Tres Cocos

Tres Cocos is a spur-and-groove reef site on the Belize Barrier Reef, located a short boat ride — roughly five minutes — from San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, to the north of town inside and just beyond the reef line. The reef is accessible via a mooring buoy positioned a short distance seaward of the reef crest, which offers useful shelter on rougher days.

The terrain consists of deep, locally narrow canyons running perpendicular to the reef line, with coral spurs cresting at 50–80 ft (15–24 m) and sand-floored canyons dropping rapidly to around 110 ft (33.5 m). The site is comparable in depth and relief to nearby Cypress reef, and the pronounced canyon structure creates varied topography across a relatively compact dive area.

Marine life at Tres Cocos includes cleaner shrimp, spotted moray eels, arrow crabs, sea urchins, sea feathers, rays, barracudas, and tropical fish; over 35 species of fish have been identified at this site. The coral sponges are notably large and the reef functions as a natural nursery for juvenile fish.