6 Days, Starting at $2,600, Groups of 12
Help scientists monitor coral reefs and collect data on sea turtles, dolphins, and manatees in beautiful Belize.
Trip Highlights
- Work with local scientists to collect data on sea turtles, dolphins, and manatees through boat-based surveys.
- Explore the protected reefs of Hol Chan Marine Reserve to learn how they promote healthy and abundant marine communities.
- Stay by the beach at the St. George’s Caye Research Station.
About This Trip
Join us for an exciting volunteer week on St. George’s Caye, Belize, a secluded island located just a mile from the Belize Barrier Reef, a globally important marine habitat. The surrounding area supports healthy coral reefs, endangered manatees and sea turtles, and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, and is a nursery ground for queen conch. On this volunteer vacation, you will learn about and help study all of these iconic and ecologically important marine species. As a volunteer on this program, you’ll work with researchers from ECOMAR to collect data on coral reefs, sea turtles, queen conch, dolphins, and manatees along the reefs and seagrass beds of St. George’s Caye and in the many channels that make up the Drowned Cayes during daily excursions. Data collected during the program will be added to an annual report that will be shared with the St. George’s Caye Village Council and Fisheries Department. Educational evening presentations during the expedition will inform you about local research and conservation efforts. On the final day of the program we will visit Hol Chan Marine Reserve to explore the shallow patch reefs and to visually compare fish abundance between reefs inside and outside the marine reserve. Only snorkeling experience is needed to participate in this program. Volunteers will be trained in the use of survey equipment and in research techniques.
What’s Included
All accommodations and meals, private boat excursions, all activities as outlined, naturalist leadership, and arrival airport transfer.
What’s Not Included
International airfare, return airport transfer, any additional hotel nights, snorkel rental gear as needed, Hol Chan park fees, gratuities, alcoholic beverages, and anything not mentioned above. A small group surcharge of $250/person will apply if less than 10 participants. There is a single supplement fee of $375.
OVERVIEW
Located just south of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Belize boasts the second largest barrier reef system in the world. The focus of this eight-day, land-based, snorkeling volunteer research expedition is to explore Belize’s intricate mix of coral, mangrove, and seagrass habitat to learn about the life history of marine species that inhabit the area around St. George’s Caye.
The program is headquartered at St. George’s Caye Field Station, and run by our partners at ECOMAR, a Belizean marine conservation, non-profit organization. The field station offers easy access to healthy coral reefs, and serves as a base for ECOMAR’s research projects. While here, we will spend our days with local conservationists and researchers to learn about the work they are doing and how they carry it out.
Time will be spent snorkeling along coral reefs and seagrass beds, learning about techniques to measure fish abundance, queen conch populations, and coral reef health. We will also learn how researchers use boat surveys to study and monitor local dolphin populations and endangered Antillean manatees; as well as survey for sea turtles in the channels of the Drowned Cayes.
A highlight of the trip will be a full day spent snorkeling in Hol Chan Marine Reserve, where we will explore the shallow patch reefs and look to compare fish abundance between reefs inside the marine reserve to those we experienced outside the reserve.
Your naturalist will help identify many different fish species throughout the program and give evening presentations on topics such as fish behavior, coral reef ecology, and the natural history of the islands.
EXPEDITION ITINERARY
Day 1 | Arrival , St. George’s Caye
The group will be picked up at the airport in the early afternoon and transferred to the Belize City, to board a boat to head to the EcoMar Research Station on St. George’s Caye, located about 10 miles from Belize City near the Belize Barrier Reef (30 min boat ride). At the transfer location you’ll have an opportunity to rent snorkeling equipment if needed.
Once all participants have arrived, we’ll head out to St George’s Caye. Upon arrival, there will be an orientation to the facility and then we’ll head out by boat to the Sand Bar, a shallow area to test out snorkeling gear and explore the seagrass beds. If time allows in the afternoon, participants can swim or kayak near the station.
Meals Included: Dinner
Day 2-4 | Ocean Wildlife Surveys & Snorkeling
Start your exploration of the Belize Barrier Reef after breakfast. Each day you will be out on or in the water, looking for wildlife and snorkeling in coral reefs. Daily activities will alternate each AM and PM and include: dolphin surveys, coral reef monitoring, sea turtle and manatee monitoring, conch surveys, and snorkeling excursions. Weather and other field factors will set our daily schedule, but some of the themes will include: the natural history of these community keystone species, marine life, coral reefs, fish behavior, and marine mammals.
Veteran Oceanic Society guide and Co-Founder of ECOMAR, Linda Searle will prepare group members for all field activities by explaining how to use field equipment for various survey techniques. There will also be leisure time following lunch each day, during which you can relax at the field station or continue snorkeling.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 | Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Take a full day trip to nearby Hol Chan Marine Reserve off the southern tip of Ambergris Caye. Established in 1987, Hol Chan is Belize’s oldest marine reserve and encompasses three square miles of beautiful marine habitat including coral reef, seagrass beds and mangrove forest. Participants will spend the day exploring the shallow patch reefs and visually comparing fish abundance in areas inside and outside of the reserve.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6 | Departure or Extension
After breakfast at the station, you will take a boat back to Belize City. Head to the airport in plenty of time for your return flight home or join our extension. Travelers should make sure all scheduled flights depart Belize City at 12:00 PM or later.
Optional 3 Day Trip Extension
Explore Nooch Chen Cave with guided jungle walks, learn about rainforest plants and animals, then swim and tube through scenic caves with jungle views. Visit Tikal National Park, one of the world’s most remarkable Mayan sites, walking through ancient structures with a local guide and learning about Mayan culture. Extensions can be arranged both pre and post-trip.
EXPEDITION LEADERSHIP
Linda Searle is a conservation biologist and educator who has been a naturalist with Oceanic Society since 2001. Linda lives in Belize and is a co-founder and the director of ECOMAR, a local non-profit organization that coordinates several programs /(Coral & Turtle Watch Lionfish Project) that aims to garner stakeholder interest in learning about and protecting the coastal marine environment. She holds a Master’s degree in marine biology from Nova Southeastern University and Bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Miami.
Single Supplement: $375. A limited number of single rooms are available. If you are a single traveler wishing to share accommodations, we will try to match you with a roommate. If you request single accommodations, or if we do not find a roommate for you, the single supplement fee will be applied.
Accommodations: Guests will stay at the St. George’s Caye Research Station & Field School, which offers simple and comfortable accommodations for groups with 6 bunk rooms, each with a private bathroom. The field station also has a White House that has 3 additional bedrooms that share two separate bathrooms. All rooms have fans and a dresser with four drawers. Water is solar heated so there may not be hot showers available until later in the day.
Meals: Included as indicated in the itinerary. Meals are a combination of Belizean and American fare. Most diets can be accommodated with advance notice.
Airline Information: Airfare to/from Belize not included in the expedition fee. Several airlines service Belize City, including American, United, Delta, Southwest, Avianca, WestJet, and Copa. Flights should be scheduled to arrive before 1:00 PM and depart after 12:00 PM. (The latest arrival time we can accommodate in the winter is 2:30 PM. If arriving on a Saturday, the Customs line can get quite long and may take over an hour to get through).
Health & Fitness: Group members must know how to swim and be in general good health. Prior snorkeling experience is also helpful to be more comfortable in the water. The vessels have sturdy vertical swim ladders; some agility is needed for getting in and out of the vessels and water.
Payments: To secure your spot, a 25% deposit per person is due when you reserve your trip. A second payment of $1,500 per person is due 180 days before departure, with the final balance due 120 days prior to your journey.
- August 1-6, 2026
- August 8-13, 2026
- July 25-30, 2027
