Surreal brain coral sits below. An easy-going green sea turtle soars alongside you. Yellowtail snapper flit between bubbles streaming from your mouthpiece. This is scuba diving at the Belize Barrier Reef.
This resplendent sprawl of the Caribbean Sea’s most colorful, vivacious life amounts to the second largest barrier reef in the world, and has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Of course, the only proper way to experience the reef is as its inhabitants do, from beneath the waves. Dive along steep walls and float over spectacular sponge gardens on a private dive that goes where you want.