Mexico Rocks snorkel trip

Off the north of Ambergris Caye, about a hundred coral heads rise from an old limestone ridge in just 2.5 to 5 metres of water, all of it within easy reach of a snorkeller. Most of them are boulder star coral, a kind of patch reef found in Belize only here and at Glover's Reef, with staghorn along the ridge's flanks and some 30 hard coral species in all. Blue tang, yellowtail snapper and southern stingrays are everywhere, and nurse sharks, green morays, spiny lobster, conch, arrow crabs and banded shrimp live among the heads.

Since 2015 the reef has been part of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, the same reserve that manages the better-known cut and Shark Ray Alley to the south.