Belize City

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Hol Chan Marine Park and Shark Ray Alley Snorkeling

Name: Hol Chan Marine Park and Shark Ray Alley Snorkeling
Brand: splash wave tours
SKU: 60655P2
Price: 90.00 USD
Rating: 4.0 (67 reviews)

Belize City, Belize

Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley Snorkeling Tour

From USD 90.00

Select Date and Travellers

Free cancellation

Up to 24 hours in advance.

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5 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Splash into one of Belize’s top dive spots on a snorkeling tour to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. Swim among colorful coral reefs teeming with fish in this protected channel, and then feel the thrill of snorkeling among a throng of harmless nurse sharks and stingrays during a feeding frenzy. Relax with a rum punch back on board the boat, and spend some time exploring the laid-back island of Caye Caulker on this memorable voyage.

Half-day snorkeling tour from Belize City
Snorkel in the protected waters of Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Safely swim among dozens of nurse sharks and sting rays in Shark Ray Alley
Sip a tropical cocktail on board the boat
Enjoy free time to relax on the beach and dine on Caye Caulker
Excellent way to experience Belize's barrier reef
Makes a great shore excursion for cruise ship passengers
Includes pickup and drop-off from the Belize City port or hotels

What's Included

Bottled water
Professional guide
Snacks
Alcoholic Beverages

Lunch

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

FORT STREET TOURISM VILLAGE
Fort Street Tourism Village, Terminal 1, Belize City, Belize
If arriving by cruise ship: As you debark from your tender boat, please look for the Diamonds International store at Terminal 2. Walk through the store to the gate on Fort Street. At the gate, you’ll be met by a representative of Splash Wave Tours

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

If arriving by cruise ship: As you debark from your tender boat, please look for the Diamonds International store at Terminal 2. Walk through the store to the gate on Fort Street. At the gate, you’ll be met by a representative of Splash Wave Tours Please note that we also able to take non-cruise ship guests that want to book the tour, and we can pick up and drop off in the main land Belize city.

What To Expect

Hol Chan Marine Reserve

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Caye Caulker

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
Dress code is casual
Near public transportation

Not recommended for pregnant travellers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Anyone with Covid-19 symptoms will not be allow on tour
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 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

Traveller Tips

The organizer is sensitive to ship arrivals and departures, so do not hesitate just because this isn’t offered as a cruise line excursion.

Be aware the shuttle pick up is near the caves, and not in the city.

Reviews

4.0

67 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 67 reviews

Swimming with sharks and rays was awesome.

Kathleen_W, July 2023

Swimming with sharks and rays was an engaging activity for all! I didn’t like how the guides harassed the sharks and rays by grabbing and picking them up so tourist could touch them. Just swimming with them was fine.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Hello, thanks for you review and joining us! We will talk to our guides about touching the animals. Thanks!

Terrible experience

RAFA_d, July 2023

Don't book this tour. They cancelled, but they didn't even bother to let us know that the tour was cancelled. No one came to the meeting point. No one answered the phone numbers. We had to go look for them in a whole different part of the city (not that near to the established meeting point), and just there, they let us know that they had no intention to take us from the begining. If we hadn't look for them, they wouldn't have bothered on contacting us to tell us that there was no tour at all. And when we finally found out, the other tours had departed, so we lost the day.

Response from Host, July 2023

Hello, we understand your complaint, sorry for the inconvenience. When we’re doing this tour we have a minimum to take out and we try our best to contact and notify you. Also in situations like this we automatically give you guys back your payment.

AMAZING!!!

lester_c, June 2023

Amazing Trip Lovely snorkeling even saw a manatee. Sharks n Sting Rays were everywhere. The captain James and Dive master Nelson and the helper were so knowledgeable and attentive to everyone’s needs. The lunch was lovely and had time to chill at Caye Caullkner. This is a must do and we will be back in a couple of months.

Long boat ride, too much time spent on lunch

mbradfo, May 2023

The boat ride over to the destination was about 40 minutes snd after a water taxi from boat it was too much. Plus the snorkeling was “guided” …you had to stay with the guy in a line…it was stressful. Finally, about half of this excursion is eating lunch at a place I’m sure the tour guide is getting a kick-back from. However, swimming with the sharks was cool and the guides nice.

Beware

Richard_M, May 2023

Booked, paid for , then last minute cancellation which was too late to rebook something else. Completely failed in my opinion, could not get another tour that day. Wasted day was the result

Good tour, bad experience.

Lucia_G, Apr 2023

Good tour, but bad organization. I was in the phone with them asking me where I was, and by this time the driver identified as Dennis and a splash and wave tours, already got us out of the embankment area so we could see the rest of the tour. He wanted to scam us which he did and charged more money to take us to an ugly beach and they charged us entrance and transportation, everything extra charged. Then I had to call Viator, and let them know the situation. Then they sent a new Driver from the tour company (by this time we were all scared) and they picked us up to take us to shark alley. By this time I was really mad, my time in Belize was limited and I was in a beach, not a tour with sharks and rays. Over all horrible experience the driver scammed us, and even if he was from the tour company and took us somewhere we didn’t want to go (an ugly beach), they didn’t refund us. SO NO I WOULDN T RECOMMEND IT. There were times when we didn’t feel safe. Good come back on VIATORS part, but over all bad experience and I ended up paying a fortune.

Great underwater but too windy and rough boat ride

Laura_V, Apr 2023

The spots we went to were very nice. We saw lots of sharks and a beautiful turtle at Hoi Chan marine park. The water was too rough to go out in the boat. It wasn’t very safe as the wind was up and there was quite a bit of swell. Th e boat ride took over an hour on a small boat. Too rough to go out the day we went .

Great day out , not to be missed if you love the ocean

jayne_w, Mar 2023

We were very worried after reading the reviews about the company sometimes not turning up, as we had no back up plan. I had contacted them prior to our arrival, but with no reply. We were coming off the TUI cruise ship, this took some while as the boat was moored at sea, so we aimed to get off the boat as quick as possible, which is a good job we did, as the boat trip was waiting to leave with other non cruise passengers. Once at the port terminal it was a bit hectic as the TUI guests were queuing up for their organised tours, but you need to push through all of this and head out to the back of the port terminal, where the rep was waiting and rushed us a few mins by car to the trip leaving point. We then went over in the boat to the island of Caye Caulker where the marine park is located slightly offshore. The highlight was the swim with the nurse sharks and rays, this was such a great experience and probably one we will never have anywhere else. The Tarpoon fish feeding was also a highlight. The staff were great, especially the main guide who on the boat where it was windy and hard to hear, he really took the time to explain to each group individually the same information. We also got to have a lovely lunch (cost is extra) and then wander around the island for 30 mins, which has a hippy relaxed vibe. We got back to the shore with plenty of time to spare to catch our tender back to the cruise ship. Overall, fabulous day and our most favourite of all our cruise days out.

Good, but could be better

Alan_B, Mar 2023

Snorkeling was good, but seemed rushed. Had to wait 45 min for the tour to fill up, 45 min boat ride both ways & 2 visits to island - one for bathroom & order food, then to eat lunch at the end (1 hour) Was a good experience, but could have been better with changes to schedule to emphasize the main purpose of the trip - snorkeling! The guides were great - helpful, friendly & knowledgeable!

Great shore excursion

Crystal_Z, Mar 2023

We took this tour as a shore excursion off a cruise ship. We had a great time and our kids loved it (ages 11-16). Seems a little sketchy when you get off the ship and have to find the guide who meets you but it turned out fine!

Bait and switch

Karen_V, Apr 2022

I chose this trip after a lot of research based on price. While I reserved the trip for 5 people months before the actual day , I went ahead and paid 5 weeks before to be sure confirmed and I could communicate with tour company. I called 4 days before and I emailed 2 days before and was told Marjorie would pick us up at 8:30. On the day of the trip, Marjorie the owner did not show up but the tour guide and 20 minutes late. We were told that they did not have the minimum and would cancel unless we paid an extra $163 for a private tour. This was my birthday and it was too late to change our plans but we noted they had plenty of time and opportunity to communicate - they said it was Viator’s fault as they asked them to communicate about minimums and don’t and they said they don’t get paid much by viator and gas was more expensive. All of this could have been told before the pickup. The poor guide being sent to do the dirty work. We paid so we could enjoy the day. We then probably had one of the best snorkel trips ever with Stacey as our guide; she was amazing.

Be sure to quadruple confirm your booking

Russell_D, Feb 2021

We reserved our snorkeling tour online. Our credit card was charged. We received confirming email. We held tickets in both printed and hard copy form. What could go wrong? We were never picked up at the agreed upon departure point. A Radisson-affiliated taxi driver made phone calls on our behalf. The first calls went to a perpetually busy number listed on our ticket information. This driver knew the owner of this tour company and successfully reached him at a different number The owner stated there was no reservation in his company’s system reflecting our paid tickets. So. If you’d like a review of the marine reserve I cannot offer you one. This trip to Belize was not my first. Anyone with travel experience here would generally agree that in Belize “things work.” In this case things didn’t work. My lesson learned is to contact the tour operator prior to the trip even while in possession of multiple layers of confirming artifacts that prove one holds paid-for tickets. Finally, the only reason I chose to offer this not-so-rosy review is that upon returning from an excellent Belizean cave kayak tour today I was greeted by a text message inviting me to offer a review of my experience yesterday at Hol Chan Marine Reserve with this operator. So that’s what I have done.

Best Excursion of our Cruise

Sarah_M, Mar 2020

The crew was excellent. The captain had a keen eye and spotted turtles, manatees and a crocodile for us. It felt like we got the VIP treatment. I couldn't have been happier!

Great for all ages

Lyle_P, Feb 2020

Father daughter trip 02/20. We both really enjoyed this tour. Best money we spent on entire trip, including our scuba and snorkeling excursions. Staff are very friendly, and incredibly knowledgeable. They deliver what they advertise and more. Be aware the shuttle pick up is near the caves, and not in the city. Renting a car was cheaper than another shuttle to the meeting point.

Snorkeling tour that wasn't.

Susan_S, Feb 2020

Trip was cancelled the morning that we were supposed to go. I was told that an email was sent but that was not the case. Very disappointing. Do not book on a Sunday, the whole town is shut down.

Super Fun Snorkeling and Must See Cay Caulker Island

sharon_w, Jan 2020

Our boat driver Emerson took his job as our boat driver very seriously. The 45 minute ride out to the reef on his super 35mph fast with 200hp motor boat was a little choppy on the way out. On the way back after our Wow snorkeling with sharks and stingrays he drove the boat to the back side of the island and showed us how the tarpon fish jump high for fish. We want to go back to Cay Caulker island - the lunch was great and the town is super tropical (no cars - only bicycles and golf carts). Caesar a snorkeling guide was great with our 3 year old grandson which was his 2nd time snorkeling. On the way back to Belize City we spotted a group on dolphins.

Amazing Day

Cindy R, Dec 2019

The whole experience was amazing! Our snorkel tour guide, Stacy, was patient and incredibly knowledgeable. She pointed out fish and coral and was able to name them. One of the best parts was when Stacy dove down and an Eel followed her out of his cave. Then she took us in the water to watch the Nurse Shark feeding. She was right in the middle petting the sharks and helping us touch them. James was the boat driver and Jose was along to help us. They were both friendly and helped make it a great day!

Unforgettable day!

Philip A, Dec 2019

We had a wonderful day exploring the Belize Barrier Reef with Stacy. She was an awesome tour guide - she shared so much with us about her country. It is obvious that she is passionate about Belize and loves to share that passion with people visiting. My husband was excited to snorkel, but I am not a strong swimmer and was very nervous. They made sure I was comfortable, helped me get my bearings in the water and I had the most amazing time watching the wildlife and seeing the reef. Just stunning! Unfortunately, there was a large group of people that booked our tour as well and insisted that it was a private tour and were rude and disrespectful to the staff. They refused to board the boat until Stacy had already tried everything, so we left and then they yelled and forced us to come back. It was really frustrating for us as fellow tourists because these rude people basically took almost an hour of our day. But we were just in awe with how Stacy, Patrick, and the rest of the crew continued to smile and be as kind to them as possible and kept the tour on a positive note. We chose this tour last minute because Royal Caribbean canceled a previously schedule excursion on us at the last minute. I'm so grateful that happened because this day couldn't have been better! Thank you, Stacy! We will look you up when we move to Belize! ;)

Definitely Worth It

Victor_F, Mar 2019

Unique to the area, you really will experience the sharks and rays. Guides are friendly and informative. I loved that food was not included and I got to choose my lunch. Super tasty. The organizer is sensitive to ship arrivals and departures, so do not hesitate just because this isn’t offered as a cruise line excursion. The locals live by tourism dollars. They will not leave you or allow you to miss your ship. Fantastic snorkeling.

Nelson and crew took us on an...

Chris H, Jan 2018

Nelson and crew took us on an amazing snorkeling trip. We were first timers and they took great care of us. We got to pet nurse sharks and see beautiful fish. We are ready to snorkel again! Thank you so much.