We'll be there (first time) in 2 months -- can't wait! I love to snorkel, and seek your recommendations for places to go for the best snorkeling, and your favorite guides. My tentative plan is for three excursions to what seem to be "the big 3" -- Hol Chan, Shark Ray Alley, and Mexico Rocks. Any other "don't miss" places? We're staying at Belizean Shores -- in case that affects recommendations.

I'll greatly appreciate your sharing your experiences. Thanks!

Hol Chan & Shark Ray Alley are to the south & are usually combined into one trip, Mexico Rocks is to the north of town & is usually a separate trip.There are some operators who will combine all three in one day.
A couple others are Robles Point and Basil Jones.
Hol Chan can get a bit crowded, I prefer Mexico Rocks, you may not see as much fish as Hol Chan, but the coral is beautiful.
There are many good operators, I use Amigos Del Mar & they will pick you up & drop you off at your dock as most operators will.
Do a 1/2 day trip to Caye Caulker ,It's only a 20 min. water taxi ride inside the reef.
I would think there would be some good snorkeling there. Have a great trip!!!

I would like to second that, Amigo's Del Mar.

take a day adventure to Bacalar Chico
(turtles anyome?)

Xoe! The best guide we have found for snorkeling trip IMHO is Lil Alphonse. you can request him or call him directly. He's patient, very informative from start to finish and will show you a trick for cleaning your mask - most important is that he is a helluva a lot of fun to be with. All the places mentioned are great but if you want to see number 10 on the cool sh*# a meter go to Hol Chan and snorkel just before sundown! You won't believe what you'll see!
bacalar chico and mexico rocks (even the coral gardens with a lot of storm destroyed coral) are fun too with the right guide.

How would we contact Lil Alphonse? Should we book before we go, or once we're there? We'll be at Belizean Shores Jan. 21-28, which I know is the busy season.

I'll appreciate your information. Thanks.

//www.ambergriscaye.com/alfonso/index.html

Second the motion for Alphonse! His trip was so much fun I did it twice in one week. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon, see a few different things.

He's knowledgable and lively, you'll have a blast!

Thanks everyone -- I've emailed an inquiry to Alfonso, and expect to sign up for 1-3 snorkel adventures while we're there.

Message boards are a godsend -- how did I ever make good travel plans without them? (Answer: a lot more work, and plans that were good, but not as good, especially a few times when using out-of-date information from books.)