Silk Cayes is our most popular snorkel destination and offers great diving on the nearby barrier reef which makes Silk Cayes perfect for a fun-filled adventure day trip that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Silk Cayes, also known as Queen Cayes, is a group of picture-card-perfect small coral islands ranging in size from half to 4 acres. Located just inside the Belize Barrier Reef, Silk Cayes have beautiful white beaches surrounded by turquoise seas and are occupied by about a dozen coconut trees!
Silk Cayes are part of a marine reserve established to protect the outer reef and cayes and have an abundance of aquatic life, fish stocks, coral reef biodiversity, and healthy corals.
Trip Plan
A typical day snorkelling includes a briefing by the park rangers before your licenced snorkel guide leads you into the water to take you on a tour of the abundant and varied coral and to meet the local residents. If you have not snorkelled before, no problem. Our guides are happy to show you the ins and outs of snorkelling and show you the coral and those who inhabit it. Critters include spotted drum, huge lobsters, cleaner shrimp, arrow crabs, snapper, barracuda and more varieties of reef fish than you can count.
Around mid-day you’ll enjoy an authentic Belize style picnic lunch. Often divers go out on the same boat and they join the snorkelers for lunch. This makes Silk Cayes a great destination for families or couples when some are divers and some are snorkelers.
After lunch, head back into the water to explore the coral and meet more of the denizens who make Silk Cayes their home.
But the best is still to come! After the second snorkel expedition and the divers return to the caye, we all head to a spot just inside the barrier reef where local fishermen clean their catch and where you are almost certain to have the opportunity to snorkel with huge turtles, rays, and sharks. Here is your chance for a great nose-to-nose photo with a very large turtle.
One of the Splash boats leaves almost every day from Placencia at 9:00 am depending on the season for the 40-to-60-minute ride to snorkel Silk Cayes.
