AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Trip Reports National Parks: Blue Hole and St. Herman's Cave

One of the easiest and most affordable tours in Western Belize is the Blue Hole National Park and the adjacent St. Herman’s Cave. Both can be accessed by bus between the major cities of Belmopan and Dangriga. It is only $8BZE to enter the parks, and make sure you keep your receipt so you can enter both.

We suggest going to St. Herman’s Cave first. Headlights are a must have while traveling in Belize, especially when caving. It’s easily the most recommended thing to bring for travelers as well as the most forgotten. It’s a short 30 minute walk on the low-ground trail to the cave entrance from the ranger station. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, a slightly more challenging 30 minute hike up the ridge overlooking the valley is also possible.

Once inside, it is possible to go about 200 yards along a well identified path along the edge of the cave. All self guided tours are instructed to stop at the well marked sign. At the sign, you can enter the creek that runs through the cave to wash your hands or splash a friend. While there, be sure to have everyone turn off their headlights to really experience the darkness of the cave.

If traveling by bus, it might be better to just hike the short 3/4 of mile nature trail to the Blue Hole. The park is managed by the Belize Audubon Society, and which claims to have identified 200 bird species within park boundaries. If you’re into birding, don’t forget your binoculars. If you don’t feel like trekking the jungle trail, you can walk along the highway or try and hail a bus, although it’s only 1 mile to the Blue Hole from St. Herman’s Cave.

The inland Blue Hole is a sinkhole created by the collapsed remains of the St. Herman’s cave system. The water flows from the 30 foot deep pool for 50 yards before it enters St. Herman’s Cave. It is possible to have a picnic and swim here, but it always seems like the mosquitos are biting, so be sure to bring your repellant. Also, be warned that if it has been raining hard, the Blue Hole can actually be a “brown hole” so plan your trip accordingly.

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Welcome to Belize where even the highways are nature-centric. Take, for instance, the Hummingbird Highway, one of four main paved roads in the country.

Not that Blue Hole…

St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park (not to be confused with the Great Blue Hole Marine Park, a UNESCO site way out at sea) is accessed right off the Hummingbird not far from the capital, Belmopan. This is actually a two-parter park which includes a cave and a cenote, each accessed via its own distinct entrance just a short distance from each other along the Hummingbird.

A single entrance fee (US$4) gets you in to see St. Herman’s Cave, reached via a short trail through the jungle, and the Blue Hole, a small very blue cenote (roofless cave filled with water) in a park-like setting with picnic tables and changing rooms. The Blue Hole cenote is not as spectacular as the cenotes in the Yucatan in Southern Mexico, but it’s still a nice place to cool off.

Tubing through St. Herman's Cave - Belize

We took a guided tour through St Herman's Cave in Belize.

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Blue Hole - Belize 2014 from Caleb Coverdale on Vimeo.

Blue Hole - Belize 2014

This video is about my trip out to Blue Hole National Park - Belize 2014

St. Herman's Blue Hole Park Upgrades

On January 14, 2016, PACT visited St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park to look at the completed activities under our medium grant project entitled "Enhancing St Herman's Blue Hole National Park (SHBHNP) through new infrastructure, mapping and management plan". The main purpose of this project was to upgrade and install much needed infrastructure for the protected area with the aim to improve visitor experience. Additionally, a Management Plan for St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park (SHBHNP) was developed to guide the conservation priorities of the protected area. Demarcation and mapping of the Park was also carried out through this project.

Click photos for more pictures!

BTB IMPLEMENTS JOINT PROJECT WITH BAS TO ENHANCE ST. HERMAN'S BLUE HOLE NATIONAL PARK

In its continuous efforts to enhance the tourism attractions, we have invested in the development of the nature based tourism product development, a component of Belize's National Sustainable Tourism Master Plan 2030. The objective of the project aims to improve birding guests' experience and satisfaction as this market segment has bloomed over the years.

The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) recently embarked on a joint project with the Belize Audubon Society (BAS) to construct an octagonal shaped picnic shed to host a capacity of 50 persons and seven picnic benches at the St Herman's Blue Hole National Park, which will make the environment more pleasant for visitors to that historic site.



The St Herman's Blue Hole National Park hosts several activities such as caves, lookout tower, swimming and bird watching, which is a blooming niche market in Belize, according to the BAS's 2018 annual report, the park registered approximatley 28,305 visitors.

The project was officially handed over to BAS on Tuesday, March 19, 2019.

New signs at the St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park

Alongside the improvements being made to the restrooms at St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park, we have also been upgrading the signage across the park, with a total of 73 new signs being installed!

This new signage, which is a combination of directional, educational and informational, has been sponsored by Protected Areas Conservation Trust and will help to improve the visitor experience for everyone coming to St. Herman's.

We would also like to say a special Thank You to our volunteer Kevin Borland, who can be seen in the photo here holding up the sign. Kevin added much needed man power to help us get the new signage up quickly and efficiently.

Belize Audubon Society
















The Blue hole National Park

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https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/visit-blue-hole-national-park-belize