Jan 2023

Crew was very nice and informative about the area and fish. There was an emergency on another boat and our crew didn’t hesitate to help immediately. Would recommend

Highlight of our trip to Belize

Jose_V, Jan 2023

This was the absolute highlight of our trip in Belize. Greorgito and the crew were great tour guides as well!

Siad was a fantastic tour...

Kara_M, Oct 2022

Siad was a fantastic tour guide! He took his time with explaining how the tour would go and we had a person that wasn't a strong swimmer, and he was patient and made sure we were all doing ok the whole time. We saw a lot more ocean life than expected!

Response from Host, Nov 2022

thank you for sharing and so glad you enjoyed your tour

Great trip to Hol Chan

Kelly_S, Aug 2022

It was a fun trip. We went out to Hol Chan and snorkeled there. The driver of the boat, "Bird Man" did a great job in getting us out there, explaining what was happening and what we are seeing. He did several deep dives to point for us things at the bottom. One of our tour members is not a swimmer, and a little apprehensive about getting in the water. Bird Man, stayed with her and gave her the comfort she needed to get in the water and to enjoy the experience. We went to zone A and D (D is where the sharks are). This one lasted a little under three hours. It was enough time, however, to do what I looked for.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Thank you for sharing and so glad you enjoyed your tour

Awesome Amazing Must Do!

Dori_B, July 2022

This was the most amazing snorkel trip we have ever taken for the multitude of Marine Life we got to see!! By far an amazing experience at Hol Chan Marine Preserve Then going to Shark Ray Alley ALSO a most amazing experience with so many Nurse Sharks at your fingertips. A must for your visit in San Pedro!

Response from Host, July 2022

Thank you for sharing and so glad you enjoyed your tour!

Barrier Reef and Sharks

Marla_D, June 2022

Amazing company! They offered me a pickup from my area and return. The crew were amazing, and the experience is one to have.

Response from Host, June 2022

Thank you for sharing and so glad you enjoyed your tour!

Unfortunately the weather...

KEZIA_S, May 2022

Unfortunately the weather impeaded our trip. However the customer service WAS EXCELLENT to help us rearrange as appropriate thank you Thyra

Response from Host, June 2022

Thank you for sharing!

Great trip! The guides...

Ashley_L, May 2022

Great trip! The guides were fun and made it a great experience. They made sure everyone was comfortable and safe

Response from Host, May 2022

Thank you for sharing and so glad you enjoyed your tour!

Fun Experience

Nyasha_M, May 2022

Great experience. The tour guide, Soup was super friendly and cool. There was another tour guide and man I wish I could remember his name because he was awesome. I don’t know how to swim and he was sooo patient and guided me the entire time. From a swimmer’s point of view: My husband is a great swimmer and he said this was the best snorkeling experience he’s ever had!

Response from Host, May 2022

Thank you for sharing and so glad you enjoyed your tour!

Knowledgeable Guides

Bobbi_M, Apr 2022

The tour was fun, the water was crystal clear and there was plenty of fish, turtles, and sharks to see. Our guides ( Chris and Santiago ) were full of information and easy going.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Thank you for sharing and so glad you enjoyed your tour

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