Hunting Caye Island is a beautiful, idyllic remote private island that is part of the Sapodilla group of islands, located in the south of Belize. (Our volunteers have been known to have tears in their eyes when they first arrive!). There are 8 small coral cayes in the range and the Sapodilla Cayes is a marine reserve and a world heritage site.

Hunting Caye is situated on the outer reef and we do a mix of fun dives (fantastic wall dives), Reef Check survey dives, SPAG (spawning fish aggregation) dives, lobster and conch surveys and work on a variety of other ad-hoc projects.  The Belize Department of Fisheries have wardens in the area to monitor the activities of the fishermen.

The following bird species can be found on Hunting Caye Island (bear in mind these are just a few examples of the birdlife that can be found on the island):

• Pelicans
• Warblers
• Herons
• Laughing Bird gulls
• Osprey

Hunting boasts two beautiful sandy beaches and two jetty’s that are perfect for sunbathing.

Your Diving Holiday in Belize: What to expect

Hunting Caye island is a true 'castaway' coral caye island – accommodation and facilities are rustic with a few home comforts thrown in! There are no mobile phones, television or internet on the island. The typical sizes of the trips are between 6-10 people.  We have solar power and all rooms have fans that can operate throughout the night. Your diving holiday in Belize will not disappoint – the diving is fantastic and there are no other dive boats!
Accommodation is in a brand new building that was built for the University of Belize, donated by a private individual for education and research. The rooms are either doubles or dorms (no more than 4 to a dorm) Camping with all facilities is available. In addition, there are at least 4-5 ReefCI staff members who are responsible for the diving and dive training, the research, running the island and the cooking. The staff work alongside Belizean scientists and we also employ Belizean people as Dive Masters and Boat Skippers.
The following facilities/activities can be expected when you reach the island:

• All meals - Accommodation includes all island meals.
• The island is about 5 acres and has a large living area, restaurant and bar - ideal for sundowners!
• There is a fully equipped dive shop
• There is also a volley ball court, canoes and 2 beautiful sandy beaches.
• The other small coral cayes are often visited during lunch between dives
• It also has an area that is protected for nesting turtles.

We often discover new interests such as the phenomenon known as the ‘string of pearls' on night dives. During the full moon periods, we try and locate the Whale Sharks. Whale Shark season in Belize is generally between March and June.

We are lucky enough to have a brilliant team of people who all gel very well together. Polly the Founder is very actively involved in the day to day running of the trips. The Marine Biologists are working together with the other staff and customers on various projects. We have PADI Dive Instructors who are actively involved in the Youth Path project training young local people to become Dive Masters and Tour Guides.

» Read More about what is included in your Diving Trip to Belize

"The Sapodilla Cayes are islands you'd never go to, because you'd never know they were there. There's no route signs or glossy ads, no airport, no timeshare, just shadowy dots on the horizon that gradually get larger; though never that much larger to be frank.
"And that's the beauty of it. When you take away the bars and beaches, the clubs and casinos, the TV and the net you're left with something so fresh, so rich and yet so sparse, all you can do is fall in love.
We never ‘get a way from it all' any more do we? Even when we say we're going to there's CNN streamed into the hotel room, MTV in the bar and a cell-phone rattling with the latest text. Most of the time we're not brave enough to even try. In our techno-enabled world, where possessions become a blanket we bury ourselves in, editing your life down to a day-sack can seem unthinkable. Yes, stripping back to the basics can be unnerving; but when you get there it delivers something so wildly different from anything that fortnight in Greece ever could. It's as fresh as a dive off the little dock at sunrise, as vast as the horizon and as ceaseless as the waves that stream onto the shore from the North. Yeah, no wonder I jumped ship that weekend to take my chances on the island with the 3 dogs that seem to have adopted the island as their own.

Looking back I'm still not quite sure how I ended up stepping onto that dock in December. But some friends-of-friends, and a tail-wind of luck all went a long way to helping me find the right direction. And now, sitting here, at this laptop, back in a rather cold and grey other-side-of-the-world place, there's little I can do but plan the next trip back…". Danny (ReefCI December 2004)

‘The highlight of the diving for me was the 'String of pearls' quite a hard one to explain but I'll try. Get a clear night sky with all the stars shining bright, then imagine them all falling down and flashing intermittently as they fall. Imagine it all wearing 3D glasses where you can actually put your hand out and kind of touch them. You can only see them on night dives with your touches off and only a few days after a full moon. An amazing sight really!!!! Well worth the trip on its own.'…… Justin, 32 years.