Ambergris Caye (San Pedro) · Belize · Reef
Happy Hour
Spur-and-groove formations in the 18–24 m band
Area photo: Subhashish Panigrahi · CC BY-SA 4.0
Happy Hour is a spur-and-groove site on the Belize Barrier Reef off Ambergris Caye, close to San Pedro. The published depth range is 60 to 80 feet — 18 to 24 m — over classic coral formations, deep enough that it dives better on an advanced card even though the terrain itself is straightforward.
Where it is and how deep
17.9130° N, 87.9510° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Like most named sites on this stretch of the barrier reef, Happy Hour is spur-and-groove country: parallel coral fingers with sand grooves between them, here working between 18 and 24 m. You drop onto the formations, pick a groove and follow it seaward, then cross a spur and come back along the next channel with the reef as your handrail.
The whole profile sits in the 18–24 m band, so you settle at depth early and manage no-decompression time rather than working progressively shallower terrain. Little else is published about the site — it rests on a single catalogue listing — so treat conditions as you find them on the day, and end the dive back over the spur tops for the ascent to the boat.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Ambergris Caye (San Pedro): Dry season December–May with the least rain in February–March; wet-season storms, peaking September–October, can suspend diving for two or three days. Thimble jellyfish spawn in May.
Sources
- Happy Hour — Scubago
More dive sites in Ambergris Caye (San Pedro)
Wreck
A small unnamed wreck at 15–22 m, home to morays and coneys
Reef
Narrow sand-floored cuts dropping fast between coral spurs
Reef
A no-current reef that works for snorkellers and divers alike
About 100 shallow patch reefs of boulder coral in 2.5–5 m
Reef
Finger canyons off San Pedro working from 18 m down to 40 m
Nurse sharks and southern stingrays at arm's length in 3 m
Reef
Canyons, caverns and tunnels under ten minutes from the pier
Spur furrows plowing from a 15 m reef down to 35 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Coral heads standing 8 m off the sand, full of swim-throughs
Coral ridges in north-south lines with sand lanes between
Up to ten reef sharks over a 15 m patch reef
A coral-covered French anchor of the 1750s, hooked into the reef