Belize is known for healthy, diverse coastal areas featuring reefs, offshore atolls, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons and estuaries. 

The country consists of over 450 offshore islands (Cays), with many private island resorts featuring overwater bungalows and island cabanas.

The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (BBRRS) is unique in its diversity of reef types and abundance of corals thriving in a relatively small area. It is the longest barrier reef in the Northern and Western Hemispheres, and one of the most pristine reef ecosystems in the world.

The reefs consist of vibrant, brightly colored, healthy coral— some of the best I have ever seen.

I visited off of the coast of Dangriga, about two miles from the Belize Barrier Reef.

To get to the larger reef areas typically required a 20 minute or longer boatride to the middle of the ocean. It was a dream to swim in the colorful reefs with no one else around, just you and the ocean life.