Great Blue Hole
Great Blue Hole
- Max depth40 m (131 ft)
- CertificationOpen water / no overhead
Diving and fills
Dive here with
The dive
You jump in above a nearly round, deep blue hole in the atoll. At ~18 m you feel the thermocline, the light fades, and under the overhanging limestone ledges hang giant stalactites, some more than 12 m long.
1 earlier accident or incident has been reported at this cave. Read what happened ↓
Profile and sections
You jump in above a nearly round, deep blue hole in the atoll. At ~18 m you feel the thermocline, the light fades, and under the overhanging limestone ledges hang giant stalactites, some more than 12 m long. Below you is only a purple emptiness; reef sharks and bull sharks often swim along in the upper part and on the ascent.
The Blue Hole was once a dry cave whose roof collapsed. Jacques Cousteau brought the Calypso here in 1971 and recovered stalactites that showed the caves formed above sea level; datings give 153,000, 66,000, 60,000 and 15,000 years. The hole is 318 m across. For the 1997 expedition every diver had to be certified in cave diving and mixed gas, and in December 2018 two submarines mapped its inside with sonar.
Practical: the dive centres set their own requirements. Hamanasi takes you to 40 m only with a Deep specialty, Elite Adventures only with 25 or more dives, Amigos del Mar with Open Water and at least 20 logged dives, Victoria House if you have dived within the past two years; Dive The World writes that many operators ask 50 logged dives. The park fee is USD 40.
- Depth and profile
- The dive goes down the wall to ~40 m (130 ft), under the overhanging ledges with stalactites from ~33 m (110 ft), with only ~8 minutes at depth and then a slow ascent with a safety stop. Whoever doesn't meet the requirements dives a shallower profile to 18–24 m. The hole itself is 124 m deep; from ~91 m there is a layer of hydrogen sulfide with water without oxygen.
- Configuration
- Recreational gear on air or nitrox, with the dive centre's group; no technical gas offered. A torch helps under the ledges (estimate).
Who can dive where
- At least Open water / no overhead
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Goes down to 40 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.
How to get there
Boat dive on the Lighthouse Reef atoll, 2–2.5 h by boat from San Pedro (Ambergris Caye), also from Caye Caulker, Hopkins or on a liveaboard. Only with a dive centre, as a day trip with three dives (usually also Half Moon Caye Wall and Long Caye Aquarium); trips only run from a minimum number of participants. Park fee USD 40.
Around Great Blue Hole
FillsNo fill station known nearby
News
All (1)
Accidents and incidents
What happened at this cave before, with the sources. No names are given; read it as a lesson for your own planning.
- In December 2018 a submarine expedition found the remains of two divers who had gone missing in the hole on its bottom; in agreement with the authorities they were left in place.
Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines. Search for more news ↗ Searched automatically, last on 5 Nov 2026.
Going to Great Blue Hole with your team?
Marcel finds the sites that match your team's certifications.
Plan a trip