Winter Dive Destinations: Experience Ambergris Caye, Belize &
The Whale Sharks of La Paz
November 05, 2007
La Paz
Are you looking to stick a little closer to home? Travel down to
La Paz on the Baja Peninsula of
Mexico, just north of
Cabo San Lucas. La Paz is known for its marine delights including snorkeling, diving and sport fishing. Winter offers warm water and great visibility, up to 100 feet.
In the fall and winter, Whale Sharks, the gentle giants of the sea are often spotted by divers in the La Paz area. If diving with an experienced dive shop, you are almost guaranteed a fifty-fifty chance of seeing one of these awesome creatures up close.
Still, there is nothing to fear from this filter feeding shark. Not only curious but playful, whale sharks have been known to spend time with divers underwater and allow humans to touch and interact with them.
Another exciting denizen of La Paz is the hammerhead shark. During the fall and winter, hammerheads make their home in areas off of La Paz. Hammerheads are known to travel in large schools and surely if you are interested in shark diving, spending time in La Paz with the Hammerheads will be an adventure you won’t soon forget. Hammerheads grow from 3 to 20 feet and have a reputation for being somewhat shy. As with most sharks, they are in more danger from us than we are from them.
Other exciting marine life you can expect to see while diving off La Paz include; Sea lions, manta rays, dolphin, pilot whales, orcas, and even blue whales and humpbacks have been spotted on occasion.
Amergris Caye
Looking for some great warm water winter diving? You can’t go wrong with Ambergris Caye located off the coast of
Belize. Ambergris is the largest of the offshore cayes and offers 25 miles of Belize’s most beautiful coral formations and barrier reef just a mile from the coastline. With water temperatures still in the 80’s during winter, Belize is an ideal destination for winter diving.
Visibility is often up to 150 feet and calm waters make for relaxing dives. The second largest barrier reef in the world, Belize is home to many species of hard and soft coral. The coral formations offer abundant sea life and chances for encounters with larger pelagic species like Reef and Nurse Sharks. Manta Rays are often common sightings. Depths at the barrier reef are between 50 to 200 feet in most areas.
Nurse sharks seem to be more common at Ambergris than elsewhere in Belize. These shy creatures can be seen sitting on the sea bed in grottos and occasionally swimming along the reef. While they tend to avoid divers, nurse sharks can be provoked, so be on your best behavior!
One of the winter highlights of diving Ambergris is the yearly grouper spawning. During the months of October and November, the grouper move towards the shallow waters inside the reef. On the leeside, grouper swarm in the thousands. Along with wonders of seeing this migration, you are sure to see predators drawn in by the teeming masses of fish.
Other possible sightings include the Loggerhead turtle which can grow up to 200lbs and live as long as 50 years. Whale sharks have been spotted on the ocean side of the caye feeding off of plankton. Harmless and solitary, whale sharks are the largest living fish species and are thought to have originated more than 60 million years ago. This gentle filter feeder will amaze you with documented lengths up to 49 feet long although larger whale sharks have been reported.
Interested in wreck diving? Just off Ambergris caye is Amigos Wreck, purposefully sunk in this location to attract bigger species of marine life. You can see nurse sharks, morays, giant grouper and snapper on this 70’ foot deep dive.
One of the top recommended dive spots is Hol Chan Marine Reserve, a popular five square-mile underwater park accessible only by boat. It is located four miles southeast of San Pedro Town on the Belize Barrier Reef and is rich in marine life and coral. Ideal for both snorkelers and divers, there is a wide variety of fish including sharks, stingrays and moray eels. Night diving is also popular here, to see a variety of nocturnal sea creatures such as lobster.
While Ambergris Caye is the largest island off of Belize, it hosts only one town,
San Pedro. San Pedro Town is home to several dive shops, boutique hotels and restaurants. For non-divers there are water sports, eco-walks, golf and even a Vegas-style casino! With white sand beaches, warm water, and a tropical atmosphere, Ambergris is a perfect winter getaway for divers.
