Placencia, Stann Creek, Belize

Laughing Bird Caye

Laughing Bird Caye is a small uninhabited island and surrounding shelf-edge reef inside Laughing Bird Caye National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site within the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System and one of the most biodiverse reef sections in the southern reef. The park sits on a faro, a unique shelf-edge atoll structure, with the dive following the atoll rim from 5 metres on the reef top to about 18 metres on the sandy plateau. Coral cover here is exceptional, with stands of rare elkhorn and staghorn coral, large brain and star coral colonies, sheet coral and pillar coral. Reef fish include schools of yellowtail snapper, blue chromis, queen and French angelfish, midnight parrotfish, sergeant majors, blue tangs and large numbers of butterflyfishes. Hawksbill turtles, southern stingrays, spotted moray eels and lobsters are common. Currents are mild, visibility 12 to 22 metres. Day-trip access from Placencia. Suitable for snorkellers and divers from open water level.