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Glover's Getaway - 3 Days / 2 Nights:

3 Days of Sea Kayaking & Snorkeling on Spectacular Glover's Reef Atoll!

Thirty six miles offshore of the Belize mainland lie a group of tropical islands cradled within a turquoise lagoon and surrounded by a living coral reef. Glover's Reef Atoll is considered to be one of the richest tropical marine environments in the entire Caribbean Sea. Our private island base of over 13 acres is perched on the southern edge of the atoll with a dramatic view facing east over the main reef crest and the open Caribbean. Based from our comfortable field camp we are fully equipped to spend three days sea kayaking and kayak sailing, snorkeling, diving, and fishing.  After our adventures each day we like to reward ourselves with a bounty of fresh seafood, island baking, tropical fruits, and yes, even rich decadent desserts! Glover's is ideal for those who wish to enjoy the comforts of a well-appointed field camp yet want an active and flexible day-to-day schedule.  Also available are optional Scuba certification courses, resort courses, and equipment rentals.

Begin from: Dangriga
End in: Dangriga
Duration: 3 Days / 2 Nights
Trip Departures & Prices: See Trip Schedule at bottom of this page
Group Size: 2-20
Guides: 1 Belizean guide

Accommodations: Glover's Basecamp

Activities: Sea Kayaking (Paddling), Snorkeling, Scuba Diving (optional - cost not included in trip price), Fishing, Birding, Photography

Make sure to check out our current discounted Belize vacations and Belize trip specials too!

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Trip Route

The Setting...   

One of three coral atolls offshore of Belize, Glover's Reef was named after the English pirate John Glover who used this remote offshore ring of islands and coral reefs as a base from which to raid Spanish merchant ships during the 17th century. Today, the attractions found within the atoll (20 miles long by 7 miles wide) are the incredible clarity of the water and the remarkable profusion of marine life. In 1993 the atoll was declared a marine park. To further
efforts to protect this extraordinary environment the atoll was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1996. We travel and explore this extraordinary area from our fully-equipped luxury Basecamp by sea-kayak, paddling, and sailing the shallow 82 square mile lagoon with over 700 patch reefs. The reefs of Belize have long been known as the richest and most developed in the Caribbean, and Glover's is the best in Belize!

Typical Daily Itinerary:

Day 1: Departing from Dangriga at around 8:00 am, we travel out past the main Barrier Reef to our private Basecamp on Southwest Caye at Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve. We are introduced to our new environment and get settled into our accommodation. Once settled, the guides provide instruction - teaching the fundamentals of sea kayaking, snorkeling, and safety in the tropics. Then we paddle out to a nearby patch reef and start to explore some of the 700 snorkel sites that Glover's Atoll has to offer.
Accommodation: Glover’s Basecamp Meals: L, D

Day 2: Perhaps an early swim or, before breakfast, participate in a yoga session with our resident yoga instructors (yoga is not available on all departures - please check our website or call the office for a current schedule of trips with yoga instructors). Our itinerary is flexible in order to respond to both group and individual desires and abilities. Activities include: sea kayaking, snorkeling the inner and outer walls of the reef, and learning to sail a kayak. In the mornings and the evenings we host informative sessions on a range of topics - providing an opportunity for guides to share their knowledge of Belize, the marine environments, and local culture. Perhaps a high stakes game of Hermit Crab racing to finish the day! If all this sounds a little too busy you always have the choice of just kicking back in a hammock and relaxing with a good book and a cold drink.
Accommodation: Glover’s Basecamp Meals: B, L, D

Day 3: For our last morning at Glover's the choice is yours. We may choose to don mask, snorkel, and fins for a last visit to your favorite coral reef or work the flats with your most productive Bonefish fly before our motor charter comes to pick us up for the return ride to Dangriga. We arrive back in Dangriga at approximately 3:00 pm.
Accommodation: N/A Meals: B, L

Rendezvous with boat charter...
We depart in the morning on Sunday by charter boat out past the main Barrier Reef to our private Basecamp on Southwest Caye, at Glover's Reef Marine Reserve. The transfer to Glover's typically takes 2 hours during fair weather conditions and longer during inclement weather conditions.

Return to the mainland...
We depart Glover's Reef in the early afternoon and usually arrive back to Dangriga on the mainland at approximately 3 pm.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is advised that any other travel arrangements you have in and around our departure and arrival schedule for Glover's Reef should have some time flexibility as weather and other factors may cause delays in the transfers.

Scuba Divers...
There are some great opportunities to scuba dive at Glover's Reef. Optional diving is available for certified divers on certain days of the trip. Single tank dives are available from $50 US, with further discounts for multi-tank dives. For first time divers we can offer a Discover Scuba for a subsidized rate or you may be able to take your Open Water Referral course. Please let us know in advance. We can also arrange a variety of dive packages before or after your trip. For further information please contact our office.

• Double Kayaks (outfitted with special sails)
• Single Kayaks
• Sit-on-Top Kayaks
• Children's boats
• Complete Research Library
• On the island we are in communication with the mainland via VHF marine radio.  

Accommodation...

On Day 1 to 3 at Southwest Caye, we are "base camping" - sleeping in tent-walled cabanas. These spacious safari-style tents have ample headroom to walk around and are on raised wooden floors with double or single beds. On the island we have a fresh-water collection system for drinking water, fresh-water showers, modern composting toilets, and a fully equipped kitchen. We also have a large dining area and resource library lounge.

A Note About the Ecology...

Flora...
The Mesoamerican Coral Reef stretches from Cancun, Mexico through Belize to Honduras. It is the largest reef in the western hemisphere and second largest in the world. In Belize this reef is a well formed wall extending 185 miles (300 km) along the coastline. Nineteen miles seaward from the eastern border of the Barrier Reef lies Belize's most spectacular atoll - Glover's Reef. The oval shaped reef walls of the atoll climb from the ocean floor and surround a central lagoon. The surrounding reef is primarily made up of two kinds of coral, the hard hydro-coral (reef-forming coral), such as brain coral or elkhorn coral, and the soft corals, such as sea-fans and feather plumes. The sheltered lagoon at Glover's Reef harbors one of the world's most diverse sea environments; an extensive community of fish, shellfish, and patch reefs. One mile off the eastern shore of the atoll the reef wall quickly drops 2600 feet to the ocean floor below. The interaction between the deeper open waters of the Caribbean Sea and the sheltered lagoons of the atoll results in a diversity and abundance of marine life which is unsurpassed for sea kayaking, snorkeling, and diving.

Fauna...
From our base on Southwest Caye we will have the opportunity to view a diverse range of sea-life and tropical birds. While exploring and snorkeling the atoll and the many patch reefs there are opportunities to see grouper, bonefish, angel and parrot fish, stingrays, eagle rays,conger, moray eels, and goatfish, just to name a few. Some of the bird-life includes osprey (the Billy hawk), sea gulls, brown-footed and white-footed boobies, frigate birds, hawks, mangrove warblers, and white-crowned pigeons. Around the atoll and the Barrier Reef there are nesting sites for loggerhead, green, and hawksbill turtles. If we're lucky we may see them while out snorkeling or kayaking. We will definitely have a chance to see and sample the main staple for Belizean fishermen - the queen conch and (in season) the spiny lobster.

Family Travel

At IEC we enjoy traveling with families. Children lend a refreshing perspective to the experience which adults sometimes take for granted. Knowing that travel budgets are especially important we offer a price break to families with children. Not all trips are suitable for younger children however, we find that age is not a definite restriction - rather the size and weight of your children, as well as experience and ability are the main determining factors in choosing which trip is right for your family. Click here for our Children's pricing policy...

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