As the largest coral atoll in the Caribbean,
Turneffe offers varied underwater terrain of spur
and groove formations, sandy ledges and sheer
walls providing spectacular dive sites to suit
every level of diver.
The Eastern,
windward side of Turneffe is protected by 35 miles
of reef. It shelves gradually to about 60 ft.
where spur and groove formations meet the wall.
Nutrients produced in the mangroves are dispersed
on the reef by the tides and gentle currents
causing huge concentrations of feeding fish on
this side of the wall.
On the West side of the
Atoll, the mangroves of Turneffe provide shelter
from the swells and large waves. A gently sloping
bottom lies at 30-50ft and large reef formations
cover the white sand bottom. The reduced wave
action allows sponges and soft corals to grow
magnificently and sea feathers of 5ft tall are
common. At Crickozeen Cut, predatory
Trumpetfish camouflage themselves among the sea
fans and a myriad of damselfish and parrotfish
graze on algae, keeping the coral clean & healthy.
Spiny Lobsters are commonly found under ledges and
Creole wrasse aggregate and spawn in their
thousands around the full moon in summer.
In
the North, the reef is buffeted by the Caribbean
swells and trade winds but on the calmest of days
we can explore these almost untouched areas.
Schools of Mutton Snapper, Atlantic Spadefish and
Permit hover 80ft above the sea floor and Blue and
Rainbow Runners make close passes, apparently
attracted by the bubbles of the strange
‘neoprene-clad creatures’.
Throughout the Turneffe Atoll, you will see a
variety of hard and soft corals as well as all of
the Caribbean tropicals, eagle rays, sharks,
turtles, dolphins, moray eels, and occasionally
whale sharks in addition to large schools of
permit, horse eye jacks and dog snapper.
 At Turneffe Flats we emphasize personalized
service, flexibility and uncrowded diving. Small
dive groups of 4 - 8 divers are the norm. Upon
arrival at Turneffe Flats our dive staff will
assist you with setting up your dive gear, and you
will not have to handle your tanks or personal
gear during the remainder of your trip. Our
excellent dive staff will make sure that your gear
is rinsed and fully set up for the following day's
diving.
A
typical dive day at Turneffe Flats starts after
breakfast with three dives planned for the day.
Three dives per day plus a weekly night dive are
standard. Our dive package also includes a day
trip to Lighthouse Reef to dive the famous Blue
Hole, Half Moon Wall and Long Caye.
Personalized Service
We specialize in providing personalized service
for small dive groups and try to be as flexible as
possible. New divers can gain experience with the
individual attention they may require and
experienced divers can enjoy the freedom of
spectacular wall diving, drift diving and
underwater photography opportunities.
We provide towels, cold drinks and fresh fruit on
the boat each day as well as a fresh water rinse
tank for camera equipment. Unless you request
otherwise, you do not have to handle your dive
equipment during your stay. Our staff will change
all tanks and rinse your gear each day before
storing it.
 Dive Boat
Most diving is done from our Pro 48 Custom Dive
Boat. This is a large, comfortable, shaded boat
allowing us easy access to the entire Turneffe
Atoll as well as the Lighthouse Reef.
Weather & Visibility
 Surface temperatures generally range from 75-95
degrees (average 84 degrees). Water temperatures
average 79-80 degrees in the Winter and 83 degrees
in the Summer. Visibility at Turneffe ranges from
50 - 100 feet depending upon conditions. Average
visibility is around 75 - 80 feet.
Dive Instruction
Instruction is available at Turneffe Flats through
our PADI Instructors. Certifications include Open
Water Referral and Advanced Open Water
Certification (Underwater Navigation, Deep Diving
and 3 elective dives) as well as a full range of
Specialty Courses. 'Discover Scuba Courses' are
also available for those who wish to experience
SCUBA for the first time.
Dive Safety
Your safety is of the utmost importance to
Turneffe Flats. For this reason, and to ensure
that you see the best of the marine life, a
qualified Divemaster or Instructor is in the water
at all times. We use the buddy system, conduct
safety stops on every dive and plan adequate
surface intervals between dives. Our staff are
First Aid & Oxygen First Aid trained and we are
affiliated with Subaquatic Safety Services who
operate the Hyperbaric Chamber in Belize.
Dive Staff
Juan Vasquez, our head Dive Master, leads most of
our dives. He was born and raised in Scotland Half
Moon, a small town in Belize, where his parents
still reside. Juan is personable, experienced and
safety oriented with a great sense of humor. He
began his diving career five years ago at Turneffe
Flats and hopes to become a Dive Instructor. He
takes great pride in making your dive trip
unforgetable and has an incredible eye for the
elusive, minuscule and camouflaged creatures
hiding on the reef.
Dive Equipment
Tanks, weights and weight belts are provided by
Turneffe Flats. To maximize your bottom time, we
recommend that you use a dive computer. The very
warm-blooded are comfortable with a lycra dive
skin or a shorty wet suit, but a 3mm wetsuit is
generally advisable for multiple dives.
Rentals
We have limited rental equipment available at the
lodge including BC's, regulators, and dive
computers. We do not rent wet suits or dive
skins. Cylumes are provided for your tanks during
the night dive, but you will need to bring a dive
light.
Some
of Our Favorite Dive Sites ...
The
Eastern, windward side of Turneffe is protected by
35 miles of reef. It shelves gradually for 100
yards to about 60ft where the spur and groove
formations meet the wall. The nutrients produced
in the mangroves are dispersed on the reef by the
tides and gentle currents causing huge
concentrations of feeding fish on this side of the
atoll. The Chutes
off Calabash Caye, is approx. 50-ft deep along the
top of the wall. It is good for Pelagic encounters
and taking wide angle photographs with a huge sand
flat that is home to Garden Eels and Yellowhead
Jawfish. Wide chutes lead to a wall covered with
yellow tube sponges, purple sea whips and brain
coral. Here we often find Hawksbill turtles,
Spotted Drum, Scrawled Cowfish and Spotted Morays.
On the West side of the islands, the mangroves of
Turneffe provide shelter from the swells and large
waves. A gently sloping bottom lies at 30-50ft and
large reef formations cover the white sand bottom.
The reduced wave action allows sponges and soft
corals to grow magnificently and sea feathers of
5ft tall are common. At Crickozeen Cut, predatory
Trumpetfish camouflage themselves among the sea
fans and a myriad of damselfish and parrotfish
graze on algae, keeping the coral clean & healthy.
Spiny Lobsters are commonly found under ledges and
Creole wrasse aggregate and spawn in their
thousands around the full moon in summer.
In the North, the reef is buffeted by the
Caribbean swells and trade winds but on the
calmest of days we can explore these almost
untouched areas. Schools of Mutton Snapper,
Atlantic Spadefish and Permit hover 80ft above the
sea floor and Blue and Rainbow Runners make close
passes, apparently attracted by the bubbles of the
strange ‘neoprene-clad creatures’.
The Elbow is a popular advanced drift dive located
at Turneffe's most southern point. The reef crests
at 80 ft and is very wide and exposed with a
current that generally flows from the north at
about 2 knots. Due to this current and the site’s
depth, most of the dive is spent in mid-water.
Visibility is typically 100ft and large schools of
pelagic fish such as dog snappers, horse-eye
jacks, permit and Atlantic spadefish aggregate
here. In the canyons below, large groupers,
turtles and Balloonfish can be seen amongst
enormous gorgonians, and out in the blue, the
occasional sharks and Spotted Eagle Rays add to
the excitement of this dive. A pod of dolphins
live close by and will often come to play with the
divers while they are on their safety stop.
Lindsey’s Back Porch is where you can drift slowly
through a garden of gorgonian fans and sea plumes
at 45ft and see an abundance of butterflyfish,
angelfish, blue tang, surgeonfish and parrotfish.
As the reef divides into narrow fingers that run
down to the wall edge, the coral ledges provide
the perfect home for the Whitespotted toadfish,
found only in Belize. Hawksbill turtles amble
over the reef, feeding on algae and sponges and
Nurse Sharks can be found rummaging for mollusks &
shellfish in the sand.
Baker’s Drop in front of the lodge, shelves gently
towards the wall at about 50ft reef. Colonies of
thin leaf lettuce coral provide shelter for the
juvenile Rock Beauty and Spotted Eagle Rays are
often seen in pairs, cruising in the blue.
The Terrace consists of narrow spur and groove
formations, with an abundance of soft corals,
Barrel sponges and Tube sponges. The top of the
wall averages 35-40ft and the sheer drop is
covered with huge sponges, black coral and
gorgonian fans. Thousands of schooling Creole
Wrasse, many varieties of Hamlets and the
Whitelined Toadfish can often be found here.
Rendezvous Cut is a wide sandy expanse, dotted
with pristine coral heads and frequented by Furry
Sea Cucumbers and giant Queen Conch. Approaching
the wall at about 30ft, the reef forms canyons,
grottos and sandy chutes which run away to the
blue. A great dive site for spotting reef
tropicals such as French & Queen Angelfish, White
Spotted Filefish and Juvenile Spotted Drum.
Wonderworld is a site just north of us and is
comprised of many large coral formations that drop
dramatically from a depth of 65ft. The site’s
topography allows for swimming around and between
the coral heads to look for sleeping nurse sharks,
Southern stingrays and Green Moray Eels. A pod of
Bottlenose Dolphin sometimes appear and seem to
enjoy ‘buzzing’ the divers as they desperately try
to take photographs.
A colorful array of Yellow tube sponges, Azure
vase sponges and huge barrel sponges await you at
Tubular Barrels. Several ‘cleaning stations’ dot
the reef and big groupers and snappers settle down
to be picked clean by neon gobies, Pederson
Cleaner shrimp and juvenile Bluehead Wrasse.
Spotted Eagle Rays, Black Grouper and Great
Barracuda are common visitors to divers at
Pelican Wall. Caribbean
reef sharks and even Hammerheads have been seen
cruising in the deep blue over a horizontal ledge
150ft below.
At Sayonara, the remains of the former passenger &
cargo boat rest on the sand at a depth of 50 ft,
having been decommissioned and sunk in 1985. To
the South and South East of the wreck, large coral
formations harbor banded coral shrimp, spiny
lobsters and brittle stars. Stoplight parrotfish
and French & Queen Angelfish pick amongst the
encrusting sponges and large Ocean triggerfish
cruise the edge of the wall.
Weather permitting, we take a day trip to the
furthest offshore atoll, Lighthouse Reef to visit
The Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye and Long Caye.
Pioneered by Jaques Yves Cousteau in the early
70’s, The Great Blue Hole has become Belize's most
famous dive site. The hole is a ‘karst-eroded
sinkhole’ formed when the roof of a cave, in an
underground tunnel complex, collapsed. When sea
levels rose at the end of the Ice Age, the once
dry cave filled with sea water producing the hole
that now measures 1000ft across with a depth of
over 460ft. It is a Marine Protected Area and a
UNESCO World Heritage site. The rim of the Blue
Hole and the surrounding lagoon is only a few feet
deep and excellent for snorkeling.
As you descend over the edge, through a
thermocline at 50ft, big Groupers, Snappers and
Horse-eye Jacks come to investigate. Deeper still,
with your eyes adjusting to the low light,
Blacktip sharks can be seen slowly patrolling the
depths. At approx.110ft, the first limestone ledge
appears and immense Stalactites hang from the
ceiling. On your slow ascent back to the edge of
the hole, spotted morays can be found in crevices
and on the wall crest, you return to the domain of
the Parrotfish and Angelfish.
After a picnic lunch on the island of Half Moon
Caye and a visit to the Red Footed Bobby Bird
Sanctuary [link to AA HMC info?] we head back
underwater.
The Cathedral is aptly named, with coral spires
and towers that rise up from the seafloor
in large segments. Numerous sandy passageways lead
you through the coral reef, out to the wall at
45-60ft and into the brilliant blue. Sheet corals
cover the wall and soft corals and rope sponges
extend several feet. The top of the reef is a
breathtaking coral garden and every nook and
cranny teems with orange, red & yellow sponges.
The sand is home to colonies of Garden Eels and
gigantic Southern Stingrays lie in wait with only
their eyes protruding. Black groupers, Blue
Parrotfish and Hogfish are regulars and Yellowtail
snappers escort you throughout your dive.
We tend to finish our day at one of the shallow
sites off Long Caye. The Aquarium with its variety
of corals, invertebrates and profusion of reef
fish is a very good spot for underwater
photography. Big coral heads are dominated by
mountainous star coral and at a depth of 40 ft
Orange Elephant Ear sponges grow out from the
wall. Iridescent Azure vase sponges and Blue Bell
Tunicates add to the color of this site and
Decorator Crabs and Neck Crabs are can be seen
clinging to the Sea Fans.
Fishing
Turneffe Flats also offers some of the best catch
and release "flats" fishing in the world. Fishing
is done on the shallows/flats and divers rarely
see the anglers. All fish are released
unharmed.
Snorkeling
There are many wonderful snorkeling areas on
Turneffe which can be enjoyed between dives.
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Belize consistently ranks among the top Caribbean
dive destinations and Turneffe Flats is situated
in the center of Belize' best diving. Our location
on the Eastern side of the Turneffe Atoll provides
easy access to over 60 dive sites on all sides of
Turneffe as well as Lighthouse Reef, home of the
famous Blue Hole.
Your
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