Placencia Harbour to Lark Cay

To help you find your sealegs, the first day’s sail is not too far. Anchoring in the peaceful Lark Cay Range, your captain will take you to snorkel at one of the smaller cays, before a walk on Ivan’s Cay, where you can swing in a hammock before returning to the yacht for the first evening’s sundowners and dinner.

The day’s sailing

• 1 Hr 48 mins Sailing time
• 9 Nautical miles

Mooring

No moorings balls. Anchoring is recommended.

Dinghy dockage:No dinghy dockage is available.

Things to do

Swimming, sunbathing, watersports, snorkelling,fishing, kayaking and paddleboarding

Facilities

No facilities for yachts are available.

Discover

Snorkeling on the patch reefs near the anchorage is impressive and pleasant. Check out the Ranguana Reef Resort’s small restaurant and bar. Fishing is great in this area, as is diving. Snorkeling, paddleboarding, kayaking and fishing are highly recommended on Lark Caye.

Tobacco Cay

In preparation for your exit of the barrier reef to explore the offshore atolls, you will anchor overnight in the lee of Tobacco Cay, a small barrier reef island with a lot to offer. The sail from Lark to Tobacco will take approximately 3 hours, with a stop for snorkeling off Carrie Bow Cay, home to a marine research station associated with the Smithsonian Institute. From there about five miles of sailing just inside the barrier reef gets you to Tobacco Cay. This tiny island is crowded with palm trees and small fishing shacks belonging to Belizeans who mainly visit the island over weekends or holidays. At other times it is fairly quiet, but there is always music at one or other of the little bars on the island. Snorkeling on the nearby reef is a wonderful experience. For the divers your crew can help arrange a rendezvous dive of the spur and reef formations just outside the barrier reef. Ashore there are two well known lodges. At Reefs End Lodge, with its slight elevation, you can sit and watch the many eagle rays and tarpon which follow the local fishermen. Sometimes drummers are at the resort to entertain visitors with their drumming skills; otherwise reggae music is the order of the day (or night!)

The day’s sailing

• 3 Hr Sailing time
• 30 Nautical miles

Things to do

Swimming, sunbathing, watersports, snorkelling, exploring

Facilities

Restaurants and bars

Discover

Restaurants and bars, local music

Turneffe Islands, Caye Bokel

Exiting the barrier reef through Tobacco Cut your charter takes you northwards towards Turneffe. The Turneffe Islands are fairly close to the barrier reef with many sand flats, a great favourite with flyfishermen. Approaching the southernmost island of Cay Bokel you will be escorted into the anchorage by pods of dolphins racing the yacht. The sail from Tobacco takes approximately 2.5 hours and anchor will be down in time for lunch and a snorkel or dive off Elbow Reef.

The day’s sailing

• 2.5 Hr Sailing time
• 20 Nautical miles

Things to do

Swimming, sunbathing, watersports, snorkelling, exploring, fly fishing

Lighthouse Reef and The Great Blue Hole

Lighthouse Reef, where the iconic Great Blue Hole is located, is about 18 miles east of Caye Bokel. Your first night’s anchorage at this atoll will be at Long Cay where you will be able to use their wifi to catch up on communications and make dive arrangements for advanced open water divers wishing to dive in the Blue Hole. The yacht will pick up a mooring at the Blue Hole the following morning for divers to be picked up and snorkelers to snorkel the edging coral reef. The overnight anchorage will be at Halfmoon Cay, where again there is fantastic snorkeling and ashore, a bird sanctuary with a colony of about 4000 red-footed boobies. An observation platform gives you a wonderful view of the red flowered ziricote trees and nesting grounds for the boobies and frigate birds.

The day’s sailing

• 2.5 Hr Sailing time
• 20 Nautical miles

Things to do

Swimming, sunbathing, watersports, snorkelling, exploring, diving, bird watching

Glovers Reef

A three hour sail from Halfmoon Cay takes you south to the northern part of the Glovers Reef Atoll. This spectacular oval shaped atoll is a great example of a true atoll. On all the outer sides it is steep-to with well defined reefs breaking the surface. The lagoon inside this fringing reef is deep but scattered with patch reefs and coral heads. After a snorkel break and lunch your journey continues south towards Marisol Resort in the southwest cayes. Wifi available here. After dinner you may be tempted to go to shore to enjoy a last cocktail at the bar over the water, enjoying the breezes that blow all the way from the Windward and Leeward Islands across the wide Caribbean Sea.

The day’s sailing

• 4 Hr Sailing time
• 38 Nautical miles

Things to do

Swimming, sunbathing, watersports, snorkelling, exploring

Facilities

Restaurant, bar, wifi, dive shop

Discover

Restaurant, bar

Queen Cays and Ray Cay

Leaving the paradise that is Glover’s Atoll behind, a 21/2 hour sail brings you through Gladden Split, back inside the barrier reef. Next stop is the anchorage at the idyllic Queen Cays to swim with the turtles and nurse sharks before heading closer to the southernmost of these tiny cays in a protected reserve to snorkel all the way around the cay. After lunch you will sail westward to Ray Cay, an island resort where you can again pick up wifi, take a walk ashore and even swim in the pool.

Remember, the itinerary can be changed to suit personal preferences. Crews are flexible but also make sure of your safety, so if the weather is not kind, they will adjust the itinerary. Your experienced crew can take you to many areas where the snorkeling is sublime and the experiences unforgettable.

The day’s sailing

• 2.5 Hr Sailing time
• 25 Nautical miles

Mooring

The best anchorage is off the southern caye. A few moorings are available.

Dinghy dockage:No dinghy dockage is available.

Things to do

Swimming, sunbathing, watersports, snorkelling, exploring, diving

Facilities

Restaurant, bar, wifi, swimming pool, dive shop

Discover

Lionfish Bar and Grill at Ray Cay, specialising in serving the invasive lionfish culled from the surrounding waters by their dive team

Placencia Harbour

Yachting in Placencia waters brings you to a delightfully picturesque village. A lovely, crescent-shaped beach lined with a long row of palms borders the small town. Beautiful flowers, thick stands of trees, and quaint framed houses on stilts add to the idyllic tropical setting. The people of Placencia are warm and friendly, making your visit even more pleasant.

The day’s sailing

• 1 Hr Sailing time
• 5 Nautical miles

Mooring

No moorings available. The anchorage west of Placencia Caye is excellent when winds are from the northwest to east.The bottom is turtle grass. Make sure your anchor is well set.

Dinghy dockage:Dinghy dockage is available.

Things to do

Swimming, sunbathing, watersports, snorkelling, exploring

Facilities

Water, ice, restaurants and bars, fuel, wifi, ATM, dive shops, trash

Placencia Harbour

Situated on Placencia Lagoon, sometimes home of the endangered manatee, Placencia Harbour is both picturesque and quaint. Fishing has been a keystone of the local economy for generations, and it’s still important to the 600 or so people living in the village and the surrounding area. Walking the mile-long, pedestrian-only sidewalk meandering among the houses built on stilts is like stepping back in time, but modernity is making inroads in the form of several luxury beachfront resorts offering numerous amenities, including fine dining. The laid-back atmosphere of Placencia is a perfect way to leave the cares of a busy life behind and ease into a sailing adventure in one of the most serene and beautiful countries in the Western Caribbean.