The Great Blue Hole is one of the most iconic natural monuments in Belize. It is a part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve system, a UNESCO world heritage site. The Blue Hole is located in the Lighthouse reef atoll which is about 40 miles east of Belize City (see image below). I would argue that it is as iconic as the various Ancient Maya cities that can be found all over Belize. Great is no understatement because the Blue Hole is more than 1000 feet across and 400 feet deep. To put this into perspective, if you were to stack the tallest building in Belize (Caana from the Maya site, Caracol) upon itself and place it inside the Blue Hole, Caana could fit almost 3 times. That’s crazy deep. The Great Blue Hole originally developed as a dry cavern as evident in studies of the stalactites and stalagmites found in it today. However, it was fully submerged around 10, 000 years ago after the last ice age.
Over the past few decades, the Blue Hole has become known for being one of the best diving spots in the world. It is also one of the best places to snorkel in Belize. Ever since learning about the Blue Hole as a kid, it has been on my bucket list of places to visit. That is why when I learned that the belizing.com team would get the opportunity to visit the Blue Hole with Belize Concierge Excellent, I was ecstatic!
Who is Belize Concierge Excellent?
Belize Concierge Excellent is a private tour company in Belize that specializes in private tours for groups of all sizes. They are one of the few tour operators that provide translation services for Japanese and Mandarin speaking visitors to Belize. In addition, they have over 15 years of experience as a tour operator and they are well known for their aerial tours to the Great Blue hole and Belize’s Barrier reef. As a result, Luis and I were confident that we would be safe on our trip and that we would receive excellent (pun intended) service from Belize Concierge Excellent.
The journey to Belize City from San Ignacio
As the official photographers and videographers for Belizing.com, we were excited from the minute we learned about the tour. The day before the tour, we made sure to charge our batteries, clean our equipments, and pack our bags. We could could not afford to miss our shot at capturing one of Belize’s iconic scenery.
Since belizing.com is based in San Ignacio, our journey to the Blue Hole started from around 4:30 A.M. We needed to be at the Belize City Municipal Airport by 9:00 A.M to board the plane that would take us over the Blue Hole. Unfortunately, since we were far away, we could not make use of the complimentary pickup service Belize Concierge provides for guests within Belize City. In the end, we managed to get a private shuttle (courtesy of
Belize Ground Shuttle) to drop us directly at the pickup location.
The journey to Belize City took about two hours. Luis and I attempted to catch up on our sleep. However, if I’m being honest, I was way too excited to sleep. Luis did get some rest though. We got to the airport by 8 A.M (talk about being early birds) and spent the time watching planes take off and land. We also grabbed some breakfast from a Deli inside the Maya Island Air building at the airport.
The tour of a lifetime with Belize Concierge Excellent
At 9:00 A.M sharp, Miss Eden Cruz from Belize Concierge greeted us at the Tropic Air office at the airport. She introduced us to 3 Japanese guests who would be accompanying us on the tour. She gave us a short briefing about the Blue Hole and the tour we were about to embark on. The aerial tour to the Blue Hole takes 1 hour roundtrip. You fly east from Belize City to Lighthouse reef where the Blue Hole is located.
Miss Cruz was very friendly and we talked about anime for about 10 minutes while waiting for the pilot to get ready. The Japanese guests were delighted that we were all interested in anime. Luis and I also mentioned that it would be our first time flying in a plane and, as a result, we were both excited and terrified. Miss Cruz assured us that the trip is safe and that we should not worry too much.
When it was time to board the plane, we grabbed our bags, took out our equipment, and marched confidently towards the plane. The cool sea breezed blessed our faces. I looked over at Luis who was trying to tie his long hair that was being swung by the wind. The tour of a lifetime was about to begin. The trip would be done in a Cessna 6-seater airplane. As a result of this, when the got to the plane, the pilot assigned the seating arrangement to keep the plane balanced.
When we were all comfortably seated, the pilot moved the plane unto the runway. I glanced over at Luis and we both had the biggest smiles on our faces. The plane took off and we were greeted with a new perspective of Belize City. I did not realize that the city was that big. A few minutes into the plane ride, the pilot pointed to a heart shaped island off the coast of Belize City. I definitely saw the heart shape. Here’s a picture.
Can you see it?
We continued our journey to the Blue Hole and eventually we were informed that the Blue Hole was 4 minutes away. Our eyes were then glued straight ahead. In the distance, you could see the Blue Hole creeping into view. It was massive and magnificent. The blue hole itself seemed to be a perfect circle with the bluest water I have ever seen. The plane started to circle the Blue Hole in a clockwise direction giving Luis and the others on the right side of the plane a stellar view of the Great Blue Hole. For a minute, I was jealous. However, after circling a few times, the plane changed to an anti clockwise direction and then I was greeted by the Blue Hole. I snapped as many pictures as I could and enjoyed every minute of it. For a bit, I put down the camera to soak in the view. I was in awe. Here are some pictures we took.
After circling the Blue Hole, we were taken to a shipwreck south of the Blue Hole. A rusty cargo ship was on the reef. The waves were hitting it. It was an interesting view. However, I could not help but think of the corals that were damaged when the ship found its resting place. Yet, the submerged parts of the ship is probably home to various aquatic animals today.
We headed back to the airport after circling the shipwreck for a bit. Our energy was still high even after we got off the plane. We greeted each other and talked about our experience. Firstly, I think that my first time on a plane went so great! It was definitely what I had expected and the view did not disappoint. Speaking of views, I don’t think I’ll even forget seeing the Great Blue Hole from above. Seeing the Blue Hole from above is truly a one in a lifetime opportunity.
If visiting the Blue Hole is on your bucket list, I definitely recommend that you
visit it from above and that you choose
Belize Concierge Excellent. They were extremely professional for our trip and made sure that we had a comfortable and safe ride. However, if you are also interested in diving or snorkeling at the Blue Hole you can book also book with
Belize Concierge on belizing.com. I can’t wait to visit the Blue Hole again. Hopefully next time, I’ll get to go in it.
Let’s go Belizing!! :)