Snorkeling Trip Report 2017 Glover’s Reef, Belize

Sailfin Blenny in a coral hole Glover's Reef Belize
Sailfin Blenny

By David Gottlieb – (Atlanta, GA)
I just returned from a snorkeling trip to Glover’s Reef. Situated off the coast of Belize, it is one of only four atolls in the western Hemisphere.

I was hoping for a lot of closeup photography opportunities but a storm blew through on the second of my five days and stirred things up quite a bit. I was still able to enjoy these beautiful reefs and managed a number of decent shots.

This was my second visit there with Slickrock Adventures. I think they do a great job considering the remoteness of the location.

Without question these appear to be the most pristine reefs I’ve seen in the Caribbean.


Glover's Reef Belize coral reef with fish
Sea fans, coral and grunts
Sea Goddess Nudibranch Glover's Reef Belize
Sea Goddess Nudibranch

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Brittlestar on a purple Sea fan Glover's Reef Belize
Brittlestar on a purple Sea fan

Nicole & Galen – Feb 10, 2017 – Nice Shots!

Hi David, thanks for sharing your nice shots and short trip report about snorkeling Glover’s Reef Belize. We had a great time snorkeling the very alive reefs there too. Here are our pages about snorkeling Glover’s Reef.

Bill – Feb 27, 2017 – Second the Motion…

Excellent snorkeling camera work!!!

Steve Sarasota – Mar 4, 2017 – Incredible Snorkeling Pix

David, your pix are phenomenal!

Heather – Aug 8, 2017 – Glover’s Reef Snorkeling Spots

Hi David, I stayed at Off the Wall (next door to Slickrock) in mid-June. I absolutely loved it! Were you able to make it out to the snorkel “The Aquarium”? That and the area by the metal pool were some of the best snorkel spots I’ve experienced!

Marc – Nov 10, 2021 – Glover’s Reef April 2021

We were at Off the Wall for 14 days. We visited a total of 23 different sites both inside and outside the atoll.

Inside the Atoll: In the channel between Long Caye and Northeast Caye approximately 40% to 50% of the hard coral is dead and this where most of the fishes are. Soft fan coral is predominant in the whole of Glover’s Reef. The water temperature inside the lagoon is much warmer than outside. The hard coral there is approximately 70% dead and mostly fan coral survive in the warm waters. We visited 15 sites in the lagoon over a 25 square miles area.

Outside the Atoll: From Long Caye (Off the Wall) to Southwest Caye there are a lot of canyons and the hard coral is generally more healthy being exposed and refreshed by the sea. The divers reported water temperatures of 82-83°F at 100 feet deep. That was our favorite spot for snorkeling.

Officially this is a marine preserve, but we saw commercial fishing.

The resort was of course very comfortable.

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