Wildlife· Half Moon Caye· Other Caribbean
Half Moon Caye Natural Monument
17° 12.3′ N · 87° 32.2′ W
Belize's oldest protected site (bird sanctuary 1924, natural monument 1982) and its first marine protected area: a crescent caye whose littoral forest holds one of the only viable red-footed booby colonies in the western Caribbean, watched from a viewing platform among nesting frigatebirds.
Practical
Co-managed by the Belize Audubon Society with the Forest Department; 9,771 acres. Facilities (2015): ranger station, pier, visitor centre, gift shop, picnic tables, bathrooms, showers, camping area and kitchen; register at the visitor centre on landing (management plan). Fee: BZ$20 per person per day for non-nationals, open 8:00 am to 4:30 pm daily (Belize Audubon Society); the Blue Hole fee is also collected by the warden here (Ventura Yacht Agency). Contact the Half Moon Caye rangers on VHF 16 before picking up a mooring or anchoring (BAS). Rules: boats follow marked access routes and land only at designated facilities; no snorkelling or diving within 100 m of the north shore (slow-boat zone); the forest and booby colony zone is limited to trails, no camping or fires; sea turtles (loggerhead, hawksbill, green) nest on the southeast beach May to November. Camping is allowed at the campsite; a Forest Department permit may be needed. Up to twenty yachts from Guatemala and Honduras arrive at Easter, and the plan stresses diving needs a licensed Belize guide. Endemic Belize leaf-toed gecko and Allison's anole on the caye (Wikipedia).
Best for
Red-footed boobies, frigatebirds and the wall next door
Nearby
- Sea Turtle Nesting Season0.1 NM away
- Half Moon Caye Wall0.2 NM away
- Half Moon Caye Anchorage0.3 NM away
- Ermlund Wreck (Lighthouse Reef)0.7 NM away
- Long Caye Anchorage (Lighthouse Reef)3.8 NM away
- Long Caye Aquarium (Lighthouse Reef)3.9 NM away
- Lighthouse Reef West-Side Dives (Silver Caves, Tres Cocos, West Point)4.2 NM away
- Great Blue Hole (Lighthouse Reef)6.6 NM away