Viewing platform
Among the nests.
Dronepicr — CC BY 3.0 · anoldent from Asheville, NC, USA — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dronepicr — CC BY 3.0 · Dronepicr — CC BY 3.0
A small crescent island of white sand and clear turquoise water at the south-east corner of Lighthouse Reef, and Belize's oldest wildlife protection site: declared a bird sanctuary in 1924, then the country's first nature reserve in 1981 and the first marine protected area in Central America. In a small forest on the island's west side lives a colony of rare red-footed boobies; visitors climb a wooden viewing platform among the treetops to see them on their nests, alongside big black frigatebirds. Large iguanas wander under the trees. Around the island are shallow reefs for snorkelling, with colourful fish and turtles, and a coral wall dropping into the depths that draws divers. Most visitors come on long day trips that pair it with the Blue Hole. The island is part of the Belize Barrier Reef World Heritage Site, and no one lives there but the reserve rangers. Use licensed operators; sea trips are cancelled in rough weather, and the hurricane season runs from June to November. Do not touch or stand on coral, do not feed or touch marine life, and use reef-safe sunscreen.
Among the nests.
White sand.
Fish and turtles.
South-east corner of Lighthouse Reef, near the Great Blue Hole
On long day boat trips from Caye Caulker or San Pedro that pair it with the Great Blue Hole.