Turneffe Islands Dive Sites

Turneffe Atoll Dive Sites

Large Pelagis can be seen at the Elbow at Turneffe islands

The Elbow

The Elbow is located on the souther tip of the Turneffe Atoll and is considered one of the very best dives Belize has to offer however it is sometimes hit and miss.

The best time to dive the Elbow is when the current is running, this is where you will the very best chance to see Pelagics such as Sharks, Marlin, Manta’s etc. If the current is not running it is still a very nice dive but the difference is between the 2 is a lot.

The dive is a fairly deep dive and the wall is covered in gorgonian fans and sponges.

The Elbow is accessible via day trips from Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker and Belize City. Be aware its the Southern Turneffe trip as opposed ot the Northern Turneffe Day trip.

Lots of Groupers on the reef at Gales Point

Gales Point Turneffe

Gales point dive site is locate a littel north of the Elbow and its a sloping wall starting in arounf 45ft and then gradually sloping donw to 100ft then dropping off into the Abyss.

You can see lots of sponges colorful corals and quite a few grouper can be seen at this pretty dive site.

Due to the deep drop off you also have a good chance to see the odd pelagic and plenty of rays.

Wall Diving

Rendevous Point

Rendevous point is located on the North end of Turneffe on the Leeward side which means nice calm diving.

Rendevous is one of the entrace to the Atoll and is used by most of the diveboats to cut through the Turneffe Atoll on there way to Lighthouse Reef.

The wall starts of around 55ft and drops off from there. The wall has lots of sponges and gorgonian fans and lots of reef fish such as Grouper, yellowtails and big Hogfish.

Its on the edge of the deep Blue you also have the chance to see Pelagics cruising the wall

Hollywood

Hollywood is a real easy dive perfect for the novice or intermediate diver, its located in calm protected seas and is just a 50ft dive. It is a sloping wall with lots of shoals of fish invertebrates and little nooks and crannies to explore.

Visability can be an issue on this site but still a good 50-60ft range is excellent to see the sponges and brain corals that are abundant on this easy dive site.

Dive Belize Turneffe

Leftys Ledge

he straight eastern reef line south of Black Beauty forms a small scallop at Lefty’s Ledge. All along the rim are massive coral bastions and at several locations seaward, coral growths create prominent ledges that jut out above the deep-water drop-off. Behind the curved rim, the reef is deeply incised with sandy canyons that slope seaward and spill out over the dropoffs at 100 ft. Most sandy strips are relatively narrow features littered with small coral structures, but one looks like a jet runway because of its enormous width and length. This combination of craggy reefs and open sand flats creates a range of environments suitable for many different kinds of marine life. Pelagics are often attracted to an area because of an abundance of food or suitable shelter. Lefty’s Ledge provides both, so pelagics are the maul attraction. Perhaps as many as 50 kinds of fish can be seen here on a single dive by exploring the reef and keeping an eye on the open sea.

All along the sloping drop-off, you can encounter schools of horse-eye jacks, bar jacks, Spanish mackerels, creole wrasses, yellowtail snappers and permits. Eagle rays, ocean triggerfish and barracudas can also be seen, along with occasional appearances of hammerhead, black tip and bull sharks.

Photographers will find it easy to shoot several rolls above and along the reef, featuring blue chromis, striped grunts, mutton snappers, black durgons, blue tangs, damselfish, groupers and parrotfish.

Plenty of other marine life can draw attention from the parade of fish. Near the wall and on the ledges are gorgeous growths of deep-water lace coral and interesting formations of boulder or sheet coral. On all parts of the reef, boring, emergent and encrusting sponges create decorative forms and add rich warm colors to photographs. As you move in and out of coral formations and across the reef top, you may find large hermit crabs, Pederson Cleaner shrimp stations, browsing flamingo tongues and orange crinoids. Wherever you dive at Lefty’s Ledge, you will always be richly rewarded.

The Chutes off Calabash Caye,

is approximately 50 feet 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.

At Crickozeen Cut , predatory trumpet fish camouflage themselves among the sea fans and a myriad of damselfish and parrotfish graze on algae, keeping the coral clean and healthy. Spiny lobsters are commonly found under ledges and Creole wrasse aggregate and spawn in their thousands around the full moon in summer.

Lindsey’s Back Porch is where you can drift slowly through a garden of gorgonian fans and sea plumes at 45 feet and see an abundance of butterfly fish, 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 white spotted 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 and shellfish in the sand.

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 35-40 feet 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 white-spotted toadfish can often be found here.

Wonderworld is a site just north of us and is comprised of many large coral formations that drop dramatically from a depth of 65 feet. 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 appears and seems to enjoy “buzzing” the divers as they desperately try to take photographs.