Diving the Great Blue Hole | DIVEIN
The Great Blue Hole in Belize is on every diver's bucket list, but is this famous scuba dive really worth it?
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About this Belize website
The Great Blue Hole in Belize is on every diver's bucket list, but is this famous scuba dive really worth it?
- Publisher
- divein.com
- First discovered
- 13 September 2026
- Last checked
- 15 September 2026
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What makes the Blue Hole so special?
I didn’t get the t-shirt, but I did get the official sign.If you don’t know already, the Great Blue Hole is exactly that. It’s a massive marine sinkhole off the coast of Belize. It lies near the center of Lighthouse Reef, which is a small atoll about 50-60 miles (80-100 km) from Belize City or Ambergris Caye. There are a few things that make the Blue Hole special for diving, the first being its scale. It’s almost 1,000 feet wide (305 m) and 400 feet deep (122 m), so it is a BIG blue hole. No matter if you’re used to wrecks, reefs, or walls, this will be very different.Parts of the Blue Hole have inner pockets of stalagmites and stalactites from past cave systems.Second is its geography. The
How to get there
Just remember that in diving great experiences often mean forsaking some comfort. And if you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably picked up on a few potential red flags. The Blue Hole is at the Lighthouse Reef which, unless you’re on a liveaboard, will be a 2-3 hour boat ride. We had a 5 a.m. departure time, and even though we had relatively smooth waters, I would recommend seasickness pills if you are prone.Coming up and out of the Blue Hole.We were split into two groups, going to a maximum depth of 100 or 120 feet, according to our recreational certification level. At such depths, the main part of the dive was 10-15 minutes, with the rest being a slow ascent, chasing our NDLs. If you’re no
