Hol Chan Marine Reserve Dive and Shark Ray Alley Snorkel

A Hol Chan Marine Reserve dive pairs a protected stretch of barrier reef with a shallow snorkel among nurse sharks and rays. This page is for certified divers, returning divers and first-timers who want to know exactly what the trip involves before booking it with White Sands Dive Shop.

We combine one tank in Hol Chan with a snorkel stop at Shark Ray Alley. Below you will find what the reserve is, how the morning runs, who the trip suits, and how the park ticket works.

What is Hol Chan Marine Reserve?

Hol Chan was legislated in July 1987 as Belize’s first marine reserve. The name is Maya for little channel, after the deep cut in the barrier reef at its center, and it sits about four miles south of San Pedro. These details come from the Belize Tourism Board guide to Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

The reserve is split into four zones, each guarding a different habitat. Our trip adds a snorkel in Zone D to the dive:

• Zone A: the coral reef
• Zone B: sea grass beds
• Zone C: mangroves
• Zone D: Shark Ray Alley, the shallow snorkel stop

The tourism board lists loggerhead and green turtles, Nassau grouper, and star, staghorn and elkhorn corals among the endangered species found in the reserve. Its snorkeling guide gives depths of up to 30 feet, so this is a shallow, relaxed dive with plenty of light.

Is Hol Chan part of the World Heritage site?

Not as a named part of it, although many travel pages say so. The UNESCO listing of the seven Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System sites runs from Bacalar Chico in the north to the Sapodilla Cayes in the south, and Hol Chan is not among them. It lies on the same barrier reef, inscribed in 1996, but its protection comes from its own marine reserve status.

Hol Chan dive and Shark Ray Alley snorkel: how the morning runs

The trip is part of our local schedule, so it shares the 9:00 departure and the pickup at your hotel dock. Here is the sequence from booking to the ride home:

1. Send us your dates, certification level and the date of your last dive.
2. Reserve any rental kit: mask, snorkel and fins, a BCD, a regulator or a shortie wetsuit.
3. Wait at your hotel dock for the boat, with your certification card in hand.
4. Make one tank dive on the reserve’s reef.
5. Swap to mask and fins for the snorkel at Shark Ray Alley.
6. Head back to the island.

Tanks and weights are included with the dive. The park ticket is not, and the next sections explain that and the rest of the planning details.

Hol Chan diving vs Shark Ray Alley snorkeling

The two halves of the morning feel very different. Use this side-by-side view to set expectations for everyone in your group.

Question	Hol Chan dive	Shark Ray Alley snorkel
What it is	One scuba tank on the reserve’s reef	A surface swim in the reserve’s shark and ray zone
Who can do it	Certified divers, refresher students, and Discover Scuba Diving participants with a certified divemaster to 40 feet	Anyone comfortable in the water with mask, snorkel and fins
Gear	Full scuba kit; tanks and weights included, the rest can be rented	Mask, snorkel and fins, which can be rented
What you see	Coral formations such as brain, boulder, finger and lettuce corals, plus reef fish	Nurse sharks and rays close to the surface
Park ticket	Not included	Not included

Non-divers in your party don’t have to sit on the boat. They can book our snorkel-only trip to the same two spots, described in our Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley snorkeling guide.

Who the Hol Chan dive suits

• Certified divers who want a shallow, wildlife-rich dive early in the trip, before deeper days.
• Returning divers: our scuba refresher on Ambergris Caye follows a pool review with a Hol Chan dive alongside the instructor and a Shark Ray Alley snorkel.
• First-timers: Discover Scuba Diving on Ambergris Caye covers basic knowledge, a pool session and one open water dive.
• Mixed groups, where divers and snorkelers want to share the same boat and the same wildlife.

Want walls, canyons and a long day out? Compare this morning with the reef, night and atoll trips in our complete guide to diving Ambergris Caye, including the Great Blue Hole day trip from San Pedro.

Hol Chan marine reserve fee and planning notes

We don’t print the park fee here, because it is set by the reserve rather than by us and can change. Park tickets are not included in our trip, so ask us for the current amount when you book.

Good reef manners matter even more inside a reserve. Keep your fins off the coral, never stand on the bottom, and give sharks and rays room to move on their own terms.

For lessons and certification costs, see the PADI course price list on our Water Sports page. For the Hol Chan trip and gear rental, email us for current rates.

Diving Hol Chan with Elbert Greer

White Sands Dive Shop is a 5 Star PADI Dive Facility, owned and operated by PADI IDC Staff Instructor Elbert Greer. You can read how he teaches and guides in our profile of PADI IDC Staff Instructor Elbert Greer.

Minette Layne of Seattle wrote to Elbert after her refresher course: “I was so panicked and you really calmed me down and set me up for a wonderful couple of weeks of diving and snorkeling.” Her full note sits with others on our page of student letters to Elbert Greer.

Hol Chan Marine Reserve dive: your questions answered

Book your Hol Chan dive

Email elbertgreer@fastmail.fm or call 011 (501) 226 2405 with your dates, your certification level and how many divers and snorkelers are in your group. We will match you to the right Hol Chan morning.