Half Moon Caye Belize HAL private island
Frequently Asked Questions
At anchor offshore: the caye has no pier. Tenders thread between coral heads to the beach, on the southeast tip of Lighthouse Reef atoll, nearly 90 kilometres off the coast.
Small vessels only: compact ships, sailing cruisers and day catamarans. The caye is a protected reserve and does not take large cruise ships.
Little, and that is the point. The bird observation platform, snorkelling on the reef flat, swimming, and walking the island in under an hour. There is no bar, no shop, no engine noise.
Thousands of red-footed boobies, the pale form rare in the Caribbean, nesting a few metres away. Frigatebirds inflate their scarlet pouches as they glide over the nests. The platform lifts you to canopy height inside the colony.
Excellent. The reef flat gives two to five metres of unreally clear water. A short way off the beach, the Half Moon Caye Wall drops into the deep, carpeted with barrel sponges and patrolled by turtles and groupers.
Yes, the famous circular sinkhole made world-known by Cousteau opens in the same atoll, a few nautical miles away. It is a scuba site, not a snorkelling one.
None. No bar, no shop, no restaurant. Visitors bring what they need, often as a picnic set out by the crew under the coconut palms.
Oxybenzone-free sunscreen, required in the protected reef waters, water shoes and a hat, since shade is limited to the palm groves. Binoculars transform the bird colony.
Yes, and they are simple: take nothing, leave nothing, look at everything. The Belize Audubon Society has guarded the site since 1982. Turtles nest on the beaches in season, so some marked zones must be respected.
Yes for children who love nature and water. No for those wanting organized activities: there is nothing to do here but swim, walk and watch birds.
