Diving in San Pedro


After leaving Tulum we had a short stop over in the Yak Lake House on the shores of the Bacalar lagoon. They asked for volunteers to help out for a minimum of 6 weeks. Would I not have a schedule already I would have certainly feel tempted. After 2 nights and some nice days of relaxation we headed towards San Pedro.

San Pedro is easily accessed from Chetumal using a water taxi. The immigration procedure to Belize is executed right on the shore of San Pedro. Remember to check your tickets for the display of a UK fare to prevent the Mexican border officials to lighten your wallet from 500 Pesos at the exit in Chetumal.

The San Pedro island is a Caribbean world of wonders. Despite the shores being not super clean and no sandy beaches the place holds it all when it comes to diving and snorkeling. We embarked a boat twice. A 2 tank dive on the local coral reef which is also part of the mesoamerican barrier reef formation and a 1 tank dive in the Hol-Chan marine reserve combined with a snorkel tour in the Shark Ray alley completed this adventure.

Did you not dive the Blue Hole?

No. The blue hole and the other 2 coral atolls are probably perfect diving spots and I would have dove there. However the journey to these sites was not possible every day of the week as they had to gather divers from multiple shops to fill a boat of 10. On the other hand a 3 tank dive would have cost around 290 USD which was a little out of budget towards the end of our trip. Nonetheless I would recommend San Pedro or Caye Caulker for a perfect day out in the sea and would return to see the rest of the sites.

Dive 27 – Esmeralda Canyon
In 3200 psi
Out 1000 psi
Max depth 18
Dive time 48 mins
Temp 29 C
AVG N/A
Visibility 30-40
Start 09:30
Guide Pro Divers Belize / Giovanni Reyes
Diving in larger group of 6. 4 Americans and us in the reef. Nurse sharks swimming along the whole morning. Saw large pelagic fish, lobsters and many interesting canyons within the reef. Divemaster was very calm and kept writing down species names and showing them around.

Dive 28 – Cypress Garden
In 3200 psi
Out 900 psi
Max depth 18
Dive time 52 mins
Temp 29 C
AVG N/A
Visibility 30-40
Start 11:00
Guide Pro Divers Belize / Giovanni Reyes
Diving in larger group of 7. 4 Americans and one more and us in the reef. Nurse sharks swimming along. Nice canyon formations in which we saw a spotted eagle ray that hovered along beautifully.

Dive 29 – Hol Chan Riff
In 3200 psi
Out 1400 psi
Max depth 8
Dive time 50 mins
Temp 29 C
AVG N/A
Visibility 30-40
Start 09:40
Guide Pro Divers Belize / Antonio Badillo
Very shallow dive in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Saw huge schools of fish, nurse sharks, sting rays burying them in the sand and lots of Macro life.